college essay on karate

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College Essays About Karate: Finding Strength and Character

The benefits of writing about karate in your college essays.

As a martial art that emphasizes discipline, perseverance, and self-control, karate can be a powerful subject to write about in your college essays. Whether you are applying to colleges or writing an essay for a class, exploring the lessons you have learned through karate can help you demonstrate your character, values, and unique perspective. In this essay, we will explore how writing about karate can give you an edge in college admissions and help you develop your writing skills.

Demonstrating Your Character

One of the most important goals of a college essay is to help admissions officers get to know you as a person beyond your grades and test scores. Writing about karate can be an effective way to showcase your character, values, and qualities that make you unique. For example, you can write about how karate has taught you to be more disciplined, focused, and resilient in the face of challenges. You can also highlight how the values of respect, humility, and perseverance that you have learned through karate have shaped your worldview and influenced your goals for the future.

Standing Out from the Crowd

In a competitive college admissions landscape, it can be difficult to stand out from the thousands of other applicants. Writing about karate can help you differentiate yourself by highlighting your unique experiences and achievements. For example, you can write about how you have trained for years to achieve a black belt in karate, or how you have used your karate skills to give back to your community through volunteering or teaching. These stories can help you paint a vivid picture of who you are and what you can contribute to the college community.

Developing Your Writing Skills

Writing about karate can also be a valuable opportunity to improve your writing skills. By reflecting on your experiences and articulating your thoughts and feelings, you can develop your ability to communicate effectively in writing. Additionally, writing about karate can help you practice using descriptive language, using metaphor and analogy, and organizing your ideas in a clear and logical way. These skills can be valuable not only for college essays but also for future academic and professional pursuits.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

While writing about karate can be a powerful way to demonstrate your character and stand out from the crowd, it is important to be mindful of common pitfalls. For example, you should avoid sounding boastful or arrogant by focusing too much on your achievements and not enough on what you have learned and how you have grown. Additionally, you should be careful not to overuse karate-related jargon or terminology that may not be familiar to your readers. Finally, you should ensure that your essay is well-written, proofread, and free of grammar and spelling errors.

Conclusion: Finding Strength and Character through Karate

In conclusion, writing about karate can be a powerful way to demonstrate your character, stand out from the crowd, and develop your writing skills. By reflecting on your experiences and lessons learned through karate, you can give admissions officers a glimpse into who you are as a person and what you can contribute to their college community. Whether you are applying to colleges or writing an essay for a class, writing about karate can help you find strength and character in your writing and in yourself.

Essay on Karate

Students are often asked to write an essay on Karate in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Karate

What is karate.

Karate is a martial art from Japan that teaches self-defense without weapons. It uses punches, kicks, and blocks to stop attackers. People of all ages can learn karate to protect themselves and stay fit.

History of Karate

Karate started in Okinawa, Japan. It was influenced by Chinese martial arts. Over time, it spread to mainland Japan and then to the whole world. It has become a popular way to learn fighting skills and discipline.

Benefits of Karate

Practicing karate improves health, strength, balance, and flexibility. It also teaches respect, focus, and self-control. Students learn to set goals and work hard to achieve them.

Karate Competitions

Karate has competitions where martial artists show their skills. There are two main types: “kata,” which are set movements, and “kumite,” which is sparring with an opponent. These contests help students test their abilities.

250 Words Essay on Karate

Karate is a martial art that comes from Japan. It is a way of fighting without weapons. People use their hands and feet to punch, kick, and block attacks. Karate is not just about fighting; it also teaches respect, self-control, and discipline.

The History of Karate

Long ago, in Okinawa, Japan, Karate began as a mix of Chinese fighting styles and local methods. It was a secret practice to defend oneself when weapons were banned by rulers. Over time, it spread to mainland Japan and became popular worldwide.

Training in Karate

When you learn Karate, you start with the basics. You learn different stances, how to punch, and how to kick. There are forms called ‘kata’ which are set moves you practice to get better. As you improve, you earn different colored belts. The black belt is a high level that shows you are very good at Karate.

Karate is good for your body and mind. It makes you stronger, more flexible, and helps with balance. It also teaches you to focus, be patient, and work hard. Kids who do Karate often do better in school because they learn how to concentrate and keep trying even when something is tough.

Karate also has competitions. People show their skills in ‘kumite’ or sparring, and ‘kata’ or forms. In sparring, two people practice fighting in a safe way with rules. Judges watch and decide who shows the best technique and control. Competitions can be fun and a great way to meet other kids who like Karate.

500 Words Essay on Karate

Karate is a form of martial arts that came from the island of Okinawa in Japan. It is a way of fighting without weapons. People use their hands and feet to punch, kick, and block attacks from others. Karate is not just about fighting; it is also about self-control, respect, and discipline. It teaches people to be strong in body and mind.

Long ago, in Okinawa, people were not allowed to have weapons, so they had to learn to defend themselves with their bodies. This is how Karate started. It was a secret practice at first, but later it spread to Japan and then to the whole world. Now, many people learn Karate for exercise, self-defense, and as a sport.

How Karate is Practiced

When you go to a Karate class, you will see students wearing white uniforms called ‘gi’. They also wear belts of different colors. These belts show how much they have learned. Beginners wear white belts, and as they get better, they earn new colors. The highest color is black, which means they are very skilled.

In Karate, there are three main parts: ‘kata’, ‘kumite’, and ‘kihon’. ‘Kata’ is a series of moves that you practice alone. It is like a dance that teaches you how to move and fight. ‘Kumite’ is when you practice fighting with a partner. ‘Kihon’ means basics, which are the simple moves you must learn first.

There are also Karate competitions where people show their skills. They can compete in ‘kata’, showing their best moves alone, or in ‘kumite’, where they spar with an opponent. The goal is not to hurt the other person but to show control and technique. Judges watch and give points for good technique, speed, and power.

Karate is good for your health because it makes you strong, flexible, and gives you good balance. It also helps you focus and be calm. When you learn Karate, you learn to respect others, to be honest, and to work hard. It is not just about fighting; it is about being the best person you can be.

Is Karate for Everyone?

Yes, anyone can learn Karate, no matter how old they are. Boys, girls, men, and women can all enjoy Karate. You start at your own level and get better little by little. It is a fun way to exercise and learn something new.

In summary, Karate is a martial art with a rich history that offers more than just self-defense skills. It is a way to stay healthy, to learn discipline, and to gain confidence. Whether you want to compete or just get fit, Karate can be a great activity for students and people of all ages.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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How to Write a Non-Cliche College Essay About Sports + Examples

What’s covered:, what makes a sports essay cliche.

How To Make Your Sports Essay Unique

Great Examples of College Essays About Sports

Where to get your college essay edited for free, or by an expert.

You’ve been brainstorming essay topics for your college applications, and you think you’ve finally found the right one: an extended metaphor likening your experience on the field with overcoming personal struggles. The problem: many other students have this same thought.

The purpose of a college essay is to make yourself stand out as a unique individual, but when students write about sports, they often blend in. Because of that, students are usually advised to pick a different topic.

That being said, it is possible to write a non-cliche college essay about sports if you put in a little extra effort. Read along to learn how to make your sports essay different from all the other sports essays.

Sports essays are cliche when they follow a standard trajectory. Some of these trajectories include writing a story about:

An agonizing defeat
Forging bonds with teammates
Overcoming adversity
Overcoming an injury
Refusing to quit
Victory during a big game

Because sports essays have very similar themes and “lessons learned,” it can be difficult to make your story stand out. These trajectories also often focus too much on the sport or storyline, and not enough on the writer’s reflections and personality.

As you write your essay, try to think about what your experience says about you rather than what you learned from your experience. You are more than just one lesson you learned!

(Keep in mind that the sports essay is not the only college essay cliche. Learn about other essay cliches and how to fix them in our complete guide).

How to Make Your Sports Essay Unique

1. focus on a specific moment or reflection..

The college essay is a way for students to humanize themselves to admissions officers. You do not feel human if you are describing yourself as just another player on the field!

One important way to make your essay about you (not just about sports) is by focusing on a specific moment in time and inviting the reader to join you in that moment. Explain to the reader what it would be like to be sitting in that locker room as you questioned the values of the other players on your team. Ask your reader to sit with you on the cot in the trainer’s room as your identity was stripped away from you when they said “your body can’t take this anymore.” Bring your reader to the dinner table and involve them in your family’s conversation about how sports were affecting your mental health and your treatment of those around you.

