overcoming challenge college essay examples

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How to Nail Your Overcoming a Challenge Essay: Advice and Tips

By Eric Eng

College essays play an incredibly important role in your application, especially when it comes to getting into the Ivy League, yet they’re often underestimated. By the time you reach this stage of the admissions process, you’re eager to finish everything and relax. However, it’s your college essays, especially your essay about overcoming a challenge, that can determine whether your application stands out or gets overlooked. Effective essay writing can significantly impact your application.

While essay prompts vary across colleges, certain themes are universal. One of the most common and challenging prompts asks you to write a narrative essay about overcoming a challenge and what you learned as a result. Many students find this seemingly straightforward prompt daunting for various reasons. When writing this essay, it’s important to convey your unique experiences and personal growth.

We will be diving into this essay topic in this blog. We will investigate what the college admission officer is looking for and give you some tips that will help you in writing a how to overcome challenges in life essay.

• What Is the Overcoming Challenges Essay All About?

Personal Challenge Essay Examples

Top tips for writing a “how to overcome challenges in life” essay, frequently asked questions, what is the “overcoming challenges” essay all about.

Wondering what are some personal challenge essay examples? As the name implies, the “essay about overcoming a challenge” prompt refers to any college essay question that asks you to address a difficult obstacle or challenge that you have had to overcome. There are many variations of the question, but it is essentially always the same basic material. Writing a college essay for this prompt involves reflecting on these experiences thoughtfully.

Among top schools, essays play a particularly significant role in the admissions process. In fact, 84 of the top 100 schools on Forbes’ 2023 list of America’s Top Colleges c onsider student essays either “very important” or “important,” according to their responses in the Common Data Set. These responses were submitted before the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action, which seems to increase the weight placed on essays.

College admissions officers are looking at how you cope with adversity and how the challenges you have faced have molded you into the person you are today. Much like many of the other college essay topics , writing a college essay on overcoming challenges requires you to get a bit personal and open up.

This is an excellent opportunity for you to let admissions officers in on more about themselves as a person, helping you further qualify for an acceptance letter. While you may feel the urge to tell one of the most traumatic experiences you’ve gone through in your life, writing a college essay does not require you to choose the most dramatic story. The challenge may be something very ordinary and common.

Admission officers will read and review your response based on how you faced the challenge, how you overcame it, and what you learned. Writing a college essay on overcoming challenges is about showing colleges you can deal with setbacks and obstacles in your life and be resilient, resourceful, and able to push through.

No matter where you go, there’s a fair likelihood you’ll run into at least some of the obstacles that are going to be on your way to graduation. Colleges need to know that their students can overcome some of these barriers gracefully. The “overcoming challenges” essay prompt helps colleges measure this capacity.

Just to feel your way around what these essays look like, let’s take a look at some real “overcoming challenges” essay prompts. This first one is from Common App, which asks you to respond to the following question with a 650-word limit. When writing a college essay for this prompt, it’s important to address each part thoughtfully.

“The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a challenge you’ve faced and how you approached it. It can be a challenge you’ve faced, a setback, or a failure. How did it affect you? What did you learn from this experience?”

Notice that the question is not just about some setback or challenge that you had in the past. This is asking how this experience impacted you and changed you up until now. This means the real focus here will be more on how it affected the applicant rather than the seriousness of the challenge itself. Writing a college essay that effectively highlights this transformation is key.

Another example of an “overcoming challenges” essay question comes from MIT . For the 2018-2020 application, students were asked to answer the following question in 200 to 250 words. When writing a college essay for this prompt, consider the specific aspects they are asking for.

“Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. Tell us what you did to handle the situation.”

This is a “managed the situation” prompt—not what you learn, or how you have been changed as a result. Writing a college essay for this type of prompt involves focusing on your actions and decision-making process.

An example of an effective response for this prompt would be:

During my sophomore year, I became president of our school’s environmental club, ready to create some real change. Our main project? A huge campus-wide tree-planting event that we had spent months planning. The morning of the event, though, I woke up to a downpour. One of those relentless storms that leaves you with zero hope of following through. My stomach dropped. All that preparation, all those volunteers, the excitement—all washed away.

I sat in the car, staring at the drenched field, trying to accept that canceling was our only option. But then, a thought hit me: just because we couldn’t plant trees didn’t mean we couldn’t do something meaningful.

I called an emergency meeting with my team, and within hours, we completely switched gears. We contacted environmental experts, set up a last-minute virtual climate change workshop, and hustled to get the word out online. It was chaotic at times, but by the end of the day, we had pulled off a successful event with even more attendees than we’d anticipated.

Without my team’s quick thinking and willingness to adapt, we wouldn’t have pulled it off. Together, we turned a disaster into something positive. That experience showed me the importance of collaboration. That day, I also learned that plans will fall apart—and that’s okay. What matters is how you adapt when things don’t go the way you expected. That’s when real growth happens.

Excited to start on your college journey? Keep these tips in mind to ensure that your personal challenge essay impresses the admissions committee of your dream school:

1. Refrain from writing about common topics.

One major mistake students make when responding to the “overcoming challenges” essay is writing a college essay on a common topic. Since admissions officers have to read hundreds, if not thousands, of essays answering the same question, writing on a common topic can seem trite and unoriginal.

Even if your essay is pristine, the topic still runs the risk of bringing down your overall response. Instead, it’s best to try and pinpoint a challenge or obstacle you’ve faced in your life that’s unique, or at least not as common. Some common “overcoming challenges” essay topics to avoid include winning a difficult sports game or passing a course in which you were struggling.

