{"id":3008,"date":"2014-12-18t09:00:16","date_gmt":"2014-12-18t09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/sat\/?p=3008"},"modified":"2015-04-14t20:24:26","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14t20:24:26","slug":"should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"should i mention my religion in my college essay?"},"content":{"rendered":"

here\u2019s another key tip to keep in mind for your college applications, from college essay guy<\/a> ethan sawyer!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

the short answer is this: it\u2019s okay to discuss religion in your essay as long as the take-away (or values) promoted in the essay are universal. here\u2019s what i mean:<\/p>\n

in the past, i\u2019ve had students write essay drafts that end with something like, \u201csince accepting christ (or) learning to meditate (or) converting to judaism, i\u2019ve made it my goal to tell others about the difference that christ\/meditation\/judaism can make in their lives.\u201d i call this the \u201cmissionary\u201d essay. and it can be off-putting to readers, particularly to those who don\u2019t share your religious beliefs (which, statistically speaking, is likely).<\/p>\n

instead, discuss the values you gained through your religion. how?
\n <\/p>\n

step 1:<\/strong> take a look at this values list<\/a> and ask yourself: what values have i gained through my religion? <\/p>\n

examples: \u201cgetting used to wearing a turban in ninth grade helped increase my self-confidence and, interestingly, my grades went up that year!\u201d (or) \u201cfeeling judged by my youth group leader helped me better understand how my friend must have been feeling about me; i realized i was essentially doing the same thing to her.\u201d <\/p>\n

check out the values displayed in those sentences: self-confidence and empathy. nice! and anyone, no matter the religion or belief system, can get on board with those.
\n <\/p>\n

step 2:<\/strong> make sure the values you\u2019re discussing are non-obvious and specific.
\nobvious connections lead to boring essays. <\/p>\n

examples: \u201cplaying in the band at church helped me learn the value of working with others\u201d (seen it!) (or) \u201cvolunteering at our mosque helped me develop myself personally\u201d (super vague–say how!).
\n <\/p>\n

step 3:<\/strong> get feedback from someone who does not share your religious belief.
\nonce s\/he has read the essay, ask the person: do you feel closer to me after having read that? if the answer isn\u2019t \u201cyes,\u201d or even if the person hesitates before responding, ask, \u201cwhat would help you feel closer to me?\u201d
\n <\/p>\n

step 4:<\/strong> listen with your entire being. stay curious about his\/her feedback to you.
\n <\/p>\n

step 5:<\/strong> thank the person and go back to the drawing board.
\n <\/p>\n

because you are creative and original and you have something important to communicate.<\/p>\n

for more personal statement help, check out www.collegeessayguy.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"collegeessayguy\"
\nethan sawyer, the college essay guy, has been helping students tell their stories for more than ten years. he is a graduate of northwestern university, received an mfa from uc irvine, and received two counseling certifications, one from uc irvine and another from the interchange counseling institute. he’s also a certified myers-briggs\u00ae specialist and his type (enfj) will tell you that he will show up on time, he’ll be excited to meet you, and, more than anything, he’s committed to–and an expert in–helping you realize your potential.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

here\u2019s another key tip to keep in mind for your college applications, from college essay guy ethan sawyer! the short answer is this: it\u2019s okay to discuss religion in your essay as long as the take-away (or values) promoted in the essay are universal. here\u2019s what i mean: in the past, i\u2019ve had students write […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24880],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nshould i mention my religion in my college essay? - magoosh blog | high school<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"should i mention my religion in my college essay?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"here\u2019s another key tip to keep in mind for your college applications, from college essay guy ethan sawyer! the short answer is this: it\u2019s okay to discuss religion in your essay as long as the take-away (or values) promoted in the essay are universal. here\u2019s what i mean: in the past, i\u2019ve had students write […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"magoosh blog | high school\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/magooshsat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-18t09:00:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-04-14t20:24:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/sat\/files\/2014\/11\/collegeessayguy-300x73.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"guest author\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@magooshsat_act\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@magooshsat_act\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"guest author\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"article\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay\/#article\",\"ispartof\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"guest author\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/b7e6143cd1e3cc496347b662b343f0e4\"},\"headline\":\"should i mention my religion in my college essay?\",\"datepublished\":\"2014-12-18t09:00:16+00:00\",\"datemodified\":\"2015-04-14t20:24:26+00:00\",\"mainentityofpage\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay\/\"},\"wordcount\":495,\"commentcount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#organization\"},\"articlesection\":[\"college admissions\"],\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"potentialaction\":[{\"@type\":\"commentaction\",\"name\":\"comment\",\"target\":[\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"webpage\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay\/\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/should-i-mention-my-religion-in-my-college-essay\/\",\"name\":\"should i mention my religion in my college essay? 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