I had planned what I wanted to write about for my college essay for a while, but I was just told that it might actually cause a huge storm if I write about this and a certain school decides to take action.
To put it lightly, I grew up in a ~really~ bad household w/ a ~really~ bad parent, if you catch my drift, and I was going to detail how growing up surrounded by this, the way they treated my other parent, and how I endured through it was certainly a definitive moment for me. It changed how I viewed my parents’ marriage and other people, increased my respect for my other parent, and heightened my desire to study for my intended major of cognitive science.
However, I’m worried that it might reflect badly on me since I’m not exactly totally away from that parent. Also, I don’t want it to be a whole thing and have CPS called on me or something.
Idk, I just don’t want to potentially alienate any college b/c of this story and I don’t want any sort of big drama to come out of it.
Should I go ahead and write about it or should I try and find a new topic?
Your essay shouldn’t be a therapy session. It should highlight what makes you unique and why a college should admit you. If you choose to highlight your interest in cognitive science, the background piece should be as simple as “I endured a difficult childhood,” and move on to describing the person you are today.
While the topic probably highlights some resilience in your character, I would say it risks alienating the reader as it could come off a bit too “woe is me.”
In only 650 words I’m not sure you can truly say what you want effectively. This is a heavy, complex topic.
Sometimes candidates need to write about heavy stuff. I could see this as an okay topic if it is written well, and the focus is on you.
If you can avoid any more detail than you’ve included above, I don’t see how any potential school would call CPS or anything like that.
You are allowed to be a bit creative in your essay, as long as it tells the story about who you are, etc. I have heard of successful essays by kids with one parent a Yankee fan while the other a Red Sox fan. But the essay is about the applicant
Best of luck to you.