<p>Hi all!</p>
<p>I have an essay on a tree that's influenced me that I'm submitting to Harvard and Yale. I'm very happy with it and think it's very strong, but it doesn't really fit in to any of Princeton's questions except for first one about a person who's influenced you, and even that's iffy since it's not an actual person.</p>
<p>I was thinking of tackling the question with a quote from Woodrow Wilson, since I'm interested in international relations and have a background that suits me to it.</p>
<p>What I'm worried about is that the adcoms read hundreds of essays that basically say "This is me, some background, and why I want to study this subject", which is essentially what I'd be writing too.</p>
<p>Is it better to go for a personal story that exposes background and will undoubtedly be unique, or to go for a more grounded but typical approach which explains why you want to study something? Note that my Common App essay was the former, so perhaps this would provide balance?</p>
<p>Many thanks for any advice that could be offered, I'm aiming to hit that Dec. 15th priority deadline :)</p>