Want to read the list instead of watch? supertutortv.com/videos/riskiest-topics-for-a-college-essay

In one of my personal insight questions for UC, I talked about my issues with mental health and a depressive state I went through during junior year. I had many people tell me that showing my emotions and vulnerable side would make me come off as weak. However, I was adamant in showing every aspect of my life so I could paint a clear picture of myself. I ended up being accepted in every UC I applied to, including Berkeley and LA, and I now attend UCLA. Moral of the Story: Don't make the essay about a pity party of your life; rather, show how you are pushing past hurdles that have come in your way. Just because you have a mental illness or learning disability, it does not mean you are weak. You are stronger for getting to where you are with all of your baggage in tow. ❤

@amikishimoto7680

3 жыл бұрын

wow that's amazing, congrats! i wanted to talk about a similar topic, could i contact you through another platform? it would mean a lot if you could give me some advice!

@ma.nasa26

3 жыл бұрын

@@amikishimoto7680 Sure! Which platform can we connect on?

@kimochi9009

3 жыл бұрын

hello can i also contact u on instagram? i’m @kimpeachly :)

@zuhayrroha4392

3 жыл бұрын

All the flaws I wrote about myself in the numerous essays, ended with something positive Hope mine ones work

@Lsss7915

3 жыл бұрын

I’m a rising freshman at UCLA too!!!

I'm still going to write about community service. Volunteer firefighting just became my life. I love it and it's all I want to talk about.

@theatregirl7851

3 жыл бұрын

volunteer firefighting is definitely a unique way to talk about community service!! i hope it goes well for you :)

@HazyHuez

2 жыл бұрын

I volunteer for mass COVID vaccines distribution! I'm still writing about it because it has been eyeopening and I love it

my way or the highway she really said it

Often times youtube videos/youtubers try to make videos like these and it seems most of them are self-serving and its all about them. With you, I can tell you really care about helping people and I can immediately feel the authenticity. Love it!

Oof time to overthink things again

Can you make a video talking about how to pick the right "intended major" on Common App? Thank you!

Oh boy, now we're all wondering whether we can pull of this risk

Hi! Mine kind of encompasses two of these risky areas and after watching this video I’m kind of unsure about where I stand. Mine essentially talks about a surgery that I had that has had a considerable physical impact on me and sort of affected my learning at the time (not a learning disability, but nevertheless something very significant). I think I did a good job in terms of not making it negative and I primarily focused on how, in retrospect, it’s influenced my “political” views. The surgery, hospital bills, and medications that I’ve needed to take obviously costed a lot and it made me think about how these costs are, to some extent, overinflated and something that could really hurt a less fortunate family. I didn’t go into how I’m a proponent of a M4A system since that’s obviously very polarizing, but rather focused on how I want to someday enter politics and fix the issues with inflated drug prices and under coverage (which are concerns I think are shared by people of both parties). Do you (or anyone else in the comments) believe this is fine? Sorry for the lengthy response btw haha

@sosassy2classy1

3 жыл бұрын

sounds good to me

@Dan-dm7we

3 жыл бұрын

Brianna great, thank you!

@nunyabusiness6450

3 жыл бұрын

Sounds fine to me. The inflation of drug costs are political but not really a party split thing, I'm pretty sure both want lower inflated drug prices so they're more affordable.

Hahaha…. One of my essays includes mention of: my learning disability, volunteering (kinda) and politics (kinda). I mean it was prompted - it was why I want to go into the political science/foreign service school and I was talking about the importance of mental health education but wow managed to hit 3 of the topics!

me knowing i am writing my essay about my chronic illnesses 👁👄👁

@riverogue13

3 жыл бұрын

Alexandra B I’m writing abt ocd lets go

@morganwheeler3949

3 жыл бұрын

FR like it’s part of my life

@jennalowe681

3 жыл бұрын

Sammmeee 😅

DONT LET UR EMOTIONS BE JUDGED BY SOME ESSAY

Please make more college essay idea/tip videos!

High risk, high reward

@shlokmalpani3157

3 жыл бұрын

😌

This makes me feel better. I wrote an essay about religion which kinda ties into the stuff she said with Politics. In hindsight I think I nailed it more than I thought I did.

shout-out to supertutortv, I'm in college rn and she has been a part of the process!