Intense descriptions of a specific experience will evoke emotions in your reader and allow them to connect with you and feel for you.

When in doubt, avoid anything that can be covered by ESPN. On ESPN, we see the games, we see the benches, we even see the locker rooms and training rooms. Take your reader somewhere different and show them something unique.

2. Use sports to point out broader themes in your life.

The main risk when writing about sports is neglecting to write about yourself. Before you get started, think about the main values that you want to express in your sports essay. Sports are simply your avenue for telling the reader what makes you unique.

As a test, imagine if you were a pianist. Would you be able to talk about these same values? What if you were a writer? Or a chemist? Articulating your values is the end, and sports should simply be your means.

Some values that you might want to focus on:

Autonomy (you want to be able to set your mind to anything and achieve it on your own)
Growth (you seek improvement constantly)
Curiosity (you are willing to try anything once)
Vulnerability (you aren’t afraid to fail, as long as you give it your all)
Community (you value the feedback of others and need camaraderie to succeed)
Craft (you think that with deliberate care, anything can be perfected)
Responsibility (you believe that you owe something to those around you and perhaps they also owe something to you)

You can use the ESPN check again to make sure that you are using sports as an avenue to show your depth.

Things ESPN covers: how a player reacts to defeat, how injuries affect a player’s gameplay/attitude, how players who don’t normally work well together are working together on their new team.

Things ESPN doesn’t cover: the conversation that a player had with their mother about fear of death before going into a big surgery (value: family and connection), the ways that the intense pressure to succeed consumed a player to the point they couldn’t be there for the people in their life (value: supporting others and community), the body image issues that weigh on a player’s mind when playing their sport and how they overcame those (value: health and growth).

3. Turn a cliche storyline on its head.

There’s no getting around the fact that sports essays are often cliche. But there is a way to confront the cliche head-on. For example, lots of people write essays about the lessons they learned from an injury, victory, and so on, but fewer students explain how they are embracing those lessons.

Perhaps you learned that competition is overwhelming for you and you prefer teamwork, so you switched from playing basketball to playing Dungeons & Dragons. Maybe, when your softball career ended abruptly, you had to find a new identity and that’s when you became obsessed with your flower garden and decided to pursue botany. Or maybe, you have stuck with football through it all, but your junior-year mental health struggle showed you that football should be fun and you have since started a nonprofit for local children to healthily engage with sports.

If your story itself is more cliche, try bringing readers to the present moment with you and show why the cliche matters and what it did for you. This requires a fair amount of creativity. Ensure you’re not parroting a frequently used topic by really thinking deeply to find your own unique spin.

Night had robbed the academy of its daytime colors, yet there was comfort in the dim lights that cast shadows of our advances against the bare studio walls. Silhouettes of roundhouse kicks, spin crescent kicks, uppercuts and the occasional butterfly kick danced while we sparred. She approached me, eyes narrowed with the trace of a smirk challenging me. “Ready spar!” Her arm began an upward trajectory targeting my shoulder, a common first move. I sidestepped — only to almost collide with another flying fist. Pivoting my right foot, I snapped my left leg, aiming my heel at her midsection. The center judge raised one finger.

There was no time to celebrate, not in the traditional sense at least. Master Pollard gave a brief command greeted with a unanimous “Yes, sir” and the thud of 20 hands dropping-down-and-giving-him-30, while the “winners” celebrated their victory with laps as usual.

Three years ago, seven-thirty in the evening meant I was a warrior. It meant standing up straighter, pushing a little harder, “Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am”, celebrating birthdays by breaking boards, never pointing your toes, and familiarity. Three years later, seven-thirty in the morning meant I was nervous.

The room is uncomfortably large. The sprung floor soaks up the checkerboard of sunlight piercing through the colonial windows. The mirrored walls further illuminate the studio and I feel the light scrutinizing my sorry attempts at a pas de bourrée, while capturing the organic fluidity of the dancers around me. “Chassé en croix, grand battement, pique, pirouette.” I follow the graceful limbs of the woman in front of me, her legs floating ribbons, as she executes what seems to be a perfect ronds de jambes. Each movement remains a negotiation. With admirable patience, Ms. Tan casts me a sympathetic glance.

There is no time to wallow in the misery that is my right foot. Taekwondo calls for dorsiflexion; pointed toes are synonymous with broken toes. My thoughts drag me into a flashback of the usual response to this painful mistake: “You might as well grab a tutu and head to the ballet studio next door.” Well, here I am Master Pollard, unfortunately still following your orders to never point my toes, but no longer feeling the satisfaction that comes with being a third degree black belt with 5 years of experience quite literally under her belt. It’s like being a white belt again — just in a leotard and ballet slippers.

But the appetite for new beginnings that brought me here doesn’t falter. It is only reinforced by the classical rendition of “Dancing Queen” that floods the room and the ghost of familiarity that reassures me that this new beginning does not and will not erase the past. After years spent at the top, it’s hard to start over. But surrendering what you are only leads you to what you may become. In Taekwondo, we started each class reciting the tenets: honor, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, courage, humility, and knowledge, and I have never felt that I embodied those traits more so than when I started ballet.

The thing about change is that it eventually stops making things so different. After nine different schools, four different countries, three different continents, fluency in Tamil, Norwegian, and English, there are more blurred lines than there are clear fragments. My life has not been a tactfully executed, gold medal-worthy Taekwondo form with each movement defined, nor has it been a series of frappés performed by a prima ballerina with each extension identical and precise, but thankfully it has been like the dynamics of a spinning back kick, fluid, and like my chances of landing a pirouette, unpredictable.

Why it works:

What’s especially powerful about this essay is that the author uses detailed imagery to convey a picture of what they’re experiencing, so much so that the reader is along for the ride. This works as a sports essay not only because of the language and sensory details, but also because the writer focuses on a specific moment in time, while at the same time exploring why Taekwondo is such an important part of their life.

After the emotional image is created, the student finishes their essay with valuable reflection. With the reflection, they show admissions officers that they are mature and self-aware. Self-awareness comes through with statements like “surrendering what you are only leads you to what you may become” and maturity can be seen through the student’s discussion of values “honor, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, courage, humility, and knowledge, and I have never felt that I embodied those traits more so than when I started ballet.” These are the kinds of comments that should find their way into a sports essay!

“Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.” Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.

Despair weighed me down. I sank to my knees as a stream of competitors, coaches, and officials flowed around me. My dojang had no coach, and the tournament rules prohibited me from competing without one.

Although I wanted to remain strong, doubts began to cloud my mind. I could not help wondering: what was the point of perfecting my skills if I would never even compete? The other members of my team, who had found coaches minutes earlier, attempted to comfort me, but I barely heard their words. They couldn’t understand my despair at being left on the outside, and I never wanted them to understand.

Since my first lesson 12 years ago, the members of my dojang have become family. I have watched them grow up, finding my own happiness in theirs. Together, we have honed our kicks, blocks, and strikes. We have pushed one another to aim higher and become better martial artists. Although my dojang had searched for a reliable coach for years, we had not found one. When we attended competitions in the past, my teammates and I had always gotten lucky and found a sympathetic coach. Now, I knew this practice was unsustainable. It would devastate me to see the other members of my dojang in my situation, unable to compete and losing hope as a result. My dojang needed a coach, and I decided it was up to me to find one.

I first approached the adults in the dojang – both instructors and members’ parents. However, these attempts only reacquainted me with polite refusals. Everyone I asked told me they couldn’t devote multiple weekends per year to competitions. I soon realized that I would have become the coach myself.

At first, the inner workings of tournaments were a mystery to me. To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side. I learned everything from motivational strategies to technical, behind-the-scenes components of Taekwondo competitions. Though I emerged with new knowledge and confidence in my capabilities, others did not share this faith.

Parents threw me disbelieving looks when they learned that their children’s coach was only a child herself. My self-confidence was my armor, deflecting their surly glances. Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

Despite the attack, I refused to give up. When I saw the shining eyes of the youngest students preparing for their first competition, I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was. The knowledge that I could solve my dojang’s longtime problem motivated me to overcome my apprehension.

Now that my dojang flourishes at competitions, the attacks on me have weakened, but not ended. I may never win the approval of every parent; at times, I am still tormented by doubts, but I find solace in the fact that members of my dojang now only worry about competing to the best of their abilities.

