“And why that makes you better than other 17 year olds” Seriously how am I supposed to argue I deserve to go to this college more than the millions of other kids who also want to go to college?
They do not care about those papers they only care about your ACT score, GPA, legacy or not, and skin color so don’t sweat on the essay no one is going to read it
@@reesespuffs._. thats a straight up lie bro. They do read it but they want to learn about the person and people with worse upbringing are more as youd say marketable. kinda like a bragging thing
@@allisond.46 I'm not sure if this is true of Cornell or not, but sometimes being "legacy" can actually work against you, because they take it to mean you're rich.
Remember, you have to tell them you HAD depression and loads of issues. Don't make them feel like you still HAVE them. They want a pity story that ends about a year before applying, where your life suddenly became easy because of ✨ motivation✨.
Yes, so I HAD ptsd, bpd, bipolar, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and adhd but I magically got cured 😀 (obvi through the power of MENTAL STRENGTH AND WILLPOWER)
😭 this makes me think of like in school we had to write a speech about special possessions and my friends were like “You’re lucky you have a dead parent” and I’m like “This is the only situation someone could ever say that” 💀
@@brookie9833 Lmaooo the fun stuff for me is making a your mom joke (which aren’t funny alone) and then when someone makes one back I can just troll and tell them she’s dead it’s funny to get reactions 😭 ig some people do that anyway but like I can do that being honest
@@ancalagonite434omg this reminds me of when my friend was messing with me as a joke and i said "youre being mean, im getting my dad on you bro" and i came back in holding his urn 😭😭😭 the silence was so funny, i always wondered if other people with dead parents joke about it to cope as much i do
@spiderSocietySS yes we do! I love hearing other people's way of dead parent jokes bc I can use them irl 🤪 one of my fav moments is when someone was calling me short and I looked them in the eye and said I'm 11 feet taller than my dad thank you very much. The processing then realization was purely hilarious.
I got a $32,000 scholarship writing a college essay about the time I signed up for and passed lifeguard classes despite barely being able to swim. "yeah, I almost drowned in the 20 lap swim test, but I tried really hard and didn't drown, so now I'm certified to rescue children who, like me, can't swim"
Did you tell them “ It was an important job for me because I wanted to let kids know and look up to an older kid who also cant swim but can do everything just as if they could”
I once had to write something moving like this to read in front of the class and the girl who went before me talked about her childhood struggles with cancer... I wrote about seeing a bald eagle for the first time...
I was instructed to do the opposite and I compared myself to a rice cooker, which helped me into several unis. One acceptance letter even had a note specificially talking about my essay. Honestly they read so many "dead grandma" stories that they'll probably remember you more if you're not straight up trauma dumping.
Commenting in case you add context. I could see someone making that analogy beautiful in a lot of ways, but I am interested in how you did it. Obviously, you made it meaningful. Would love some examples of comparisons you made
Y’all I wrote my college essay on the psychology of Tangled(yes the Disney movie) and how people underestimate the value and depth of cartoons, and that essay got me into UMass Amherst and Boston University. You can write your essay about whatever makes you happy, they just want to see you and know you’re gonna take yourself places :)
one of the topics i planned for a potential essay was about my favorite k-pop group’s storyline and how i relate to all the different members. idk if that would do well but it’s worth a shot i guess
This is weirdly accurate but also the “worst thing that happened to you” can’t be so traumatic or unhealthy that they question your stability and capability to perform. There’s a fine balance between a serious challenge and a debilitating weakness. And mental health issues are often stigmatized and discriminated against.
I also feel like it's kind of unhealthy to like focus on what makes you "broken" so much. I mean you have to acknowledge reality but should I think so deeply about things that are legitimately traumatic? I was an art student (graduated!) And it was a lot of baring your trauma.
Exactly. If I were giving someone with serious PTSD college essay advice, it would be to literally write about anything OTHER than your trauma. Just make sure that it’s written well
I don't even have a lotta trauma or something. Just your stereotypical harsh parenting, and I just did well in school because I tried, I did stuff and it worked(but not so well that the ECs just take over) so...I'm screwed.
@@lampoilropebombs0640 you can literally write about anything, it just has to be well written. In fact, not writing about your trauma can make your paper stand out. Try looking up the pizza college essay
I remember, I wrote my essay, got in, but the money they gave me wasn't enough for me to go. I wrote them back, basically saying "Well, your loss," and listed why they wanted me and they ended up seriously raising my grants. I recommend that method - colleges seem to value self-confidence and determination.
could you please elaborate on the things you listed? bc i have heard a few students messaging the dean and getting more financial aids and i would really love to have more info. ty
@@needybangnaldo The specific person I emailed was the dean of admissions. I basically just told them "Hey, I'd really like to come, and I've done a lot more than you seem to think that I did" and my money was upped. It was honestly way more simple than I thought. I also have a feeling it changes depending on what sort of college you are planning on going to - colleges with tons of applicants may be more hesitant to respond to this than smaller colleges. I specifically did this at a small private liberal arts college.
I was born with glass bones and paper skin. Every morning I break my legs, and every afternoon I break my arms, at night I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep…
Had to take care of my severely disabled former military dad for the first six years of my life, and then helped my mother deal with the grief over losing him, looks like getting into college is gonna be easy! :)
@@allisond.46 She did her best, but being a full time caretaker is very difficult and can be detrimental to the caretakers health, both physical and emotional, so I had to help a lot
That really sucks. If you want to write about that, make sure you talk about you as a person, not just what you went through! Maybe you took care of your parents in a unique way, or were able to hold together for them in a way that's unique to you.
As someone who worked both for college admission offices and high schools, this is pretty accurate. If you're struggling to think of a college essay topic, I always tell my students, "You are 18 or are about to be 18. You are an adult, even if you don't feel like it. Tell me about the time you first felt like an adult. What was the one moment where you felt like you matured the most, and why did it make you feel that way? Don't talk about sex, drugs, or your significant other." If you follow that prompt (which applies to options 1 and 7 of the Common App and option 1 of the Coalition App), you're gunna have a pretty good essay.