Think back to events earlier in your life that impacted how you think and act today. Any of these experiences involved you in challenges you overcame and changed for the better? Don’t be afraid to get vulnerable and open when writing a college essay. The more concrete, unique, and original you can make the topic, the better your chances at standing out from the crowd when you write your how to overcome challenges in life essay.

2. Highlight your emotional intelligence.

Colleges use “overcoming challenges” essay prompts to get a better sense of the applicant than other areas of the application would be able to convey. These essays are intended to highlight some characteristics that you might possess that would prove valuable for your time in college. Writing a college essay on this topic allows you to showcase these attributes effectively.

An experience related to dealing with a challenging event in your life can show mental strength, perseverance, long-term thinking, follow-through, and other such qualities. One of the strongest ways to make your response even stronger is through writing a college essay that will reflect certain qualities you want to display to admissions officers.

For example, overcoming a disagreement with a friend could strike a chord in you as a meaningful challenge. You should consider in advance what type of qualities you would like to convey in your answers and select a challenge accordingly when writing your college essay.

Again, what this prompt is looking for is some positives about you and your personality. Contemplating ahead of time how your topic is going to be read by the admissions officers can make the overall piece more impactful.

3. Steer clear of common writing techniques.

Now, here’s the pro tip that most applicants won’t ever think about: this “overcoming challenges” essay can stand out from other responses if you pay attention to its structure.

How you structure your prompt response can make a huge difference to the essay. Even if the topic is original, admissions officers will still spot the duplicated patterns of paragraphs. When writing a college essay, to make sure that your “overcoming challenges” essay stands out in the colleges’ eyes, you will have to give a due share of attention to how it is written. The majority of students stick to the following pattern:

Describe an event or experience that tested you → Describe how you overcame the challenge.

It’s not that this format is going to damage your essay. The thing is, hitting on something more unique and unexpected helps the essay to stand out. When writing your college essay, it’s normal to feel stuck especially when you run out of ideas. Instead of focusing on a singular event or occasion, you could write about a challenge you overcame over a prolonged period and events that helped you to push forward.

If you want to get creative, you could focus on something you’re still in the process of getting over. You could bring it into the present day and talk about what you plan to do in the future. Writing a college essay with these variations isn’t essential, but it is a great way to grab the attention of admissions officers.

4. Pay attention to the essay’s substance.

When the prompt asks for a description of an event or obstacle, as in the case of the “overcoming challenges” essay prompt, you might focus on the description of people, places, circumstances, and other physical or tangible things. That is a fine writing skill overall, but you’re not competing for a Pulitzer Prize when writing a college essay for your university applications.

This all goes to giving admissions exactly what they want, making your responses outstanding, and showing off your strengths in the process. It’s best to focus more on the internal components of your topic rather than the circumstances. For example, rather than writing about what happened in the challenging event, you should focus on writing a college essay about how you reacted, how you felt, what you thought, and how you overcame it mentally.

Were you anxious, worried, nervous, scared, confused? Was the event a surprise or frustrating one to you? It is this psychological experience and development that forms the true story. It’s more engaging—it tells more about who you are and who you became through this process. This can give admissions officers the feeling of knowing you more as a person, which works wonders for making your essay stand out when writing an essay about overcoming a challenge.

5. Show the impact, not the event.

As mentioned earlier, the “overcoming challenges” essay prompt gives admissions officers a better idea of who you are and how you deal with challenges. There are always some questions about a difficult/challenging situation in your life, but the key emphasis is on the reaction to the situation, rising to the occasion, and becoming a better person out of it.

Spending too much time describing the event, rather than how it impacted you, can ultimately hurt the quality of your answer. Remember, you are working with a strict word limit. While that varies between each school, many universities only allow applicants a few hundred words in which to respond. When writing a college essay, the greatest portion of your response should deal with how the event affected your life, not how hard it was or the details about the challenge.

Now, this doesn’t mean you have to explicitly write that “from this event, I learned…” You certainly can make it that evident, but it’s more effective to show the admissions committee rather than telling them by providing examples of how you’re better off having gone through the challenge.

For example, let’s say you had a debilitating fear of public speaking. You overcame this difficulty by joining a debate club and working through the discomfort to become an all-around stronger speaker. Instead of saying, “I became more confident in front of crowds,” describe that transformation by saying, “Now, I can even give extemporaneous speeches easily.” This describes the qualities you have developed, rather than saying them flat-out. When writing your college essay, it’s one of those small things that can make all the difference for the admissions officers reading your essays.

1. Should I choose a recent challenge or can it be something from my past?

Either is acceptable. What matters most is how well you can reflect on the experience and articulate its significance in your personal development.

2. Is there a word limit for writing a personal challenge essay?

Yes. It should only be between 200-250 words for some universities and colleges, but for the Common App, it’s 650.

3. What are some college essay topics to avoid?

You should avoid the following: trauma dump, travelogue, plan for world peace, and other common topics. These are topics that admissions officers usually read about so it will not help in making your application stand out from the rest.

• You can think of your college application as your college resume. It’s a summary of performance and experience so far and of present knowledge and capability.
• Admissions officers are not just looking for hardship stories—they’re interested in how you faced the challenge and came out stronger. Did you learn patience? Problem-solving? A deeper understanding of yourself? Highlight these skills and lessons in your college essay.
• Writing a good college essay effectively can greatly enhance your application. We at AdmissionSight can help! For the last decade, we have been helping students like you refine their essays and increase their chances of getting into their dream universities. And you know what? Of the students we have helped, about 75% have gone on to be accepted into Ivy League or Top 10 Universities.

