question about writing a very personal essay

College Essays
1

<p>Hey guys, first post.</p>

<p>A year and a half from now I plan on applying a quite a few schools, some of them top schools
I wanted to ask you guys if writing the common app essay about a personal/familial tragedy would be a good idea; or a better idea to put it in a college supplement. This tragedy affected me in a major way and restricted certain extracurriculars that I could take. I managed to get very good grades, maintain a large degree of involvement in some extracurriculars, and managed to obtain good test scores and awards.</p>

<p>So I was wondering if it was better to write about something else or my personal tragedy in the common app. Or would it be too personal or seem like an obvious ploy to increase my chances.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>It would be best to include the circumstances either in the designated area about other circumstances or your GC can include it in his/her letter. Those are the places they expect to see it.</p>

<p>The common app essay is to tell them who you are. If you focus on a tragedy and how it limited your chances you’re missing the mark. While you could take an essay about a tragedy and somehow describe how it positively shaped you or something, many GCs advise against it.</p>