@alongwaytogo6173 being an adult isn't about being a stuck up tight ass, or even about having your shit together. It's about maturity and responsibility. Figure out when you started taking on real responsibilities (not like taking the trash out or doing the dishes) and you'll figure out what you can write your essay on.
i wrote my best college essay about how ive had severe chronic pain since i was 7. my teacher ate that shit up and told me that as long as i kept it on-message, i could get into basically wherever.
i was actually told to NOT write a “sob story” because they have become so common (graduated 2022). I have depression so i was going to write about overcoming that obstacle in life but my college counselor (went to a prep school) told me “Sad stories are too common now, write about something you’re passionate about” and so I wrote an essay on how fanfiction is a valid form of literature because many mainstream and big-time films are in that category, including The Lion King (Hamlet), and i got into my five schools i applied to! I’m studying Forensic Science at University of New Haven- go chargers!
Thought about writing mine about fanfic too (could nerd out about it for forever), but ended up writing about helping a customer at work. That was fine and got me into college, but I just think it's awesome to hear about someone who turned their passion for fic into their college essay! It sounds like a really cool read and it's nice to hear other people talk about fic in a positive light. :) Btw, I'm happy to hear you're in school, and I hope life is finding you well! Depression sucks, take care friend. 💜
Remember, 90% of the time, if they would deny you for a program, the degree you would get is not worth the money. Go to community college, get your associates, and if you still need more education after for your degree, go to a public university and apply for every single scholarship you can. I came away with only around $2k in loans from doing this and had a job within 3 months (granted, that was March of 2020, but I still had the job even if it was remote).
especially if you didn't do that well in highschool, if you try hard at community college, you don't have to provide SAT scores anymore and they only take your college gpa, which can help a lot with which scholarships you can apply to.
yes please kids, learn from the mistakes of us millennials and don't go around thinking that the standard 4 year university experience is really the Magic Ticket to Success, or that the loans will easily pay for themselves afterward
Deadass wrote about witnessing my friend having a violent seizure at band camp and how I was so busy comforting her crying sister that nobody comforted me. It worked tho I got in.
@@allisond.46 yeah, she sent custom seizure memes to the discord like thirty minutes after she got home from the hospital as her way of letting us know she was good
My essay was about how as an athlete, being told I could no longer do sports after a severe head trauma accident, and how having music during my healing process is what motivated me to start a new chapter in my life, including my recovery with memory issues and post-concussive disorder. Got into all of the colleges I applied to (music & game design dual major/audio engineer depending on the uni), but I was so scared of getting rejected that I only applied to 3 total. Currently at my reach school as a 2nd Year, but to this day I wonder what life would be like if I had the courage to apply to all of those other schools. A happy ending, but to any applicants out there, don’t be afraid to reach out and apply to all the schools you are interested in. ALL of em- you might be stuck wondering what the options could have been (like me) if not. Anyways, much love :) 💜
@@KaiLucasZachary if it’s an evil warden who loves pain, he might laugh. Or an expectant mother amused by the kicks of the baby growing inside of her. Which is what the OP’s joke was in reference to lol
@@mahroosh1077 thank you for the sympathy haha. i do appreciate it. he was 18 and just got out of rehab for drug addiction. we thought he was clean. the first time he bought cocaine that year (2017), someone laced it with a lethal dose of fentanyl. he came home at like 3 in the morning and woke me up because our dogs were barking. i didn't want to say anything to him in case he told mom i was up past my bedtime (i was 10 going on 11). he went into the bathroom and i watched him through the crack of the door snort the drugs. and then flush the remains down the toilet. as if he was saying "this is my last time. i'm good now." i woke up 3 hours later at 6 AM to my family screaming and looking in his bedroom. he was dead on his bed. i say "murder" because a LOT of people don't classify it as murder, but it is. he was poisoned and i will take that to my grave.
Mine was about how I spent my entire “vacation” after Hurricane Harvey mucking out people’s houses for free, and how even after school resumed I kept mucking out houses every weekend until we were no longer allowed to because the remaining homes had developed black mold and we’d need hazmat suits. I think writing about the old woman we couldn’t help because of the black mold and her husband who had just been hospitalized due to respiratory issues from the mold really clinched my full tuition and student fees scholarship
I actually read my sister essay and it was AMAZING. She wrote about her being dyslexic and how hard it was. I’m so proud of her, it was really well wrote❤(she had the corrections on)
My motivation to becoming a nurse was to help people and that’s what most my family does (emt, dispatch, nurse, etc.) but I had no story to back my motivation. So I was forced to use my open chest heart surgery as a 3yr old to explain why. They treated me so well and I wanna be like them. I don’t remember any of that!
Bro deadass for my college application I was like “I’m not gonna complain about my life I know it’s bad, been there done that.” Got $1000 scholarship lol
As someone who's been in college for 5 years, this is hilarious. 😂 I wrote about how music got me through a lot of hard times and mentioned my depression too. If I knew I had anxiety and other issues back then, I would've probably included those. 😅💀
It’s actually crazy how some of the best essays aren’t about sob stories or trauma, but just interesting things about you and your life and how that relates to your personal philosophy/becoming more mature/motivation etc
I remember applying for about 5 to 6 different scholarships before my freshman year of college, most of them where I had to write essays. I was rejected from all of them within a week of submission before they even started considering different submissions, because they saw that I came from a stable family with a stable income, and was happy in life. Needless to say that was the last time I tried applying for scholarships, I know I'm not going to get anything
This may be the most relatable video ever. I’m in this exact situation rn and it’s awful. This is mostly because I’ve done almost nothing with my life and have nothing to write about.
same dawg i have a lot of trauma to write abt but no accomplishments and i know writing abt a horrible childhood w no "outcome" will get me rejected. im an international applicant and our country is very academically centred so i dont have stellar ec's either. im in the biggest limbo ever
Start small. What's something in your day to day life that you love? Is there someone you care about? Why? What do you often spend your time doing (were talking anything here y'all. Video games, reading, drawing, working, etc)? What is a moment where you felt like an adult? Start there.