Want to assess your chances of admission? Take our FREE chances calculator today!

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How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example

April 17, 2023

At some point, most college-bound students are tasked with writing an overcoming challenges essay. The prompt crops up in various forms, as a supplemental short essay about overcoming a challenge, and in as the main essay itself.

Some students may feel inclined to write about a dramatic experience (say, spotting a grizzly bear outside the kitchen window), mistaking the drama of the moment for a significant challenge. Others may get to work, only to realize they don’t have much to say about the time they got a C in P.E. (that dreaded frisbee unit). Students who’ve overcome unspeakable difficulties, like a death in the family, may find that reducing the tragedy to 650 words feels insufficient, or worse—as if they’re attempting to profit from suffering. One or two students may stare down the blank computer screen as their entire existence shrinks to the size of a 12-point font. Should they write about the challenge of writing about the challenge of writing an overcoming challenges essay??

Don’t worry. Focusing first on how to tackle the essay will help any student decide what they should write about. In fact, how the essay is written will also prove more influential than the challenge itself in determining the strength of the essay.

Decoding the Prompt

Let’s take a look at the overcoming challenges essay question included among the seven 2023-24 Common App Essay Prompts :

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Notice how the prompt places an immediate emphasis on the “lessons we take,” rather than on the obstacles themselves, or any potential success. This is because the challenge itself often says less about the student than the way the student chose to tackle it, or the way they now reflect on it. In other words, obstacles often come at us randomly; it’s our personal response to the circumstances which reveals something of who we are.

While studying a prompt for clues, it’s helpful to think from the perspective of the admissions officer (the essay reader). What can they glean from an overcoming challenges essay?  A lot, actually. A thoughtfully written essay may tell them about the student’s personality, as well as things like problem-solving techniques, rigor, persistence, creativity, and courage. These insights can work to prove to the admissions officers that the student has what it takes to overcome challenges in college, too. These future challenges may range from the inevitable academic obstacles that occur with heavy courseloads, to social and moral challenges that arise as college students form their adult identities.

Picking Your Topic: A Brainstorming Activity

With the question of identity in mind, let’s now approach the overcoming challenges essay backwards, by brainstorming the final message the student wants it to contain.

For this three-part exercise, the student will first set a five-minute timer. With the clock ticking, they’ll jot down character traits, values, and any descriptive words or terms that say something about who they are. If stumped, change perspective. The student may imagine what their best friends, parents, coaches and siblings would say. (For example, tenacious , logical , scientific , peacemaker .) Even mild criticism can be helpful, as long as it’s not cruel. While a student’s brother may call him a “perfectionist,” perhaps this word will trigger other relevant words, like persistent and detail-oriented.

Next, the student will set the timer for another five minutes, pull out a second sheet of paper, and jot down any challenges, obstacles, setbacks, failures, and achievements that come to mind. Don’t hold back here or overanalyze. (For example: underdog at state swim meet , getting lost on the family hike , petitioning for a school compost system …)

Lastly, the student will place the two pages side by side, and draw lines between the items on the list wherever connections occur. One student may draw lines between persistent , curious , gamer , passionate about electronics , and saved the day during the power outage. Another set of lines might connect caring, observant, creative thinker , and helped sister leave abusive cult . Whatever ideas are sparked here, the goal is to identify which challenges will demonstrate something essential about the student to an admissions officer.

Topics to Avoid

The internet is rife with advice on what not to write when writing an overcoming challenges essay. Yet this advice can be confusing, or downright hypocritical. For instance, some may advise against writing about death. Yet a student who lost their father at an early age may be capable of writing a poignant essay about their search for an alternative father figure, and how they found one in their soccer coach.

I suggest avoiding guides on what not to write until after the student has done a thorough round of brainstorming. Otherwise, they risk censoring themselves too early, and may reject a promising idea. Once they’ve narrowed down their list to three ideas or less, they may want to check our guide on College Application Essay Topics to Avoid .

The reason why certain types of overcoming challenges essays miss the mark is that they emphasize the wrong aspect of the experience, which turns the topic into a cliché. While it’s generally a good idea to avoid trivial topics (again, that C in P.E.), any topic has the potential to be compelling, if it’s animated through personal opinions, insight, and description. Details bring an experience to life. Structure and reflection make an essay convincing. In other words, how the story is told will determine whether or not the topic is worth writing about.

So, rather than avoid specific topics, consider avoiding these scenarios: if you can’t show the essay to your best friend or grandmother, it’s probably not ready to show a college admissions officer. If you must write a clichéd topic, don’t choose a typical structure.

Techniques to Hone

Techniques that animate an overcoming challenges essay are the same ones used in storytelling. Think setting, visuals, sounds, dialogue, physical sensations, and feelings. “Showing” instead of “telling.” Crafting the essay with these inner and external details will bring the challenge to life, and catch the reader’s attention.

Another technique which works well when trying to avoid the trappings of cliché involve subverting the reader’s expectations. In storytelling terms, this is a plot twist. The student who got a C in P.E. may actually have a stellar essay on their hands, if they can break away from the “bad grade” trope (working harder to improve their grade). Perhaps this student’s story is actually about how, while sitting on the bleachers and not participating in the game, they found themselves watching the frisbee spin through the air, and realized they had a deep interest in the movement of astronomical bodies.

