College essay about travel tips?

bjkmom
Sun, 08 Oct 2017 12:10:30 +0000

OK, so here’s the thing:

My guess is that the reason you’ve traveled so much is because your parents have brought you with them-- at age 17, it’s doubtful that this was your doing. So. as the others have stated, this would be your parents’ essay, not yours.

Now, what you could probably do is talk about how you’ve grown as a result of those travels. Did you see a little of yourself in that child on the reservation in Arizona? Did you see poverty in an inner city and resolve to do something about it-- and then follow up with volunteer work helping the homeless and/or the hungry when you got home? Did the size of our country teach you something about your relative place in the universe? Did you see “Ugly Americans” abroad and become determined that it mattered not just how your represented yourself, but how you represented our country? Or did you see people in other countries treating each other-- or their elderly or their disabled or their pets or someone-- in a way that you need to emulate?

In short, I can see how your experiences could be a springboard for an essay about personal growth.

This could all fit under the Common App prompt about an experience you’ve learned from.