@@caidyothe outcome is that you are here. What helped get you through that trauma? Could be anything. For some people it's a person, for others a passion, sometimes it's persistence.
if you don't have any interesting experiences then share some interesting opinions or worldviews, at least you can show them you can make a compelling argument for something
I wrote mine about my Mother dying when i was a kid and like three colleges sent me condolences and letters of ‘we have great people to talk to if your go [insert college]’. It was so funny to me
I tried doing this, couldn’t bring myself to finish writing the paper, and decided to go to community college (which confused everyone around me since I had good grades). Any who I think this time I’ll just right about my love for painting or some nonsense. Who would have thought trying to write a quick quirky essay about the most traumatic moment of my life would be difficult 😂
My AP English teacher showed me essays that students wrote that got them into college, one was about the bathroom, another was about costco. Really, don't sweat it, it doesn't have to be a remarkable event
This is so insane to me as a Swede💀 Here we just apply with whichever is better between our grades from highschool or our result on the college entrance exam (which you can take twice a year however many times you want), and that’s it. No college essay, no extracurriculars, no nothing. We don’t have any legacy admissions (or affirmative action for that matter). It’s purely numeric, automated even. And then it’s all free of course, and we even get very favorable state loans to cover our cost of living. You Americans deserve so much better than what your god-awful system is giving you. Hope things get better for you guys!
Free? Lol Amazing. Meanwhile we have what's called a student loan debt crisis here rapidly spinning out of control. most four your universities see themselves as businesses here who just happened to provide educational options.
this is so strange to me as a UK student, my personal statement was literally just about how much I love maths and I ended up getting offers from every university I applied to
I was born at a very young age.. it was so bright and overwhelming. I screamed and cried but no one cared. No one understood me. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t walk, all I did was cry. I even shit my pants. I couldn’t do anything at all… and was taken and washed under a sink. My life had just started… I couldn’t let it end… 👿
I struggled about what I wanted to write my college essay about. I have issues with writing about my own struggles. I ended up writing my essay about what I wanted to one day do with my degree. I want to be a bioengineer so that I can help people, most importantly my friends and family who suffer from chronic conditions. I don't know if the essay improved my chances or not, but I still got into school. When I was having trouble figuring out what to write I talked to a friend about what she was writing about. Turns out she was writing about how a chronic condition with her legs led her to being paralyzed from the waist down for a few years, unable to leave a wheel chair, and seeing no way forward tried to take her own life. She did eventually regain use of her legs, but still has the chronic condition that caused her paralysis. The worst part is that the doctors couldn't actually identify anything wrong with the legs themselves, meaning the problen was either the nerves or the processing of signals in the brain, things that aren't easily treatable. Anyway, I was a little jealous that she had a much better essay than her, and she was a little flattered that I indirectly mentioned her in mine.
Its not about the worst thing that happened to you, its about how you overcame it. Im a musical theatre nerd who is slowly going deaf, and how I taught myself ASL. I wrote about how I was able to adapt to that situation and how it informed my choice of school. That said, I got a lot of trauma. I have bipolar and averaged 5-7 psych ward stays a year until I started ketamine. I was sexually tortured in middle school and have ptsd as a result. I was in an abusive relationship with a literal psychopath. But I wrote about none of that because its stuff that happened to me, not stuff I did. Its not about me and what im capable of.
when i was born, i didn't even talk to my parents for 1,5 years, after that, i realised that i have a voice and talked to my parents for the 1st time. In fact, i still remember the conversation we had Me: ''Mama, uhhh gugu gaga :D'' mom: "ok''
yes its so sad i wasn't even able to access basic communication for a whole year and couldn't even use my legs properly for MONTHS but i slowly learnt to build myself up... btw i was only 0 years old i was so young :(((
I wrote about how I moved away from Catholic school my senior year because I was poor and needed in-state scholarships. And my college gave me a scholarship for being a national merit finalist. If it’d been six months later, I’d probably have written about getting assaulted, but 10K a year isn’t shabby at all for an essay I wrote that was due the next day.
One of the colleges I replied to actually replied back and thanked me for sharing such a personal story. Either everyone there was real privileged or the essay reader was very new to the job, but it made me feel good ❤
Meanwhile, my newest school accepted me, called me “Student” in a “personalized letter” then asked for me to submit my previous college transcripts that I had included with the essay that was apparently so delightful to read. lol
When my sister applied to Cornell her guidance counselor told her not to even apply because she wouldn't get in... after she got in the counselor was fired lol
My father went to jail, my parents are divorced so I grew up with a lower class single mom for most of my childhood, I’ve been relentlessly bullied since about the age of 9, people told me they will never again be associated with me because of who my father was and what he had done. He was a pedophile. Can I make it to college?
Your story is exactly what my boy went through, he was younger though homeland security raided the house and his dad was a wanted pedophile, his mom didn’t really care about them and lived off food stamps and the government eventually leaving him to go to Korea to remarry (she’s white and obese lol)for his brother to take care of
@@blank7326 I wouldn’t say exactly the same, my mom tried her hardest and really cared about us, and we’re actually pretty good financially now, and I’ve got an amazing step dad who helps as well.
Literally just submitted my college apps today, and when I read the essay to my bsf, she said it was dark. And I replied, “I chose to think that if I overload them with all the bad, and how I overcame it, they’re less likely to say no because… guilt.”
Not in college but in high school. Favorite essay I ever wrote was a "short" story about a fictional girl who was in a car crash and temporarily lost her vision but was permanently paralyzed waist down...idk why I wrote it so darkly but it's fun
Yup. I have a terrible chronic illness and functioning day to day is a monstrous task. I wrote my essay about how i want to be just like the scientists that made my life easier with medicine. Despite the fact that no medicine i've ever taken helps. Remember kids, if they think you're STILL sick, they won't accept you 😊
Fr it sometimes feels like that. I didn't try to write a pity story. But it seems that whenever people do, they get accepted. Even though they claim that's not how it works.
