Is my essay off topic?

Question

I REALLY want to go to The University of Texas and I am desperately trying to write a good college essay. This is the exact topic:

Choose an issue of importance to you—the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope—and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.

I have started writing but now that I read it I am wondering if my essay is off topic. I have written about problems teens face. So far I have talked about dysfunctional families, arguing with parents, pressure to fit in, pressure to have expensive things, etc.

Am i off topic??

Answer 1

From what you say about the assignment, it appears that you would do better to focus on ONE of those  issues.  How about the importance of peer pressure to your generation?  (I know--so what else is new?)  You could discuss both the pressures you've mentioned in that context. Does peer pressure in those areas cause teens to be untrue to themselves?  To "want" things they don't really want?

Another idea: global warming.  You're in the first generation to have grown up with it, so you might be able to write on the way it sets you and your peers apart not only from youir parents but from every previous generation for centuries, maybe ever.

Good luck!

Answer 2

As long as it's an issue that's important to you, I don't see how it could be off topic.  Just be sure to relate how the problems teens face is meaningful to you now, how it affects your family, your community, etc.  In other words, don't just give facts about the issue, discuss how it affects or has affected you personally.  Good luck!

Answer 3

Not necessarily.  Just be certain that you relate what you write to the central topic -- that Problems Teens Face is an issue that you are, indeed, concerned about.  If you can stay focused & pull it off, this sounds like a real winner! Good Luck!

Answer 4

It sounds like a perfect topic to me.  Good luck!!

Answer 5

I think that is a perfect topic. It includes community, school, and possibly personal issues. Good job and good luck!

Answer 6

You are on topic but expensive things is sort of a goof,why not relate to the future

choosing a compatible peer group

developing self confidence

getting good grades and having a social life

paying for college

finding the right college

working and attending school

choosing the right career

finding a career that will be in demand

balancing studies and community service, school activities,other interests

demanding serious relationships that complicate life