<p>Hear me out for a second. For my Princeton and UT supplement essays, I have to write about someone who's influenced me. Originally, I thought about using my running coach, but realized that it would have had a too much overlap with my Common App essay (which is about running anyway). So I want to use my dog, and want to know if it's too gimmicky.</p>
<p>I have an unusual relationship with my dog. My life has undergone some drastic changes in recent years, something I have difficulty coping with, and my dog has been the single pillar of stability in my life. While everything changes around me, making me feel like I have to change myself to adapt, he remains the same, which comforts me and reminds me I don't have to compromise myself to adjust to change.</p>
<p>Am I headed somewhere with this idea? Or is this a risky gimmick?</p>
<p>The only thing that concerns me is that you ASK if it is a risky gimmick…</p>
<p>If your dog has a positive influence and effect on you, and you can show the audience how/why, super.</p>
<p>If you are writing this as a ‘gimmick’, find something else.</p>
<p>ie, I think it’s fine for something to be risky if it is honest and true. I do not think it’s fine to be risky for the purpose of being risky.</p>
<p>PS - my daughter used a couple of essays and answers that her GC didn’t ‘approve’ of; she’s now a junior at Princeton. So basically, go with your gut</p>
<p>It’s going to be tough to make that topic work. It risks sounding trivial. Make sure you show it to some people before you submit and see what they think…</p>
<p>It certainly isn’t a gimmick essay for the sole purpose of being risky. I honestly thought of my dog the first time I read the prompt. I simply wanted to know if such a topic would be beyond what is acceptable for the prompt. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I can see this being true. However, there is a bit of poignancy and sentimentality in the way I’d approach this essay, so I’m relatively confident it would come off as genuine.</p>
<p>I just finished writing a book on writing essays. I’d give you the name and the website, but I don’t want to be accused of entering a commercial post. Just as I was putting in the last edits for the publisher, our dog died. I added this dedication to the book:</p>
<p>“This book is dedicated to Dusty, a rescue from a puppy mill who, in her too-few years of freedom, spotted moose in Alaska, kayaked the Colorado River, climbed mountains, and had more adventures than most people will have in their lifetimes. When an essay prompt calls for describing a ‘significant relationship,’ do you have to write about a human?”</p>
<p>take care with this, or when writing about a person, that the focus should be on you - the applicant.</p>
<p>The admissions officer, at the end of reading the essay, should not say: Wow! I really know a lot about this dog, or sister, or teacher! I’d love to have them come to Anyplace University! Unfortunately, they aren’t applying… John is and I don’t know anything about him from reading the essay.</p>
<p>The admissions officer, at the end of reading the essay, should say: Wow! By reading John’s essay about his dog, or sister, or teacher, I learned X,Y,Z about John. Those are attributes that we want to see in our students. I’d love to have John come and be a member of our community at Anyplace University.</p>