This is literally me because I grew up in a loving Christian household and didnt get myself in bad situations/relationships to be abused emotionally, physically, or sexually. It kinda sucks that I'm told im not allowed to say anything about anything because I'm a healthy, normal, middle class, straight white male. Also sucks that I'm told by society that I'm by default, a horrible person, but I guess it never really bothers me. I just keep doing what I'm doing and thank God that I don't have the struggles that some have.
You don’t have any emotional or psychological struggles then you have to show you were either productive, collaborated with your community, or that you challenged yourself. Society doesn’t say you are by default a horrible person. It says you are statistically likely to financially struggle less.
Graduaded over 10 years ago at this point but i wrote about how I loved Video Games, what it meant to me as a kid and how that inspired me to look into engineering. I got accepted somewhere which was rather impressive considering my grades in HS.
I wrote mine about cicadas and got into every school I applied to. Granted, most of those were art schools and it’s 5 years later and I don’t have a degree, but my English teacher said I had the best essay in my class
I was born at a very young age, and I couldn’t even walk. I couldn’t do anything for myself. Even shit my own pants
You are so inspirational 😭😢✊
You couldn't even shit your own pants thats crazy 😭
Man I wish I could use this next year 😪 but that's copyright but beautiful story
same, although when i was born it was all
black and i couldn't see
you're so strong and brave how did you overcome this grave strugle
“And why that makes you better than other 17 year olds”
Seriously how am I supposed to argue I deserve to go to this college more than the millions of other kids who also want to go to college?
They do not care about those papers they only care about your ACT score, GPA, legacy or not, and skin color so don’t sweat on the essay no one is going to read it
@@reesespuffs._.cap
@@reesespuffs._.”NO ASIANS” they said
@@reesespuffs._.Doubt but whatever lol
@@reesespuffs._. thats a straight up lie bro. They do read it but they want to learn about the person and people with worse upbringing are more as youd say marketable. kinda like a bragging thing
“My mom is my hero, because she went to Cornell, and I want to be just like her”
Instant admittance
My mom actually did go to Cornell, but it was not enough for me to get admitted. Maybe I should’ve written my essay about a traumatic experience.
@@allisond.46writing about my traumatic experience got me into Cornell, 10/10 would recommend
@@allisond.46 I'm not sure if this is true of Cornell or not, but sometimes being "legacy" can actually work against you, because they take it to mean you're rich.
real.
@@allisond.46"so when I didnt get in I tried to kill myself, and then..."
Remember, you have to tell them you HAD depression and loads of issues. Don't make them feel like you still HAVE them. They want a pity story that ends about a year before applying, where your life suddenly became easy because of ✨ motivation✨.
😭✋🏻
Damn, didn't know this was American idol.
Yes, so I HAD ptsd, bpd, bipolar, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and adhd but I magically got cured 😀 (obvi through the power of MENTAL STRENGTH AND WILLPOWER)
damn thing is it’s the exact opposite for me bruh
@@miclovesartand there will never ever be a recurrence because that would just be so shocking.
😭 this makes me think of like in school we had to write a speech about special possessions and my friends were like “You’re lucky you have a dead parent” and I’m like “This is the only situation someone could ever say that” 💀
Making people uncomfortable with dead parent jokes are so fun. I've gotten so many looks while my beastie high fives me and goes DEAD DADSSSSSS
@@brookie9833 Lmaooo the fun stuff for me is making a your mom joke (which aren’t funny alone) and then when someone makes one back I can just troll and tell them she’s dead it’s funny to get reactions 😭 ig some people do that anyway but like I can do that being honest
it’s such a visceral coping weapon idk how to describe joking about my mom lol
@@ancalagonite434omg this reminds me of when my friend was messing with me as a joke and i said "youre being mean, im getting my dad on you bro" and i came back in holding his urn 😭😭😭 the silence was so funny, i always wondered if other people with dead parents joke about it to cope as much i do
@spiderSocietySS yes we do! I love hearing other people's way of dead parent jokes bc I can use them irl 🤪 one of my fav moments is when someone was calling me short and I looked them in the eye and said I'm 11 feet taller than my dad thank you very much. The processing then realization was purely hilarious.
“Ah you’re so lucky, I wish I had a defective Brain like yours” that is the best line I have ever heard on CZcams lmao 😂
🏆
The delivery was immaculate
this is kinda random…. BUT I LOVE YOUR PROFILE PICTURE:) slava ukraine
Agreee
Yeah I’m so lucky
I got a $32,000 scholarship writing a college essay about the time I signed up for and passed lifeguard classes despite barely being able to swim. "yeah, I almost drowned in the 20 lap swim test, but I tried really hard and didn't drown, so now I'm certified to rescue children who, like me, can't swim"
Amazing story 👏🏻👏🏻
that is genuinely hilarious. it would’ve been immediate max scholarship money from me too if i read that masterpiece ✋😭
Did you tell them “ It was an important job for me because I wanted to let kids know and look up to an older kid who also cant swim but can do everything just as if they could”
You a hazard fr
Bro this is exactly my story 😮
I got my certification in a camp though 😅
"At the day of my birth both my parents failed to show up😔😔"
OMG!!!! Are you Doofenschmitrz?
What? 😂😭
I hope you get offers from every college in the tri state area 😂😂😂
May our gracious gods --lord phynies and Lord ferb-- show favor upon you as you walk.
oh, I dont know how I crossed that out, I ment to just put 2 of these like so, --hi--
- - hi - -
ok cool ig
Me an immigrant with a struggling family: College applications here I come 😍
are u an illegal immigrant 😏
Full ride BABYYYYYY
Just don’t be Asian! We have enough of those ❤
you’re so lucky😔
@@RYCH3 If you want, I can hook you up with a life changing car crash 😏
I once had to write something moving like this to read in front of the class and the girl who went before me talked about her childhood struggles with cancer... I wrote about seeing a bald eagle for the first time...