Would writing on my struggles with ADHD and my mental health be okay if my grades got better over the course of highschool? If I were able to show with my academic achievements how I overcame the issues I had with mental health and ADHD, especially growing up with Asian culture and how it's so stigmatized would it be fine? The main issue is, I don't want the admissions people to pity me, but I was wondering how I could use what I've gone through into my essay. My culture and family are really important to me, but growing up in a culture where I'm basically a mistake really impacted my childhood growing up and I want to know how I can use that. I don't want the colleges to think that my disorder or my mental health issues to be seen as a weakness or as a weak point in my application.

Great video!

Can you make some videos on how to learn faster or other topics related to mentality?

Could you make a video about what to put in a video portfolio? I know a lot of schools are doing them since they aren't conducting interviews.

I’m writing about my dreams about the Harry Potter world, so I’m good, eh?

@JustAnotherLokiStan

3 жыл бұрын

Well, a lot of people are gonna write about fandoms, and the media you're interested in doesn't tell anything about who you are as a person, so unless it's had a huge impact on who you are or you've done something impressive with your knowledge of the wizarding world (eg. cosplay, interviewing cast/author) I don't think it's a very good idea.

me watching this knowing my essay is about yoga 😳

hi, i was wondering if i could write about religion? my essay asks me how my family history has shaped me, my identity, and my world view. I want to focus on my religious upbringing and how the core teachings have shaped me into the person i am today. if i focus more on the things i have learned and how they affected me instead of focusing too much on my religion, then would it be alright?

How do we get people who know how to write essays for college to review them? Can we email a college admissions officer or what?

Sad part is that some might sound offensive but can be true. Too bad the high school students first thing they learn is shy away from the truth

Me watching this knowing my essay is about ceramics

I definitely went the risky route with Emory, but I got into the Oxford college! Actually thinking shout it, most of my my essays were controversial in some way

@cryovizard9461

Жыл бұрын

For example I applied as a bio major, but my essay topic was about the divine nature of genetics

@danny.golcman6846

Жыл бұрын

@@cryovizard9461 thats cool

i'm currently writing about the impact that social media has done to us, is that risky at all?

I wrote about my first time at a haunted house and related it to stepping out of my comfort zone

hey!!!! what is the best sat essay book rather than the college panda essay book ,and is the sat essay college panda the best?

I’m an American student but I really want to go to St. Andrews University in Scotland. I’m really struggling to find resources on the UK university application process because it’s drastically different. Do you have any resources that you would recommend me checking out?!?!

@ilinajoshi8047

3 жыл бұрын

try the UCAS youtube channel maybe?

She constantly talks about how we think what we do is original. Maybe it's because I'm going back to school at 25. But I have the complete opposite mindset. I constantly worry that I'm too ordinary.

Can I right about a leadership position I undertook senior year? Or is it too late to write about senior year ECS

Maybe that student got into Yale despite that essay. You assume it helped him. Maybe the rest of his application was good enough to overlook a risky essay.

@lovenoirrr

3 жыл бұрын

good point

And I wrote about rollercoasters. I think that’s a risk in and of itself… 😅

Well I hope my college essay about my chronic illness is not cliche lol

Hello i want to ask if i should write my 2021 common app essay in paragraphs or should i just write one long essay with no paragraphs

I was considering talking about sexism in the stem field and my personal experiences with it. Is this too risky? How could I write it well?

@lovenoirrr

3 жыл бұрын

sexism in stem is low hanging fruit you can do so much better

As a freshman in highschool I'd like as many tips as I can get ! Yes though I'm young I care a lot about my future and what college I get into. My dream college is Yale btw

@amikishimoto7680

3 жыл бұрын

what's a feature? i'm not from the us, could you please explain?

@pavanananthakrishnan2218

3 жыл бұрын

Ami Kishimoto it’s future she misspelled it lol

@samanthauhl4296

3 жыл бұрын

@@pavanananthakrishnan2218 sorry I misspelled future mistakes can happen you don't have to be rude

