<p>Should I include this information? My parents both have substance abuse problems to an extent, i went homeless last summer, and my mom has 3 kids with 3 different fathers and is currently homeless, and my father is semi-abusive etc.</p>
<p>Should I include this information on my common app?</p>
<p>At some level, the college application is your chance to tell the upward march of a hero (you). Airing dirty laundry and spreading around blame is not helpful. Highlighting a description of encountering <em>AND SUCCESSFULLY SURMOUNTING AND DEFEATING</em> obstacles with odds stacked against you is VERY VERY helpful. You need to weave these facts into your narrative to show how much more of a hero you are since you have succeeded in the face of these odds. It is more helpful to show how you coped and succeeded than it is to list out matters of fact. Everyone likes to see resilience, and it will help to explain how you spent your time (dealing with family as an EC!).</p>
<p>So you shouldn’t deny your reality, but rather use it to show (not tell) the narrative of your success.</p>
<p>So, i should use it for things like showing that i perservered through, and that it took up a lot of my time, thus not allowing me to do many extra curriculars, and teaching me the importance of family, etc.?</p>
<p>Yes, but be very careful that it is not victim mentality or vocabulary. I am not a huge fan of getting a college counselor paid service involved, but you may wish to consult with one to help you frame your story (but limit the scope of their help and don’t pay for what you do not need- you need to develop a theme- bulleted discussion points- for each essay to effectively tell your story, and <em>maybe</em> a final read-through. The rest you can do, or work with your English teacher on. You need more top-level “policy direction” than detailed help). It could be compelling, it could be miasmatic. It is certainly a large part of who you are.</p>
<p>It also taught you independence; how to encounter a problem, analyze it, compartmentalize it, deal with it, and continue to live your life. You live it, so you do not realize how important and different it is from the reality of your nation-wide contemporaries. Contextual framing help from outside would really help you.</p>