Dear lord 😂 I am so sorry but this story made me spit up water laugh. I bet that bald eagle was majestic though!
Pfp checks out lmao
😅😂
I'd love to hear that bald eagle essay tho
This made me choke on my saliva cause I laughed so hard😂
I was instructed to do the opposite and I compared myself to a rice cooker, which helped me into several unis. One acceptance letter even had a note specificially talking about my essay. Honestly they read so many "dead grandma" stories that they'll probably remember you more if you're not straight up trauma dumping.
How do you compare yourself to a rice cooker? Easy and quick to make rice and used repeatedly by people. Or does your analogy have a positive twist
Context????
@@kitkattwinkieHELP 😭😭
Commenting in case you add context. I could see someone making that analogy beautiful in a lot of ways, but I am interested in how you did it. Obviously, you made it meaningful. Would love some examples of comparisons you made
That... actually sounds interesting
Y’all I wrote my college essay on the psychology of Tangled(yes the Disney movie) and how people underestimate the value and depth of cartoons, and that essay got me into UMass Amherst and Boston University. You can write your essay about whatever makes you happy, they just want to see you and know you’re gonna take yourself places :)
You’re telling me i could’ve wrote about fnaf lore?!?
one of the topics i planned for a potential essay was about my favorite k-pop group’s storyline and how i relate to all the different members. idk if that would do well but it’s worth a shot i guess
@@pearlhwvaIf you can write well, that’ll be an amazing essay(you got this btw).
@@akunfusedhuman6375 thank you!! i’ll do my best with it
@@randomfandoms8994as long as ur gpa is good. Act/sat as well but that’s a lot less important
I got stabbed in the eye with a fork when i was 3. And got a 2nd degree burn from hot chocolate, also when i was 3
Ur Parents be like: Ah Shit Lydia Again what did you do this time. Holy Fuck!
I hope you kept up that behavior. Your college essay is about to you going to any school for free.
3 was not your year 💀
who stabbed u in the eye..
@@everybodyhatescris3102the fork
Sexual, Emotional, and Physical Abuse survivor! College here I come🤞😝🤞
What, like it’s rare 😭
@@corneliastreet2491huh?
SAME BESTIE
I genuinely hope you are out of your toxic situation(s) and are in a safer one 💙
Ready for more?
This is weirdly accurate but also the “worst thing that happened to you” can’t be so traumatic or unhealthy that they question your stability and capability to perform. There’s a fine balance between a serious challenge and a debilitating weakness. And mental health issues are often stigmatized and discriminated against.
I also feel like it's kind of unhealthy to like focus on what makes you "broken" so much. I mean you have to acknowledge reality but should I think so deeply about things that are legitimately traumatic? I was an art student (graduated!) And it was a lot of baring your trauma.
Exactly. If I were giving someone with serious PTSD college essay advice, it would be to literally write about anything OTHER than your trauma. Just make sure that it’s written well
Why are the standards so absurd?
I don't even have a lotta trauma or something. Just your stereotypical harsh parenting, and I just did well in school because I tried, I did stuff and it worked(but not so well that the ECs just take over) so...I'm screwed.
@@lampoilropebombs0640 you can literally write about anything, it just has to be well written. In fact, not writing about your trauma can make your paper stand out. Try looking up the pizza college essay
I remember, I wrote my essay, got in, but the money they gave me wasn't enough for me to go. I wrote them back, basically saying "Well, your loss," and listed why they wanted me and they ended up seriously raising my grants. I recommend that method - colleges seem to value self-confidence and determination.
could you please elaborate on the things you listed? bc i have heard a few students messaging the dean and getting more financial aids and i would really love to have more info. ty
College hacks.
@@needybangnaldo The specific person I emailed was the dean of admissions. I basically just told them "Hey, I'd really like to come, and I've done a lot more than you seem to think that I did" and my money was upped. It was honestly way more simple than I thought. I also have a feeling it changes depending on what sort of college you are planning on going to - colleges with tons of applicants may be more hesitant to respond to this than smaller colleges. I specifically did this at a small private liberal arts college.
@@jamiebrooks457me rejecting the most popular engineering public college in my state because I couldn’t afford to go.
ehhh
Me, a young cancer survivor from an immigrant family : sounds like a job for me!
Also a cancer survivor...sexual and emotional/narcissistic abuse survivor...autistic...with a side of depression and anxiety...we got this 😊
What! No fair! That's such a good one
Save some scholarships for the rest of us come on now!
I was born with glass bones and paper skin. Every morning I break my legs, and every afternoon I break my arms, at night I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep…
😭
Oh, I recognise this one… Well referenced, CZcams person!
Was looking for this lol
They called me Mr Glass
“I’m so lucky” I felt that💀
U good?
Seriously you ok?
Had to take care of my severely disabled former military dad for the first six years of my life, and then helped my mother deal with the grief over losing him, looks like getting into college is gonna be easy! :)
Didn’t your mom take care of your dad?
@@allisond.46 She did her best, but being a full time caretaker is very difficult and can be detrimental to the caretakers health, both physical and emotional, so I had to help a lot
god youre so lucky, hows harvard
@@frododododo It's depressing, everyone's so filled with trauma 🤣
That really sucks.
If you want to write about that, make sure you talk about you as a person, not just what you went through! Maybe you took care of your parents in a unique way, or were able to hold together for them in a way that's unique to you.
As someone who worked both for college admission offices and high schools, this is pretty accurate. If you're struggling to think of a college essay topic, I always tell my students, "You are 18 or are about to be 18. You are an adult, even if you don't feel like it. Tell me about the time you first felt like an adult. What was the one moment where you felt like you matured the most, and why did it make you feel that way? Don't talk about sex, drugs, or your significant other."
If you follow that prompt (which applies to options 1 and 7 of the Common App and option 1 of the Coalition App), you're gunna have a pretty good essay.
