Some of our greatest opportunities to learn and grow come under the most challenging circumstances. How do you think about your personal setbacks? Times of failure? The obstacles you've had to overcome in your life?
What to Check Out:
- Watch J.K. Rowling’s take on failure, which she calls “stripping away the inessential” at Harvard.
- Listen to Skater Rodney Mullen describe the act of getting up again—in all aspects of life.
- What stands between you & your goals? Read this article & put words to your personal obstacles.
- Watch teenage comic Kevin Breel open up about the adversity hidden behind his funny persona.
Related College Questions:
The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What's the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?
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?
If your progression through college has been interrupted, please use the space below to explain the nature of your leave and your activities during your time away from school.
Respond to the following quotation: "Difficulty need not foreshadow despair or defeat. Rather achievement can be all the more satisfying because of obstacles surmounted."
What is the best mistake you have ever made?