Now, as I arrive at a tournament with my students, I close my eyes and remember the past. I visualize the frantic search for a coach and the chaos amongst my teammates as we compete with one another to find coaches before the staging calls for our respective divisions. I open my eyes to the exact opposite scene. Lacking a coach hurt my ability to compete, but I am proud to know that no member of my dojang will have to face that problem again.

In the beginning, you might think this is another cliche sports essay about overcoming adversity. But instead, it becomes a unique statement and coming-of-age tale that reads as a suspenseful narrative.

The author connects their experience with martial arts to larger themes in their life but manages to do so without riffing off of tried-and-true themes. Through statements like “I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was” we learn about the students values and their desire to be there for those who depend on them.

The student also brings it full circle, demonstrating their true transformation. By using the “Same, but Different” ending technique , the student places themself in the same environment that we saw in the intro, but experiences it differently due to their actions throughout the narrative. This is very compelling!

“1…2…3…4 pirouettes! New record!” My friends cheered as I landed my turns. Pleased with my progress, I gazed down at my worn-out pointe shoes. The sweltering blisters, numbing ice-baths, and draining late-night practices did not seem so bad after all. Next goal: five turns.

For as long as I can remember, ballet, in all its finesse and glamor, had kept me driven day to day. As a child, the lithe ballerinas, donning ethereal costumes as they floated across the stage, were my motivation. While others admired Messi and Adele, I idolized Carlos Acosta, principal dancer of the Royal Ballet.

As I devoted more time and energy towards my craft, I became obsessed with improving my technique. I would stretch for hours after class, forcing my leg one inch higher in an effort to mirror the Dance Magazine cover girls. I injured my feet and ruined pair after pair of pointe shoes, turning on wood, cement, and even grass to improve my balance as I spun. At competitions, the dancers with the 180-degree leg extensions, endless turns, and soaring leaps—the ones who received “Bravos!” from the roaring audience—further pushed me to refine my skills and perfect my form. I believed that, with enough determination, I would one day attain their level of perfection. Reaching the quadruple-pirouette milestone only intensified my desire to accomplish even more.

My efforts seemed to have come to fruition two summers ago when I was accepted to dance with Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet at their renowned New York City summer intensive. I walked into my first session eager to learn from distinguished ballet masters and worldly dancers, already anticipating my improvement. Yet, as I danced alongside the accomplished ballerinas, I felt out of place. Despite their clean technique and professional training, they did not aim for glorious leg extensions or prodigious leaps. When they performed their turn combinations, most of them only executed two turns as I attempted four.

“Dancers, double-pirouettes only.”

Taken aback and confused, I wondered why our teacher expected so little from us. The other ballerinas seemed content, gracing the studio with their simple movements.

As I grew closer with my Moscow roommates, I gradually learned that their training emphasized the history of the art form instead of stylistic tricks. Rather than show off their physical ability, their performances aimed to convey a story, one that embodied the rich culture of ballet and captured both the legacy of the dancers before them and their own artistry. As I observed my friends more intently in repertoire class, I felt the pain of the grief-stricken white swan from Swan Lake, the sass of the flirtatious Kitri from Don Quijote, and I gradually saw what I had overlooked before. My definition of talent had been molded by crowd-pleasing elements—whirring pirouettes, gravity-defying leaps, and mind-blowing leg extensions. This mindset slowly stripped me from the roots of my passion and my personal connection with ballet.

With the Bolshoi, I learned to step back and explore the meaning behind each step and the people behind the scenes. Ballet carries history in its movements, from the societal values of the era to each choreographer’s unique flair. As I uncovered the messages behind each pirouette, kick, and jump, my appreciation for ballet grew beyond my obsession with raw athleticism and developed into a love for the art form’s emotive abilities in bridging the dancers with the audience. My journey as an artist has allowed me to see how technical execution is only the means to a greater understanding between dancer and spectator, between storyteller and listener. The elegance and complexity of ballet does not revolve around astonishing stunts but rather the evocative strength and artistry manifested in the dancer, in me. It is the combination of sentiments, history, tradition, and passion that has allowed ballet and its lessons of human connection to become my lifestyle both on and off stage.

This essay is about lessons. While the author is a dancer, this narrative isn’t really about ballet, per se — it’s about the author’s personal growth. It is purposefully reflective as the student shows a nice character arc that begins with an eager young ballerina and ends with a reflection on their past. The primary strength of this essay is the honesty and authenticity that the student approaches it with.

In the end, the student turns a cliche on its head as they embrace the idea of overcoming adversity and demonstrate how the adversity, in this case, was their own stereotypes about their art. It’s beautiful!

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite.

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin.

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

This essay uses the idea of sports to explore a more profound topic—growing through relationships. They really embrace using sports as an avenue to tell the reader about a specific experience that changed the way they approach the world.

The emphasis on relationships is why this essay works well and doesn’t fall into a cliche. The narrator grows not because of their experience with track but because of their relationship with their coach, who inspired them to evolve and become a leader.

Have a draft of your college essay? We’re here to help you polish it. Students can participate in a free Peer Review, or they can sign up for a paid review by CollegeVine’s experts. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to start improving your essay and your chances of acceptance!

Karate College Essays Samples For Students

7 samples of this type

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Slide 1: A Top-Quality Essay For Your Inspiration

One of the oldest sports is considered a fistfight. Even in ancient history in the era of the ancient Greeks during the Olympics athletes competed in the pankration, which is how they called their fist fighting competitions. Fist fights in a modern understanding are mixed martial arts or MMA (Mix Martial Arts), and not boxing, as the two are often confused.

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Introduction, essay on the karate kid.

The Karate Kid, a quintessential film portraying the journey of an adolescent through the odds of life and the final triumph of life, serves to cinematically describe the stages of development of an adolescent individual. It would be extremely interesting to apply the theories of Erik Erikson in deciphering the cinematic essence of the film and having a comprehensive view of the matter.

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Martial Arts Essay Writing Guide for College Students

Sports are a major part of social life, and the sports that people participate in and enjoy watching say a lot about who people are. In the United States, American football reigns supreme, while in most of the world the other sport known as ‘football’, or ‘soccer’, is the most popular.

In places like japan and cuba, baseball is one of the top sports, but everywhere you’ll find that the sport individuals like best varies widely by personal preference, culture, and even geography., one of the fastest growing sports is mixed martial arts, whose practitioners combine a range of martial arts techniques in a display of athletic prowess. however, while martial arts of all kinds are a rapidly growing industry, not every student knows how best way to write, for example an essay about martial arts or mixed martial arts if they decided to for their course., in this article, we’ll take a look at some effective techniques for writing an mma or martial arts essay., the martial arts: history and classification.

Martial arts have a long and storied history, which make them an important and effective subject for college essays since there is so much to write about.

As the name implies, the martial arts are related to combat and warfare and originated as a system of fighting techniques for battle. Different cultures have different martial arts traditions, and each of these traditions has specific sets of rules and codes to govern the proper approach to interpersonal combat in that tradition.

Some of the most famous styles include kung fu, jujitsu, and karate . However, sports like boxing also originated as a martial art and can be classified among the martial arts today.

Mixed martial arts , (MMA) as the name implies, combine elements of many different martial arts traditions. It was originally known as Vale Tudo, but in 1993, TV critic Howard Rosenberg coined the term “mixed martial arts” to describe the cage-fighting system’s influences drawn from global martial arts traditions.

Modern mixed martial arts emerged from a combination of Brazilian jiu jitsu and Vale Tudo with Hong Kong street-fighting and Japanese wrestling. Today, mixed martial arts is a major sport, and its most important organization, UFC, has become a wealthy, and powerful sports league with lucrative TV contracts and well-attended competitions globally.

Indeed, many of its competitors have become celebrities, and some have translated that fame into multimedia careers. That has not stopped controversy, however, particularly opposition to MMA as too violent, sometimes referred to pejoratively as “human cock fighting.” All of this creates a rich basis for student essays.

Writing a Martial Arts Essay: A Short Guide

The good news is that writing a martial arts essay is very much like writing any other type of essay. The key principles and the major steps are the same.

One key difference is that your analysis of martial arts will often need to critique the visual aspects of the sport as a performance, not just deal with printed texts as you might with a history essay.

However, for the most part, the steps involved in writing a martial arts essay are the same as writing any other.