Bruh I don't think I'll ever feel like an adult
@alongwaytogo6173 being an adult isn't about being a stuck up tight ass, or even about having your shit together. It's about maturity and responsibility. Figure out when you started taking on real responsibilities (not like taking the trash out or doing the dishes) and you'll figure out what you can write your essay on.
Can I talk about my parents divorce and how I had no father figure growing up?
@@I_YELL_ALOT Absolutely
i don’t feel like an adult though 😭
How does this have only 1000 likes and 3 comments? Underrated af
783 comments now
It now has 480,000 likes
i wrote my best college essay about how ive had severe chronic pain since i was 7. my teacher ate that shit up and told me that as long as i kept it on-message, i could get into basically wherever.
Why the heck have you had severe chronic pain for that long?
@@allisond.46because disease is a bitch and doesn’t wait till you’re 18
Any other stupid questions?
I pull the chronic pain card whenever I'm struggling with an essay. If I have to endure this much needless suffering I might as well milk it askhldgh
I did something similar about my sickle cell and chronic pain. I got accepted and a full ride, so I'm sure you got it
lmfao for me it was “can i steal the bridge thing?” “no i came up with that myself” 💀
Came down from a bridge; came up with an idea: My Story.
i was actually told to NOT write a “sob story” because they have become so common (graduated 2022). I have depression so i was going to write about overcoming that obstacle in life but my college counselor (went to a prep school) told me “Sad stories are too common now, write about something you’re passionate about” and so I wrote an essay on how fanfiction is a valid form of literature because many mainstream and big-time films are in that category, including The Lion King (Hamlet), and i got into my five schools i applied to! I’m studying Forensic Science at University of New Haven- go chargers!
Thought about writing mine about fanfic too (could nerd out about it for forever), but ended up writing about helping a customer at work. That was fine and got me into college, but I just think it's awesome to hear about someone who turned their passion for fic into their college essay! It sounds like a really cool read and it's nice to hear other people talk about fic in a positive light. :)
Btw, I'm happy to hear you're in school, and I hope life is finding you well! Depression sucks, take care friend. 💜
Remember, 90% of the time, if they would deny you for a program, the degree you would get is not worth the money. Go to community college, get your associates, and if you still need more education after for your degree, go to a public university and apply for every single scholarship you can. I came away with only around $2k in loans from doing this and had a job within 3 months (granted, that was March of 2020, but I still had the job even if it was remote).
especially if you didn't do that well in highschool, if you try hard at community college, you don't have to provide SAT scores anymore and they only take your college gpa, which can help a lot with which scholarships you can apply to.
Or commute if you can. Graduating with zero debt while studying and interning abroad all mostly paid by scholarships.
yes please kids, learn from the mistakes of us millennials and don't go around thinking that the standard 4 year university experience is really the Magic Ticket to Success, or that the loans will easily pay for themselves afterward
Deadass wrote about witnessing my friend having a violent seizure at band camp and how I was so busy comforting her crying sister that nobody comforted me. It worked tho I got in.
Was your friend okay afterwards?
@@allisond.46 yeah, she sent custom seizure memes to the discord like thirty minutes after she got home from the hospital as her way of letting us know she was good
Why wouldn’t that work? Jeez
very postmodern
my sister wrote her college essay about her hatred towards me and got in her dream college
NAHHHH please let this blow up, this is so underrated 😂 😢
I was processed in a meat grinder, twice
It's not a meat grinder, it's an orphan stomper
Sorry anytime I hear meat grinder I think of llamas with hats 😭
i’m so sorry that happened to you
jerma strikes again
i thought this was a Sweeney Todd reference until i read the comments 😭
@@RiverStyxx24CARLLLL that kills people
My essay was about how as an athlete, being told I could no longer do sports after a severe head trauma accident, and how having music during my healing process is what motivated me to start a new chapter in my life, including my recovery with memory issues and post-concussive disorder.
Got into all of the colleges I applied to (music & game design dual major/audio engineer depending on the uni), but I was so scared of getting rejected that I only applied to 3 total. Currently at my reach school as a 2nd Year, but to this day I wonder what life would be like if I had the courage to apply to all of those other schools. A happy ending, but to any applicants out there, don’t be afraid to reach out and apply to all the schools you are interested in. ALL of em- you might be stuck wondering what the options could have been (like me) if not. Anyways, much love :) 💜
Lucky, save some college for the rest of us!
I was trapped in a prison for 9 entire months before i even gained consciousness, i kicked and kicked but the warden kept laughing about it...
Don’t really know many who laugh about kicks.
@@KaiLucasZachary if it’s an evil warden who loves pain, he might laugh. Or an expectant mother amused by the kicks of the baby growing inside of her. Which is what the OP’s joke was in reference to lol
i saw my brother get murdered. so yeah i'm pretty good for a while
What?! Omg, please explain. I'm so sorry for what happened to you though
@@mahroosh1077 thank you for the sympathy haha. i do appreciate it.
he was 18 and just got out of rehab for drug addiction. we thought he was clean. the first time he bought cocaine that year (2017), someone laced it with a lethal dose of fentanyl.
he came home at like 3 in the morning and woke me up because our dogs were barking. i didn't want to say anything to him in case he told mom i was up past my bedtime (i was 10 going on 11).
he went into the bathroom and i watched him through the crack of the door snort the drugs. and then flush the remains down the toilet. as if he was saying "this is my last time. i'm good now."
i woke up 3 hours later at 6 AM to my family screaming and looking in his bedroom. he was dead on his bed.
i say "murder" because a LOT of people don't classify it as murder, but it is. he was poisoned and i will take that to my grave.
Condolences jfc that's terrible
Im so so SO sorry...
Keep going, YOU GOT THIS!!!!!!!!