Some of the strongest overcoming challenges essays demonstrate what students have learned about themselves, rather than what they’ve learned about the obstacle they confronted. These essays may show how the student has come to see themselves differently, or how they’ve decided to change, thanks to the challenge they faced. These essays work because the reflection is natural and even profound, based on the student’s self-awareness.

Writing the Overcoming Challenges Essay, or Drafts, Drafts, Drafts

Everyone writes differently, some by outlining (never a bad idea), some by free-styling (good for capturing sensations and memories), some by lighting a candle—but don’t procrastinate too much. The only “must” is to revise. After a first draft, the student should begin to look for several things:

1) Clarity and Detail. Is the challenge recounted with precision? Is it personal?

2) Structure. Consider mapping the structure, to visualize it better. Does the structure suit the story? Can it be changed for clarity, or to keep the reader more engaged?

3) Cliché. Identify words, sentences, and ideas that are dull or repetitive. Mark them up, and in the next draft, find ways to rewrite, subvert, condense, and delete.

4) Lesson Learned. Has the student reflected adequately on the lesson they learned from overcoming a challenge? To add more reflection, students might ask themselves what they have felt and thought about the experience since. Would they do something differently, if faced with the same challenge? Has their understanding of the experience evolved over time?

By the final draft, the experience and the reflection should feel equally weighted. To get there, it may take five or six drafts.

Overcoming Challenges Essay Sample

The Happiness Hotline

First there were reports. Then we were told to stop socializing, go inside, wait. Covid struck. Everyone knows what ensued. It probably looked different from where we were all (separately) standing, even though we faced the same thing. Those first weeks, I stood at my bedroom window. It was dark by early evening in Oregon. The weirdest part—after the fact that we were collectively sharing the loneliest experience of our lives—was the silence.

… it was really quiet.

So quiet, I could hear my mom sigh downstairs. (So quiet, I couldn’t remember if I’d hummed aloud, or if I’d just heard myself in my head.) When I looked out the window, I could hear the stoplight at the end of our street. Green to yellow. Click.

Before going on, you should know three things. First, this is not a Covid essay. This is about melancholy, and the “sadness that has taken on lightness,” to quote Italo Calvino. Second, from my bedroom window, I can see down a row of oak trees, past the hospital, to my friend Carlo’s house. Third, Carlo is a jazz singer. Maybe that sounds pretentious, a freshman kid being a jazz singer, but that’s Carlo, and I wouldn’t be me without Carlo being Carlo. He’s someone who appreciates the unhinged rhythm of a Charlie Parker tune. He’s an extrovert who can bring introverts like me out of my shell. He convinced me to learn trombone, and together we riff in the after-school jazz club.

In the first month of the pandemic, we called each other nightly to talk rap albums, school stuff. At Carlo’s house, he could hear a white-crowned sparrow. He could also hear his parents talking numbers behind the bathroom door. The death toll was mounting. The cost of living was going up too. As the month wore on, I began to hear something else in our calls, in the way Carlo paused, or forgot what he was saying. Carlo was scared. He felt sad, isolated, and without his bright energy, I too, felt utterly alone.

Overcoming Challenges Essay Sample (Continued)

After some dark days, I realized that to help ourselves we needed to help others. It was pretty obvious the more I thought about it. People are social creatures, supposedly, even introverts. Maybe our neighbors needed to remember the noisiness of life.

We built a happiness hotline. That sounds fancy, though essentially, we provided three-way calls on my parents’ landline. The harder part involved making flyers and putting them up around town, in places people were still going. Grocery stores, the post office. We made a TikTok account, and then—the phone rang. Our first caller.

For months, if you called in, you could talk to us about your days in lockdown. People went really deep about the meaning of life, and we had to learn on the spot how to respond. I’d become a journalist and a therapist before becoming a sophomore. After chatting, the caller would request a song, and if we knew how to play it, we would. If not, we improvised.

Now we’re seniors in high school. Carlo visits the hospital with band members. As for myself, I’ve been working on a community music book, compiling our callers’ favorite tunes. I don’t want to forget how important it felt to make these connections. Our callers taught me that loneliness is a bit like a virus, a bit like a song. Even when it stops it can come back to haunt you, as a new variant or an old refrain. Still, sadness can take on lightness when voices call through the dark: sparrows, friends, strangers. I learned I’m good at listening into the silence. Listening isn’t only a passive stance, but an open line of receiving.

Analysis of the Overcoming Challenges Essay Sample

This student uses their musical passion to infuse the essay with vivid detail. There’s a focus on sound throughout, from the bird to the stoplight. Then there are the callers, and the clever way the student conceived of breaking through the silence. The narrator’s voice sharpens the piece further, elevating a clichéd Covid essay to a personal story of self-discovery.

In fact, the essay briefly breaks with structure to tell the reader that this is not a Covid essay. Although techniques like this should be used sparingly, it works here by grabbing the reader’s attention. It also allows the student to organize their thoughts on the page, before moving the plot along.

Outwardly, the student is overcoming the challenge of loneliness in a time of quarantine. Yet there seems to be an inner, unspoken challenge as well, that of coming to terms with the student’s introverted personality. The essay’s reflection occurs in the final paragraph, making the essay experience-heavy. However, clues woven throughout point to the reflection that will come. Details like the Italo Calvino quote hint at the later understanding of how to alleviate loneliness. While some readers might prefer more development, the various themes are threaded throughout, which makes for a satisfying ending.