@samanthauhl4296

3 жыл бұрын

@@amikishimoto7680 I accidentally misspelled it I meant to type future, sorry

@nunyabusiness6450

3 жыл бұрын

Pavan wasn't being rude imo. For one, work yourself hard if you really wanna get into Yale. But don't do it just because it's an ivy league or its pretty etc. Because you'll be the one with tens if not hundreds of thousands in debt. You'll need good staff relations, try to get close with your counselor too for recommendation letters. Ofc do well in school grade wise. Be well rounded but show an interest. So maybe do a club and a sport. Don't switch them every year because the school might see you as non committal. And don't stress yourself out. If you burn out in highschool, you're way more likely to flunk out of uni. If you're unable to do constant ap courses with As and Bs, and do clubs, and competitions, and volunteering, etc it's not a bad thing to reset your expectations. Even if you could achieve that, be sure it's worth it. Is the sacrifice of your highschool enjoyment worth a four year degree you could get down the street? Not saying ivy is bad but they certainly don't play fair. It's awesome if you really do want to go, but I've seen too many devastated when they didn't get in with their 4.7gpas and sports and clubs at the sacrifice of family time and rest. Basically, set realistic expectations for yourself. Do well in classes. If that goes well, take harder classes. Do a club, maybe two. Maybe do a sport. Be nice to EVERYONE. You never know how they can help you later on

What about an essay on religion? That’s what I’ve been thinking about doing for the challenged beliefs one since i’m an atheist.

@kelseyfinlayson9498

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I didn’t want to risk too much so I sent it in to my teacher and they said it was good.

@annabethwashere

3 жыл бұрын

SAME! Like I don't mention religion at all in my essay, just my personal beliefs as an atheist and I've had people tell me its ok. But I know some get offended by the mere mention of someone being an atheist

@nunyabusiness6450

3 жыл бұрын

Ayy same first name I'd send it to someone you know who is more religious. Similar to how with political essays, you get reviews from alternate perspectives to be sure it isn't offensive

@kelseyfinlayson9498

3 жыл бұрын

yeah that (english) teacher I believe is more religious since they’ve assigned a ton of bible readings.

@SushiMuncher

3 жыл бұрын

I wrote my commonapp essay on that topic and my counselor made me change it lol.

Can I make a review of my common app essay from you??

Is it controversial to write about society’s expectations of women if I’m a female? I have many personal stories and wanted to write about how it’s affected me growing up, but now I’m worried it will offend someone.

@nicholaslu4069

3 жыл бұрын

Perhaps contextualize the social norms in question and make sure you focus on the way you overcome the negative effects they have had on you growing up.

Hey I started writing my essay yesterday, and I wrote about being a state finalist for speech and debate, and how I was the only person of color on my speech team and the speech final round.

@aakashagrawal3795

3 жыл бұрын

Just curious if this would work. I have only been in the states for like 5 years and I also brought that in.

@annabethwashere

3 жыл бұрын

As long as it connects to the message you're trying to get across in your essay. If being a person of color is important to your identity, I would definitely include it!

@thiagogregory1

3 жыл бұрын

@@aakashagrawal3795 There are billions of people that are not white. Why would you make an essay about race wtf

@aakashagrawal3795

3 жыл бұрын

@@thiagogregory1 Bruh my essay talks about how I was the only person of color on my school's speech team and the final round of the state championship. And I don't know why you are getting pissed about why I wrote my essay about race.

@thiagogregory1

3 жыл бұрын

@@aakashagrawal3795 I'm not getting pissed. You definitely do not know the interpretation. First of all, you are not even that black. You are brown in the white spectrum. Second of all, you may be the only person of color in your speech team but there are thousands of black people that participate in the debate team.

big risk = big reward😌😌

ABOUT WHAT COLLEGE U GO

Here's my two cents. I'm a student who wrote a ~risky~ essay and got in. I applied to Bible college and my essay was about my Christian testimony. My story wasn't going to be complete unless I mentioned my shame over some immoral things I did before I had a relationship with God. I decided to just go there and dive all the way into the gritty details since being honest about my past strengthened the main point of my paper. I got into my school of choice and the admissions counselor who read my essay called me on the phone to tell me how much it touched her. Risks can pay off if your perspective on the messy details of real life is interesting and insightful.

@lilyyoung1002

3 жыл бұрын

Congratulations

can i write about an incident for which i was hospitalized?pls tell?

@lizzie8084

Жыл бұрын

thought u were a sophomore in dartmouth

I'm in college idk what I'm doing here

@RaghavSharma-cu8md

3 жыл бұрын

which one?

@nusrayusuf9174

3 жыл бұрын

Same

@orliepstein6509

3 жыл бұрын

Sharma ji ka londa Princeton

@RaghavSharma-cu8md

3 жыл бұрын

@@orliepstein6509 I am going to college next yr, can I get some tips from u? u can give me ur insta

@shlokmalpani3157

3 жыл бұрын

@@orliepstein6509 ok

I wanted to talk about a musical artist who really helped transform my life and way of thinking. I also to talk about how I use one of her lyrics and apply it to my everyday life. Is this a good idea?

