Can a college application essay be *too* personal?Answered
Early Action applications for many schools are due in eleven days, and I am totally and completely stuck on what to write my personal statement on. I am applying to every school as a psychology major (with a minor in biology) and am planning to use this to go on to medical school and pursue a career as a psychiatrist. For this reason, the essay that I had planned to write was based upon what inspired me to become a psychiatrist, as I thought this would make the most sense to write about.
However, the reason that I want to be a psychiatrist is because of my struggle with mental health, and it is, admittedly, not a pretty story. At all. Now that I've written most of the essay, I have realized how personal it is, and I am worried that this may sway colleges to reject my application rather than accepting it, which is obviously the exact opposite of what I am trying to do here.
So... is my topic too personal? Should I change to a different topic? I really just have no idea what to do here.
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4 answers
Hi @vveronicaa!
It's possible to write essays based on mental health, but the main thing is you want to frame it as a story of overcoming. You don't want colleges to question your ability to succeed under pressure, and you want them to have a positive experience reading your essay. Here's an article that can help: https://blog.collegevine.com/mental-health-college-essays
In short, it's possible, but perhaps a little trickier to do this topic than others. Let me know if you have any other questions.
The point of the essay is to have a resolution to the issue and show your resilience. If you write about your mental health, it shouldn't just be about your pental health but it should end with some sort of conclusion that shows how you overcame it, or are still overcoming it.
A personal topic isn't necessarily bad because you want the reader to connect with you and "fall in love with you", but mental health struggles are a difficult topic to write about. The unfortunate part is sometimes mental health essays make the reader question if a student will be successful at the school. Like if someone wrote about how they failed a bunch of classes because of mental health struggles, the admissions reader might be worried they would do the same at college. Some colleges have informal policies about rejecting students who write about mental health. It is really sad that colleges do that, someone's mental health struggles shouldn't diminish them. Therefore, if you're going to write about your mental health struggles, make sure you write about how you overcame them. Writing about how your struggles have inspired you is good, just make sure your essay ends with a positive tone. Have other people read your essay and ask them if they feel inspired when they read it, you don't want the reader to feel sad. If you feel that your struggles are important to understanding why you want to be a psychiatrist and who you are, then write about them.
Here is where i got my information from, as well as a couple other this channels videos.
I also wrote a couple of my essays with some of my mental health challenges added in. And yeah, it's definitely hard to find a balance, but my advice would be just that; FIND THE BALANCE. Make sure that colleges can see that you have potential and drive. I don't think you can make it too personal, just make sure you give them enough evidence to show them that you are worth it, which I'm sure you are. Just make sure theres balance and to stay on topic.
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