EssaySnark recently covered some basics on what’s legit to include versus what’s TMI. Here’s something else to consider: If it’s an incident from a long time ago and all you did was grow up (meaning, you didn’t do anything to change the circumstances), you probably shouldn’t bother telling the adcom about it. This is what…
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Erin says
I'm curious if my own story is TMI. My father struggled with alcoholism and depression when I was growing up, and attempted suicide. Four years ago, he passed away. I don't want to use that story to excuse any weakness – rather, I want to show that because of that family situation I've been motivated to not let any of those things happen to me and have always kept stellar grades and balanced caring for my younger siblings etc. during those tough times. But is it TMI??
essaysnark says
@Erin: The sketch you provided sounds solid to us – you're using the details of your personal life to explain/expand on who you are as a person and what motivates you. That can be very effective. This doesn't seem like TMI to us.
The "is it too much?" question also comes down to which school we're talking about, and how it's presented in which essay question. Some schools very much invite this type of info (e.g., Stanford in its Essay 1, Columbia Essay 2) whereas with other schools, you'd need to force it (like Kellogg – we cannot see how this story fits anywhere within their questions).
So the always-unhelpful answer is, "it depends." At first glance, this isn't necessarily ringing warning bells for us based on how you've presented it; it will come down to your execution of it within a specific topic.