13 Reasons Why It's OK to Write About Trauma in your College
(Ashley Lipscomb & Ethan Sawyer, "Addressing Trauma in the College Essay," NACAC 2021) Ask questions that guide your writing toward growth: Great college essays reflect growth and thoughtfulness. It can be helpful in any essay, but especially in one that deals with challenging subjects, to keep a few questions in mind to guide your writing.
When I Applied to College, I Didn't Want to 'Sell My Pain'
They're told the sky's the limit. As I started to be recognized as a promising student, around eighth grade, I was told, "You're smart and you're from the hood, you're from the ...
Trauma In Essays: Why It Can Work And When It Doesn't
6. When there's little to no positive takeaways. One common theme in the "Why Trauma Can Work" section of this post is that there are positive qualities that are reflected through the story. Note in those four points how they each have words like personal, insightful, memorable, likable, growth, maturity, and resiliency.
Writing About Trauma in College Essays
The Trouble With Trauma Essays. In the TEDx talk, the presenter rightly points out that requiring students to discuss and unpack their trauma in college essays can be harmful. It produces false expectations for what their essays should be, and places an undue burden on students to discuss topics they may not be comfortable with.
Why You Don't Have to Write about Trauma in Your College Essay to Stand
Here's another great example essay that illustrates an approach you can take on your college essay. Personal Statement Example #2: The "Superpower/Skill" Approach For this essay, the author chose something that he was good at (music—in particular, beatboxing) and used it to describe a range of skills, qualities, values, and interests.
Dumping Your Heart Out: "Trauma Dumping" in College Application Essays
This essay-writing approach has been popularized by viral social media stories, where trauma essays are portrayed as the "make-or-break" factor in college applications; a well-known example is Abigail Mack, who went viral on TikTok after sharing her "letter-S" essay about the loss of a parent. Mack was accepted to Harvard University.
The rise of the "trauma essay" in college applications
As if college applications aren't stressful enough, disadvantaged youth are often encouraged to write about their darkest traumas in their admissions essays, creating a marketable story of resilience that turns "pain into progress," says politics student Tina Yong. She brings this harrowing norm to light, exploring its harms and offering a more equitable process for colleges everywhere.
The 'T' Word: Resisting Expectations To Share Trauma In College Essays
The growing discourse about college admission essays suggests that most Black students write about struggle or trauma. In interviews, Black undergraduate students expressed a keen awareness of ...
College Essays and the Trauma Sweetspot
College Essays and the Trauma Sweetspot. The Harvard College Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is located at 86 Brattle Street in Radcliffe Yard. ... Writing one's college essay, while ...
Addressing Trauma in the College Essay
He has students start by making five columns: Column 1: Students share challenges they've experienced. Column 2: Students write down the effects that occurred due to that challenge. Column 3: Students write down feelings associated with those effects. Column 4: Students write down what they needed/feel they needed to cope with the feelings.
College Essays and Trauma: Students Are Being Pushed to Write About
At its best, the college application is an opportunity for a student to go from being a set of data points to a human being. The essay can demonstrate a student's writing ability, style, and flair.
Opinion
How to Write About Trauma. One summer afternoon, when I was 4 or 5 years old, I was raped by a next-door neighbor. If the act itself was gruesome, the aftermath was surprisingly uneventful ...
There's more than one way to write a college essay
First Person is where Chalkbeat features personal essays by educators, students, parents, and others thinking and writing about public education. "You're smart, you're Asian, you're queer ...
13 Reasons Why It's OK to Write About Trauma in your College ...
Remember this kind of essay is NOT a reflection of you. It is only part of your story.(Ashley Lipscomb & Ethan Sawyer, "Addressing Trauma in the College Essay," NACAC 2021) Ask questions that guide your writing toward growth: Great college essays reflect growth and thoughtfulness. It can be helpful in any essay, but especially in one that ...
No pain, no gain: The trauma essay in college applications
Andrew Liu, Opinions Editor • Dec 18, 2023. Helen Beebe. Applicants are pressured to write about their traumas in their college essays. This can cause many negative mental and emotional consequences. Your story's not tragic enough. Your story's not inspiring enough. Your story's not honest enough. Your story needs to embody the underdog.
