<p>I want to write about how as a kid, my father had gambling problems, and consequently racked up a lot of debt. A majority of this debt is still not paid off.</p>
<p>Ideally, I would talk about it's effect on me as well as just the general situation.</p>
<p>I was planning on using this essay for Harvard and Yale's supplement.</p>
<p>Is this alright or could it prove "controversial" in anyway?</p>
<p>No, I don’t see that as being controversial. However, make sure to focus on the GOOD of the situation and not the BAD. Try to write about how you learned or grew from the experience. </p>
<p>Best regards,
<p>I mean… It’s a bad situation. There wasn’t much good in it except that I managed to help him turn his life around, which in turn helped me.</p>
<p>-_-</p>
<p>That’s what I mean! I wrote my essay about my dad’s death and I made sure to only focus on the good. Talking about you helping to turn his life around would make a great essay assuming you are passionate enough about the topic to convey the story in a compelling way. </p>
<ul>
<li>Mike</li>
</ul>
<p>Make sure to not focus too much on him/his debt and gambling problems. The essay is about you. Everything in the essay is just there to further show the colleges who YOU are.</p>