<p>in my essay, i not only discuss why brandeis would be a better fit, but i discuss how i have grown as a student since high school. i mention that many of many friends were becoming drug addicts and dealers towards the end of high school and i realized that my path was different from them. does this allusion to a time where i used drugs limit my chances because, as another poster commented “colleges dont want people whove done illegal things?”</p>
<p>I would just leave the part about you taking drugs yourself out of the essay.</p>
<p>Agree. Growing away from friends who were descending into a drug culture could be part of a good essay, and I like your phrasing that you “realized your path was different.” Not clear that you would have to “allude” to your having used drugs yourself.</p>