<p>This is sort of a weird question, but…here goes.
Before I submitted my hopkins supplement, I decided to show my supplement essay to my parents. My essay pretty much centered on how intially “hating” and “despising” a subject eventually made me love it and want to major in it [First sentence: “I had always hated chemistry.”]. However both my parents feel that it’s totally inappropriate to use ‘hate’, etc, and think I should replace it with something…less strong. I haven’t gotten a chance to show the essay to anyone else and therefore haven’t gotten any input from anyone else.
So, is it okay to use ‘hate’? I mean, I personally think it adds to the effect of my essay, but…my parents have made me paranoid about it :p</p>
<p>there are other ways of saying you hate something/someone.</p>
<p>For instance, I would not say that I hated my Chemistry teacher. Thats too direct.</p>
<p>Instead, I would say: I am deeply troubled by his existence. I also question his mere existence. </p>
<p>Hate is such a strong word. lol >_<</p>
<p>As peace-loving Americans, thou shall not hate others.</p>
<p>Ah, I didn’t say I hated my teacher [haha I’d never say that], just the subject of chemistry itself.
Maybe I should just change it to ‘dislike’ or something…</p>
<p>lol.</p>
<p>dislike is a more appropriate word indeed.</p>
<p>hurry up and finish that essay</p>
<p>In my opinion, if you want to use the word “hate” and you think it appropriately presents what you want to state, then go ahead and use it. If I am evaluating an essay and I read the word “hate” in the context that you are discussing I would not pause. It is different if you use the word “hate” in relation to a person, but in the context that you describe if that is the word you want to use then use it. I have seen much worse words used in essays that should never have been there before.</p>
<p>Interesting note: when I asked my parents about the use of the word “hate” in a college essay they both said they would be against it. Maybe it is a generational thing – I think with younger generations the word “hate” does not carry as much a negative and offensive tone as it does for some older generations. I think the same with the word “sucks.” Who knows?</p>
<p>think about it: JHU is gonna get a ton of supplements w/essays that consist of people TELLING the admissions people what they love/prefer to study. the small percentage of applicants that are granted admissions (for the most part) SHOW the admissions people, rather than TELL, what they want to study. </p>
<p>the mark of a good essay is one that uses creative description to show a certain feeling.</p>
<p>EDIT: neonseri has great advice =)</p>