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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.

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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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December 11, 2023

Three Ways Writing About Obstacles Strengthens Your Application Essays

Applicants love to write about their accomplishments, whether in a personal statement for graduate school or in a b-school essay that asks about one’s greatest achievement, challenge, or the like. And they are not shy about sharing their accomplishments, such as driving innovations that led to revenue boosts for their firm, conducting original and meaningful research in their field of study, or leading a volunteer group on a community service initiative. 

As genuine and significant as these accomplishments are, many initial essay drafts are often missing a key element: obstacles . In this blog post, we explain why you shouldn’t shy away from discussing obstacles in your essays and how doing so intelligently can help your candidacy.

Here are three ways that discussing obstacles enhances your application:

1. Sharing how you overcame an obstacle shows the adcom that you can navigate bumps in the road in a positive, proactive way.

All of us frequently encounter obstacles: the traffic detour, an incompetent customer service representative, a disagreement with your partner, the approval you expected on a project unexpectedly turning into a “No.”  Every single person faces challenges, but people deal with them in wildly varying ways. Those who are more successful in life succeed because they understand that obstacles are to be expected. They learn how to navigate them with patience, creativity, and a problem-solving attitude, and by – to borrow a phrase – “keeping calm and carrying on.” But too often, when asked to discuss their accomplishments, applicants selectively and completely forget the things that got in their way  en route to their achievement. When they experience this kind of amnesia, they are shortchanging themselves. Triumphing over the hurdles they encountered might well have been just as difficult as executing all the anticipated elements of their plans – and therefore worth sharing.

2. Details about how you overcame obstacles create an appealing image of you as a candidate with a can-do personality.

Look at the following examples and see if you don’t agree. First we have the “stop-putting-me-to-sleep” example : As the leader of my product research group, I came up with a plan for a new widget that would save us 10% in costs. After I communicated my vision to the team, we worked hard for four weeks on a prototype, completing it by the deadline, to the delight of management. Today, my widget is still the standard for my company, saving us over $300K annually. Okay, this sounds like a solid accomplishment, but it’s hardly memorable.  How  did the candidate communicate her vision? What specific example does she offer of the hard work that was done over four weeks on the prototype? We have absolutely no idea.  Now let’s look at a “dazzle-is-in-the-details” example : As the leader of my product research group, I came up with a plan for a new widget that would save us 10% in costs. But when I explained my vision to the team, two senior engineers immediately argued against it, saying that there were key flaws in the design. After revisiting my design and realizing that they were correct, I revised my plan and was able to eliminate the flaws. We worked on a prototype for two weeks before discovering that the cost of the material we had planned to use for it had increased by more than 30% in recent months. I worked many late nights that week researching alternative materials, before finding one that was both appropriate and cost-effective. By the skin of our teeth, we met our four-week deadline and presented the prototype to management, but the VP of Manufacturing argued that we would need to purchase major new equipment to produce the widget. I convinced the team to work overtime on a manufacturing proposal that proved we could craft the product with existing equipment. Today, my widget is still the standard for my company, saving us over $300K annually. There’s no contest here, is there? The second example, loaded with specifics about what went wrong and what almost derailed the project, is mighty impressive. The details highlight the applicant’s creativity, thoroughness, tenacity, communication skills, and leadership potential. When spelled out this way, discussing an obstacle can make your essays shine with the drama of the story and can  associate you with lively elements and images . For example, in the second example, it’s easy to visualize the two dissenting engineers, the surprise of discovering the price hike for the materials, and the VP’s frown. In the first, there’s only the haziest impression of an employee smiling about a job well done.

3. Discussing obstacles makes you a more fully developed, more relatable applicant.

Can you see through these examples how including specific, key obstacles in your essays and explaining how you negotiated them  showcases your ability to overcome the unexpected ? This will assure the adcoms that you can capably execute a well-defined plan – even when you face unexpected bumps in the road. Moreover, it shows the school how you spring into action when the chips are down. This adds to a fuller understanding of who you are as an individual – and as an applicant the school would like to have in its next class.

For more details about what the adcom actually wants to know about the challenges you’ve overcome, watch this short video, in which Linda Abraham shares the answer to this often-asked question:

Are you still wondering how to address obstacles you’ve overcome in your application essays? Leave a comment on the video on YouTube, and we’ll gladly offer some tips. 

