Tell me if my essay topic is too controversial.

<p>Essentially, my main commonapp essay is about my experience during the last war in Lebanon, and how living in fear and seeing peoples' hardships changed my world views and made me diverse. My friends say my essay is really REALLY good but I'm afraid that my potential adcoms won't look favorably towards Lebanese. I am applying to finance (which is known to have a high percentage of Jewish people) so I am particularly worried. The essay is far from any type of political propaganda and tbh I'm not pro-war at all. </p>

<p>Let me stress again: I really need you're input because this is my main essay. Thanks a million.</p>

<p>Hmmm...Atomic bomb, in my opinion anyone who would be reading your essay would already know that you are Labanese. In addition, talking about something that you have experienced (especially if it's a war) is one the factors that makes for a great essay. Also, I don't think that an adcom being Jewish has anything to do with their decisions.. That's a pretty racist way of thinking.
Good luck.</p>

<p>Go for it. Diversity. I may be completely wrong, but I think Yale admitted someone with terrorist ties, and had the size of their application pool drop marginally the next year. It's not as though you were associated with the war, you just lived through it. Right? I think it's a wonderful topic! Cerntainly, there are going to be 18493 essays about a family trip to China. Your topic would certainly be a breath of fresh air, and if it's well written, if coupled with reasonable SATs, a sure-fire acceptance.</p>

<p>NO! i'm really sorry if that sounded racist in any way. The last thing I am is racist but I don't want to put jeopardize my essay in anyway because I may have offended someone.</p>

<p>Its just that my college counselor said that saying I'm of Syrian decent would not be in my best interests (personally I was like "what the hell adcoms should be educated and should not really have biases", but whatever) so I was just wondering if maybe being Lebanese stepped on someone's toes as well. If so then the whole college admission process is messed up, but I guess I have to follow it or else I don't get in.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help though.</p>

<p>Edit: thanks to trackster too, I hope I'll get in to my choices :)</p>

<p>hmm
i kind of had the same problem as you..
I had a diversity essay...and I wrote about the monk protests in Myanmar that happened about 2 months ago...and how the test centers were going to be closed down, meaning SAT would be delayed...curfew, killing, everything.
But everyone said that me writing about it, wasn't good, cos it gave Myanmar a bad name, was controversial, and adcoms won't accept me just because I was in the country during that time.
In the end I ended up talking about being a Eurasian..and surprisingly my essay on that sounded so much more interesting than a long CNN-like report about Myanmar's recent news.
My advice is that diversity can come from lots of different angles...war is a touchy subject...and you never know who would read your essay.
Try writing you essay on different diverse topics...(i wrote my essay 5 times with 5 different diversity angles...like moving country, living in Myanmar, etc..just different stories)...and in the end..if it's absolutely not possible to make those essays more interesting than go with your original one..</p>

<p>I wrote a controversial essay when i was chosen for my school public speaking contest. I made the finals..but was denied any award because principals said my essay was too controversial (it was about legalizing prostituition and how it'd increase a country's economy lol)...and the teachers told me later in class...that they LOVED my essay.</p>

<p>So moral of the story...is just because some people love it..and it might be good...doesn't mean it would be appropiate. My prostitution essay was great...just that it wasn't appropiate to be preaching to a school about legalizing it...and i actually got really mad because they said any topic i want..
Just be careful with it.</p>

<p>^^yea thats what I'm afraid of. My essay is THAT controversial and isn't just a long CNN report or a lengthy criticism but rather a story of my own experiences. </p>

<p>Thanks for your opinion. Anyone else have ideas about the issue?</p>

<p>atomicbomb</p>

<p>I agree about being careful. My s had to decide if his essay regarding religion and their attitude towards a gay friend would ruffle feathers. We were advised to not use that essay. Not because it was not true or even good but because all controversial topics can hit some the wrong way. </p>

<p>And keep this in mind. The admissions office at many schools does not even see the essays unless the app has already been put in the pile that is a maybe for getting accepted. So by the time someone reads it , they are probably already interested in you.</p>

<p>The best college essays imo are personal, detailed, honest and revealing.</p>

<p>Suppose that your essay is like that.</p>

<p>What leads you to think that being Lebanese would be held against you in college admissions?</p>

<p>You are Lebanese whether or not you write about the war. So, your real question appears to be whether or not you should write about your experience in war as a Lebanese, rather than writing about something else as a Lebanese. </p>

<p>I think that you should write about whatever can be the most personal, detailed, honest and revealing. I am not aware of any reason that being Lebanese, or writing about your experience in a Lebanese war, would hurt your prospects for college admission.</p>

<p>The Myannmar situation above was different because in that situation people presumably feared retribution for writing about, or being aware of or seeming to encourage writing about, the monks. The prostitution situation above was also different because freedom of public speech on the premises or in connection with school activities can be limited by high schools when the limitations are reasonably related to their overall goal of education.</p>

<p>What exactly is "controversial" about your essay? If you are talking about your experience, I am hard pressed to understand what the controversy might be. Your experience is your experience. Or are you planning to take sides and talk about who is right in the war? This you should not do imo; college essays are to be personal, not political imo.</p>

<p>Yea you make a good point. My essay is not controversial per se, it does not go against the social norms but it does present an experience from a side that I'm afraid someone would not potential have a favorable opinion towards. II explicitly say in my essay that it didn't care who started the war; I just wanted it to stop. </p>

<p>I think its pretty difficult to give me a straight answer on this one without someone actually reading it. Any takers?</p>

<p>^^sorry for the double post but a few friends looked thru it and said my essay was fine, so I don't need anyone to read it. THANKS A LOT to everyone for their invaluable input.</p>

<p>If you do decide to go with this topic....I hope the e-mail address you give them on the application will be less explosive than the one you picked for here.</p>

<p>its the same with me. Im muslim and I wrote about a pilgramage I recently cmpleted and how much it changed me and how much i luv my religon now, but ppl are telling me to change it eventhough its a really good essay, b.c. after 911 a lot of ppl dont look favorably upon muslims.</p>

<p>You will obviously still be Muslim when you attend school. So you would not want to be accepted anyplace where you will not be "accepted". Be honest.</p>

<p>salaam aleikum, shalom alechem, peace.</p>

<p>p.s. - aren't most jelly beans not halal because of the gelatin?</p>

<p>lol, yeah they are but "jellybeanz" is a inside joke</p>