Is it okay to indirectly answer the essay question in only one paragraph of my essay? For example, my essay has about five to six paragraphs that answer one part of the question, but only one paragraph really answers the “challenges” that I faced. I feel that “challenges” aren’t the focus of my essay, but if I briefly mention it should it be okay?
<p>Trust your best judgement - I have talked to admission people a lot as well and they never give a clear answer on these topics - the whole point, as they say, is to get to know you well.</p>
<p>yes, trust your best judgment, but also be careful... everything that i have read/heard about college essays is that it is very important to answer the question. imagine what the adcom will think if it appears that you can't follow even simple instructions. so, if when you read the question and then read your essay and you feel that somewhere in the essay you directly addressed the question, it should be fine. for example, if the question was "what challenges in your family life have you face and how did you deal with it" and you wrote about how when your dad died you were sad, you haven't answered the question completely. sorry for that slightly morbid example... but you get the point. emphasis should be placed on the question so that the adcom feels like s/he knows the answer to the question in in regard to you after s/he's read it and they don't feel like they read some random essay that just hints at the question asked.</p>
<p>If you don't answer the question, it will look like you either didn't understand what they were asking, or tried to use an essay for another college to fit their topic. I am not sure, which one is worse, as far as your chance for admission goes...</p>