A Last Word on the Short Essay About Overcoming Challenges

The short essay about overcoming a challenge requires the same steps as a longer one. To write it, follow the same brainstorming activity, then focus more on condensing and summarizing the experience. Students who’ve already written a longer overcoming challenges essay can approach the short essay about overcoming a challenge by streamlining. Instead of deleting all the extra bits, keep two interesting details that will flavor the essay with something memorable and unique.

• College Essay

Kaylen Baker

With a BA in Literary Studies from Middlebury College, an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Translation from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, Kaylen has been working with students on their writing for over five years. Previously, Kaylen taught a fiction course for high school students as part of Columbia Artists/Teachers, and served as an English Language Assistant for the French National Department of Education. Kaylen is an experienced writer/translator whose work has been featured in Los Angeles Review, Hybrid, San Francisco Bay Guardian, France Today, and Honolulu Weekly, among others.

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Inspiring Examples: Overcoming Obstacles in College Essays

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Introduction

Writing a college essay is a crucial part of the application process, as it offers an opportunity to showcase your personal growth and resilience . Admissions officers are not only interested in your academic achievements but also in understanding how you have overcome obstacles and challenges in your life. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of highlighting personal growth and resilience in college essays, as well as provide tips on identifying and overcoming obstacles. Additionally, we will share inspiring examples of college essays that effectively demonstrate these qualities.

When it comes to writing a college essay, it is important to remember that admissions officers are looking for more than just a summary of your achievements or experiences. They want to gain insight into who you are as an individual and how you have grown through facing challenges. By showcasing personal growth and resilience, you can demonstrate your ability to overcome obstacles and adapt to difficult situations.

One reason why it is important to highlight personal growth and resilience in college essays is that it shows admissions officers that you possess the qualities necessary to succeed in college. College life can be demanding and challenging, both academically and personally. By demonstrating your ability to overcome obstacles, you are indicating that you have the determination, perseverance, and resilience required to navigate the ups and downs of college life.

Another reason why showcasing personal growth and resilience is crucial in college essays is that it allows admissions officers to understand the context behind your achievements. Your accomplishments may seem impressive on their own, but without providing the story behind them – the challenges you faced along the way – they may not hold as much weight. By sharing how you overcame obstacles, admissions officers can better appreciate the significance of your accomplishments.

Identifying obstacles is an essential step in writing a compelling college essay. It requires introspection and self-reflection to identify moments in your life where you faced challenges or encountered adversity. These obstacles can come in various forms – academic struggles, personal setbacks, or even societal barriers. The key is to choose an obstacle that had a significant impact on your life and allowed you to grow as an individual.

Once you have identified the obstacles, it is important to reflect on how they shaped you and what lessons you learned from them. Admissions officers are interested in seeing personal growth and resilience, so it is crucial to demonstrate how you overcame these obstacles and emerged stronger as a result. This reflection can help you identify the qualities or values that guided you through those challenging times and highlight them in your essay.

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Identifying Obstacles in College Essays

When it comes to writing a college essay, one of the most important aspects is identifying the obstacles you have overcome. Admissions officers are not only looking for academic achievements, but also for personal growth and resilience. They want to see how you have faced challenges and come out stronger on the other side. So, how can you effectively identify these obstacles in your personal experiences?

Firstly, it's crucial to reflect on your own life experiences and think about the challenges you have encountered. These obstacles can come in various forms - they could be physical, emotional, or even mental hurdles that you have had to overcome. Take some time to brainstorm and make a list of these obstacles before diving into writing your essay.

One effective way to identify obstacles is by considering moments of adversity or difficulty that have shaped who you are today. Think about times when you faced setbacks or encountered hardships. This could be anything from dealing with a serious illness or injury, overcoming a fear or phobia, facing discrimination or prejudice, or even struggling with personal insecurities and self-doubt.

Another approach is to reflect on significant life events that have tested your resilience and determination. These events could include moving to a new country or city, experiencing the loss of a loved one, going through a difficult breakup or divorce, or even dealing with financial struggles. By examining these moments in your life, you can uncover the obstacles that you had to overcome during those times.

Furthermore, it's important to consider the internal obstacles that may not be immediately apparent to others but have still played a significant role in shaping your character. These internal obstacles could include battling with anxiety or depression, grappling with low self-esteem, or struggling with academic challenges such as learning disabilities. By acknowledging and discussing these internal hurdles in your essay, you can showcase your resilience and determination in overcoming them.

Once you have identified the obstacles in your personal experiences, it's essential to reflect on how you overcame them. Admissions officers are not just interested in the challenges you faced; they also want to see your growth and development as a result of overcoming these obstacles. Therefore, it's crucial to highlight the lessons you learned, the skills you gained, and the personal growth that occurred during these difficult times.

Overcoming Obstacles in College Essays

Overcoming obstacles in college essays is a crucial aspect of crafting a compelling and impactful personal statement. Admissions officers are not only interested in your academic achievements but also want to gain insight into your character, resilience, and ability to overcome challenges. By showcasing how you have conquered obstacles, you can demonstrate personal growth and highlight your determination to succeed. In this section, we will explore the significance of overcoming obstacles in college essays and offer strategies for effectively conveying the process of overcoming hurdles.

