Long story short: New to the US from a small poor country, skipped a year, went from lowest to highest courses in a year, all A’s throughout high school career, OK ECs, low income, low income struggles, taking care of family, financially helping family, bipolar sibling issues etc. What would colleges think about this?
Write the essay so that it is readable, interesting and compelling. The subject matter isn’t as important as what you have to say about it. You want the admissions committee member reading the essay to think: This is someone I’d like to talk to and have on my campus.
This is particularly the case if you’re applying through Questbridge, where the “overcoming obstacles” thing is kind of a given.
Showing a unique and interesting voice would be far more to your benefit as opposed to checking another box on the hardship list.
Should I be casual and polite while writing or should I use unusual vocabs and stuff to make it look “professional” and try to evoke emotions?
Be yourself and be memorable.
Got it