I know the general consensus is writing about mental illness is NEVER a good idea, however I have a pretty good ‘comeback’ story that I’m not sure how to represent without it.
I had a 1.4 gpa in freshman year due to depression/hospitalization and I was able to bring it up to a 4.12 as of now. I feel like I could write about a lot of personal growth/self discovery that took place as a result and I basically have 0 extracurricular’s so it could help mitigate that.
I’m really not sure what else to write about, this has basically been my whole life during high school.
Basically the only other idea I have is about how my dads death lead me to be interested in engineering but its also very mental health heavy.
any advice is appreciated!
the caution about writing about mental illness is how will you convince the college(S) that under the pressure cooker of attending that these issues wont re-surface. Did your dad’s death have to do with your depression in any way? how did it inspire you to be interested in engineering. Is There is a story there that can be told without too much mental health heaviness
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I would say only write about it if you think you can 100% reassure the AO that your mental health issue is being effectively treated and is, for all practical purposes, behind you and will not affect your college performance or behaviors. You don’t want them to worry that you may become a liability. If you can do that, then I think the topic could be OK.
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My dad was an engineer and I hadn’t talked to him since I was little. He had similar struggles (–>cause of death) so i felt a connection to him after he died that lead me to explore engineering and realize I really enjoyed it. Also a kind of heavy subject…
You might do some essay brainstorming exercises on college essay guy’s website and YouTube channel to generate more ideas for possible essay topics. He also has some actual essays posted.
Read more examples of actual college essays on the websites of JHU, Hamilton and Tufts, they each have dozens of examples out there.
The common app essay does not have to be about a struggle you have overcome nor talk about why your intended major. I wouldn’t focus on mental health issues or have the overall gestalt of the essay be heavy. It’s a tough needle to thread when an applicant includes mental health issues or writes about heavy/dark issues.
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Write out the story and have more than one people read it.
I don’t read admission stuff, but from time to time I read scholarship essays. One of the most impressive and memorable eassy I read was from a student who dropped out of a fancy east coast LAC due to drug and alcohol abuse. Got sober thru rehab and 12 step programs, realigned his life priority and hit a hard reset for his life and is now moving forward. The struggle and how that person overcame that was not only moving but presented in a way that even after years, I still wonder how he did.
I imagine you can take out “mental” and just focus on “illness” and how that has affected your life and ways you overcame that struggle, that would make a moving story and tell the reader about who you are.
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I think you can discuss overcoming some personal challenges without being as specific. How you overcame these, and what this did to help you grow as a person, and a potential college student.
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Talking about your dad and his death is an even harder needle to thread than writing about your own struggles. If I am understanding correctly what you are insinuating, you didn’t have a relationship with your father for many years, so that alone would make this essay a hard sell. Then you are layering on a family history of mental illness. There is nothing wrong or shameful about this history, but from a college’s perspective could introduce a potential liability that a school may not want to assume. Think about it from the AO’s perspective who will be reading your essay. It would be very difficult for many to admit a student if they have concerns about how fragile a student has been and could potentially be on campus.
I agree with the other poster who recommended doing some brainstorming activities to try to find a different topic. Your accomplishments, especially given what you have overcome, are impressive but they are not who you are. Writing about a potential major or an extracurricular is usually not an interesting essay topic anyway. These activities will help you instead to be more reflective and dig deeper. I am sure there is so much more to learn about you that is unrelated to anything you mentioned in your first post. It’s not just avoiding the mental health stigma; the purpose is to show how you are unique and to help and AO imagine how you would fit into a campus community.
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Acknowledging the challenges that these essay topics present…
Writing about mental illness is not nearly as taboo as it once was, given that 1/3 of the class has something. And I have never been one to shy away from essays about death. I say go for it, but you need to commit to making the essay great. That’s what is critical.
You can write about anything. But. Death and mental health is a tough subject. But it’s also a subject that is written about a lot. When I read college essays on here I personally like ones that set you apart. Mental health /death /overcoming low grades is sorta, overdone. Your high school counselor can tell your story in their write up. This will help the college AO get a better picture of the student they want to accept.
The only essay I ever read on death that was good was my daughters. Unique story and she’s an exceptional writer.
I am sure you have a story in you that might be a different flavor. Write down any and everything that comes to mind and see if you can build from there.
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There are volunteer essay readers here on CC so seek that help out once you have written something.
I have seen a few good essays on mental health but the strength was in the writing itself. It is hard to do. But a valid topic if recovery is strong. Depression does tend to recur but nowadays treatments are so available.
So many students see the essay as a way to convey significant personal experience but two of my favorites were about Legos and blueberry muffins, respectively. I remember another one about thrift store shopping: the ending tied it to sustainability but it was wel-written and fun. I suggested to my kids that they look over photos from childhood and that seemed to trigger ideas. Admissions is not a panel of therapists. Just keep that in mind.
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This is good advice. Adding that not all admissions people react the same to essays. For me, I haven’t read many mental health essays that are done well.
Lastly, there are schools where applications with any mention of mental health illness/disorders are tagged and go through a different reading process.
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Years ago, there was a mom in our community who had accidentally killed her child. She had backed out of the garage and run over him in the driveway where he was playing. This was something this woman would tell you within the first hour of meeting her because it was how she defined herself. Why am I telling you this?
The essay is your chance to define yourself for the AO. Mental health challenges and loss are a part of many people’s lives, and they often change the course of them. But in few cases do they define them.
There may be something in the way you recovered that does define you and that could make a great essay. Maybe it’s an ability to focus on one thing and explore it fully and make it interesting and beautiful. Maybe it’s a desire to see what’s not immediate visible. Maybe it’s how you push yourself to a goal. Writing about this – using an example – could make a great essay.
Having achieved this comeback points to something very impressive within you. See if you can write about that rather than why you know you have that trait.
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Even though this was posted over a month ago, I will add my thoughts because yours is a very common question.
First, your transcript is going to clearly show that you have come a long way.
Your struggle was unique to you, but the basic idea is common. If you choose to write about this, what specifically did you do that helped you recover? What aspects of personal growth did you work on, and what concrete things do you have to say about the process?
It is difficult for an essay reader to engage when there is nothing to connect them. For example, it’s hard to visualize anything if a student writes “For many months, I practiced mindfullness.” But if the student wrote, “When I found myself dwelling on negative thoughts, I turned on Taylor Swift and danced to Shake It Off. In that moment, I would feel happy. After a couple of months, it became a routine and I started dancing daily.”
Not tyring to minimize what you went through. I agree with others that from what you have said, neither idea is going to give you the kind of essay that is going to make an AO want to say “this student would be a great addition to our campus.”
What makes you happy? What experiences have you had that bring you joy? I’d find something that reflects positive feelings or actions and write about that if you feel it’s a good representation of you.
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