When writing about overcoming obstacles in your college essay, it is essential to choose experiences that genuinely impacted you and shaped your character. These challenges can come in various forms, such as academic struggles, personal setbacks, or even societal barriers. The key is to select an obstacle that had a profound effect on your life and allowed you to grow as an individual.

To effectively convey the process of overcoming obstacles in your essay, it is important to clearly outline the steps you took to confront and conquer the challenge. Start by providing context about the obstacle itself – what it was, why it was significant, and how it initially affected you. This will help the reader understand the gravity of the situation and empathize with your journey.

Next, discuss the actions you took to overcome the obstacle. Did you seek support from others? Did you develop new skills or adopt a different mindset? Highlight any strategies or techniques that helped you navigate through adversity. By sharing these details, admissions officers can gain insight into your problem-solving abilities and determination.

Moreover, it is crucial to reflect on how overcoming this obstacle has impacted your personal growth. What lessons did you learn along the way? How did this experience shape your values or aspirations? Reflecting on these aspects will demonstrate self-awareness and showcase how you have grown as an individual.

Additionally, when discussing overcoming obstacles in college essays, it is important to maintain a positive tone throughout. While acknowledging the difficulties faced is necessary, focus on highlighting the resilience and determination you demonstrated. This will leave a lasting impression on the reader and showcase your ability to overcome adversity.

To effectively convey the process of overcoming obstacles, consider incorporating vivid and descriptive language. Paint a picture for the reader, allowing them to visualize the challenges you faced and the triumphs you achieved. By immersing the reader in your narrative, you can create an emotional connection that leaves a lasting impact.

Inspiring Examples of Overcoming Obstacles in College Essays

In college essays, one of the most powerful ways to make an impact is by showcasing personal growth and resilience. By sharing stories of overcoming obstacles, students can demonstrate their ability to overcome challenges and highlight their determination and perseverance. To provide inspiration and motivation, here are some inspiring examples of college essays that effectively highlight the theme of overcoming obstacles.

One example is a college essay written by Sarah, a high school student who faced significant financial hardships throughout her life. In her essay, Sarah describes how growing up in a low-income family shaped her perspective on education and fueled her drive to succeed. Despite facing numerous obstacles such as limited resources and a lack of support from her community, Sarah's determination never wavered. She emphasizes how she took on part-time jobs to support herself and even started a small tutoring business to help other struggling students. Through her essay, Sarah not only showcases her resilience but also demonstrates her commitment to using education as a way to break free from the cycle of poverty.

Another inspiring example comes from Mark, a college student who overcame a learning disability. In his essay, Mark reflects on his struggles with dyslexia throughout his academic journey. He shares how he initially felt discouraged and frustrated by his inability to grasp certain concepts as quickly as his peers. However, instead of letting these setbacks define him, Mark sought out alternative learning strategies and accommodations that allowed him to thrive in spite of his disability. He discusses how he developed stronger study habits, utilized assistive technology, and sought support from teachers and mentors who believed in his potential. Through his essay, Mark not only highlights his ability to overcome obstacles but also emphasizes the importance of self-advocacy and seeking help when needed.

These examples illustrate the power of personal narratives in college essays. By sharing stories of overcoming obstacles, students can create emotional connections with their readers while also showcasing qualities such as resilience, determination, and adaptability – all highly valued traits in the college admissions process.

These essays serve as reminders that obstacles do not define individuals; rather, it is how they choose to respond and grow from these challenges that truly matters. They inspire readers to persevere in the face of adversity and motivate them to embrace their own unique stories when writing their college essays.

The college essay is an important opportunity for students to showcase their personal growth and resilience. Throughout this blog post, we have discussed the significance of overcoming obstacles in college essays and provided tips on how to identify and address these challenges effectively. By sharing inspiring examples of college essays that highlight the theme of overcoming obstacles, we hope to inspire and guide our readers in crafting their own impactful essays.

In conclusion, when it comes to writing a college essay, the ability to overcome obstacles can make all the difference. Admissions officers are not only looking for academic achievements but also for individuals who have demonstrated personal growth and resilience. By showcasing your ability to overcome challenges, you are providing evidence of your character, determination, and adaptability.

It is crucial to remember that identifying obstacles in your college essay is just the first step. It is equally important to demonstrate how you overcame these challenges and what you learned from them. This shows admissions officers that you possess the necessary skills and mindset to succeed in college and beyond.

Throughout this blog post, we have shared inspiring examples of college essays that effectively highlight overcoming obstacles. These examples serve as a source of inspiration for our readers, showing them what can be achieved through perseverance and resilience. Whether it's overcoming a physical or mental health challenge, navigating cultural differences, or facing financial hardships, these essays demonstrate the power of determination and growth.

As you embark on your own college essay journey, we encourage you to embrace your own challenges and showcase your personal growth. Reflect on the obstacles you have faced throughout your life and consider how they have shaped you into the person you are today. Use these experiences as an opportunity to demonstrate your resilience, problem-solving abilities, and commitment to personal development .

Remember that authenticity is key in writing a compelling college essay. Be honest about your struggles but also highlight how you have grown as a result. Admissions officers appreciate vulnerability and want to see applicants who have learned from their experiences and are ready to take on new challenges.

In conclusion, the college essay is a powerful tool for showcasing personal growth and resilience. By identifying and overcoming obstacles in your writing, you can demonstrate to admissions officers that you possess the qualities necessary for success in college and beyond. Take inspiration from the examples we have provided and use your own experiences to craft a unique and impactful essay. Embrace your challenges, highlight your growth, and show the world what you are capable of achieving. Good luck!

