黄果短剧

Skip to main content
6
鈥� 3 years ago 鈥� Admissions Advice
Admissions Advice

Is my essay topic good enough?

I am having a lot of issues with the essay portion of my application regarding essay topics. One idea I had was reflecting on a parents鈥� immigration experience and comparing it to my own way of growing up. Though I worry if writing about my parent being an immigrant is too cliche and if the essay will sound more focused on them instead of myself. Im also not sure if there should be a clear 鈥榣esson鈥� I have to explicitly state (I also have no idea what that could be, input would be greatly appreciated).

Any input or ideas would be great, thank you!

collegeessays
6
2

Earn karma by helping others:

1 karma for each 猬嗭笍 upvote on your answer, and 20 karma if your answer is marked accepted.

2 answers

0
鈥� 3 days ago

The topic is usable. The risk you named is the real one: the draft can become a portrait of a parent, with you only as the narrator.

A topic like this usually works when the page is built around a choice you made, not around a summary of someone else's journey. I would test it this way:

- Open in a moment only you could describe (a conversation, a task you took on, a misunderstanding you had to repair), not in a history of the family's arrival.

- Keep the parent in the frame, but make the engine of the essay what you did with what you inherited 鈥� a habit, a responsibility, a way of noticing people 鈥� and how that shows up now.

- You do not need a tidy "lesson" sentence. You do need a last third that shows a present-tense change in how you act, not only how you feel.

- If a paragraph would still work after you swapped in another child of immigrants, it is still too generic. Add particulars only you have.

If two topics pass that test, pick the more specific one, even if it feels smaller. After you have a draft, a free college application essay grader at college-essay-grader.com/ (1 free grade per day, no signup) can be a structured self-check 鈥� not a replacement for a human reader.

I would not abandon the subject just because the theme is common. I would abandon it only if you cannot make yourself the one the reader can see.

0
0
鈥� 3 years ago

Hi! Different colleges may have different types of applicant they love most, but all of them like to see how you overcame difficulties in the past being somehow reflected in your essay. Did the challenges that arose out of your parents immigrating force you to grow as a person by overcoming them? What were these issues? How did you overcome them exactly? What did you learn along the way? How exactly did you do it? Do you think your experience is different in some way from that of other kids of immigrants? Try to think of something along these lines and write down ideas and details as you think of them.

Along the way, you might see that, for instance, you are focusing too much on a particular aspect of your journey or you think of another topic mid-brainstorming for this one, in which case, try switching them around, or even combining topics together, for example, your parents' immigrant story with your search for belonging in and outside of school, or the challenges you faced growing up in a household where your parents may not be able to help you with schoolwork because they are unfamiliar with the system with the challenges you hope to help other people overcome in your volunteer work. Honestly, I would say the best essays are more nuanced then just focusing on one topic, so be open to combining a few (although note, this doesn't work for all topics!)

Another way to make your essay stand out would be to write it in a more creative format, which you totally do not have to be an experienced writer to do, by the way. Here are a few strategies that come to mind when thinking about writing the 'immigrant essay:'

1. Try drawing a parallel between your parent's journey towards immigration and your own journey towards a particular goal. Has their determination inspired you to keep going even when things got harder and then harder? Did they give you a piece of advice you will treasure forever? Something along these lines...

2. Consider being creative with the actual structure of the essay, for example, writing it as a letter to your parents where you thank them for all the sacrifices they doubtless had to make in their immigration journey and pulling in your own accomplishments as something you owe partly to your parents.

But really, if you have time, the best advice I can give you is to write a few totally different essays and chose whichever one you/your teachers and friends find the best.

Hope this helped in some way,

Good luck!

0
What are your chances of acceptance?
Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
尝辞补诲颈苍驳鈥�
UCLA
尝辞补诲颈苍驳鈥�
+ add school
Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

Community Guidelines

To keep this community safe and supportive:

  1. Be kind and respectful!
  2. Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
  3. Don鈥檛 ask 鈥渃hance-me鈥� questions. Use 黄果短剧鈥檚 chancing instead!

How karma works