There’s no substitute for one-on-one guidance when addressing your obstacles and writing essays that make you shine. Working with an experienced admissions consultant, you can apply with the confidence that you have presented yourself at your best and maximized your chances of getting accepted.  Click here to learn more.

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Related Resources:

• Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Application Essays , a free guide
• Four Tips for Highlighting Your Strengths in Your Application Essays
• Resilience: How Flaws and Failures Can Strengthen Your Application

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, need help with 'lessons we take from obstacles' essay.

I'm writing a college essay on the lessons I've taken away from challenges I've faced. Is there any advice to make this essay stand out or specific examples you've seen work well? Thanks for any guidance in advance!

Hello! It's good to see that you're working on your college essay, and tackling lessons learned from obstacles can be a compelling topic. Here are a few suggestions to make it impactful and engaging:

1. Be specific and personal: Select a challenge you've faced that is personal and significant to you, rather than a general difficulty that many people experience. Make sure you convey the unique aspects and emotions related to the obstacle, so the reader can connect and empathize with your story.

2. Show growth and self-awareness: Your essay should highlight how overcoming the challenge has helped you mature and gain insight. Reflect on the lessons you learned, and how they have shaped your perspective, attitude, and behavior. Admissions officers want to see how you can learn from your experiences and use them for personal growth.

3. Make it action-oriented: Instead of just explaining the obstacle and what you learned, demonstrate how you put these lessons into practice. Show how you applied the knowledge or skill in a real-world scenario. This could be anything from initiating a project in school, to joining a club or volunteer activity, or becoming more resilient in your daily life.

One example of a successful essay might be about a student who faced difficulties due to a disability. The student could explain how the disability initially limited their academic or extracurricular involvement, but later led them to discover their passion for advocacy. They could then detail how they started a club in school to raise awareness about the disability, and how this experience taught them the value of perseverance, empathy, and leadership.

To learn more about this prompt, read this blog post: https://blog.collegevine.com/why-this-common-app-essay-worked-prompt-2-the-lessons-we-take/

In summary, to make an essay about lessons taken from obstacles stand out, be specific and personal in describing the challenge, focus on personal growth and self-awareness, and illustrate how the lessons learned were applied to real-life situations. Ensure that your essay paints a vivid picture and leaves the reader with a strong sense of your character, growth, and passion. Best of luck with your essay!

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Why This Common App Essay Worked: Prompt #2 “The Lessons We Take…”

Working on your Common App essay and thinking about this prompt? Then read on to learn how to answer this in a compelling essay and read two examples of essays that worked!

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?

Everyone has faced obstacles of some kind: a struggle with health, a failed personal project, or a financial hardship. This prompt is relevant to most people applying to college – which isn’t a bad thing. 

The most important part of writing a personal statement is to show admissions committees how you think about the world and respond to challenges rather than to come up with an entirely new angle or topic. That being said, you probably should not write about a time that you received a bad grade or lost a sports game. Those narratives are overdone and won’t allow admissions officers to get insight into your unique perspective.

What colleges want to see is your ability to be mature, resilient, and thoughtful; they want evidence that you are able to handle the independence and challenges of college. Show the admissions committee how you faced an obstacle, but responded with a creative and dignified solution instead of giving up. Be vulnerable – show your insecurity, regret, and fears. Finally, as indicated in the prompt, describe what you learned and the experience’s permanent significance. If you can’t think of such an impact, you probably shouldn’t be writing your personal statement about the situation. Remember, your personal statement is like your introduction – make sure you’re telling them an important story! 

The linearity of this prompt allows you to follow a pretty straightforward outline for your essay: context, obstacle, reaction, result. Putting these parts together, you’ll have a well constructed personal essay! We outlined the basic questions that should be answered in response to this prompt by component (context, obstacle, reaction, and result), but these are fluid and may be placed in whatever section makes the most sense for your narrative. 

Below, CollegeVine breaks down a finalized version of a real essay that we worked on with a student who addressed this prompt. 

Make Sure to Establish Enough Context

Outline the situation leading up to the event.  Make sure you hit the basics: who, what, where, why? It is also important to note whatever your pre-state was.

For example, the author of the sample essay overcame his fear of public speaking to pay tribute to a beloved coach. This triumph would have been much less meaningful had he not outlined his fear earlier in the essay. You need to give the admissions committee enough detail to understand how you evolved.

