<p>Okay I don’ mean like committing an actual crime, but using a wrong address in order to get into a better public school. I was caught, and it lead to a lot of problems in my family and in school, and now today I am very passionate about educational equity and think I could write a really good essay about it. But is it bad to write an admissions essay about doing something illegal?</p>
<p>bad idea, you don’t want to give them ANY reason to reject your application.</p>
<p>Restate: MY PARENTS faked an address in order to get me into a better school. Does it make it any better if I make it clear that it wasn’t my decision?</p>
<p>Can’t you write an essay about educational equality without writing about your parents’ deception?</p>
<p>It’s questionable and like i said, you don’t want to give them ANY reason to reject your application. </p>
<p>Furthermore, while this isn’t the worst thing ever it does cast doubt on your morality. What other bad things have you done? </p>
<p>It’s too risky, you should stay away.</p>
<p>Isn’t it supposed to be personal? And I don’t think my parents are wrong in what they did or “deceptive”; they were afraid.</p>
<p>I agree with above posters, just talk about the inequality without mentioning the lie. Something else to consder-- your parents may be sending important information to the college (ex. financial aid forms). If they lied about their address, wouldn’t that also raise red flags when they are filling out other important information?</p>
<p>How do you write an effective essay without making it personal?</p>
<p>You asked if it was bad, and yes, it probably won’t do you any favors. </p>
<p>An effective essay doesn’t necessarily have to be truly, completely detailed and accurate. It doesn’t always have to lead from point A to point B. Sometimes you can skip lines a bit to convert a certain notion. This is clearly something you feel strongly about, so is there any other way you can showcase your passion for fairness? Is there any other anecdote that might not show any kind of questionable activity? </p>
<p>In the end, the personal essay is all about YOU. Not about your parents, your teachers, your classmates; about YOU. So wouldn’t you rather use your limited impression to focus solely on you? Wouldn’t you rather the committee not spend too much time thinking about the character of your parents? </p>
<p>Good luck, and keep brainstorming!</p>
<p>Definitely do NOT do that. Even if you have a lot to say about it. Don’t give the adcom a reason to reject you if you don’t have to.</p>
<p>I’m kinda having trouble seeing why they would be so judgemental about this. Do colleges seriously think that no one they accept has smoked pot or drank alcohol (I haven’t done either), both of which are more serious offenses than what my family did.
BTW, my first choice college is Macaulay Honors, which is automatic-full tuition, so will filling out financial aid forms even be an issue? </p>
<p>Anyways, I’d think it’d be difficult to write about myself without mentioning my hometown (bad school district) and how I feel like I didn’t get to know it well, and also how moving from it after we were caught affected me. My life goal is to make my hometown a place where people don’t have to be afraid of their public schools and I honestly don’t know how to convey that without mentioning how it was that I never went to the public schools there.</p>
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This is exactly the problem. If you have questionable morals about falsifying documents to get into a better school what else would you do to get ahead? How else do you bend right/wrong to justify your actions… What I’m getting at is pointing out other people “wrongdoings” doesn’t justify your actions.</p>
<p>Petlover, I know that in some places, such as New York City, what you’re describing is incredibly common. What we’re trying to tell you is that outside those places, what you’re describing is almost completely unheard of and kind of shocking. (It’s a little bit like the way it is in some developing countries, where government officials are paid next to nothing and expect to be bribed. That’s just how they feed their families. The locals are used to it, but Americans find it absolutely scandalous.) So you run something of a risk in telling people what your family has done if they don’t understand how things work where you live.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t run that risk if I were applying to college, and I would strongly advise my own kids not to run it either. Obviously, you can make up your own mind.</p>