One thing I love is that people can share different perspectives here! I share a different perspective than my friend @Alqbamine32’s take that the essay is primarily about showing your writing skills. Yes an essay should show that you can write at a certain level, but in my opinion that is the threshold competency at play, not the competitive advantage, for most young students. (Threshold competency is the price you pay to toss your name into the metaphorical ring; it’s rarely how you win a game.)
The primary goal of an essay as I see it is: it’s a chance to present yourself thoughtfully, without being interrupted or guided by an interviewer, removing any interviewing jitters.
The goal is: make it clear what you bring to the picnic.
Invite the reader into your world. You are successful if AO can:
- talk about you in shorthand to another person (something I call the ‘cafeteria test’ – meaning an AO who sits with another AO at the cafeteria and says “oh I just reviewed the application of the kid who XYZ – fill in the blank --” and the other AO knows exactly who they are talking about, then you have passed the cafeteria test, and
- Would love to have coffee with you to learn more (I call this the coffee test) and
- Could imagine how a student might fit in and add to the community and how the community might help this kid along on their journey in life.
It’s essentially a curated interview that YOU have complete control over, and it is also the lens through which they will view the rest of the application and put it all in context. A good essay can make the AO be cheering for you as they read the rest of your application.
So back to the OP question about the suggest topic:
I think anything is fair game as long as you do a good job of explaining the “so what” of the topic, or as my high school English teacher (at masters school!) used to say: “so what is the big deal here?” AND – the “big deal” should probably not be super obvious or predictable. So, coming out – that’s a fine topic – I love the vulnerability – but it’s NOT the “so what.” Remember - the “so what” is far more compelling if it’s NOT the “typical” expectation given the topic.
More about the “so-what” – if you can link the “so what” to something else in your life, more powerful.
And then link that “so what” to future dreams, even better.
I’ll give you an example to illustrate:
A daughter of mine was a star volleyball player in middle school and she wrote an essay about it.
Expected “so whats” might include things about sports, commitment, hard work, perseverance, etc etc etc. These would be a huge missed opportunity (because everyone already knows that sports requires hard work, losing, winning, perseverance, etc etc etc…)
But her “so what” was that she played the setter position, which means she was the person calling the shots on the fly during the game to her teammates. So she talked about how she loved gathering data very quickly and making high-stress quick decisions.
And then she mentioned that she also did this as the floor manager of her school’s daily live TV News show – calling the camera shots live while on air. And that she loved math because it was like making quick, but informed, decisions.
And then she linked quick decision-making skills to an activity she hoped to pursue at the school, and to her eventual career plans.
Ok so that’s just a random small example, so show you what I mean: the “so-what” matters most, and it is more compelling if it’s not telegraphed by the topic choice.
Regarding the unofficial experience @ameridad has seen about kids writing about coming out not faring well in admissions – well I would bet almost anything it’s because they thought that coming out WAS the “so-what” and missed their chance to tell the admissions team something more meaningful. Luckily, we live in a world where sexual orientation isn’t the “BIG DEAL” it once was – at least for most people. I hope we get to a day where it’s a non-big-deal for all people. :).
So, @jumpingehehe – I love your thinking on this and am cheering you on! My advice is: Dig deep and really get to the so-what of this coming out story in you, and then be sure tell THAT story.
and ultimately – you also can read all these pieces of advice and then do what your heart truly wants. This is your essay time. :).