Can you get accepted to college with controversial essays?

carnut · 02-26-2008, 09:25 AM

I really want to know this. Everyone I know stresses about the essays more than anything. Even if it is to a safe school and they don't care if they get in or not, they freak about having to write these essays. But the really question is this: should the essay be a little edgy? If you read the threads to different colleges, the admissions counselors claims to want "different" interesting essays. Well, how interesting can it be when the question is what is your favorite word or who do you admire. Do they want quirky, stand out stuff? Cause the hs counselors say stay neutral, don't bring up anything that is controversial. Do admissions counselors want to read something that is a little edgy? And if it is edgy can it get you denied?

Christopher546 · 02-26-2008, 11:04 AM

Writing an edgy essay is taking a risk which could go either way. People get accepted to colleges with edgy essays all the time, but others get turned away for going too far as well. In general, I've heard that admissions officers are more likely to reward taking the risk, but that won't happen always. Really it depends on your tolerance for taking chances.

Hunt · 02-26-2008, 12:49 PM

Show it to some adults other than your own parents. Ask them if you think it shows you in a positive light.

efs001 · 02-26-2008, 06:22 PM

I wrote a risky essay and I showed it to a lot of people and they liked it. It's gotten me into a few schools so far. What's life without a little risk.

asdfjkl1 · 02-26-2008, 10:04 PM

No risk, No return.

Achilles1211 · 02-27-2008, 06:53 PM

I wrote an essay belittling religion(only one sentence though) "Most people seek help in answering these questions in the comforting hands of religion, for me though this is not enough. In today’s technological revolution and evolution it would seem a sin to withhold from the advances in science and Physics available to me."

Probably not the brightest idea. Got rejected to Uf , also applied to UM and Cornell. Accepted to FIT with no essay. After rejected from UF i applied to UCF and took the sentence out. Don't wanna make the same mistake twice.

Major: Astrophysics, thought I could relate to some professors.

butterbattle · 02-28-2008, 10:06 PM

Being uninteresting is a risk.

JoKaA · 03-01-2008, 01:36 AM

Well, I think it often helps to start with a slightly controversial line (as long as it does not belittle a persons religion, race, etc.). One of my friends wrote an essay with a very controversial first line. My schools counselor said not to use it, but our creative writing teacher loved it. The line was something like "I was 12 when I found out that I was a Nazi." Of course the essay went on to explain that she wasn't actually a Nazi, but she did have ancestors who had been. She talked about how her family's past had affected her life, and how she held this guilt for something that she didn't do. It was very well written, and I think it helped her allot in getting into college (She didn't get into her first choice which was Colby, but she was wait listed, and I think that was just because of how competitive the school is). So yea, if you have something edgy to say and can justify your opinion in an interesting and inoffensive way, you definitely should use that to your advantage.

jbhgy · 03-01-2008, 01:33 PM

Yeah for my UChicago favorites essay, I did not choose a philospoher or book, but I chose my favorite TV show, Scrubs. I'm pretty sure this will make me stand out and it is a well-written essay over all, but I'm still a bit nervous that I could be consdiered anti-intellectual for picking a juvenile TV show. Oh well, at least I was honest

RhapsodyinPink · 03-01-2008, 02:16 PM

My Common Application essay about a character in fiction that has had an influence on me was about a Sailor Moon character named Rini.

So far with that essay, I've gotten into Grinnell with their highest merit scholarship as well as Miami (OH), and a letter from the College of William and Mary stating how much they liked reading it.

If it doesn't frazzle too many nerves, I'd say go for it! You never know what may happen.

jazlyntrue · 03-01-2008, 07:14 PM

I would say go for a controversial essay , but show that you can see another side then the one that you agree with, so that way even if the person reading it doesn't agree with you they see that you are open minded and will not feel attacked.

teenage_cliche · 03-09-2008, 08:00 PM

There is a difference between creative, quirky and controversial. I'd definitely say yes for creative, but controversial...it really depends.

griffon · 03-09-2008, 08:50 PM

i wrote an essay comparing the shows Man vs. Wild and Survivorman...obviously theres no comparison as Bear Grylls would kick Les Stroud's a ss

Sandybeach · 03-09-2008, 09:42 PM

I think you can be unique and interesting without being controversial. For the common app essay about the person who influenced you the most, I wrote an unique essay that I used for pretty much every school I applied to (common app and not common app). I wrote it as a series of letters to my dad about different experiences we had and how each one contributed to who I am now. I got a letter back from U Pitt saying that my essay was one of their favorites from this years applicant pool. And a week later, I got another letter saying I recieved a full tuition scholarship =)

On the other hand, I submited a creative essay to a safety school and I got called into my academic counselor's office because they school admissions officers thought I was suicidal. Sooooo it's a toss-up. Try to avoid being controverial if you can =)

Sandybeach · 03-09-2008, 09:45 PM

haha whoops. I guess that second part doesn't really help considering you don't know me. My counselor was really confused because I'm the type of person that laughs a lot, am involved in my community/school, isn't hated by anyone (hopefully, fingers crossed), and was nominated for an award for happy people (I don't know how to describe the award, but that's the general idea).