i’m doing brainstorming for college essays now (i’m a transfer, so apps aren’t due until march 1). one of the topics i keep reading as a suggestion is to describe a significant hardship that you have experienced. i’ve had some fairly serious personal issues over the past 2 years that i have subsequently “overcome”, and am now doing very well. however while it has had a hug impact on my life, it is not something that i am proud of and deffinetly has the huge potential of turning some readers off. on the other hand i’m sure i can make it a well written, meaningful and personal essay, and it certainly will catch the reader’s attention…
what do you all think? i’m probably not going to end up writing about it, but i’m just keeping my options open for now.
<p>If you feel one way or another about whatever this experience was and about overcoming it, that will come through in your essay. If you are proud of recovering or of where you are in life now, and can relate that (and want to) go for it! If you feel iffy about it and no pleasant feelings can come to mind about being past this experience, and it is not important to you, don't write about it.</p>
<p>If you are comfortable talking about something, your essay will not be 'uncomfortable' to readers. Especially if you can make a point how you overcame whatever it was.</p>
<p>"If you are comfortable talking about something, your essay will not be 'uncomfortable' to readers."</p>
<p>I'm going to disagree. Using personal experience, I have certain things which I have absolutely no problem talking about, it doesn't make me uncomfortable at all, but it makes other people uncomfortable, and thus I don't talk about them (plus it's not like everyday topics of conversation... but anyways). There are certain topics which will be uncomfortable no matter what... think of extreme things, like abuse and the like. Anything with a social stigma on it, I would say should be avoided in a college essay... and that's what most of the books say, too (or so I've heard)</p>
<p>Talking about overcoming adversity is dangerous because it can easily sound cliche and unremarkable. However, if you do it well and sincerely, it's as good a topic as any other.</p>
<p>well, i did something like that for my personal statement. It was a personal hardship that i had encountered and eventually overcame, but i was not proud of it. There were only a few people i would even let edit it. I got into my first choice school (Vassar), and while i have no idea if the essay hurt me or helped me, it didn't get me rejected. It might be safer to go with something more traditional. I was also concerned that it may have sounded cliche. I was lucky because i heard a month after i had sent it out, but even through out that month i was plauged by doubt and insecurity that my unusual essay would get me rejected. I wanted to give you an example of this type of essay working... but beware.</p>
<p>well, when your grades and SAT scores are very similar to other applicants, the thing that distinguishes your application from the others are your essays. It obviously does not make up for poor scores or grades. Essays are simply a way to distiguish one's self from the crowd.</p>
<p>It's hard to talk about hardships without sounding trite, but if you can do it, I encourage it. I agree with the statements about uncomfortable. Maybe you're fine with it, but if you're not a pretty talented writer, your reader is not going to feel comfortable about it.</p>
<p>Risky essays, if well written, can be brilliant. I think that it is more important how you write about a topic than the topic itself. Write it with your own voice and do not let anyone edit it, they may spoil the sincerity of it. Let it sit for a few days, then reread it and make sure it comes across the way you want it.</p>
<p>Having said that, I do not think essays carry that much weight but you still have to put a lot into them.</p>