1. Be Familiar with Your Subject

To write effectively about martial arts, you need to be familiar with martial arts. Be sure you know something about the subject of the style and are familiar with the major ideas and concepts related to the specific tradition of martial arts you plan to write about. If you don’t know enough about it, you will need to research your topic more thoroughly.

2. Review the Essay Topic

It might seem obvious, but you need to be sure you are reading the essay question clearly and are thoroughly familiar with the requirements of the assignment.

If you aren’t clear about any of the requirements when writing essays, ask your instructor for help before you start writing your papers. It’s better to get clarification before you write than to write on the wrong topic and then have to do the paper over again, or to miss a requirement and lose major points as a result.

3. Consider Whether to Pay Someone to Write Your Essay

If you aren’t comfortable with the topic or with your writing skills, you might need the help of online experts. If you are ready to pay for someone to do your essay , you can hire a writer from an online writing service e.g. WriteMyPaperHub to produce a complete model essay for you, and this essay will address your specific topic and show you how a writer with an advanced degree would approach it to meet all the requirements of your assignment.

This can be a great resource as you write your own paper, along with a comparison between your work and a professional’s so you can adjust your paper to be more contextually relevant, concise and persuasive.

4. Outline Before You Write

Outlining is a key step in the writing process and makes writing much easier.

When you list all of the key points you plan to make and the evidence you will use to support each, you will have a much easier time writing the paper because the hard part will be complete before you even start to write.

5. Always Revise and Proofread

When you finish writing your draft, your paper wouldn’t be done quite yet!

You always need to set aside time to edit and proofread your paper. Lingering errors can create a negative impression, so find and eliminate as many proofreading mistakes as possible to create a professional-quality paper.

Getting Your Martial Essay Done on Time

These tips for writing about martial arts should be helpful. However, they may not be enough to finish writing your essay on time. Even if you already collected some data, and have some ideas, try not to be over optimistic if the deadline is close.

If you’re not sure you can make it in time, address a reliable writing service for help. This way you will spare some time for assignments with more relaxed deadlines, solving all problems at once.

If you prefer to finish this essay on your own, try not to get stuck on research — start writing even with minimum background and look for more relevant material during the actual process.

Students often spend way too much time on research when the deadline is very close. Don’t fall into this trap – don’t miss the due date because of unnecessary perfectionism!

Set a reasonable time frame on looking for information and sources, and don’t stretch it. It is better to lack some solid citations than not to submit a paper on time at all.

The martial arts is an endlessly fascinating topic to watch, perform and write about. In the eyes of most people it’s always extremely COOL to be not only be fit physically but also mentally and if you can pull of some self-defence (or other) moves as well, then, even better!

What angle of martial arts would you love to write about let us know in the comments below.

Martial Arts Essay Writing Guide for College Students

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Home — Application Essay — Business School — The Benefits of My Experience in Martial Arts

The Benefits of My Experience in Martial Arts

University: UC San Diego

About this sample

Words: 332 |

Published: Jul 18, 2018

Words: 332 | Pages: 1 | 2 min read

I was born the second child in a family of four, with one older brother, and for all of my life I have been either the shortest or one of the shortest kids in my class. Thus, it naturally follows that I have been picked on and would want to be able to "fend for myself." For this reason and because I felt I needed another source of athletic conditioning, I took up the study of a martial art called Aikido a little over a year ago. My training has since done more for me that I would have even hoped, both in body and mind. So in this essay about martial arts I'll describe my experiences and how it will help me when joining the college community.

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Aikido is a martial art that focuses not on the practitioner's strength and size but on the manipulation of his subject's strength. Through my training I have learned a great deal not only about the art in general, but also about other areas of my life. I have improved my ability to become serious when necessary and to keep from getting too excited or angry over everyday issues. Some may say Aikido has made me more "easygoing," but I would say it has simply improved my overall temperament. Truly, the practice of Aikido has benefited my body and my soul.

I believe the experience of my training in Aikido would bring a great aspect of diversity to any college community in which I join. In my experience, the dojo (place of training) is a small community to which all practitioners contribute, and as I was one of the first members to join our relatively new dojo, I have a deeper connection to the dojo community than most others.

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I expect that my experience in the dojo community will help me adjust to the college community as well, and that my experience with Aikido will help form a more diverse and interesting association of students.

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College Essay

We were immensely impressed by one of our student’s, Isaac, college application essay. A creative and inspiring account of his martial arts experience. Oss Isaac!

“Kankudai!” My arms shoot straight down with palms facing my body, fingers held tightly together. My eyes focus forward while both thumbs and index fingers connect to form a triangle. I am performing my favorite kata, or martial arts form. When I was ten years old I began studying Shotokan Karate. My father had shown my brother and me several martial arts movies, including Kung Fu and Enter the Dragon, that fascinated me. But as is my attitude, I not only wanted to see it, I wanted to do it. Now I am a first-degree black belt training for my second degree.

I slowly raise my arms; as my hands pass my forehead my eyes follow them, glancing at the sun through the triangle of my fingers. Here, I see my future standing in front of me, waiting for me to create it. My hands suddenly snap apart, forming right angles on each side of me. They slowly descend and reconnect waist-high. My feet are planted, a strong base, and my hands are open, inviting the outside in. Growing up in an Orthodox Jewish community with nurturing parents and an outstanding education from Yeshivah of Flatbush gave me the strong identity I need. However, my identity is not complete until I open myself up to the world, both gaining and contributing to its diversity. This past summer, I attended a class at the University of Pennsylvania with students from all around the world. One particular friend with whom I bonded was Raqan, a boy from Jordan. His background and beliefs seemed to clash with my own, but as we shared a motivation to learn, we challenged each other in a way that allowed us to grow. I yearn to learn more about other people and their cultures while I share mine with them. My strong foundation will enable me do to so.

Carefully keeping my back-stance, I chop high to the left and high to the right. Then I face forward, knees slightly bent for balance, and fluidly reach my hand out in front of me. I think of the way I reached out when I founded my school’s Martial Arts Therapy commission. One of the greatest accomplishments I had while working for the commission was organizing an event where over 20 autistic children came to the school after hours. They worked with me and 30 student volunteers from the 75-member commission, alongside the Sensei. We helped the children through basic martial arts techniques that assist in pain management while also being recreational. In this way, I used my martial arts as a bridge to overcome the gap between these mentally challenged children and myself. Now, I bend my knees, forcefully blocking towards both sides. I proceed through various chops, kicks, and blocks, reflecting on life, perfectly content in this mental and physical state.

I explosively jump up from a front stance with my right foot and kick in the air with my left, landing in a double block. With my inner strength I yell out a mighty “KIYA” as I stand confidently in a sturdy stance. I flash back to my visit to an anti-terrorism center in Israel when the head instructor, Steve, randomly chose me to face off against the unit’s Krav Maga expert. When he said “go” I sprang into a fighting stance. To my surprise Steve yelled stop—this was a test. He explained that there are two options to assume a fighting stance; ninety-eight percent of the people in this situation step back showing fright. I had stepped up.

A drip of sweat hits the ground below me. As I return from this meditative state, I stand up straight with two fists by my sides, into my Yoi position. “Yoi,” Japanese for, I am ready.

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Karate Black Belt Essay Examples: A Comprehensive Guide

Becoming a black belt in karate is a significant achievement that requires a lot of dedication and hard work. The journey towards obtaining a black belt in karate can be long and challenging, but it is one that provides individuals with a lot of benefits. To achieve a black belt in karate, one of the requirements is to write a black belt essay. In this article, we’ll look at what a black belt essay is and provide some examples to help you craft a compelling essay.

What is a Karate Black Belt Essay?

A black belt essay is a written piece that outlines an individual’s journey towards obtaining a black belt in karate. In most cases, a black belt essay is a reflection on what an individual has learned in their journey towards becoming a black belt. It’s an opportunity for individuals to share their experiences, lessons learned, and the impact karate has had on their lives. Writing a black belt essay is not only a requirement for obtaining a black belt, but it’s also a chance to showcase an individual’s growth, hard work, and dedication.

What Should You Include in Your Black Belt Essay?

When writing a black belt essay, there are several things you should include to make it comprehensive and reflective of your journey. Some of these include:

1. Introduction:

You should start your essay with an introduction that explains what you’ll be covering in your essay. The introduction should be brief but should give the reader an idea of what they can expect to learn from reading your essay.

2. Background Information:

Provide some background information about yourself and your journey towards becoming a black belt. You can talk about why you decided to start training in karate and how you’ve progressed over the years.

