I’m wondering if I should talk about this traumatic experience I had earlier this year, I think the factors behind it might show that I took a really rigorous schedule, morning AP classes, but I don’t want to make it sound like I don’t know my own limits.
Basically, I almost died back in February due to a combination of unfortunate factors. Firstly, I took a morning AP class, AP Seminar, which was only offered at 6:30 AM, meaning I had to wake up at 5:30-5:45 AM three days a week to get to class on time. Secondly, In mid-February I got really sick, no it was not Coronavirus. I had a 5 day long experience where I was insanely dizzy and couldn’t walk in a straight line. But, I still attended school, I had 6 AP classes that year. One morning, the dizziness peaked and when I finished with my shower, I started becoming extremely lightheaded. I decided I wasn’t in any condition to go to school so I started to walk to my parent’s bedroom to tell them I wanted to skip that day.
I didn’t even make it to the other side of the hallway. Before I could open my parent’s door, stars started appearing everywhere and I began to black out. During this, I began walking backwards because I couldn’t control where I was going, and I ended up falling down the stairs as I fainted. I woke up 10 seconds later at the bottom of the stairs with my parents running to see what caused the series of giant crashes. Needless to say, I didn’t go to school that day. But I recovered from the illness in less than 2 days. My shoulder didn’t though, its messed up even today.
Let me know if you think I should put this on my essay or not. Also, i’m aiming for a top 25 school.
Any subject can make an interesting essay. It takes much more work, however with some some subject. The purpose of a college essay is to let you shine through it, giving insights and glimpses of you that are not evident in the application. It also should give the AO reasons to admit you. A mundane rundown of events is not likely to do that.
If this series of events is important to you and reveals a person a top school would want to admit, perhaps get some help from someone to order it in a way that Is intriguing. As you relate the events of your day, I see no redeeming vignette.
What if I talk about how I overcame those events, I had to do a class presentation for AP Seminar, in front of 350 people (students and their parents) in the main auditorium, the day after this happened, and I did it.
Having to wake up at 5:30am three days a week means you had an early schedule, not a rigorous one. That’s not going to convince a top 25 college to admit you. Neither is continuing to work when you’re obviously ill, especially in the age of covid. Isn’t there anything else in your record that you can use to show how you’re a match for the schools you’re applying to?
I absolutely would not write about this. It doesn’t portray you in the good light you think it does.
Coming to work (or school) sick, in light of the pandemic we’re living through, makes you look immature and selfish. Yes, this happened pre-covid, but no one in admissions is going to see you as a heroic and persevering hard-worker in light of what the world has been through.
You need to sell yourself to these colleges. You’re up against applicants who have “overcome” far more than this, with far fewer resources, much longer odds, more at stake. Find another topic to show you match what the college is looking for.
So, looking at your other threads, I am wondering if you are thinking that the super high-reach schools that you are applying to will be so impressed that you “almost died” yet still made a speech 2 days later that it will “outweigh” your class rank?
I apologize if that is an unfair interpretation.
As @austinmshauri indicated, the way you present your story could raise some red flags, such as: can the student handle a heavy work load? did the student get caught up in chasing APs at the expense of better grades? can the student take care of themselves as an independent college student, or will they have problems that we (the college) might have to deal with? etc.
ps, re: “I had to wake up at 5:30-5:45 AM three days a week to get to class on time” - I know students who do that 5 days a week, ahead of an hour+ bus ride to school, or ahead of crew or swim practice before a full day of school. You really won’t get sympathy for that.
What about you do you want someone to know, that would make you a great addition to a vibrant community that a college seeks to build? What sort of person are you? What qualities do you add to enhance a place, a situation?
Does your narrative bring out those qualities? How can you weave an interesting story that brings out those attributes.
It can be done with your story if you are a great writer. I don’t think I can do it. It’s not an easy conduit. A lot of pitfalls. Really, I’d look for a better story