Is it an advantage or disadvantage to write about 3 generation of engineers in my family? Will any achievements be viewed in the light of the support from the family? Also it might be viewed as a bragging.
It could raise the bar for the school’s expectations about u, like why haven’t u won the Siemens Science competition yet?
It really depends on what you say and how you say it. It is not an intrinsically bad thing to have a high achievling family.
It’s all in the way you say things. I think a light-hearted essay about how it was inevitable that you would be an engineer could be charming. Or you could just sound like you had no imagination. I don’t see that anyone would think it was bragging unless you made it a brag.
My older son wrote an essay about how he was encouraged in computer programming from a very early age by family and then by various elementary school teachers.
Thank you everyone for confirming that this is a bad idea. Between person with no imagination and not winning Siemens competition I got my answer.
Hm, I disagree with the others. I worked with a student whose parents are both math teachers/professors (masters level, not PhD). He’s great in math and he talked about how they set the bar high. He also used a boatload of math puns that probably went right over the heads of admissions officers, but it was a great essay.
Be real. Be funny if you are. Talk about what it means to come from this family and what they taught you. I see no problems with it.
Did you misunderstand my post? I think it’s a fine idea. If you can put a little humor in it all the better. But try it out. My younger son tried out a couple of ideas for his main essay and it was pretty clear what worked and didn’t. One essay that he felt didn’t work at all for the main personal essay turned out to be great for a question about what his favorite EC was.
Is this essay optional or not? I know Tufts for example asks
There is a Quaker saying: “Let your life speak.” Describe the environment in which you were raised – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – and how it influenced the person you are today. (200–250 words)
I mean, what are you going to say, that you never heard of engineering before? My kids were raised in a very academic and intellectual environment YET they are good student and nothing more. In that respect NO college ever should admit them because they should have been immortals by now. Are you people serious??? If someone’s dad is an engineer then the kid is ok only if he/she wins intel otherwise a total failure?
To answer the question I do not think it is a disadvantage or advantage and it is what it is. The important thing is how you write it and how you make it meaningful to your story. On the other hand if you do not have to write about your background and you have something else interesting to say do so.
I’m not seeing how that would be construed as something to brag about.