3. Challenges and Obstacles:

Discuss some of the challenges and obstacles you’ve faced during your training. Be honest and reflective about the struggles you’ve encountered and how you’ve overcome them.

4. Lessons Learned:

Reflect on the lessons you’ve learned during your journey towards becoming a black belt. Talk about how karate has impacted your life and the skills you’ve developed through your training.

5. Personal Growth:

Discuss how your journey towards becoming a black belt has helped you grow as an individual. Talk about how you’ve developed discipline, focus, and perseverance through your training.

A karate black belt essay is a written composition that serves as one of the components of the black belt grading process. The essay provides an opportunity for the student to reflect on their martial arts journey, showcase their understanding of karate principles, and articulate how their experiences in training have shaped them into the person they are today. The essay is typically between 500 to 1000 words and is a critical element in the black belt grading process.

Why Write a Karate Black Belt Essay?

Karate is not just a physical activity but also a philosophical one. Writing the essay is often considered one of the most challenging aspects of the black belt grading process. But, it is crucial because it allows the student to demonstrate their understanding of the principles and concepts of karate they have learned throughout their training. It is also an excellent opportunity for the student to express themselves and convey how karate has impacted their life beyond the physical training.

What Should Be Included in a Karate Black Belt Essay?

The content of a karate black belt essay can vary, depending on the student’s approach. However, in general, it should include:

A Personal Introduction

The introduction should give a little bit of background about the student, their journey in karate, and how they got into martial arts.

A Description of the Journey

The student should describe their karate journey and how they have developed techniques and skills over time. They should also mention the challenges they have faced and how they have overcome them.

Philosophy and Knowledge of Karate

The essay should demonstrate the student’s understanding of karate’s principles and concepts. They should explain the philosophy behind the art and how it has changed their perspective on life. There should also be a discussion of the mental and spiritual benefits they have gained from their training.

If you’re pursuing a black belt in karate, congratulations are in order! You’ve already put in years of practice, dedication, and hard work to reach this level. However, before you can be awarded the coveted black belt, you’ll need to write an essay that reflects your understanding of karate, your personal journey, and your commitment to the martial arts. Here’s how to write a winning karate black belt essay.

Step 1: Understand the Essay Guidelines

Before you start writing, make sure you understand the guidelines for your karate school. These guidelines will typically explain the length of the essay, the topics you should cover, and any formatting requirements. Be sure to read and follow the guidelines carefully to ensure your essay meets the requirements.

Step 2: Brainstorm Your Ideas

Start by brainstorming ideas for your essay. Think about your personal journey in karate, the lessons you’ve learned, and the challenges you’ve faced. Consider how karate has impacted your life outside of the dojo and what goals you have for your future in martial arts.

Step 3: Develop a Strong Introduction

Your introduction should grab your reader’s attention and provide a preview of what your essay will cover. Consider starting with a quote, a personal anecdote, or a powerful statement about your martial arts journey.

Step 4: Organize Your Thoughts

Once you have your ideas, you’ll need to organize them into a coherent essay. Consider outlining your essay with headings for each major section, such as „My Journey in Karate,“ „What Karate Means to Me,“ and „My Goals for the Future.“ Use specific examples and anecdotes to support your points.

Step 5: Write the Body of the Essay

In the body of your essay, expand on your ideas and experiences. Be sure to include details that illustrate your points and provide context for your reader. Remember to stay focused on the topics outlined in the guidelines.

Step 6: Conclude with a Powerful Statement

Your conclusion should summarize your essay and leave a lasting impression on your reader. Consider including a thought-provoking statement or a call to action for other martial arts students.

Step 7: Review and Revise Your Essay

Once you’ve finished writing your essay, take some time to review and revise it. Check for spelling and grammar errors, and make sure your essay flows logically. Consider showing your essay to your instructor or mentor for feedback.

Step 8: Submit Your Essay with Confidence

When you’re satisfied with your essay, submit it with confidence. Remember, your essay is a reflection of your dedication to karate and the values it represents. With a well-written essay, you’ll be one step closer to achieving your black belt.

Writing a karate black belt essay requires thought, effort, and dedication. By following these steps and writing a thoughtful, well-organized essay, you’ll be able to showcase your understanding of karate and reflect on your personal journey. Good luck!

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How Karate Can Improve You As a Person Karate is more than just a martial art; it is a way of life. Through training in karate, individuals can develop a wide range of skills that can benefit them both physically and mentally. While many people may only associate karate with physical fitness and self-defense techniques,…

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Ultimate Guide to Writing Your College Essay

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College in Prison Changed Them. Now They Want to Change Minds

TUPIT students, including the first Tufts class to earn their bachelor’s degrees behind bars, celebrate the program that turned them on to civic responsibility

Shane wheeled the yellow mop bucket to the side of the corridor, out of the way of the other imprisoned men. At the medium security facility where he is in year 25 of his life-without-parole sentence, he works as a janitor. His job has him looking at the floors, but at that moment, he was thinking about the stars.

From his pocket, he took a bundle of small papers and photos held together with a rubber band. He extracted three index cards—the feedback his instructors had given him weeks ago on his final project for astronomy class, a poem about the ways scientists use light to obtain knowledge about the universe.

Why was he still carrying the cards? “For inspiration,” he said.

In January, Shane (last name withheld for privacy) was one of 10 students to graduate from Tufts University with a bachelor’s degree he earned while in prison at Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord. It took five years and all the inspiration he could get. Sure, many who knew him as a teen would be shocked to hear he’s a college grad. Others say he only needed the opportunity.

“My sister said she has always seen it in me,” Shane said. “I just had a lot of distractions.”

While the Department of Correction offers vocational education in fields like barber training and culinary arts, its partnership with the Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College (TUPIT) is dedicated to the idea that higher education in the liberal arts can transform people in ways that other rehabilitation programs can’t. Access to college courses, Shane said, is “one of the most valuable things that has happened to this prison system” in that it has given him and his classmates “comprehensive ways of really looking at the world.”

TUPIT’s executive director, Hilary Binda, AG03, founded the program in 2016 when she brought 10 Tufts undergraduates into MCI-Shirley for a literature class with 10 incarcerated people. More courses, like biology and philosophy, followed. Within two years, the program was centered at MCI-Concord with enough students earning college credit that TUPIT could offer them an associate degree through Bunker Hill Community College.

With Tufts faculty teaching courses of the same rigor they offered on the Medford/Somerville campus, the question became: Why isn’t this a Tufts degree?

Jody Boykins prepared for class during the T ride to Tufts from one of his two jobs in Boston.

Many college-in-prison programs exist across the country, some run by elite institutions like Tufts. But while other universities offer prisoners a continuing education degree, or a degree through a partnering state school, or a separate degree created just for the incarcerated, few give bachelor’s degrees that are identical to those that its traditional students receive on the outside.

In 2021, the Tufts Arts and Sciences faculty voted unanimously to offer the incarcerated students a chance to earn a bachelor’s in civic studies, the degree that Shane and the rest of the first cohort received this year.

That the Tufts degree, a partnership between the School of Arts and Sciences and Tisch College, is centered on civic studies is unique among prison programs—and intentional. It draws on the university’s commitment to civic education while also reflecting research in the field. In 2017, for a qualitative study , Binda and her Tufts colleagues interviewed previously incarcerated men who had taken college courses while in prison. They heard three things over and over: that the students felt more confident in their abilities, more connected to other people, and, notably, more responsible to the world beyond themselves . They were starting careers in health care, criminal law, education, and nonprofits with a focus on low-income communities.

Binda hears the same when she asks students about what they want to do when they get out of prison: “I want to make sure that the kids who are out there now have the resources I didn’t have.” “I want to change the way people making the policies understand the issues.”

The takeaway? That with the right knowledge and skills, people who were once considered a drain on society could become not just active contributors, but civic leaders.

Binda asked her students to encourage Boykins to sign up for the program. He finally gave in. “That was the start of the rest of my life,” he said. “It was hope when there was nothing left … a sense of vision when you are blind.”

Binda first became interested in prison education as a high school teacher in Rhode Island, where some of her students were cycling in and out prison. During visits she found they had trouble picturing a future that was different from their pasts. After earning her PhD in English from Tufts and joining the faculty as a senior lecturer, Binda applied for a Tufts grant that would allow her to offer liberal arts classes to incarcerated people, with the aim of helping to foster the critical thinking and self-reflection skills that would help them envision a new path.

