There is no doubt that it feels good to write about our struggles. Literature is filled with these stories. Think Jane Eyre, The Life of Pi, I am Malala, or Man’s Search for Meaning. However, writing an essay about a life challenge in a strong way takes skill.
An essay about a life challenge may work for the second Common App prompts; it may also work for other college application essay prompts.
These essays work best when the challenge or problem description section is one quarter of the essay, and three quarters of the essay is about how you have dealt with a challenge and how it has changed you.
From the college admissions officer’s perspective, the interesting part of an essay about a life challenge is how you solved the problem or overcame the challenge, so that should be the essay’s main focus.
The Problem or Challenge: 1/4 of the Essay
As you begin your drafts, you can start by writing about your challenge or your problem. This is how many writers begin; problems are interesting and exciting because we want to solve them. Ooops! Often we don’t leave enough words to talk about how we dealt with the problem and how it has changed us.
Once you complete a draft, try to get some help editing the description so it is about 1/4 or 1/3 of the essay.
A tip: You don’t need to start by describing the problem. You can start with a paragraph that shows the “new you” that has conquered the problem, then describe the problem later in the essay.
Your Changed Behavior: 3/4 of the Essay
The new, resourceful you who figured out how to solve the problem is the person attending college, so give that “new you” more words in your essay. How did you solve the problem or overcome the challenge?
Remember to discuss how you dealt with the problem and how it has changed you–not just your beliefs, but your behavior.
For example, have you started driving your siblings to and from their extracurriculars because of a parent’s illness? Have you started a charity to help people in similar situations as yours? Show how you have changed because of your struggle. How do you act differently now?
It’s important to acknowledge that writing about a problem has its own challenges. Here’s how to avoid three common pitfalls when writing an “overcoming a challenge” essay.