Can I use this?

College Essays
1

<p>Sorry for all of the new threads! But I could really use the help. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>I wrote an essay that I love for Harvard a while back, and I want to use it again. It was on an open prompt so I just wrote about my parents and how their conflicting cultures created the rather strange environment that I was raised in, and how they helped me become a tolerant and independent human being. </p>

<p>Brown has a prompt that says: C. What question could we ask to gain the most insight into you? What is your answer? </p>

<p>There are other options…But I could the others don’t seem that exciting. However I once read a book that said to avoid chosing the above topic because the questions students pick are rarely interesting to colleges. I wanted to use this essay, so I would ask, “What has your family taught you?” or “What is the most important characteristic that you have gained directly from your childhood environment?” or something along those lines.</p>

<p>Is this interesting “enough”, in your opinion? Or should I opt out of this? Something tells me that a good essay is a good essay…but I really do not want to lose track of what they want from me. </p>

<p>any help or input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think that if the essay’s strong, you should submit it, and try to find a way to make the prompt sound interesting. One idea is to relate it to the concept of “terroir.” It’s a term often used in reference to wine, cheese (milk), coffee, that refers to the climate, type of soil, location, other local plants, mineral balance of water etc. that affect the taste of the end product. For example, if you can taste notes of clover in a cheese, that is something that is determined by terroir (aka. the cow’s diet.) I realize this is not a particularly clear explanation, but you can look it up in the dictionary or wikipedia. </p>

<p>Maybe you could pose your question in relation to this concept? I think the idea of a human starting like a plant, as a seed, with all of these factors (culture, place, other circumstances) affecting the person they become (their metaphorical taste) is kind of cool. And to think of people kind of as a ball of clay, that will be shaped and molded by a lot of different factors in its life is probably something they can relate to. Just an idea</p>