That goal was at the back of Binda’s mind one February afternoon this year at MCI-Concord as 17 men took their seats in her English class. Binda started with an ice breaker, asking the students to pair up and share something with their partner that people might find surprising about them. Afterward, they reported back to the class: “Erving has a black belt in karate.” “Alex did ballet as a child.”

The students come to know each other well as they work toward their degrees. This relationship-building lays the civic cornerstone of appreciating others’ points of view. It’s also an antidote to the policies of separation and isolation that the penal system uses to keep order and maintain safety, Binda said, and to the men’s tendency to keep to themselves for their own protection while inside.

“I’ve had many students say to me, ‘I’ve known him for 25 years, I grew up on his street, and I never knew he was like that,’” Binda said.

Reentry and Community: Life During and After Incarceration

Members of the campus community are invited to join the Tufts Education and Reentry Network (MyTERN) 2024 Symposium on Monday, April 8, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Through panel discussions, formerly incarcerated MyTERN students and fellows and TUPIT organizational partners will explore how individuals coming home after prison navigate housing, employment, and social and emotional well-being.

Event details are available here .

The class analyzed the day’s assigned readings, which included an essay by Walter Benn Michaels on whether diversity is a cure for racism or just an end run. The TUPIT students were hungry to talk as they applied the essay to racial divisions in the prison. One student, Omar, said that he was invited by another member of the cohort to be his cell mate, recognizing they both might want to stay up late to study. He got pushback from his Latino peers. “They said, ‘You’re going to make it acceptable to be cellies with Black people.’”

College in prison, Binda said later, facilitates these small changes in outlook “that can lead to big changes in the prison system and in the communities to which people return home.”

During the class, Timothy, who earned his bachelor’s degree in January and has since volunteered as Binda’s unofficial teaching assistant, filled out name tags and passed out papers. Since college classes came to MCI-Concord, he said, prison is different. It’s a remarkable thing, he said, “getting men who are in a culture where you have to be macho-masculine to stand up and do soliloquies from Shakespeare.”

The change has gone beyond the 42 men taking the classes at Concord, he said. Instead of pulp novels that read like action movies, they read books with complex themes. And when they talk in the yard about what they’ve read, others listen.

“It’s infectious in the best way possible,” he said. “Every conversation is a chance to pass that on.”

As the class broke up, another student, Keon, stepped forward, a serious expression on his face. He needed to convey how important the TUPIT program has been to him, particularly Binda and the other faculty. “They make you feel seen,” he said, “not talking to you in ways that are belittling you.”

Like any students, TUPIT students interpret every academic subject through their own experiences, Binda said, which means that a sociology reading might lead to a discussion of ‘gang life.’ “And as professors, we’re saying ‘We’re interested in learning from you too. What you have lived and what you know has tremendous value.”

Hilary Binda and Jody Boykins walk on campus

Binda and Boykins walk to the class on Storytelling for Social Change.

While the incarcerated students go through exams, essays, and interviews to compete for a spot in the TUPIT program, AP classes and SAT scores aren’t something they bring to the table. Some people doubt that prisoners have the academic ability to earn a Tufts degree.

Binda counters that while most TUPIT students didn’t have the resources that would prepare them for college in a standard academic sense, “they all bring a different kind of intelligence” and “a fierce dedication” to make the most of this opportunity, which sets them up to succeed in the program.

Tufts lecturer Andrew West saw this in his science class last semester. Most of the TUPIT students found his first exam a challenge, which didn’t surprise him, considering some haven’t taken algebra in decades. But they soon caught on.

Their final projects left West with no doubt that these students could hold their own with the ones he teaches on campus. One performed a poem that synthesized—accurately—the principles they had covered in the course, rapping about Newton’s and Kepler’s laws, even keeping his flow as he wrote equations on the white board. One turned the course’s themes into artwork; without access to paint, he scrounged things like M&Ms to make pigment.

West and his TAs watched the presentations with amazement. “All three of us were like, ‘What did we just witness?’”

West may have joined TUPIT as a contribution to social justice, but he thinks he made out in the deal, getting to lead the kind of class every educator hopes for. “I had 10 people who wanted to be there, who were super engaged, who asked amazing questions, who were ready to work their butts off,” he said.

Everyone who touches the TUPIT program seems to come away energized. Rebecca Sewall, J87, one of several Tufts alums who volunteer for TUPIT, was surprised by the enthusiasm of Jims, the student she mentors. She remembered one sociology reading they went over: She had absorbed enough to understand the main argument, whereas Jims could articulate all the author’s points with full command.

“That’s emblematic of how he approaches this whole experience, like this is a huge opportunity that he has really thrown himself into,” she said. “That to me is inspiring and refreshing—and reminds me of how many learning opportunities I’ve squandered.”

But do incarcerated people deserve this shot at higher learning? “People have a right to an education,” said Binda, especially those whose lives were ravaged not just by economic insecurity, unsafe neighborhoods, and systemic racism but “by a lack of access to education and the opportunities it creates.”

In class, the students take responsibility for crimes they have committed while at the same time studying the social factors that lead to crime. “And this sense of accountability grows as people read and learn and listen,” Binda said. “Our students come to understand ways that they, too, were harmed by the culture of violence they grew up in. The phrase ‘hurt people hurt people; healed people heal people’ has a powerful hold on many of our students.”

The desire to change the cycle for others, she said, “is a big part of why so many of these people, once they are home, are finding jobs that enable them to give back and help repair this society.”

Jody Boykins was released from prison in November. That same day, he made it to the Tufts campus for class.

For some, the most compelling argument in favor of prison education is fiscal. A study of female offenders in New York State found that 30% percent of those released from prison returned to custody within three years, but the recidivism rate for those who took college classes while in prison was less than 8%. And less time in prison saves the state money. According to a RAND Corporation study , “For every dollar invested in prison education programs, you’re saving taxpayers between $4 to $5 in re-incarceration costs, and that’s a conservative estimate.”

For its part, the TUPIT program is supported almost entirely by donations and grants, with the university waiving tuition costs.

To keep the recidivism rate as low as possible, TUPIT developed the Tufts Educational Re-entry Network , or MyTERN. It helps the newly released with employment, housing, technology training, financial literacy, and emotional support while enabling students to continue their education in civic studies. On the Tufts campus, they take courses designed for them like Policy, Politics and Advocacy and Storytelling for Social Change. They also tell their own stories at schools and at community events, honing their skills as activists and civic leaders.

A MyTERN centerpiece is classes that traditional students and the formerly incarcerated take together. Walls come down as they share their radically different life experiences, but also discover what they have in common, Binda said.

One such course, called Literatures of Justice, met in a classroom in Tisch Library in the fall. In a class just before Thanksgiving, students talked and laughed together over some pre-class pizza, but things turned pensive when Binda had them share their thoughts on the upcoming holiday.

Some would be going home to see their parents. Others, too far from home to journey for the short break, were missing their families. For Jody Boykins, who completed a sentence just two weeks prior, it would be his first Thanksgiving out of prison since 2017, and the question of family was complicated. “I don’t talk to my cousins for a reason,” he said. “We are living different lives.”

For many, joining TUPIT means severing old ties, whether to the drug business or to gang life and its rules of reprisal. Later, Boykins talked about a course he had taken inside called The Apology.

“That class changed my life,” he said. “It taught me that you cannot ask for forgiveness if you are not willing to give it. It helped me look into the eyes of the man who killed my uncle 17 years ago. I met up with that guy in a state prison yard and I found the nerve to listen to him.”

Re-entry to society is a struggle, even with supports like MyTERN, but Boykins was committed. The same day of his release in November, he made it to Medford for class. By February, he would have a 3.95 GPA, be starting a job at a Boston soup kitchen, and thinking about summer courses.

The day after the graduation ceremony, the TUPIT students heard unsettling news: The state announced plans to close the aged MCI-Concord facility before the summer—a surprise to many, including Binda. She worked quickly with the Department of Correction to ensure her students would stay together, locating a new base for TUPIT at MCI-Shirley.

At about the same time, the students got another shock, one that offered a jolt of hope for several of them. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a ruling that banned life-without-parole for people who were under 21 at the time of their crime, a first in the nation.

“We have seven students currently who may have thought they would never leave prison,” Binda said, “and now they have a chance for parole.”

Shane, the janitor, is one of them. If he gets out, he hopes to stay in academia.

