<p>I'm just brainstoming topics for essays, and for the "where you come from" topic that seems to be a theme at places like MIT and Stanford, I'm thinking of writing about how I come from a small, dead town that local kids don't generally aspire to leave. I would mention drinking and partying, because it has had a large impact on my life. I wouldn't 'glorify' it, obviously, and my excellent school record is proof that I have handled myself responsibly; it would just be the facts. Considering this, would it be okay to let a top-tier college know that I have been involved in illegal things, or that I have friends who have gotten in trouble with the law?</p>
<p>Donât say that you were involved in the illegal activities (self-incrimination is not the way to go). Say that everyone else was and how you avoided their pressures and this general culture of your town.</p>
<p>Donât do it! There must be something more interesting about you than partying. Most top tier universities want to see what you can contribute to tjeir campus; they arenât looking for a reason to not admit you (as long as your stats are stellar) but reasons to admit you. Do you want them to try to justify admitting you because you didnât party too hardy? just MHO.</p>
<p>Yes itâs totally okay because it will make you stand out from all the rest who try to talk about boring life stories.</p>
<p>^I agree. The best essays are often different, risky, radical, whatever. A school like Stanford appreciates this. Stanford has a lot of boring students, but also a lot of bat-s***-crazy ones. Not saying that HS drinking/partying is that crazy, but it is different to acknowledge this in your essay.</p>
<p>CheesePuff: As I understand it, you are encouraging him to lie on his essay. </p>
<p>Chadbrochil17: a concession of some darker moments is the sign of someone with true character. My sister wrote about her âfaultâ for a college essay; it was about how she always strives for perfection. Thatâs not a fault! There was deeper stuff there that she wouldnât acknowledge at the time. Needless to say I lost a lot of respect for her that day.</p>
<p>At the very least write it out and have a couple people read it. Maybe use it for a couple schools and use a safer essay for some other schools. One of my regrets on my MIT app was writing an essay that I thought they wanted to hear, rather than one that I wanted to write.</p>
<p>Quote from the book âAccepted! 50 Successful Admission Essaysâ by Gen and Kelly Tanabe:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Speaking of illegal activities, would it be risky to mention downloading ebooks for free? Or would that be considered something innocent? :P</p>
<p>Glaedr:
I think illegal music downloading, or file sharing, or downloading copywritten ebooks for free (illegally) is not something you want to share with an admissions committee. I am sure things have changed over the years (not), but when I went to school the professors often wrote books in order to make money. People âstealingâ those ideas would not sit well with someone that is trying to sell those ideas. :)</p>
<p>Now, if you mean downloading free content on ebooks, by all means! What a great way to enjoy the classics!</p>
<p>BTW: Your advice from the essay book is true and classic. Anyone giving advice to write about drugs or alcohol in a college essay is giving bad advice. Find your voice, and hopefully it is something more meaningful than âyep dude, I totally got wasted, but still kept my 4.0â.</p>
<p>The answer to the OPâs original question is a resounding, unequivocal, absolute no, for exactly the reasons cited.</p>
<p>âRobert Cronk, author of [Concise Advice: Jump-Starting Your College Admissions Essays (Second Edition)](<a href=âhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/0974386723â>http://www.amazon.com/dp/0974386723</a>)</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies. I think Iâll a least write a draft, as Senior0991 said, and show it to some other people to get their opinions.</p>
<p>Glaedr and Imontoya: I can see where youâre coming from, but I assure you, I will not tell âhumorousâ or âmemorableâ stories about getting wasted. I want the essay to be about how I resisted the inertia of my town, and succeeded despite the pressure not to. While it would be nice to say I was my own person and never succumbed to peer pressure, this is simply not true. However, I would be completely serious and frank. </p>
<p>I think that if I keep it focused and donât embellish, colleges will appreciate the honesty. Also, they say to write what you know, and my peers have been a bigger part of my life than any teacher or counselor Iâve had.</p>
<p>may I suggest, from the standpoint of an adult [ much like one who will be reading your essays] that talking about how you did NOT take part in something that is ILLEGAL, is NOT a good use of an essay. Itâs to be EXPECTED that top colleges [ especially] will want students who do NOT break laws[ duh]
This is an extremely poor use of essay space and does nothing to set you apart enough from every other equally qualified law abiding student who applies to a college.
Write something that will make them remember you- the âkid who did not drink in high schoolâ- is that what you want them to remember about you ? That is much too low a standard for most top schools.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This came from âask the deanâ.</p>
<p>I think some of the naysayers are missing the point. This guy wants to write about his friends, his hometown. It just so happens that there is apparently a lot of alcohol involved in that social scene. Now, he may reasonably concede, in probably no more than a line, that he was not impervious to peer pressure. If he does this, he should also make adamantly clear that this peer pressure was overcome by a stronger will. I, for one, would appreciate the honesty. If he wrote the entire essay and did not acknowledge his own habits, I would assume he drank, and was too immature to admit it. </p>
<p>If anything is certain, it is that it is ill advised to lie, to say that he never once succumbed to these pressures. </p>
<p>That said, there are probably ways of better addressing this topic. Donât talk about your friends as much as you. In other words, you were probably doing something else while the student body president was getting hammered. What are those other things you do? Then maybe mention how your actions are not the norm for your town. Your drinking habits being omitted would then not seem as suspicious.</p>
1 Like
<p>âIn other words, you were probably doing something else while the student body president was getting hammered. What are those other things you do?â</p>
<p>Exactly! Thats what they want to read about. What YOU actually DID with your time, given the circumstances.</p>
<p>Hereâs my advice: donât take any advice on essay topics from anybody under 25 years of age.</p>
<p>In this particular case, listen to menloparkmom.</p>
<p>so i know this is a year later⊠but im wondering if you did write this essay/got accepted?
im asking because i might write an essay similar to this</p>