Should I write my essay on facing depression?

intparent
Thu, 26 Feb 2015 04:12:01 +0000

Isn’t this the whole point of the essay?? To show that I’m more than some numbers and statistics?

No! The point of the essay is to make them WANT you on campus. The point of the essay is to get admissions to say “yes, that person adds some spark or special interest to our student body”. I think students forget that admissions officers don’t really know you… all they get is this tiny slice of you that shows up in the components of your application. I am sure there is something more positive and interesting in your life that you can write about. But I get the sense you have already written the essay, and now just want to defend it. We do see students do this all the time out here. Sometimes they can’t be dissuaded. Just know that this does not make for the strongest application that you can put forward.

It may be “burning to come out of you”, but you do not have to write your college essay about it. Blog, journal, submit it to a magazine, whatever. But it isn’t a great topic for admissions.