“It seems counter-intuitive to put trust in people that are incarcerated,” he said, but that trust is transformative, and will lead them “to live in harmony and contribute to humanity in responsible and surprising ways.”

A woman wears a sculpture that shows her head behind bars.

Rewriting Their Prison Stories, Sentence by Sentence

The second graduating cohort of MyTERN students to earn the certificate in Civic Studies from Tufts

Learning Lessons—and Earning Degrees—on the Inside

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Learning Ethics in Prison

Laredo student accepted to West Point

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - Aaron Fuentes, a senior at Hector J. Garcia Early College in Laredo, has been accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He’s one of over 12,000 applicants who received this honor.

Fuentes earned a full scholarship worth over $225,000 from the federal government. He’s a member of the National Honor Society, consistently makes the honor roll, and holds a black belt in karate.

Fuentes credits his commitment to leadership and academics for his acceptance. “I would say stay focused on your leadership and your academics. A part that helped me with my application was the leadership part of it. I had good leadership opportunities thanks to my karate, and I think that helped,” said Fuentes.

Fuentes underwent rigorous medical and fitness examinations, in addition to submitting an essay and obtaining a letter of recommendation through Congressman Henry Cuellar.

He’ll begin his studies at West Point this summer.

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Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice

Hillary Amofa listens to others member of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. "I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping," said the 18 year-old senior, "And I'm just like, this doesn't really say anything about me as a person." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Hillary Amofa listens to others member of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. (AP Video: Noreen Nasir)

Hillary Amofa listens to others member of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. “I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18 year-old senior, “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.” (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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Hillary Amofa, laughs as she participates in a team building game with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. “I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18 year-old senior, “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.” (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Hillary Amofa stands for a portrait after practice with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. “I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18 year-old senior, “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.” (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Max Decker, a senior at Lincoln High School, sits for a portrait in the school library where he often worked on writing his college essays, in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)

Hillary Amofa, second from left, practices with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. “I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18 year-old senior, “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.” (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Max Decker, a senior at Lincoln High School, stands for a portrait outside of the school in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)

*Hillary Amofa, reflected right, practices in a mirror with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. “I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18 year-old senior, “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.” (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Max Decker, a senior at Lincoln High School, sits for a portrait outside of the school in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)

Hillary Amofa, left, practices with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. “I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18 year-old senior, “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.” (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Hillary Amofa sits for a portrait after her step team practice at Lincoln Park High School Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. “I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18 year-old senior, “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.” (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

FILE - Demonstrators protest outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, in this June 29, 2023 file photo, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, saying race cannot be a factor. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

CHICAGO (AP) — When she started writing her college essay, Hillary Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. About being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana and growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. About hardship and struggle.

Then she deleted it all.

“I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18-year-old senior at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.”

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. For many students of color, instantly more was riding on the already high-stakes writing assignment. Some say they felt pressure to exploit their hardships as they competed for a spot on campus.

Amofa was just starting to think about her essay when the court issued its decision, and it left her with a wave of questions. Could she still write about her race? Could she be penalized for it? She wanted to tell colleges about her heritage but she didn’t want to be defined by it.

In English class, Amofa and her classmates read sample essays that all seemed to focus on some trauma or hardship. It left her with the impression she had to write about her life’s hardest moments to show how far she’d come. But she and some of her classmates wondered if their lives had been hard enough to catch the attention of admissions offices.

“For a lot of students, there’s a feeling of, like, having to go through something so horrible to feel worthy of going to school, which is kind of sad,” said Amofa, the daughter of a hospital technician and an Uber driver.

This year’s senior class is the first in decades to navigate college admissions without affirmative action . The Supreme Court upheld the practice in decisions going back to the 1970s, but this court’s conservative supermajority found it is unconstitutional for colleges to give students extra weight because of their race alone.

Still, the decision left room for race to play an indirect role: Chief Justice John Roberts wrote universities can still consider how an applicant’s life was shaped by their race, “so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability.”

“A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination,” he wrote.

Scores of colleges responded with new essay prompts asking about students’ backgrounds. Brown University asked applicants how “an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you.” Rice University asked students how their perspectives were shaped by their “background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity.”

*Hillary Amofa, reflected right, practices in a mirror with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. "I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping," said the 18 year-old senior, "And I'm just like, this doesn't really say anything about me as a person." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Hillary Amofa, reflected right, practices in a mirror with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

WONDERING IF SCHOOLS ‘EXPECT A SOB STORY’

When Darrian Merritt started writing his essay, he knew the stakes were higher than ever because of the court’s decision. His first instinct was to write about events that led to him going to live with his grandmother as a child.

Those were painful memories, but he thought they might play well at schools like Yale, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

“I feel like the admissions committee might expect a sob story or a tragic story,” said Merritt, a senior in Cleveland. “And if you don’t provide that, then maybe they’re not going to feel like you went through enough to deserve having a spot at the university. I wrestled with that a lot.”

He wrote drafts focusing on his childhood, but it never amounted to more than a collection of memories. Eventually he abandoned the idea and aimed for an essay that would stand out for its positivity.

Merritt wrote about a summer camp where he started to feel more comfortable in his own skin. He described embracing his personality and defying his tendency to please others. The essay had humor — it centered on a water gun fight where he had victory in sight but, in a comedic twist, slipped and fell. But the essay also reflects on his feelings of not being “Black enough” and getting made fun of for listening to “white people music.”

“I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to write this for me, and we’re just going to see how it goes,’” he said. “It just felt real, and it felt like an honest story.”

The essay describes a breakthrough as he learned “to take ownership of myself and my future by sharing my true personality with the people I encounter. ... I realized that the first chapter of my own story had just been written.”

Max Decker, a senior at Lincoln High School, sits for a portrait in the school library where he often worked on writing his college essays, in Portland, Ore., March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)

A RULING PROMPTS PIVOTS ON ESSAY TOPICS

Like many students, Max Decker of Portland, Oregon, had drafted a college essay on one topic, only to change direction after the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Decker initially wrote about his love for video games. In a childhood surrounded by constant change, navigating his parents’ divorce, the games he took from place to place on his Nintendo DS were a source of comfort.

But the essay he submitted to colleges focused on the community he found through Word is Bond, a leadership group for young Black men in Portland.

As the only biracial, Jewish kid with divorced parents in a predominantly white, Christian community, Decker wrote he constantly felt like the odd one out. On a trip with Word is Bond to Capitol Hill, he and friends who looked just like him shook hands with lawmakers. The experience, he wrote, changed how he saw himself.

“It’s because I’m different that I provide something precious to the world, not the other way around,” he wrote.

As a first-generation college student, Decker thought about the subtle ways his peers seemed to know more about navigating the admissions process . They made sure to get into advanced classes at the start of high school, and they knew how to secure glowing letters of recommendation.

Max Decker reads his college essay on his experience with a leadership group for young Black men. (AP Video/Noreen Nasir)

If writing about race would give him a slight edge and show admissions officers a fuller picture of his achievements, he wanted to take that small advantage.

His first memory about race, Decker said, was when he went to get a haircut in elementary school and the barber made rude comments about his curly hair. Until recently, the insecurity that moment created led him to keep his hair buzzed short.

Through Word is Bond, Decker said he found a space to explore his identity as a Black man. It was one of the first times he was surrounded by Black peers and saw Black role models. It filled him with a sense of pride in his identity. No more buzzcut.

The pressure to write about race involved a tradeoff with other important things in his life, Decker said. That included his passion for journalism, like the piece he wrote on efforts to revive a once-thriving Black neighborhood in Portland. In the end, he squeezed in 100 characters about his journalism under the application’s activities section.

“My final essay, it felt true to myself. But the difference between that and my other essay was the fact that it wasn’t the truth that I necessarily wanted to share,” said Decker, whose top college choice is Tulane, in New Orleans, because of the region’s diversity. “It felt like I just had to limit the truth I was sharing to what I feel like the world is expecting of me.”

FILE - Demonstrators protest outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, in this June 29, 2023 file photo, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, saying race cannot be a factor. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators protest outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, in this June 29, 2023 file photo, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, saying race cannot be a factor. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

SPELLING OUT THE IMPACT OF RACE

Before the Supreme Court ruling, it seemed a given to Imani Laird that colleges would consider the ways that race had touched her life. But now, she felt like she had to spell it out.