Addressing Trauma in the College Essay Writing Process
Uncategorized Jan 25, 2021. This week, Institute Co-Founder and CEO Ashley Y. Lipscomb's original roadmap for Addressing Trauma in the College Essay Writing Process was featured in the NACAC Journal of College Admission. Originally created as part of The Institute's ground-breaking course Shifting Narratives Toward Healing: Disrupting Trauma ...
trauma = good essays : r/ApplyingToCollege
trauma = good essays. junior here. i think the more involved and engrossed i get with the college admissions process, the worse of a person i become. the other day, i spoke to one of my seniors about their college application experience and they told me about how they had to watch both their parent die due to covid. the first thing that came to ...
Trauma Essays: Samples & Topics
Trauma and Its Aftermath: Post Traumatic Growth and PTSD. Psychologist John Leach, a specialist in human responses to emergency situations, developed his "10/80/10 rule of survival" after examining a variety of crises and human reactions to them. According to Leach, 10 percent of people facing an emergency control their fears and act ...
406: Why You Don't Have to Write about Trauma in Your College Essay to
Why You Don't Have to Write about Trauma in Your College Essay to Stand Out—and What You Can Do Instead (blog) Return to Podcast Homepage. Tagged: college admissions, college counselor, admissions rep, trauma, college essay, narrative essay.
TRAUMA ESSAYS and how to go about it help me pls
only write about trauma if you think it best tells your story. i knew my essays was a risk, but i also knew i couldn't write about anything else because my trauma made me who i am. i'd recommend just trying to write your story out. write it as many times as you feel necessary. this is especially important if you don't talk about it a lot ...
College Essay Format: Top Writing and Editing Tips for 2024
Over 900 colleges use Common App essay prompts, which means you may be able to write one essay for several college applications. Some past Common App college essay prompts—which are announced publicly each year—include the following topics: Share a story about your background, interest, identity, or talent that makes you complete as a ...
A Few Notes on Trauma Essays From Someone Who Wrote One
Second, trauma essays are tricky to write because "pity points" alone don't get you in the door. Third, a lot of college admissions experts caution against writing trauma essays because the content can be too triggering for an AO to read properly, it can lead to mandated reporting things, etc.
PTSD Has Surged Among College Students
The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among college students rose to 7.5 percent in 2022, more than double the rate five years earlier, researchers found. By Ellen Barry Post-traumatic ...
are college essays supposed to be about trauma?
If you don't feel like writing a trauma essay, that is totally okay. College essays are less about what you choose to write about and more about how you tell the story of your personal growth and make it unique. I personally didn't go the traumatic event route with my essays and although I'm not sure how the admissions team received them, I don't think I was held back any by choosing a ...
The Rise of the "Trauma Essay" in College Applications
And a lot of the hate for the trauma essay here is misplaced. Negative experiences are in fact very impactful, and for a lot of people it is an important part of their journey that should be open for writing. As the ted talker briefly touched on, it's about how you write it and whether it's at a time when you are ready that matters.
COMMENTS
(Ashley Lipscomb & Ethan Sawyer, "Addressing Trauma in the College Essay," NACAC 2021) Ask questions that guide your writing toward growth: Great college essays reflect growth and thoughtfulness. It can be helpful in any essay, but especially in one that deals with challenging subjects, to keep a few questions in mind to guide your writing.
They're told the sky's the limit. As I started to be recognized as a promising student, around eighth grade, I was told, "You're smart and you're from the hood, you're from the ...
6. When there's little to no positive takeaways. One common theme in the "Why Trauma Can Work" section of this post is that there are positive qualities that are reflected through the story. Note in those four points how they each have words like personal, insightful, memorable, likable, growth, maturity, and resiliency.
The Trouble With Trauma Essays. In the TEDx talk, the presenter rightly points out that requiring students to discuss and unpack their trauma in college essays can be harmful. It produces false expectations for what their essays should be, and places an undue burden on students to discuss topics they may not be comfortable with.
Here's another great example essay that illustrates an approach you can take on your college essay. Personal Statement Example #2: The "Superpower/Skill" Approach For this essay, the author chose something that he was good at (music—in particular, beatboxing) and used it to describe a range of skills, qualities, values, and interests.
This essay-writing approach has been popularized by viral social media stories, where trauma essays are portrayed as the "make-or-break" factor in college applications; a well-known example is Abigail Mack, who went viral on TikTok after sharing her "letter-S" essay about the loss of a parent. Mack was accepted to Harvard University.