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Essay Samples on Overcoming Challenges

Navigating life's roller coaster: the ups and downs.

Life is a journey filled with twists and turns, peaks and valleys, moments of triumph and challenges that test our resilience. The ebb and flow of experiences—the ups and downs—shape the tapestry of our lives. This essay delves into the profound significance of embracing both...

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How to Overcome Challenges in Life: Becoming Stronger

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Overcoming Obstacles and Challenging Situations on the Way to Passion

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Overcoming Adversity: A Challenge That Makes You Grow as a Person

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Life Experiences — Overcoming Challenges

Essays on Overcoming Challenges

Prompt examples for "overcoming challenges" essays, personal growth through adversity.

Share a personal experience in which you faced a significant challenge or adversity. Describe the impact it had on your personal growth, the lessons you learned, and how it changed your perspective on life.

The Role of Resilience

Discuss the concept of resilience in the face of challenges. How do individuals develop and demonstrate resilience, and what role does it play in overcoming difficult situations?

Overcoming Academic Obstacles

Explore the challenges students often encounter in their academic journeys. Describe a specific academic hurdle you faced, how you addressed it, and the strategies you used to succeed in your studies.

Challenges in the Workplace

Discuss challenges that individuals may encounter in their professional careers. Share a personal or professional experience in which you faced a workplace obstacle and describe how you navigated it to achieve success.

Health and Wellness Journey

Reflect on a health-related challenge, whether it's a physical ailment, mental health issue, or lifestyle change. Describe the steps you took to address this challenge, improve your well-being, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Overcoming Adversity in Sports

Discuss how athletes often face physical and mental challenges in their sports careers. Share a personal or sports-related story in which you or someone you know overcame adversity in athletics, highlighting the determination and perseverance required.

Challenges in Relationships

Explore the challenges that can arise in personal relationships, such as friendships, family dynamics, or romantic partnerships. Share a personal experience or case study, detailing how communication and resilience played a role in overcoming relationship challenges.

Obstacles in Pursuit of Goals

Describe a specific goal or dream you have pursued and the obstacles you encountered along the way. Explain the strategies you employed to overcome these obstacles and achieve your objectives.

Contributions to Community

Discuss how individuals can overcome challenges to make positive contributions to their communities. Share a personal or community-based initiative you were involved in that addressed a significant challenge or issue.

Lessons from Adversity

Reflect on the life lessons you have learned from overcoming challenges. How have these experiences shaped your values, beliefs, and approach to future obstacles?

Challenges Are Part of Our Daily Lives

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How Challenges in My Life Affected Me

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How to Write the “Most Significant Challenge” UC Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by CollegeVine co-founder Vinay Bhaskara in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

Understanding the prompt, avoiding common pitfalls, navigating more difficult topics.

The University of California system requires you to answer four out of eight prompts for its essays. Prompt five asks applicants:

Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? (350 words)

As with any college essay, this prompt is an opportunity to convey a strong personal voice while communicating personal values and strengths that may not readily apparent in other parts of their application. In this article, we will discuss what the prompt is asking, how to approach writing your essay, and advice for navigating difficult topics. 

The first step in answering this prompt is identifying a challenge to reflect on. You’ll want to focus on a challenge that’s personal, genuine and authentic. A common issue that students struggle with is selecting a challenge that is appropriate in scale for the purposes of this essay. Choosing a challenge that may come across as minor in the eyes of admission officers, such as losing out on extracurricular opportunities because of COVID, for example, likely wouldn’t impress your reader in the same way that a more specific, personal challenge would. Navigating COVID as a challenge is going to be a completely overused response to this prompt, and if you want to stand out you should reflect more deeply on a challenge that is unique to you. 

You don’t want your challenge to come off as tone-deaf. For example, writing about a time that your parents refused to purchase something for you would not reflect very well on you and make you sound spoiled. On the flip side, you also don’t want to choose an outsized challenge that doesn’t resonate you. Your topic should be genuine and authentic.

Additionally, because this prompt specifically calls out an impact to your academic achievement, it’s a little bit more restrictive than the similar prompt in the Common Application . To be clear, you don’t have to write about something that directly affected your academics; however, you should be able to relate the process of overcoming this challenge back to your academic performance.

Focusing Only on the Challenge

We’ve already talked about writing a tone-deaf essay, but another trope you want to avoid is what we call a sob story. Writing an essay solely about the challenge and all the pain that it’s caused you is a good place to start an essay, but pain and struggle shouldn’t be where you end. A key element of the prompt is the act of overcoming the challenge and reflecting on that process and where you ended up. If you can’t end this essay in a better place than where you started, you’re not going to have a strong response to this prompt. 

Blaming Others

Additionally, avoid blaming others for your challenges. For example, if you struggled with a particular academic subject, focus on the specific aspects of that subject that challenged you and how you worked to overcome them. It’s easy to blame a bad teacher for a poor academic performance, and it is possible that the teacher might have objectively not been good. 

But think back to the purpose of the supplemental prompts. Colleges want to understand the person behind the application and how they think and relate to the people around them. Shifting blame to your teacher, even if it is  wholly deserved, could signal a lack of personal responsibility or immaturity to the admissions team. Remember that colleges are looking for students who will add to the vibrant campus community, which of course also includes their faculty and the other students.

