<p>I’m applying to Wellesley, Smith, Holyoke & Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>Which essay should I run with: the one about my Dad who left school at 12 & how that influenced me… Or the one about the first woman president of my country & how she influenced me?</p>
<p>Think the second one would be apt for Wellesley, but could having a near-illiterate father be my hook?</p>
<p>Imo choose whichever topic allows you to write the most personal, detailed, honest and revealing essay.</p>
<p>The mere fact that your father is near-illiterate is not a hook imo. Experiencing adversity may add to diversity and is imo good preparation for possible setbacks in college, but it is not, by itself, a “hook”. However, if writing about your father allows you to write in a personal, detailed, honest and revealing manner, then that topic could help you in admissions.</p>
<p>Before you write an essay about a woman president, look at the material about Thomas Jefferson in this link from UVa:</p>
<p>[U.Va</a>. Office of Admission Essays](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html]U.Va”>http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html)</p>
<p>There is a lot of good advice there.</p>
<p>If you do decide to write about a woman president, be as close to certain as you can be that your essay is so personal, detailed, honest and revealing that no one else on earth could write it.</p>
<p>Thank you for your time. I really appreciate your opinion and the link!</p>