Mine was about how I spent my entire “vacation” after Hurricane Harvey mucking out people’s houses for free, and how even after school resumed I kept mucking out houses every weekend until we were no longer allowed to because the remaining homes had developed black mold and we’d need hazmat suits. I think writing about the old woman we couldn’t help because of the black mold and her husband who had just been hospitalized due to respiratory issues from the mold really clinched my full tuition and student fees scholarship
i wrote mine ab traumatic experiences and then my teacher told me it was basic and I needed to SHOW it more than tell 😭😭
I actually read my sister essay and it was AMAZING. She wrote about her being dyslexic and how hard it was. I’m so proud of her, it was really well wrote❤(she had the corrections on)
Yooo 😭
My motivation to becoming a nurse was to help people and that’s what most my family does (emt, dispatch, nurse, etc.) but I had no story to back my motivation. So I was forced to use my open chest heart surgery as a 3yr old to explain why. They treated me so well and I wanna be like them. I don’t remember any of that!
Bro deadass for my college application I was like “I’m not gonna complain about my life I know it’s bad, been there done that.” Got $1000 scholarship lol
My mom getting breast cancer was the best thing to ever happen to my college essay
As someone who's been in college for 5 years, this is hilarious. 😂
I wrote about how music got me through a lot of hard times and mentioned my depression too. If I knew I had anxiety and other issues back then, I would've probably included those. 😅💀
Some kid got into harvard by decribing how he takes his showers
It’s actually crazy how some of the best essays aren’t about sob stories or trauma, but just interesting things about you and your life and how that relates to your personal philosophy/becoming more mature/motivation etc
Also where did you find that essay?
@@pip_of_fruitbecause that's the information colleges want to know! Sob story essays are merely a vehicle to get that info across in another way!
This is honestly how it feels as an art major trying to come up with a senior show 😭
I remember applying for about 5 to 6 different scholarships before my freshman year of college, most of them where I had to write essays.
I was rejected from all of them within a week of submission before they even started considering different submissions, because they saw that I came from a stable family with a stable income, and was happy in life.
Needless to say that was the last time I tried applying for scholarships, I know I'm not going to get anything
about to get into college with all this trauma! 😍😍
This may be the most relatable video ever. I’m in this exact situation rn and it’s awful. This is mostly because I’ve done almost nothing with my life and have nothing to write about.
same dawg i have a lot of trauma to write abt but no accomplishments and i know writing abt a horrible childhood w no "outcome" will get me rejected. im an international applicant and our country is very academically centred so i dont have stellar ec's either. im in the biggest limbo ever
Duuuuude saame! I'm so mad that I can't think of one good thing to write about!
Start small. What's something in your day to day life that you love? Is there someone you care about? Why? What do you often spend your time doing (were talking anything here y'all. Video games, reading, drawing, working, etc)? What is a moment where you felt like an adult? Start there.
@@caidyothe outcome is that you are here. What helped get you through that trauma? Could be anything. For some people it's a person, for others a passion, sometimes it's persistence.
if you don't have any interesting experiences then share some interesting opinions or worldviews, at least you can show them you can make a compelling argument for something
I wrote mine about my Mother dying when i was a kid and like three colleges sent me condolences and letters of ‘we have great people to talk to if your go [insert college]’. It was so funny to me
I tried doing this, couldn’t bring myself to finish writing the paper, and decided to go to community college (which confused everyone around me since I had good grades). Any who I think this time I’ll just right about my love for painting or some nonsense. Who would have thought trying to write a quick quirky essay about the most traumatic moment of my life would be difficult 😂
Good thing I had a traumatic childhood 💀😮💨
After I was born I couldn't speak to my parents for several years
My AP English teacher showed me essays that students wrote that got them into college, one was about the bathroom, another was about costco. Really, don't sweat it, it doesn't have to be a remarkable event
This is so insane to me as a Swede💀 Here we just apply with whichever is better between our grades from highschool or our result on the college entrance exam (which you can take twice a year however many times you want), and that’s it. No college essay, no extracurriculars, no nothing. We don’t have any legacy admissions (or affirmative action for that matter). It’s purely numeric, automated even. And then it’s all free of course, and we even get very favorable state loans to cover our cost of living. You Americans deserve so much better than what your god-awful system is giving you. Hope things get better for you guys!
Free? Lol Amazing. Meanwhile we have what's called a student loan debt crisis here rapidly spinning out of control. most four your universities see themselves as businesses here who just happened to provide educational options.
"after I was disowned from becoming a teen mom"
"GUYS STOP BRAGGING"
this is so strange to me as a UK student, my personal statement was literally just about how much I love maths and I ended up getting offers from every university I applied to
I was born at a very young age.. it was so bright and overwhelming. I screamed and cried but no one cared. No one understood me. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t walk, all I did was cry. I even shit my pants. I couldn’t do anything at all… and was taken and washed under a sink. My life had just started… I couldn’t let it end… 👿
Are we not gonna talk about how fine the dude standing up is
I struggled about what I wanted to write my college essay about. I have issues with writing about my own struggles. I ended up writing my essay about what I wanted to one day do with my degree. I want to be a bioengineer so that I can help people, most importantly my friends and family who suffer from chronic conditions. I don't know if the essay improved my chances or not, but I still got into school.
When I was having trouble figuring out what to write I talked to a friend about what she was writing about. Turns out she was writing about how a chronic condition with her legs led her to being paralyzed from the waist down for a few years, unable to leave a wheel chair, and seeing no way forward tried to take her own life. She did eventually regain use of her legs, but still has the chronic condition that caused her paralysis. The worst part is that the doctors couldn't actually identify anything wrong with the legs themselves, meaning the problen was either the nerves or the processing of signals in the brain, things that aren't easily treatable.
Anyway, I was a little jealous that she had a much better essay than her, and she was a little flattered that I indirectly mentioned her in mine.
Super funny and super underrated!!!
A long time ago, I was blind, mute, and was even crying. Many people surrounded me in this very moment.
I love this one it is one of my favs!!!!
Its not about the worst thing that happened to you, its about how you overcame it. Im a musical theatre nerd who is slowly going deaf, and how I taught myself ASL. I wrote about how I was able to adapt to that situation and how it informed my choice of school.