As if college applications aren't stressful enough, disadvantaged youth are often encouraged to write about their darkest traumas in their admissions essays, creating a marketable story of resilience that turns "pain into progress," says politics student Tina Yong. She brings this harrowing norm to light, exploring its harms and offering a more equitable process for colleges everywhere.
The growing discourse about college admission essays suggests that most Black students write about struggle or trauma. In interviews, Black undergraduate students expressed a keen awareness of ...
College Essays and the Trauma Sweetspot. The Harvard College Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is located at 86 Brattle Street in Radcliffe Yard. ... Writing one's college essay, while ...
He has students start by making five columns: Column 1: Students share challenges they've experienced. Column 2: Students write down the effects that occurred due to that challenge. Column 3: Students write down feelings associated with those effects. Column 4: Students write down what they needed/feel they needed to cope with the feelings.
At its best, the college application is an opportunity for a student to go from being a set of data points to a human being. The essay can demonstrate a student's writing ability, style, and flair.
How to Write About Trauma. One summer afternoon, when I was 4 or 5 years old, I was raped by a next-door neighbor. If the act itself was gruesome, the aftermath was surprisingly uneventful ...
First Person is where Chalkbeat features personal essays by educators, students, parents, and others thinking and writing about public education. "You're smart, you're Asian, you're queer ...
Remember this kind of essay is NOT a reflection of you. It is only part of your story.(Ashley Lipscomb & Ethan Sawyer, "Addressing Trauma in the College Essay," NACAC 2021) Ask questions that guide your writing toward growth: Great college essays reflect growth and thoughtfulness. It can be helpful in any essay, but especially in one that ...
Andrew Liu, Opinions Editor • Dec 18, 2023. Helen Beebe. Applicants are pressured to write about their traumas in their college essays. This can cause many negative mental and emotional consequences. Your story's not tragic enough. Your story's not inspiring enough. Your story's not honest enough. Your story needs to embody the underdog.
Uncategorized Jan 25, 2021. This week, Institute Co-Founder and CEO Ashley Y. Lipscomb's original roadmap for Addressing Trauma in the College Essay Writing Process was featured in the NACAC Journal of College Admission. Originally created as part of The Institute's ground-breaking course Shifting Narratives Toward Healing: Disrupting Trauma ...
trauma = good essays. junior here. i think the more involved and engrossed i get with the college admissions process, the worse of a person i become. the other day, i spoke to one of my seniors about their college application experience and they told me about how they had to watch both their parent die due to covid. the first thing that came to ...
Trauma and Its Aftermath: Post Traumatic Growth and PTSD. Psychologist John Leach, a specialist in human responses to emergency situations, developed his "10/80/10 rule of survival" after examining a variety of crises and human reactions to them. According to Leach, 10 percent of people facing an emergency control their fears and act ...
Why You Don't Have to Write about Trauma in Your College Essay to Stand Out—and What You Can Do Instead (blog) Return to Podcast Homepage. Tagged: college admissions, college counselor, admissions rep, trauma, college essay, narrative essay.
only write about trauma if you think it best tells your story. i knew my essays was a risk, but i also knew i couldn't write about anything else because my trauma made me who i am. i'd recommend just trying to write your story out. write it as many times as you feel necessary. this is especially important if you don't talk about it a lot ...
Over 900 colleges use Common App essay prompts, which means you may be able to write one essay for several college applications. Some past Common App college essay prompts—which are announced publicly each year—include the following topics: Share a story about your background, interest, identity, or talent that makes you complete as a ...
Second, trauma essays are tricky to write because "pity points" alone don't get you in the door. Third, a lot of college admissions experts caution against writing trauma essays because the content can be too triggering for an AO to read properly, it can lead to mandated reporting things, etc.
The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among college students rose to 7.5 percent in 2022, more than double the rate five years earlier, researchers found. By Ellen Barry Post-traumatic ...
If you don't feel like writing a trauma essay, that is totally okay. College essays are less about what you choose to write about and more about how you tell the story of your personal growth and make it unique. I personally didn't go the traumatic event route with my essays and although I'm not sure how the admissions team received them, I don't think I was held back any by choosing a ...
And a lot of the hate for the trauma essay here is misplaced. Negative experiences are in fact very impactful, and for a lot of people it is an important part of their journey that should be open for writing. As the ted talker briefly touched on, it's about how you write it and whether it's at a time when you are ready that matters.