Regardless of what you choose as your challenge, it’s important to think critically about how you will frame it within the context of your essay. Difficult topics like mental and physical health can be quite effective essay topics as they’re deeply personal and often quite substantial. However, as you begin to think through your essay, remember that two huge elements of the prompt are overcoming the challenge and reflecting on how it has impacted you academically. 

Remember to start with the end in mind. When we say start with the end in mind, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the challenge is now over. Colleges understand that challenges like mental health and chronic pain often don’t go away. It is important that, in the case of a challenge that you are constantly navigating, you clearly and effectively convey how you’ve overcome it or, in some cases, the ongoing steps you take to mitigate it. 

Ultimately, college is rigorous and challenging in itself, and no college or university wants to set you up for failure if they’re not confident that you can succeed. If you cannot effectively demonstrate that the challenge is no longer a risk to your success and wellbeing, consider choosing a different topic.

Looking for more information on how to attack the UC supplemental essays? Check out this post for a comprehensive guide on how to answer each of the eight prompts!

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Narrative Essay on Overcoming a Challenge

Narrative essay generator.

Every individual has a tapestry of experiences that shape their worldview, personality, and life path. Among these, certain moments stand out, etched in our memories for the profound impact they have on us. My personal narrative revolves around such a pivotal experience – the first time I stepped outside my comfort zone to lead a community service project. This journey, fraught with challenges, self-doubt, and ultimately, growth, taught me invaluable lessons about leadership, perseverance, and the power of community.

The Genesis of the Journey

Growing up in a small town, opportunities for leadership were scarce, and my introverted nature didn’t help. I was comfortable in my bubble, shying away from the spotlight. However, the summer of my junior year in high school presented an unexpected opportunity that would alter the course of my personal and professional development.

The Challenge Accepted

It began when I stumbled upon a local advertisement seeking volunteers to spearhead a community clean-up initiative. Moved by the deteriorating state of our local park, a place that held countless childhood memories, I felt a surge of responsibility. After much deliberation and encouragement from my family, I decided to step up. This decision marked the beginning of a transformative journey, pushing me into uncharted territories of leadership and community engagement.

The Learning Curve

Facing the Challenges Head-On

Embarking on this project was like diving into deep waters without knowing how to swim. The initial phase was overwhelming, filled with logistical nightmares, coordination issues, and a palpable fear of failure. Recruiting volunteers, securing funding, and planning the clean-up activities required skills I had yet to develop. Each hurdle seemed like a test of my resolve, forcing me to adapt and grow.

The Power of Mentorship and Teamwork

In these moments of doubt, the guidance of a mentor and the support of a passionate team became my lifeline. A retired teacher, Mr. Henderson, who had led similar initiatives, took me under his wing, teaching me the nuances of effective leadership and project management. His wisdom, coupled with the enthusiasm and hard work of our volunteer team, transformed our project from a one-man mission into a collective endeavor. This collaborative spirit underscored the importance of teamwork and mentorship in overcoming challenges.

The Day of Reckoning

The Transformation of the Park – and Myself

After weeks of preparation, the day of the clean-up arrived. The sight of over fifty community members, from eager children to dedicated seniors, coming together was overwhelming. As we cleared litter, planted new trees, and repaired old structures, the park began to transform before our eyes. More importantly, I saw a transformation within myself. The shy, hesitant individual who had taken on this challenge was now confidently coordinating efforts, solving problems on the fly, and inspiring a group towards a common goal.

The Aftermath and Reflections

A Community Revitalized

The success of the clean-up project went beyond the physical rejuvenation of the park. It revitalized a sense of community spirit, encouraging ongoing involvement and care for our shared spaces. The project, initially met with skepticism, became a testament to what can be achieved when individuals come together for a common purpose.

Personal Growth and Future Aspirations

This experience was a turning point for me. It debunked my self-imposed limitations, unveiling a potential for leadership and resilience I had doubted in myself. The lessons learned in those few months have become foundational to my personal and professional ethos. Embracing challenges, the value of teamwork, and the impact of community service are principles I now live by.

In retrospect, the decision to lead the community clean-up project was a leap into the unknown, a challenge that transformed me in ways I could never have anticipated. It taught me that stepping out of one’s comfort zone, though daunting, is a powerful catalyst for growth and change. This journey of self-discovery and community service has not only shaped my aspirations but has also instilled a lifelong commitment to making a difference, however small it may seem. For students looking to participate in essay writing competitions or anyone aspiring to make an impact, remember that every challenge is an opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute to the world around you. Embrace it with open arms, and let it guide you on a path of endless possibilities.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, writing a narrative essay about overcoming a challenge—any advice.

I'm working on a narrative essay about overcoming a challenge in my life, but I'm struggling with how to focus it and what details to include. Can anyone on here give me some advice on how to approach this essay? Thanks in advance!

Sure, I'd be happy to help! Writing an engaging and impactful narrative essay about overcoming a challenge can be a powerful way to showcase your strengths and resilience. CollegeVine has written an article breaking down this exact type of essay—here are their tips, which you should find helpful: https://blog.collegevine.com/overcoming-challenges-essay

Remember, a powerful narrative essay about overcoming a challenge should demonstrate your personal growth, resilience, and character development. Showcasing these qualities through your story can make your essay a compelling and memorable piece of your application.

For inspiration, you may want to check out these example essays, which were all written by real students: https://blog.collegevine.com/overcoming-challenges-college-essay-examples

Good luck with writing, and I hope this advice helps you craft an outstanding essay!

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