My son has been working on his applications and is wondering whether discussing his experience with Cystic Fibrosis is something he should bring up. With advances in medication his health is great and with some luck will continue to be for a long time. While having CF has certainly been a huge part of his life story, he does not feel like it defines who he is. Has anyone had experience with applicants who are dealing with this issue? He has an inspiring story ( played high school soccer, runs cross country) which might track but he does not want to focus on the problems he has faced. How do admissions people generally react to these types of essays?
Since it doesn’t define him, it shouldn’t be the topic of an essay and there’s no need to call it out. I don’t think it’s a problem to mention it in a way that show how it may have introduced him to something he loves or an idea, and I don’t think it’ll move the needle in either direction. Which is to say if it comes up organically in an essay, it’s fine to mention it. Or not. Overall, the essay should make the reader think “this would be a great kid to have on campus”. So the thing to think about is how having CF does that. He sounds like a great kid with a lot going on, so there is probably something more he can write about.
It doesn’t define him and he doesn’t want to focus on the problems he’s faced - so find something else to write about.
What’s his favorite cross country trail or soccer position? Why does he prefers pencils to pens? Why he uses a toaster instead of a microwave.
You need to show his personality but it needn’t be a direct topic. A Yale admittee by me wrote about the exhilaration of waiting for pizza delivery. Another about the yellow fuzz on a tennis ball. If I recall the story, last week, one poster said one of the best essays she read was about a blueberry muffin.
Anyway to answer your question - don’t do it because based on your words, he doesn’t want to.
You want a school to want him on campus. Pity - if that’s how it would come off - would not be that reason.
Good luck to him. Sounds like a fine young man.
It depends on how the essay is written. One of the best essays I read last cycle was about a topic that most people would have said not to write about but this student’s personality, compassion, and positive outlook on life came shining through. The students was successful in matching with an amazing school through Questbridge.
My advice is if your son wants to write about this, have him do a draft. He has nothing to lose by giving it a go and seeing if it works. If it doesn’t, move on to a different topic.
And CC has a free essay service if your son is interested in getting some feedback (he’ll just need to start his own account). College essay guys also have a guideline for how to effectively discuss a medical condition in an essay (also free).
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Your son can get essay help here: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/follow-these-instructions-to-get-essay-help
Please note, the service is aimed at students. Parents are not eligible.
The most important thing about his essay is that it be authentic. If there’s something about his experience with cystic fibrosis that he has to say, then by all means he should say it. The daughter of friends of ours was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was in high school. She wrote about that experience on her college essay and was accepted to Harvard. She survived her battle with cancer and today she’s a doctor, bringing that empathy which she developed as a result of her cancer experience to the patients whom she treats. 
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I think it is fine to mention it if it fits with the rest of the essay. My daughter is similar to your son, CF definitely doesn’t define who she is. She did weave having CF into her main essay because it fit with the narrative, but it wasn’t the main topic. Her involvement with Great Strides, clinical trials, and the CF Foundation Teen Advocacy program also naturally came up in supplemental essays about community, etc.
BTW, you are probably already aware, but there are some nice scholarships available for kids with CF. They are competitive, but worth applying for. Vertex and the Boomer Esiason Foundation are two of the big ones.
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