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Here, the author describes why he was so fond of his coach as well as his desire to dedicate the school track to Stark. He hits the who (Coach Stark), what (desire to dedicate the track in Stark’s honor), where (high school), and why (the important lessons that Stark has imparted). 

The author also hints at his future personal development – “to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.” He also implies that he will fail to meet his original goal in the opening quote, “ getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Hinting at the lesson you will eventually learn is an effective strategy. It allows to admissions committees to read your personal statement with the final lesson in mind, making the essay simpler to follow and priming the reader so that your conclusion is easy to understand.

The author comes across as caring by wishing to dedicate the track to his coach, thoughtful in the way he is aware of the impact that Stark has had on him, and driven in his ability to identify and pursue a selfless project. These qualities will appeal to a college admissions committee which wishes to build an intellectual and kind community on campus.

Clearly Define the Obstacle

Who or what got in your way? To what extent were you responsible for the obstacle?

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite.

Here, the author makes it clear that he came up with a plan in which he felt confident. The author does a good job of showing, rather than telling, the ways in which he addressed the issue at hand. Instead of saying he put together a plan, the author lists individual efforts that he took, which allows the reader a fuller understanding of the lengths to which he went. This is crucial as it gives the admissions committee better insight into the way in which the author approaches lofty goals; he uses many approaches (petitions, alumni testimonies, and statistics) to support his argument. 

The short and separated sentence – “ They didn’t bite.” – comes as a contrast to the long list of preparations that the author had organized. It implies that the board was both curt and absolute in their rejection of his plan. Here, we learn of the real obstacle – and lesson – that the essay focuses on: the importance of not giving up. The message of the opening line of the essay – “G etting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing,” – is relevant here. The author experienced initial failure, but isn’t passively accepting a loss just yet. In the next paragraph, the author describes how he tried to persuade the school board a second time. 

Go In-depth About Your Reaction

This is the most important part. Colleges want to know how you think about things or handle stressful situations!

Did you make a plan? Collaborate with teammates? Have an open conversation with your parents? How did you work around the challenge? It is important to also describe your emotional response; were you hurt, invigorated, sad, angry, surprised? In what ways did you handle this emotion? Was your response mature? What was your first (emotional) response? How did your thoughts or feelings change over time? Finally, what plan did you make?

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin.  

In this section, the author shows the admissions committee how resilient he is by organizing a rebuttal to the board’s initial ruling. The detail about being selected by his team to present is also crucial; it shows that he has been identified by his peers as a leader. 

Moreover, his hesitation to present (his pre-state) is essential to the later connection he makes between running and speaking publicly with ease. He handles a negative emotion (nervousness) with ease and maturity, reframing it as an opportunity to be a powerful speaker and sound orator. Crucially, the author doesn’t just tell us that he’s nervous, but brings us into the physical and psychological experience.

This detailed description allows the reader to empathize with the author; we have all experienced nervousness and know how difficult it can be to overcome, and the author allows the reader to mentally enter an anxious state. Putting the reader into your emotional experience (here, being anxious) makes whatever reaction you have (here, speaking well in front of a group of people) seem more impressive. Instead of simply telling us that he spoke in front of the board, the author brings us into the room with him to highlight his accomplishments!

The author also makes a connection to overcoming his fear of public speaking to performing well under pressure at track meets. In this way, the author is able to connect all of the valuable life skills that track taught him without doing so in a cliche or contrived fashion. This connection is creative and ties the narrative back in with the essay’s broader themes. It shows the admissions committee that the author is capable of understanding how and why he behaves the way he does, which is a sign of maturity. Colleges are more interested in how you think about the things you do than they are interested in the things you do. 

Colleges want to see that you have an optimistic and opportunistic approach to obstacles. People generally like people who are positive, which the author certainly comes across as here. Instead of being shut down by a challenge, show admissions committees how you used it to fuel your fire!

Discuss the End Result

Talk about to what degree your efforts were successful. Even if you didn’t meet your original goal, what did you learn? Importantly, how are you applying these lessons now?

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

Despite being disappointed in his failure to meet his original goal, the author responds positively: proud of his and his teammates’ hard work. 

The author also addresses his post-state by answering the last question of the prompt (how the obstacle affected you and what you learned from the experience). In this example, the author’s post-state is uncovering a passion for advocacy and evolving into a more confident leader. He outlines specifically the way in which he learned to stand up for the causes he believes in and overcame his fears of public speaking and leadership. 

