Can I mention religion in my Common App essay?Answered
My school is religious but my family is not, and I myself was a believer until less than two years ago. I want to write about how my education shaped me into a better person even though I no longer share my teacher's beliefs, but I heard it's risky to mention religion in a college essay. Any advice on how to go about this would be much appreciated!
Earn karma by helping others:
5 answers
You certainly can mention religion in your Common App essay. So long as religion has had a significant impact on who you are today, and your essay is not discriminatory towards both believers and unbelievers, it can be an effective essay topic. Hope this helps!
Yeah, it's definitely risky, but as long as the takeaway from what you mention is universal, it shouldn't be the worse. What you don't want is the mention to only appeal to certain people. If it's brief and related to your development as a person then it doesn't hurt to mention it, just keep in mind that there has to be a valid reason. Hope I helped!!
This is a pretty subjective question, but I'll give you the best answer I can. I'd avoid writing on religion unless you're applying to a religious school where you share the institution's religion. The issue here is that not many schools (as far as I am aware) factor religion into their decisions on diversity like race or location, but mentioning religion can put off some of the recruiting board. They're not going to reject you outright on this basis, but they may scrutinize you more harshly. In the end, it's up to your choice, but I personally wouldn't.
Don't. U are no longer a believer. It is a negative.
Yes
Your chance of acceptance
Your chancing factors
Community Guidelines
To keep this community safe and supportive:
- Be kind and respectful!
- Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
- Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!