That said, I got a lot of trauma. I have bipolar and averaged 5-7 psych ward stays a year until I started ketamine. I was sexually tortured in middle school and have ptsd as a result. I was in an abusive relationship with a literal psychopath. But I wrote about none of that because its stuff that happened to me, not stuff I did. Its not about me and what im capable of.
Best trauma wins? Holy fuck I actually have a chance
Ooh I got a lot to throw in then:
-Childhood trauma
-Isolation and bullying
-Severe anxiety and ADHD
-Religious trauma
"I wish i had a defective brain like yours" had me flying
These people need to make a sitcom
when i was born, i didn't even talk to my parents for 1,5 years, after that, i realised that i have a voice and talked to my parents for the 1st time. In fact, i still remember the conversation we had
Me: ''Mama, uhhh gugu gaga :D''
mom: "ok''
yes its so sad i wasn't even able to access basic communication for a whole year and couldn't even use my legs properly for MONTHS but i slowly learnt to build myself up... btw i was only 0 years old i was so young :(((
I wrote about how I moved away from Catholic school my senior year because I was poor and needed in-state scholarships. And my college gave me a scholarship for being a national merit finalist. If it’d been six months later, I’d probably have written about getting assaulted, but 10K a year isn’t shabby at all for an essay I wrote that was due the next day.
These videos are so funny 😂
My generation eats trauma for breakfast
It doesn’t taste very good.
I'm a teenager and actually, I know an awful lot of people who seem sheltered and spoiled.
One of the colleges I replied to actually replied back and thanked me for sharing such a personal story. Either everyone there was real privileged or the essay reader was very new to the job, but it made me feel good ❤
Meanwhile, my newest school accepted me, called me “Student” in a “personalized letter” then asked for me to submit my previous college transcripts that I had included with the essay that was apparently so delightful to read. lol
That last line about her being a legacy and how it was fine to write garbage about her mom had me laughing harder than it should have
"For the first 3 years of my life.. I couldn't even talk.😪"
"I wish I had a defective brain like yours!"
When my sister applied to Cornell her guidance counselor told her not to even apply because she wouldn't get in... after she got in the counselor was fired lol
Teacher:write about the worst think to happen to you
Me:my dad
My father went to jail, my parents are divorced so I grew up with a lower class single mom for most of my childhood, I’ve been relentlessly bullied since about the age of 9, people told me they will never again be associated with me because of who my father was and what he had done. He was a pedophile. Can I make it to college?
Your story is exactly what my boy went through, he was younger though homeland security raided the house and his dad was a wanted pedophile, his mom didn’t really care about them and lived off food stamps and the government eventually leaving him to go to Korea to remarry (she’s white and obese lol)for his brother to take care of
@@blank7326 I wouldn’t say exactly the same, my mom tried her hardest and really cared about us, and we’re actually pretty good financially now, and I’ve got an amazing step dad who helps as well.
Literally just submitted my college apps today, and when I read the essay to my bsf, she said it was dark. And I replied, “I chose to think that if I overload them with all the bad, and how I overcame it, they’re less likely to say no because… guilt.”
It's dangerous. They might think you've not truly gotten over it and decline you because they think you're in no position to perform
I used my Tourette's in every college essay lol. it effects me so little but I really played it up
The topic doesn’t matter as much as expressing the emotions and importance of the topic to you
I deadass wrote mine about how I liked toy cars and I got into Virginia Tech, University Of Maryland, and Penn State for Aeronautical Engineering ☠️
I remeber my aunt wrote about being the twin that wasnt born with any issues and feeling bad so she got into the medical career.
She's a legacy
Not in college but in high school. Favorite essay I ever wrote was a "short" story about a fictional girl who was in a car crash and temporarily lost her vision but was permanently paralyzed waist down...idk why I wrote it so darkly but it's fun
“I’m 25% Native American” is how you win these
Not really, though
@@noorykorky5056 sadly
yall growing up in a strict lutheran school and being undiagnosed with several mental health and learning disorders is so good for a college essay
As a graduate and a former college writing tutor, this is painfully accurate.
Thank god im trans and got hate crimed, college is gonna eat that shit up
just dont go to eastern europe
Hai
I wrote mine about my crippling anxiety disorder. It really worked, surprisingly!
Yup. I have a terrible chronic illness and functioning day to day is a monstrous task. I wrote my essay about how i want to be just like the scientists that made my life easier with medicine. Despite the fact that no medicine i've ever taken helps. Remember kids, if they think you're STILL sick, they won't accept you 😊
having immigrant parents has never been more convenient 😍😍
Rich parent. The best trauma.
As a former college student i should have done this
Fr it sometimes feels like that. I didn't try to write a pity story. But it seems that whenever people do, they get accepted. Even though they claim that's not how it works.
This is literally me because I grew up in a loving Christian household and didnt get myself in bad situations/relationships to be abused emotionally, physically, or sexually. It kinda sucks that I'm told im not allowed to say anything about anything because I'm a healthy, normal, middle class, straight white male. Also sucks that I'm told by society that I'm by default, a horrible person, but I guess it never really bothers me. I just keep doing what I'm doing and thank God that I don't have the struggles that some have.
I hope you founded 17 clubs and a nationwide charitable organization with a 2468.0 GPA. Otherwise you’re not going to college 😂
You don’t have any emotional or psychological struggles then you have to show you were either productive, collaborated with your community, or that you challenged yourself. Society doesn’t say you are by default a horrible person. It says you are statistically likely to financially struggle less.
my struggle was i had the depressing backstory but all of it happened when i was like 4 so i don't remember any of if
It's fr crazy how having a "good" story benefits so much.
My autism, ADHD and severe anxiety: “Yall this is our time to shine”
Graduaded over 10 years ago at this point but i wrote about how I loved Video Games, what it meant to me as a kid and how that inspired me to look into engineering.
I got accepted somewhere which was rather impressive considering my grades in HS.
I wrote mine about cicadas and got into every school I applied to. Granted, most of those were art schools and it’s 5 years later and I don’t have a degree, but my English teacher said I had the best essay in my class