@nidhiu.7170

3 жыл бұрын

I think it would be really original! Good luck with your essays, btw!

@lj.lampley

3 жыл бұрын

Nidhi U. Thank you so much!!

@annabethwashere

3 жыл бұрын

yes! as long as it is about you and not the artist, always relate it back to yourself!

@lj.lampley

3 жыл бұрын

Annabeth thank you so much!!

@RaghavSharma-cu8md

3 жыл бұрын

This is really a very gud idea, cause the college will see that using that music formula, you can also handle projects and hardships during the college years

I'm in junior year of high school, my parents said this is quite early to think about this all so......i am confused is it really early or am I going on the right way

@TechnoHacker1000

3 жыл бұрын

You are not too early.. you will be thanking yourself next year when you are all done with your apps early when everyone else is stressing in their senior year. Start now

@444fawn

3 жыл бұрын

start early please. Im a senior and the college application process is one of the most stresfful things i have ever gone through in my life. There is one big essay then like 10 small essays, filling out personal information, creating a resume and writing emails asking for letters of recommendation. There is a lot to do so youre lucky youre getting an early start.

@linapark1038

3 жыл бұрын

@@444fawn thanks for saying then I am gonna work hard and beat of luck to you, hope you will get accepted into a good university😁😁

@kylieleung4112

3 жыл бұрын

​@@linapark1038 Don't stress yourself out over this, but do consider what you could write about. If you start too early, you may limit yourself because there is still much that can happen to you or that you can experience during junior year that you could possibly write about for your essays. I started my essays in the summer before Senior year and because of that, I am not as stressed and I am almost done.

@linapark1038

3 жыл бұрын

@@kylieleung4112 no I am not talking about the college essay cause I know there is plenty much nothing to write about . I am talking about Considering things I need to do for entering a good university because my friends are still unaware of these things they don't even know what GPA , AP or IB exactly means

What do you guys think about me writing my essay about being an atheist and my journey with that? I won't be discussing my issues with religion at all, but I know some people still get offended at any mention of atheism. Thoughts??

@PositiveMe100

3 жыл бұрын

Imagine your admission officer is religious. This is HIGHLY risky, dont recommend

@dylan.alfonso1377

3 жыл бұрын

Also just off the top of my head, you’re eliminating colleges with religious affiliations. Make sure you research the colleges you’re applying to with that essay to see if they have any religious affiliation. And also as the person above said, there’s a chance that your admissions officer is religious. It’s a high risk to take

@malaikashroff7608

3 жыл бұрын

As long as you don’t actually insinuate that a specific religion is harmful or bad, it shouldn’t be too bad

@annabethwashere

3 жыл бұрын

@@dylan.alfonso1377 Yeah, I'm not applying to any colleges with a religious affiliation. But do you think atheism is inherently offensive? I won't be mentioning any religions, just my outlook on life. How is that any different from someone writing an essay about their faith?

@nunyabusiness6450

3 жыл бұрын

@@annabethwashere it's just riskier to write about. Religion is subjective, and atheism inherently makes it objective. That's why people get offended and why it's risky. It's not because atheism is inherently offensive or anything, but it does make for a risky essay topic

Me watching this knowing that my essay is about bread so it's unique 👍🙂

I am a freshman in college. Why am I here?

Someone let me know if they've written about a mental illness in their essays-- idk if i should...

Ok, but writing about sexism if your a guy isn't really that risky. The patriarchy harms everyone, even if it does harm some groups more. Same with issues around race. White people need to stop being so scared of that topic. We need to have more difficult conversations about our complicity in a racist system and how white people have benefitted from that.

@kyle7574

3 жыл бұрын

*writing

@kyle7574

3 жыл бұрын

Well said btw

@aa-zq2fr

3 жыл бұрын

I feel like she was talking more about controversial takes (like her example about the white guy writing about reverse racism). It's important for white people and men to talk about these topics, but maybe not in their one personal statement for college lol. Esp if it ends up sounding like theyre victimizing themselves.