As she started her essay, she reflected on how she had faced bias or felt overlooked as a Black student in predominantly white spaces.

There was the year in math class when the teacher kept calling her by the name of another Black student. There were the comments that she’d have an easier time getting into college because she was Black .

“I didn’t have it easier because of my race,” said Laird, a senior at Newton South High School in the Boston suburbs who was accepted at Wellesley and Howard University, and is waiting to hear from several Ivy League colleges. “I had stuff I had to overcome.”

In her final essays, she wrote about her grandfather, who served in the military but was denied access to GI Bill benefits because of his race.

She described how discrimination fueled her ambition to excel and pursue a career in public policy.

“So, I never settled for mediocrity,” she wrote. “Regardless of the subject, my goal in class was not just to participate but to excel. Beyond academics, I wanted to excel while remembering what started this motivation in the first place.”

Hillary Amofa stands for a portrait after practice with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. "I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping," said the 18 year-old senior, "And I'm just like, this doesn't really say anything about me as a person." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Hillary Amofa stands for a portrait after practice with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

WILL SCHOOLS LOSE RACIAL DIVERSITY?

Amofa used to think affirmative action was only a factor at schools like Harvard and Yale. After the court’s ruling, she was surprised to find that race was taken into account even at some public universities she was applying to.

Now, without affirmative action, she wondered if mostly white schools will become even whiter.

It’s been on her mind as she chooses between Indiana University and the University of Dayton, both of which have relatively few Black students. When she was one of the only Black students in her grade school, she could fall back on her family and Ghanaian friends at church. At college, she worries about loneliness.

“That’s what I’m nervous about,” she said. “Going and just feeling so isolated, even though I’m constantly around people.”

Hillary Amofa reads her college essay on embracing her natural hair. (AP Video/Noreen Nasir)

The first drafts of her essay focused on growing up in a low-income family, sharing a bedroom with her brother and grandmother. But it didn’t tell colleges about who she is now, she said.

Her final essay tells how she came to embrace her natural hair . She wrote about going to a mostly white grade school where classmates made jokes about her afro. When her grandmother sent her back with braids or cornrows, they made fun of those too.

Over time, she ignored their insults and found beauty in the styles worn by women in her life. She now runs a business doing braids and other hairstyles in her neighborhood.

“I stopped seeing myself through the lens of the European traditional beauty standards and started seeing myself through the lens that I created,” Amofa wrote.

“Criticism will persist, but it loses its power when you know there’s a crown on your head!”

Ma reported from Portland, Oregon.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

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Guest Essay

Elite College Admissions Have Turned Students Into Brands

An illustration of a doll in a box attired in a country-western outfit and surrounded by musical accessories and a laptop. The doll wears a distressed expression and is pushing against the front of the box, which is emblazoned with the words “Environmentally Conscious Musician” and “Awesome Applicant.” The backdrop is a range of pink with three twinkling lights surrounding the box.

By Sarah Bernstein

Ms. Bernstein is a playwright, a writing coach and an essayist in Brooklyn.

“I just can’t think of anything,” my student said.

After 10 years of teaching college essay writing, I was familiar with this reply. For some reason, when you’re asked to recount an important experience from your life, it is common to forget everything that has ever happened to you. It’s a long-form version of the anxiety that takes hold at a corporate retreat when you’re invited to say “one interesting thing about yourself,” and you suddenly believe that you are the most boring person in the entire world. Once during a version of this icebreaker, a man volunteered that he had only one kidney, and I remember feeling incredibly jealous of him.

I tried to jog this student’s memory. What about his love of music? Or his experience learning English? Or that time on a summer camping trip when he and his friends had nearly drowned? “I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. “That all seems kind of cliché.”

Applying to college has always been about standing out. When I teach college essay workshops and coach applicants one on one, I see my role as helping students to capture their voice and their way of processing the world, things that are, by definition, unique to each individual. Still, many of my students (and their parents) worry that as getting into college becomes increasingly competitive, this won’t be enough to set them apart.

Their anxiety is understandable. On Thursday, in a tradition known as “Ivy Day,” all eight Ivy League schools released their regular admission decisions. Top colleges often issue statements about how impressive (and competitive) their applicant pools were this cycle. The intention is to flatter accepted students and assuage rejected ones, but for those who have not yet applied to college, these statements reinforce the fear that there is an ever-expanding cohort of applicants with straight A’s and perfect SATs and harrowing camping trip stories all competing with one another for a vanishingly small number of spots.

This scarcity has led to a boom in the college consulting industry, now estimated to be a $2.9 billion business. In recent years, many of these advisers and companies have begun to promote the idea of personal branding — a way for teenagers to distinguish themselves by becoming as clear and memorable as a good tagline.

While this approach often leads to a strong application, students who brand themselves too early or too definitively risk missing out on the kind of exploration that will prepare them for adult life.

Like a corporate brand, the personal brand is meant to distill everything you stand for (honesty, integrity, high quality, low prices) into a cohesive identity that can be grasped at a glance. On its website, a college prep and advising company called Dallas Admissions explains the benefits of branding this way: “Each person is complex, yet admissions officers only have a small amount of time to spend learning about each prospective student. The smart student boils down key aspects of himself or herself into their personal ‘brand’ and sells that to the college admissions officer.”

Identifying the key aspects of yourself may seem like a lifelong project, but unfortunately, college applicants don’t have that kind of time. Online, there are dozens of lesson plans and seminars promising to walk students through the process of branding themselves in five to 10 easy steps. The majority begin with questions I would have found panic-inducing as a teenager, such as, “What is the story you want people to tell about you when you’re not in the room?”

Where I hoped others would describe me as “normal” or, in my wildest dreams, “cool,” today’s teenagers are expected to leave this exercise with labels like, Committed Athlete and Compassionate Leader or Environmentally Conscious Musician. Once students have a draft of their ideal self, they’re offered instructions for manifesting it (or at least, the appearance of it) in person and online. These range from common-sense tips (not posting illegal activity on social media) to more drastic recommendations (getting different friends).

It’s not just that these courses cut corners on self-discovery; it’s that they get the process backward. A personal brand is effective only if you can support it with action, so instead of finding their passion and values through experience, students are encouraged to select a passion as early as possible and then rack up the experience to substantiate it. Many college consultants suggest beginning to align your activities with your college ambitions by ninth grade, while the National Institute of Certified College Planners recommends students “talk with parents, guardians, and/or an academic adviser to create a clear plan for your education and career-related goals” in junior high.

The idea of a group of middle schoolers soberly mapping out their careers is both comical and depressing, but when I read student essays today, I can see that this advice is getting through. Over the past few years, I have been struck by how many high school seniors already have defined career goals as well as a C.V. of relevant extracurriculars to go with them. This widens the gap between wealthy students and those who lack the resources to secure a fancy research gig or start their own small business. (A shocking number of college applicants claim to have started a small business.) It also puts pressure on all students to define themselves at a moment when they are anxious to fit in and yet changing all the time.

In the world of branding, a word that appears again and again is “consistency.” If you are Charmin, that makes sense. People opening a roll of toilet paper do not want to be surprised. If you are a teenage human being, however, that is an unreasonable expectation. Changing one’s interests, opinions and presentation is a natural part of adolescence and an instructive one. I find that my students with scattershot résumés are often the most confident. They’re not afraid to push back against suggestions that ring false and will insist on revising their essay until it actually “feels like me.” On the other hand, many of my most accomplished students are so quick to accept feedback that I am wary of offering it, lest I become one more adult trying to shape them into an admission-worthy ideal.

I understand that for parents, prioritizing exploration can feel like a risky bet. Self-insight is hard to quantify and to communicate in a college application. When it comes to building a life, however, this kind of knowledge has more value than any accolade, and it cannot be generated through a brainstorming exercise in a six-step personal branding course online. To equip kids for the world, we need to provide them not just with opportunities for achievement, but with opportunities to fail, to learn, to wander and to change their minds.

In some ways, the college essay is a microcosm of modern adolescence. Depending on how you look at it, it’s either a forum for self-discovery or a high-stakes test you need to ace. I try to assure my students that it is the former. I tell them that it’s a chance to take stock of everything you’ve experienced and learned over the past 18 years and everything you have to offer as a result.

That can be a profound process. But to embark on it, students have to believe that colleges really want to see the person behind the brand. And they have to have the chance to know who that person is.

Sarah Bernstein is a playwright, a writing coach and an essayist.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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