Decide what a reader needs to understand
There is no expiration date on writing about hardship. The decision belongs to the student. Share the minimum context you are comfortable sharing, and give it the space that fits its purpose. An honest explanation can be short.
The Ivy Institute
Set the boundary
Decide privately what you want a reader to know. You do not owe graphic detail or someone else’s personal story. A change in access, time or responsibility can often be described directly.
Common App describes how its challenges and circumstances question was introduced.
Choose the space
A disruption that explains a gap may need only a brief contextual note. A personal statement can work when you want to explore a choice, a relationship or a question in your own voice.
Read the preview
Read the essay and any context box together. Remove repeated material. Ask a trusted reviewer whether they can see your actions without needing details you want to keep private.
Choose how much context to keep
Leave it out if it is unnecessary or belongs to somebody else.
Explain the relevant change in time, access or responsibility.
Include the decision or adaptation you are willing to discuss.
Choose an editing route
Choose the situation that fits, then add the next action you want to take.
Where this leads
From our advising notes
When a student shared two possible personal statements, our team supported the draft that felt closer to the student’s own voice and suggested targeted refinements. The advice followed the student’s preference about what to share.
For the next decision, use the related guides to give every application a last known location and check what a reader can actually find.
Continue with student case studies, our advising team or a conversation about your own plan.
Each week, The Ivy Institute receives many questions from students and parents on platforms like Reddit and Quora. These inquiries span a wide range of topics related to college admissions, covering everything from standardized test advice and essay writing tips to scholarship opportunities and extracurricular guidance. After careful evaluation, we select a handful of these questions each week to feature on our website. These chosen questions are deemed particularly insightful, informative, or representative of common concerns shared by students embarking on their college journey. By highlighting these questions, along with our expert responses, we aim to create a valuable resource for all individuals navigating the college application process.
We selected this question because it's a topic that frequently arises among our students and their families here at The Ivy Institute. In essence, the author's response is entirely accurate. In recent years, we've observed many students becoming fixated on discovering or manufacturing a hardship or "sob story" to incorporate into their college applications. Unfortunately, this approach is more likely to result in rejection. Admissions committees can often discern when a story lacks authenticity, genuine meaning, or personal significance. In many instances, it becomes apparent that students are attempting to leverage their stories to gain an advantage in the admissions process.
It's crucial to recognize that everyone encounters hardships and challenges at some point in life; it's an unfortunate part of the human experience. Therefore, simply mentioning a hardship without context or depth will not add significant value to a student's application. Furthermore, if a student has faced a genuinely significant hardship, it doesn't necessarily have to be the focal point of their application.
Through our experience in admissions, we've found that students who have overcome hardships are typically strong candidates for admission based on other aspects of their academic and extracurricular achievements. When a student does choose to reveal their hardship (often subtly), it adds a compelling layer to their application, emphasizing that all their impressive accomplishments were achieved in the context of these challenges.
Many essays follow a standard format, which suggests that they were all taught the same thing (or uphold the same beliefs of the admissions process). Often, they begin their story by telling a difficult or emotionally intense scenario, which is sometimes referred to as a "sob story" or hardship. After that, these essays move into a description of how the student overcame challenges and developed an interest in the subject matter that they will be studying in the future.
Although it's possible that this tried-and-true method has brought about favorable results in the past, admissions officers have already seen a great number of essays that follow this format, so it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out on this front. As a consequence of this, such narratives might not carry the same weight of authenticity or distinctiveness when compared to the narratives of other applicants. However, that does not mean they should be eliminated as a possibility, entirely.
As the author mentioned, at this juncture, you may be wrestling with the idea, "What if this narrative genuinely reflects my personal experience?" To which the author had a well-stated response: In these kinds of circumstances, it is a good idea to give some thought to the possibility of imbuing your story with believable “twists and turns” that raise it above the ordinary. Recognizing that not everyone has been through remarkable experiences, there is a risk that adhering rigorously to the typical hardship story storyline can cause your essay to sound the same as other people's essays. Consider using a straightforward and honest approach from the very beginning of the conversation as an alternative tactic, particularly if you feel driven to talk about a trying situation that you've been through.
It is of the utmost importance to emphasize that sympathy alone will not, unfortunately, guarantee entry. The admissions process functions on a different plane than the remembrance of difficult circumstances; rather, it places a premium on a narrative that is engaging and distinctive and elevates it to a position of paramount importance. Because of your genuineness and the one-of-a-kind qualities you bring to the table, you will stand out from the crowd of other applicants in a highly competitive program.
In summary, there's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, and it's unwise to make sweeping generalizations in either direction. Instead, the decision should be made on a case-by-case basis, considering each student's unique life circumstances and overall profile.
