Comments on: Ask Richard: Should I “Come Out” as an Atheist in my College Application Essay?

By: Kaleena

Kaleena — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:57:51 +0000

Do it! Write on the subject! Admissions offices love minority subjects and love reading something that is unique (regardless of the subject) Do it!

By: Hannah

Hannah — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:44:29 +0000

I’m late seeing this post, but I had to comment – I wrote my college application on the difficulty of growing up a liberal and an atheist in my small Southern home town. I was applying to a Southern school but had no problem getting in. I think the letter-writer should write about being an atheist if that’s what s/he wants to write about. Admissions officers are not supposed let their personal prejudices (politics, for example) interfere with their decisions. They may not see atheists as a category like blacks or Jews that they should not discriminate against, but they will still recognize that their own views should play no role in their decision. The essay is also a small part of your total application score. I say, go for it!

By: C

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:57:46 +0000

As an English person, I still find it so unreal that this sort of thing seems to be such a problem in America – thought you were suspposed to be the land of the free?

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:57:34 +0000

As much as it sucks, applying to college/interviewing with admissions is basically the same as trying to get a job, in that you need to give them what they want to hear. Your views on religion will have their place to be heard, debated, discussed, but you have to be accepted first for any of that to happen. I’m only saying this as someone who was accepted to and attended a really great university – the time to stand out is once you’re in, and once you’ve built up a bit of currency for yourself, in the form of references, colleagues, peers, etc… similar to how you can’t really make changes at a job until you’ve worked at it for a while. My advice is to keep it safe until you know you’re in… there’s plenty of opportunity (especially in, say, a freshman English course) to write on whatever your feel is important.

I agree – the wager is risky and certainly outweighs anything you stand to gain. Someone else suggested that you probably have a more important passion than your absence from church – find that and write about it.

Also, the admissions officer is NOT a fully accurate representative of the school – I don’t think the “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member” idea really applies, because while the school overall might side with you, the individual reading your essay might not.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:43:49 +0000

You’ve got a lot of things to consider here, obviously. I think the major factors are how strongly you feel about writing this, and how much you have to say. As far as the coming out dilemma, consider your school’s location, your major, and the general type of school it is.

If you’re applying as an electrical engineering major at MIT, you most likely have no reason to worry. Massachusetts is the bluest state in the country, and MIT will value your critical thinking skills. If you’re applying as a philosophy major at a Christian school in Oklahoma, don’t come out at all, let alone in your application essay.

@H: Are you talking about high school, or college/university? I had that experience in high school, but it wasn’t so prevalent in college (UMass Lowell).

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:09:21 +0000

@ H

Where did you go to school? I think what you said is interesting, and it’s too bad that your educational experience was a negative one. Mine has been quite the opposite, fortunately. Most of my classes to date have been very open.

Hell, I made a masturbation joke on my statistics quiz (I couldn’t remember what “extrapolation” really was), and I still got partial credit.

Anyways, I think that if College-Bound is applying for very high ranking schools, then it’s likely that the administrators won’t allow their personal judgment to cloud the admissions process. Like someone said, they may share views that are far from the religious right, as well. If you have an interesting story that would demonstrate a significant part of your experience to date and shows how you deal with adversity, then go for it and more power to you. A compelling essay is a compelling essay, whether the admissions person agrees with you or not, and regardless of the subject matter.

By: H

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:07:10 +0000

your ability to think freely, to go beyond the popular assumptions, to question, investigate and reason.

Schools don’t like those traits. Schools exist to teach obedience.

You pass by swallowing what the teacher says and writing it on your exam.

People who question things, especially the teacher, get flunked out or put in detention. I’m talking about questioning policies, teacher decisions and ways of doing things, not simply asking a question for clarification of what the teacher said.

You need to just suck it up and give them what they want. That’s how I survived the hell of highschool.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:08 +0000

That’s exactly what I wrote about for my college ap – and I got in!

If this is what feels right, and it’s what you want to write about – go for it.

Remember: You don’t have to live your life the way others expect you to.

Good luck!

By: cyn

cyn — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:23:44 +0000

Well, I’m an older student who returned to school in order to get a degree. Choice are limited where I live and the area is pretty conservative Christian. I have kept my atheism to myself for the most part. Mainly because I’m not willing to rock any boats since I’m due to graduate next May with a strong GPA.

In other words, go with what works for you the best.

By: Colin

Colin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:24:51 +0000

Great question, and great responses so far. I would love to see a response from someone who works in admissions.

I agree it does little good to come out in an application essay, and you should probably pick another topic unless your story is tremendously compelling.

Part of the problem is that the unstated topic of these application essays seems to be “describe a hardship you have overcome”. Some students have great stories that fit this mold, others, no less deserving of a college education, do not. You want to write something that stands out, but I think the risk of being denied by a bad apple in the admissions department is overly high for this topic.

My own application essay to my “dream school” touched on evolution. I wasn’t admitted, no way to know if the essay hurt my cause.