Do colleges like "sob stories"?

suzy100
Sun, 02 Apr 2017 01:01:05 +0000

I think it can be done, but it has to be crafted very carefully. My D15 wrote about a difficult situation that was “central to who she was” or whatever that Common App prompt is along those lines. It made me super-nervous, and I had no input on it. But it really was about her, and it was in her voice, and it was real. I had a third-party read it (I can give you a referral to that person) who blessed it. D was accepted to 2 top 20 schools, waitlisted one, denied one.

ETA: I imagine her teacher recs backed up the theme, which was about empathy.