@annabethwashere

3 жыл бұрын

@@kyle7574 oop thanks lol i really said "righting"

@annabethwashere

3 жыл бұрын

@@aa-zq2fr true

Would I be able to write an essay about sexism against men? I'm a girl, and my viewpoint used to be that men should "pay" for what their ancestors did (treated women poorly in the past) I thought it was women's turn to be in government bc I thought that was equality, but I was ignorant and didn't know that that wasn't equality: it was equity. I really want to write about how women can make false accusations about men and get away with it, while men have to rot in prison. I also think it's super unfair that men are supposed to be "strong" and can't show their emotions. It's also not fair that if a boy tried to write this essay that I'm writing (I may be writing) it wouldn't be allowed, whereas a girl like me can write it. Idk this whole gender inequality has made me really take in another point of view when my mind was seemingly not going to change. This would work right?

@truepachi1689

3 жыл бұрын

That would definitely make for an interesting essay topic!

@kaitlyng7850

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the support and help everyone! Really appreciate it!

@annabethwashere

3 жыл бұрын

Yes! As long as you relate it back to yourself. The patriarchy hurts everyone, even if it hurts women more.

@arnaudenorelus4139

3 жыл бұрын

No it wont

@maleahnoelle957

3 жыл бұрын

This could be a really good essay. On the false accusation part you should also emphasize the rarity of that, since 1/3 are actually sexually assaulted whereas less than 2% of allegations are false. You don’t want to discredit the majority making a point about something that rarely happens, but you can talk about it. Just make sure you do research on any major point you’re trying to make!

Hi everyone, I am from little country in east Europe, do you think than taking up aspects of racism here, being homophobic is a good idea?

@nunyabusiness6450

3 жыл бұрын

Sounds great to me! Funnily enough, and kinda sadly, if you're from another country then the issues there will be compartmentalized to be apart of that nation, even if they exist in the US. So it should be fine

No

what do yall think about writing how suicidal i was and what my solution was

noiceeee

These essays are risky if they aren't pulled off well. But I'm scared of writing about my life in palestine because simply stating my identity might upset the AO :(

@anallarry1961

3 жыл бұрын

Please write about it! If an AO is offended by your ethnicity, they are obviously racist and I wouldn’t want to attend an institution that cares more about identity than the content of one’s character. Go for it!

@highsun76

3 жыл бұрын

@@anallarry1961 I did end up writing about it! Thank you, I feel more confident about it now that you said this!

@wojak6793

2 жыл бұрын

@@anallarry1961 that eliminates like all the T50s and probably every college on US News lol (higher standards for Asian applicants)

10:16 I literally wrote about these. How conservatives think all liberals are Antifa terrorists, woke, communist And How liberals think all conservatives are KKK, racist, narrow minded I talked about these after I said that I had broaden my views to listen to all different views. Plus I am international so both groups will be more offended by my essay. Anyone Americans want to read my essay with full context to give me feedback.

@alisse4175

3 жыл бұрын

I mean if you aren’t from the country of origin it’s hard to say what people of that country think but if you’ve done your research it could work.

@annieh660

3 жыл бұрын

Hi! I'm an American lmao so uhh I'll consider myself qualified. I just want to point out that "woke" is a term liberals use to address themselves + has a positive connotation. It's also been losing popularity so it wouldn't be the best word choice lol. Also, if you're going to be writing about the political climate of a culture you don't identify with, you're going to have to be very clear in connecting it to yourself and how it affects you, as well as why this affects you more than the political climate of your own country (ex. it would be much harder for me to write about how Switzerland's politics have affected me compared to the US). Really make sure it's well-researched because if you're applying to a college in the US the admissions officer will likely know more about the political climate than someone not from the US. Good luck with your essay!

@annabethwashere

3 жыл бұрын

maybe talk about politics in your country of origin and how you can bring a unique perspective to American politics! I think an outsider perspective could be really interesting, as long as you relate it back to yourself!

@clashclan5363

3 жыл бұрын

@@annabethwashere ours country's politics is just one sided dictatorship. I started watching american late night shows to improve my English, from there on, I went deep into American Political climate

@nunyabusiness6450

3 жыл бұрын

@@clashclan5363 perhaps tie in how American politics raised you in a sense then? The risk is you don't want to offend any one group, and you especially don't want to offend both groups by telling them both they're wrong. The reflex reaction will likely be "they're international what do they know" if that happens so you gotta be real careful

One cares

I’m writing about my dreams about the Harry Potter world, so I’m good, eh?