Guide to the ADVERSITY College Admissions Essays Sarah O'Neill Chester County

 

Sarah O’Neill Coatesville, Chester County, Supreme Editing

Guide to Writing Adversity Essays
Common Question: “Tell us about a challenge you faced.”

Example Prompts:

UC Schools:
Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome it. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

Common App:
The lessons we take from obstacles can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

University of Miami:
The University of Miami’s official mascot is the ibis, a bird known to be the last to take shelter before a hurricane and the first to reemerge after it passes. It symbolizes courage and resilience. Considering your ability to control your motivation and behavior, how have past experiences built your courage and resilience to overcome academic and life challenges? How do you plan to continue pursuing your goals once these storms pass?

What Colleges Are Really Asking:

How do you handle failure?
What do you learn from mistakes?
What skills have you gained from facing challenges?
This framework can help guide your response, showing schools how you’ve grown from tough experiences and the specific traits you’ve developed along the way.

Example Essay: Breaking Out of Invisible Prisons
What kind of program asks kids to simulate a “prison break”? Standing in a small room filled with sixteen anxious faces, I stared at our only tools — two six-foot bamboo poles. It was sophomore-year me, volunteering in a two-week summer program designed to resolve conflicts between teenagers with learning difficulties and their parents. I had been assigned as a group leader, but I couldn’t shake my nerves. How was I supposed to connect with these so-called “problematic” kids?

On the first day, the teacher announced our initial task — to escape from “prison” — and locked each group in separate rooms. The kids’ faces filled with reluctance; a few boys retreated to the corners. I tried to get everyone motivated, but nothing worked.

Then a boy named Brandon scoffed, “How ridiculous, there’s no point to this stupid role-playing!”

Frustrated with both myself and the group, I paused. Then it hit me: an analogy. “Does anyone feel trapped? Maybe by parents, school, or all the restrictions in life?” I said. “That’s the point here. We’re literally locked in a prison, but no matter how limited the resources” — I picked up one of the poles and gestured to the small opening near the ceiling — “we’re going to get out.”

One by one, everyone joined in. After that initial spark of motivation, the rest was surprisingly easy. We started by lifting our smallest team members through the opening. When the youngest one shouted, “I’m out!” everyone cheered. For the older kids, we used the poles as a makeshift stretcher, with two people hoisting each person up.

Finally, when only Brandon and I were left in the cell, the task seemed the hardest. But Brandon, grinning, volunteered, “Alessia, step on my back and climb to the exit.” He flexed his arms confidently. “I’ll lift myself up after.”

In just an hour and a half, our team was the fastest of the six to escape, winning a special prize — a buffet lunch. During lunch, I got to know my group better and realized they weren’t “problematic”; they simply felt misunderstood. The lack of communication was what really distanced them from their parents.

Inspired, I suggested an idea called “The Words Unsaid.” Over the next few weeks, I helped each camper write a heartfelt letter to their parents, sharing thoughts they had never voiced before. On our last day, as their parents read the letters, I saw tears of joy and understanding. Brandon, standing with his mother, came up to me and said, “Thank you for leading us out of prison — both the real one and the invisible one.”

What Should I Write About?

Difficult topics are okay, but…
You can write about challenging or sensitive topics — such as divorce, family tragedy, or mental health struggles — in your adversity essay. However, the focus should remain on your personal growth and positive qualities.

A good guideline is to ensure at least half of your essay highlights the constructive lessons you learned. While the first half can describe feelings of sadness, anger, or conflict, the second half should emphasize growth and positivity.

Challenges don’t have to be tragic.
Students sometimes feel compelled to write about extreme adversity or tragedy to stand out to admissions readers. If this were true, the job of an admissions reader would be overwhelmingly sad, and prestigious schools like Harvard would admit fewer legacy students.

Avoid writing about trivial challenges.
Be mindful not to write about challenges that come across as insignificant. For example:

“I’ve faced many challenges in life. But today, I want to talk about the time I got a B in AP Environmental Science…”

Trivial challenges often revolve around minor academic setbacks like “slightly bad grades.” If you’re stuck brainstorming, remember that most adversity essays don’t need to center on academic issues.

