Adaptation and switching schools - Tell us about circumstance that has challenged you

Queen's University Commerce PSE

Tell us about a circumstance (from any area of your life, continuing or past) that has challenged you, or continues to challenge you, and describe how you are using that experience to grow into the student and the person you aspire to be.

Before my final year of high school, my family decided to move out of the city. Switching schools is something I had never experienced, and having to establish new social connections while adjusting to a new environment was incredibly challenging. For me, senior year was supposed to be a time to cement my relationships into lifelong friendships and transition into adulthood together; but instead, I was the "new kid" trying to make new friends and trying to fit in. Although the beginning of the school year was a difficult time, relocating has also taught me how important it is to be adaptable. I wasn't given a choice to move, but what I was given were the new opportunities to be experienced. I learned to grasp this opportunity as a chance to discover new people and try new things. As someone who is slow to warm up to people, I had to come out of my shell and make an effort to introduce myself as confidently as possible. The more names I knew, the easier it was to continue starting conversations with strangers. Becoming more comfortable being uncomfortable is something I am constantly striving to improve, and by learning to accept and adapt to change allowed me to be uncomfortable. Adaption was a process I had to go through the past four months, and I continue to be challenged by it; however, the person I aspire to be is not afraid of challenge because challenge creates discomfort, and great things never come from comfort zones.

Angela, the essay you present is a bit boring to read. It is one dimensional and does not indicate any special information about you. In fact, the topic you chose to discuss will be discussed by a majority of the applicants to this university. This is the most common, go-to, story of choice for most students. Therefore, it does not make you stand out in any way.

Your experience is so commonplace that the reviewer will most likely be bored and tired of the topic by the time he reads your essay, which he will simply skim over as part of the review process. Unless you can find a way to make your essay more unique in presentation, offer a more interesting topic for discussion, and a more interesting take on your personality development, you will not be able to come up with an essay that will hold the attention of the reviewer, thus making it memorable in the process.

My suggestion is for you to try and think of a topic that is out of the box and interesting. Don't aim for the common topics and reasons, Think of something that should come across as unique and interesting which the reviewer might decide to take note of.