Importantly, the author’s resiliency is embodied by not being dissuaded by his first unsuccessful attempt to make a change. He shows that he is applying the lessons he learned “to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment.” This hint at his other interests, environmental and safety policies, encourages the admissions committee to learn more. Ideally, the author’s mention of these interests should be backed up in his activity list – perhaps, for example, through involvement with his school’s Sustainability Club or recent recycling initiative. 

Finally, the author pays respect to the man who first inspired him. Importantly, this essay allows the author to explore all that he learned by being an athlete without writing a cliche essay on the topic. 

Want More Insight?

The original version of this essay along with our edits and higher-level notes can be found in a download here. We’ve also thrown in a second sample essay to help you see more of the same patterns and strategies discussed above in action. For insight on the other prompts, be sure to check out our other Common App posts . 

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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Common App Essay Prompt 2: Overcoming Obstacles or Challenges

Mark montgomery.

• June 28, 2023

Write the Common App Essay Prompt 2 About Overcoming Obstacles or Challenges

Writing a good essay for your Common Application is tough.  You have to dig into your life and find interesting nuggets to share with perfect strangers. Common App essay prompt 2 asks you about some things that perhaps you’d rather not talk about:  your failures, your greatest challenges, and moments that just aren’t things you want to talk about all that much. So as we walk through how to answer this prompt, just know that we feel you.  We know talking about mistakes and flubs is not fun.  But Common App essay prompt 2 can lead to some of the best final products that can help you get into the school of your choice.

Common App Essay Prompt 2 Asks You to Reflect on Your Failures.

Here’s what Common App Essay Prompt 2 says:

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?

It’s the middle of the summer. While a refreshing glass of lemonade might be the ideal summer companion, the second essay prompt on the Common Application is a bit less inviting because it focuses on the subject we all wish we could avoid—but cannot: obstacles and challenges, failure and setbacks.

Let’s face it, failure is not a subject we enjoy talking about. But, it’s important to remember that obstacles can be opportunities to showcase personal growth and resilience. So, let’s dive into how to turn these challenges into opportunities and craft a winning Common App Essay!

Because this is such a loaded question to tackle, let’s start by breaking down the Common App Essay Prompt 2 into three distinct parts: Incident or Time , Affect , and Lessons .

Dissecting the Common App 2 Prompt About Obstacles and Failure

Let’s walk through the language of the prompt so we know what we can and should focus upon as we craft this essay.

Incident or Time

First, the prompt asks you to recount a time when you faced a challenge, obstacle, setback, or failure. The key word here is obstacle, along with its various synonyms that appear in the prompt: challenge, setback, failure. Very few things we achieve in life come easily on the first try. This means you’ll be sharing a specific event in time, so it should read like a story. Yes, it should be a very succinct story, but it should still have a beginning, middle, and an end. You want to include enough detail to make the story interesting and engaging, but not so long that it gets boring—or worse, go over the word count limit.

The goal here is to strike a balance between giving enough context and detail so the reader can follow your narrative, but not so much that it feels like a laundry list of events. You want to provide enough background information so the reader understands the true significance of the event. The story is the springboard of your essay, so it should lead the reader into what will follow. You want to make the story short and readable, as it’s not the heart of the essay but rather a tool to engage the reader and set the tone for the rest of your writing.

Remember, the goal is to use the story as a launchpad for your essay, not to get bogged down in the details or spend too much time on it. Keep it concise and focused, and use it to set the stage for what’s to come.

The last part of the Common App Essay Prompt 2 asks you to reflect on what you learned from this experience. How did this obstacle, challenge, or failure affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

This is asking you how you looked at the situation just after it happened. In other words, this prompt is asking for your immediate reaction to the challenge, setback, or failure.

After experiencing a failure, the immediate impact can be profound. Often, something impedes our smooth movement toward our goals, and these roadblocks can bring up a range of emotions (some more negative than others). What was the impact of this failure? How did it make others see you? How did you react to this incident? You’re left wondering what happened, how it happened, and what the consequences will be.

Acknowledge your emotions. Did it make you angry, embarrassed, disappointed, secretly thrilled, or downright sad? What was the immediate impact of your failure? This is perhaps the hardest part of answering this prompt: you have to go into that mess of feelings that you’ve tried to put behind you. These emotions can be raw and intense, but the admissions office is asking you to share, so share you must.