Be cautious with the “moving to America” essay.
This topic can be overused and may not stand out unless it has a unique perspective:

“When I first arrived in America, I had trouble communicating with my new classmates…”

Many applicants share the experience of moving to the U.S. for middle or high school and facing the challenge of adapting to a new language and culture. While this is undoubtedly a significant hurdle and can make for a compelling essay topic, it’s important to remember that it is also a common theme among international students.

If you choose to write a “moving to America” essay, aim to distinguish yourself by highlighting the unique aspects of your experience. Focus on the sensory details of your story: what happened, what people said, and how things looked, sounded, and smelled. This type of essay is an excellent opportunity to experiment with distinctive framing, metaphors, or creative structures.

When addressing the UC application specifically, ensure you read the prompt carefully. The UC system often features an “Adversity” prompt, which many students choose to answer. This prompt asks you to reflect on how a significant challenge has impacted your academic achievement. While the challenge you describe does not have to be directly related to academics, it should connect in some way to how it influenced your academic journey. For example, you might discuss how dealing with undiagnosed ADHD in middle school led you to develop unconventional study habits or how leading a team in a math competition improved your collaboration skills.

Brainstorming Tips:

1. Start by listing at least 10 challenges you’ve encountered throughout your life. Don’t edit as you brainstorm; jot down anything that comes to mind, whether big or small. You can refine your list later.

Examples:

• Losing all my friends after moving to a new city in tenth grade and needing to make new connections.
• Leading a team during a tenth-grade robotics competition.
• Struggling to learn Portuguese to communicate with my Brazilian relatives, despite my difficulty with languages.
• Recovering from ACL surgery.
• Working on my uncle’s farm for an entire summer.

Challenges to Consider for Your Essay:

• Meeting my half-sister for the first time
• Learning to skateboard
• Teaching a class of rowdy kids how to play the guqin
• Completing my goal of reading 100 books in a single year

Tips for Choosing the Right Challenge:

• Choose challenges that are significant, unique, and personally meaningful.
• Focus on challenges that taught you important lessons or contributed to your personal growth.
• If writing for the UC “adversity” prompt, remember it asks for the most significant challenge that impacted your academic achievement.

Steps Taken to Overcome the Challenge of Learning Portuguese:

• Daily practice on Duolingo
• Challenging conversations with my parents in Portuguese
• Listening to Brazilian music and studying the lyrics
• Enrolling in online Portuguese classes through my school instead of in-person Spanish or French
• Connecting with relatives via phone calls and texts
• Practicing speaking with strangers during a visit to Brazil, despite my shyness

Growth and Transformation from the Experience:

• Increased social confidence
• Strengthened relationships with relatives
• Enhanced language skills, boosting overall learning abilities

This outline offers a strong narrative structure for a personal statement or essay. Here’s a breakdown of how each part works:

Part 1: Introduce Your Challenge

• Hook with a unique detail: Begin with a personal and memorable image or anecdote that relates to your main story. In this case, the bond with the ibis at the wildlife hospital is both vivid and symbolic.
• Transition to the main challenge: Gradually connect this unique detail to the core issue — your parents’ life-altering accident. This transition sets the stage for the reader to understand both your background and the intensity of the challenge.

Part 2: What You Did to Overcome This Challenge

• Detail actions taken: Highlight specific actions you took during this period, such as handling logistical responsibilities (driving to appointments, managing medications) and dealing with emotional stress.
• Illustrate resilience and adaptability: Emphasize how you stepped into a new role and managed the pressure. This paints a clear picture of how you navigated through the sudden change.

Part 3: How You Grew and Changed

• Reflect on personal growth: Show how this experience shaped your character and skillset, such as becoming more self-reliant and developing leadership skills.
• Connect to initial imagery: Bring the story full circle by connecting your newfound strength and resilience back to the image of rehabilitating ibises. This creates a powerful ending that echoes your original connection with the wildlife hospital, symbolizing your growth and recovery alongside your parents.

This structure ensures a coherent, emotional, and impactful narrative that demonstrates your character and personal development.

GOOD LUCK!

If you have questions or need edits, email saraoneil3232@yahoo.com

Sarah O’Neill Coatesville, Teacher, Chester County, Supreme Editing