<p>I have been helping to advise some friends kids on their essay topics. I know I have read that one shouldn't write about a dead relative and I agree that writing about a lost grandparent or aunt/uncle is not a good idea. It's too cliche. But I think an 18 year old who has lost a parent or a sibling has experienced something that is probably pretty central to who they are and as long as the essay is really about the kid and how that experience shaped them writing about a lost parent or sibling is ok. Thoughts? </p>
<p>Honestly, it’s hard to judge the essay without seeing it. I agree that the loss of a parent or a sibling would in most cases have a larger effect on the child’s life than the loss of an aunt or an uncle. If the essay is well written and focuses on how the child grew following the loss, then I’m sure that it would be effective.
However, if the child wants to use the essay about loss to explain a dip in transcripts or something like that, then I think that would be better mentioned somewhere else in the application.</p>
<p>@ ribbon road. Good point. For this kid her grades remained high after the death. She is a top student and experienced no dip. It’s about using the lessons taught by the parent in the things she has done since death ( competitions where she won awards. Charity she started and had success after initial problems.) </p>
<p>Wow, yes i would imagine she would write a brilliant essay by being able to emphasis her parent’s words of wisdom and then show how they were implemented in her life and ideology of things. I think in terms of dead relative essays people are too broad and dont have a clear emphasis on themselves – she obviously didnt make this mistake! </p>