You can write about bullying, coming out, political opinions, death and loss, depression, anxiety, drugs, religion, or any other sensitive
topic
in your college essay. In fact, you can write anything you want as long as you have a good reason for doing so.
What are good topics for college essays?
- Memorable meals. Everyone eats! …
- Outdoor activities. The first time I ever advised a student on their college application essay, I worked with a quiet student, a guy who disappeared into the back of his classes. …
- Challenges. …
- Failure. …
- Commitment.
What words should you not use in a college essay?
- 1) Contractions. …
- 2) Idioms. …
- 3-5) “So on,” “etc,” “and so forth“ …
- 6) Clichés. …
- 7-11) “Thing,” “stuff,” “good,” “bad,” “big“ …
- 12) Slang, jargon, teen speak. …
- 13) Rhetorical questions.
Should I write about my mental illness in college essay?
All counselors interviewed for this piece agreed that students' college essays
should not be about their struggles with
mental health. … Vinik says that mental health problems should only be shared in the essay if the college would not be able to understand the applicant without knowing about this part of her.
Is it okay to swear in a college essay?
As expressed in an article of “The Daily Beast,”
don't use profanities in your college essays
. It's a major mistake. … Otherwise, he would have gotten in.” If cursing didn't take the cake, another Ivy League admissions counselor said this about an essay: “We had one great line.
What should never occur in an essay?
Don't try to ‘wow' the reader with grandiose statements or pithy quotes that broadly relate to your topic. The trouble with such trite openings is that they do not focus your reader.
Rhetorical questions
are also a bad choice for a first sentence. You are writing an essay, not a blog entry.
What should you not do in an essay?
- Writing a Synopsis, Not An Analytical Essay. …
- Not Having a Strong Thesis Statement. …
- Using Too Many Quotes in An Essay. …
- Plagiarism. …
- Making Grammar, Spelling and Pronoun Mistakes. …
- Not Having a Good Bibliography. …
- Using Resources That Aren't Credible. …
- Want to improve your essay writing skills?
Do colleges look at mental health records?
Instead, college students' health records fall under the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act
, which gives parents the right to inspect their children's records at an educational institution. … Universities walk a fine line when providing that treatment or mental-health services to students.
How does depression affect your school work?
Depression and anxiety affect all areas of an individual's well-being including sleep, diet, mental and physical health, self esteem, social interaction and
academic performance
. Students who have these disorders are at risk of suffering from poor academic performance and resistance to anything school-related.
What should a college know about you?
- Leadership.
- A willingness to take risks.
- Initiative.
- A sense of social responsibility.
- A commitment to service.
- Special talents or abilities.
Do colleges care if you curse?
Colleges know that
people swear sometimes
, obviously, but excessive vulgarity will not reflect well upon you.
Can I cuss in college?
No
. There is a governing body that limits the amount of swear words you use. When you first get on the college campus, you are fitted with a monitoring device under the skin that records and senses profanity. Depending on the school, you get the latitude to use 1–100 profane words a day.
Can you say you in college essay?
On a high school essay, it's generally not appropriate to use the first-person. Not only is it fine to make “I” statements in your application essays, but
colleges expect your essays to sound like you, too
! Always be yourself in your application, not the candidate you think admissions committees want to see.
What can I use instead of I in an essay?
Ways of Avoiding Pronouns “I”, “You” and “We” in an Essay. You can replace the pronouns ‘I', ‘You', and ‘We' by replacing them with an acceptable wording, applying
passive voice
instead of pronouns, Using a third-person perspective, adopting an objective language and including strong verbs and adjectives.
Can you use their in a formal essay?
Now that we have established that
first-person and second-person pronouns cannot be used in formal essays
, while third-person pronouns (i.e. he, him, his, himself, she, her, herself, it, its, itself, they, them, their, and themselves) may be used when necessary, you must be looking for an alternative to these pronouns.
