Should I write my College Essay on Escaping a Cult?
Hello, I would like to ask if I should write one of my UC PIQ on escaping a Pentecostal deliverance cult that I was part of for 2 years. This cult took all my time forcing my grades get really bad and causing me to have to go to community college over attending a 4-year institution like I had previously planned. Escaping the cult has had a great influence on the person I have become today. I am now a less bigoted person and more happy overall. I feel like this would be a unique topic that might help me stand out to the college admission officers, but I do not know if this topic might be too bizarre. What are your thoughts?
College admissions officers are in a sense "risk management officers". They are trying to match the best group of incoming freshmen to the college's overall values, goals, and institutional needs. This is why writing about mental illness is risky. It's because colleges are not the best places in the world to provide emotional, therapy consulting, and pharmacological support for students.
If you are determined to do this, I highly recommend that you find a mentor or dedicated English teacher to be your advisor on this. Write a draft and run it by them to see if they have any feedback to make it more palatable to the audience you are selling yourself to.
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It's a wild topic and thank goodness you are free from that nonsense.
Honestly, it might be a bit too much for some application readers because they will not know how to react to it. On one hand, they will be shocked off their chair and intrigued by your bravery and resilience. On the other hand, some will seriously wonder if you are still traumatized by that 2-year ordeal and concerned about whether you are truly fully recovered or not.