After recounting the incident or time of failure and your immediate reactions to that experience, it’s time to delve into its longer term impact. How did it change you? How did it make others see you? How did you see yourself after this incident? Don’t be afraid to dig deep and truly reflect on your experience. Examine your emotions.

This is the heart of the essay, in which you tie the story to broader lessons you can draw from the story you tell. Whenever we fail–and we all do–it can be difficult to face the consequences of our mistakes. However, failure is an opportunity to learn and grow. By reflecting on our experiences, we can gain valuable insights that can help us navigate similar situations in the future. It’s important to remember that not all lessons come easily, and sometimes it takes time for them to sink in. But by being analytical and intentional in our reflection, we can extract meaningful lessons from our failures.

Seems easy enough, right? But this can be very difficult to articulate. So begin with a list: how many things can you pinpoint that you learned from this mistake? Think about how you can learn things at different times, too. Sometimes we learn things from failure immediately. Other lessons take longer to sink in. Again, you have to be analytical. I recommend that you come up with three solid lessons for this essay.

Perhaps you have redirected our energies in a new way. Perhaps you have developed a greater understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses. The key element to successfully answering this prompt is to reflect on how this failure affected you and what you did as a result of it. So, after you have told your (brief) story, you should do quite a bit of reflecting on how this experience led to personal growth or greater understanding of the world around you.

Common App Essay Prompt 2: Embracing Maturity and Optimism

Lastly, the ultimate direction of this essay should be positive and optimistic. You should not worry too much about the nature of the mistake: we’ve all made them, and admissions officers, frankly, have seen them all. The point of this is to allow you to demonstrate your maturity, your humility, and your ability to turn a bad experience into a good one.

As they say, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Essays About Challenges, Obstacles, and Failures That Worked

With years of experience guiding and supporting hundreds of students, we have had the privilege of witnessing their remarkable journeys filled with challenges, obstacles, and even failures. These moments of struggle and disappointment have become pivotal opportunities for growth and self-reflection. These essay examples feature students skillfully utilizing challenging incidents, obstacles, or failures to craft compelling narratives.

• This example stands out because it encapsulates a specific incident that holds personal significance for the student. The student’s heartfelt narrative of forgetting to send her great-grandfather a hand-made birthday card not only reveals her deep care and thoughtfulness but also demonstrates the profound effect it had on her emotionally. Through this experience, she learned the invaluable lesson of the importance of honoring commitments and cherishing loved ones, inspiring her to prioritize and express her appreciation more intentionally in the future.
• The student’s experience of being short and facing daily challenges becomes an incident that profoundly affects their sense of self-worth and determination. Despite societal misconceptions and physical limitations, they learn the valuable lesson of embracing their differences and using their voice and confidence to overcome obstacles.
• The student started with an incident in a dermatologist’s office in which he was offered the choice to slow his balding by increasing his risk of cancer. After agonizing, he began to ask himself why he was so affected by the prospect of being bald. Gradually, he analyzed the reasons for his worry, and realized that he was being a bit silly. The lesson he learned is that we all have blemishes, and that we all age, and ultimately his hair is not a reflection of who he is as a person.

Essays About Challenges, Obstacles, and Failures That Do Not Work

In our years of experience, we have observed students who have attempted to write about challenges, obstacles or failures in ways that just do not work very well. While we do believe that pretty much anything can be made into a good essay, the following examples are demonstrations of weaker approaches to this prompt.

I tried to make a Hail Mary pass in the final seconds of the state championship football game, but I missed the mark. I felt terrible about it. But I learned that I can rise from disappointment.

This example is just a bit too trite. If the writer could deepen the reflection, it might work: how desperation can lead one to make wrong decisions, especially under pressure. Even better, if the writer could tie the rotten pass with other desperate and wrong decisions he has made, and how he recognizes this tendency in himself and is working to be more deliberate and less impulsive. Unless the writer can get to this depth of analysis, the story is going to make the essay superficial.

I studied hard for my calculus test, but I got a C on it. I was mortified. As a result, I learned to study harder and reach out for help earlier.

This approach is just too common, too mundane for your college essay. It focuses on scholastic performance, not on your development as a person. Pretty much every student has been challenged academically, and most of us have had to redouble our efforts when our performance slacks. It’s hard to see how this “failure” could become a solid college essay.

