I’m writing about something really personal in one of my essays... a family loss that completely changed how I approach leadership and resilience. I want to be honest and show who I really am, but there’s a voice in my head saying, “Don’t make this too heavy.” It’s hard to know if vulnerability is a strength or a risk. I don’t want to come across as emotionally unstable, but I also don’t want to sanitize something that matters. How personal is too personal?

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Vulnerability is a strength and the purpose of your essays is to share who you are as a PERSON beyond your resume.

So you may want to dial back anything that shows emotionally 'unstable' and focus on how you are more 'aware' as a leader as a result of a traumatic situation.

Bonus points if your recommender(s) can speak to how you lead and have it align with what you are presenting in your essay.

Adcoms are looking for adaptability (and resilience).

You might do a few free consultations with admissions consultants who are members of AIGAC and connect regularly with adcom members. They will be able to weigh in on how to balance the personal with TMI.

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The first test is you feeling like what you’re writing may be a tad too much.

The second and somewhat better test is giving someone else the essay to have a look and tell you what they think.

Good luck!

From what I researched on this — it’s about focusing on the outcome and what you learned more than staying in the dark details of the loss

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