One possible exception might be the student who was failing a course or two but then was diagnosed with a learning difference—which meant that the student began studying and preparing in completely new ways–which, in turn led to greater success and the result that the student gained a much more positive–and lasting–vision of herself as an intelligent, capable student. In this case, the scholastic “failure” was a symptom of a larger “challenge”: the learning difference. But again, the success of this approach would depend on the depth of the analysis of the experience and the “lessons” that the student took away from the experience. If it’s merely a lesson that one must study harder and better, it’s not likely going to be a great essay.

Can I get help with my Common App Essay Prompt 2, and If So, Who Can I Turn to for Assistance?

Yes, you can certainly get help with your Common App essay! Writing a strong college essay can be a challenging and intimidating process, and it’s perfectly normal to seek guidance and support along the way.

At Great College Advice, we offer a wide range of services designed to help students with every aspect of the college application process, including writing and revising their Common App essay. Our team of experienced counselors and writing coaches can provide personalized feedback, guidance, and support to help you craft an essay that is compelling, authentic, and effective.

Whether you need help generating ideas, organizing your thoughts, or polishing your final draft, we are here to help. We offer a variety of service packages to fit your specific needs and budget, including comprehensive application counseling, essay coaching, and hourly consultations.

To learn more about our services and how we can help you with your Common App essay, please visit our website at GreatCollegeAdvice.com . We look forward to working with you!

Additional Resources for Common App Essay Prompt 2

• In this insightful video, Dr. Mark Montgomery offers expert advice and practical tips for tackling the Second Common App Essay Prompt. With a clear focus on this loaded question, he provides guidance on effectively addressing each component. Gain valuable insights and strategies for crafting a compelling response to Common App Essay Prompt 2.

For additional writing help, check out our Common App Essay Series for in-depth guidance on various topics. Our expert tips and insights will help you showcase your unique experiences and perspectives in a compelling way. Whether you’re just starting your essay or simply refining it, our series is designed to help you every step of the writing process. Make your Common App Essay stand out!

• Common Application Essays: What are they?
• Writing about Background Story
• Writing About Failure
• Writing about Questioning Beliefs and Ideas
• Writing about a Period of Personal Growth
• Supplemental Essays
• Why Our College? – Supplemental Essay Question

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How to Answer the Essay Prompt "Describe a Challenge You Overcame"

Late fall is officially college admissions season! Some students have already sent in their early decision applications and are working hard on those regular decision deadlines, which means it may be time to work on your essays.

These essays from the Common App , Coalition App , or your prospective school’s specific format can vary in topic, and you may get to choose what you write about. But no matter the school or set of schools to which you’re applying, you will likely come across a version of the “Describe a Challenge You Overcame” or “Overcoming a Challenge” essay prompt.

For some people, the answer to this could be evident. But if you have no idea what to write about, the first rule is:

Don’t panic

So many students are plagued with questions like: What if I’ve never overcome an obstacle? Is my life boring? What if I have nothing to write about, and the admissions officers hate me? What if they judge me for what I've been through?

Deep breath.

All of these fears are normal, but everyone has overcome some sort of challenge or obstacle, whether small or completely overwhelming. By being authentic to yourself, yours will be compelling to readers and help them get to know the kind of student you are now and will be at their college or university.

You will need more than panicking to help you write an essay. Remember that everyone has something valuable to say, and the obstacle you choose will matter less than your ability to write about it and highlight your resilience.

Brainstorm an authentic but impactful challenge

The first thing you'll need to do is think through some challenges you’ve faced . 

A challenge can be as seemingly simple as learning to trust yourself after a failure in school or an extracurricular activity or as complicated as overcoming significant discrimination and prejudice.

You had to overcome a specific fear to succeed at an activity you love. You may have had to rebuild your life after losing a relative. Maybe your family moved, which shook up your life. Or, receiving one terrible grade or criticism led you to change your outlook on life and motivated you to work harder than ever.

Whatever the obstacle you face (no inventing, please), it should be impactful.

That means thinking of a challenge that changed something about you. As a result of overcoming this obstacle, you should have learned significant lessons about yourself or the world around you and made changes in your life.

Colleges and universities want to know what traits you possess that will help you succeed in college and your future career, so the obstacle you choose to share should have helped you develop one of your defining traits. They will care more about your reaction to this challenge, how it shaped you, and how you articulate it than what the problem was in the first place.

Generally, the obstacle you choose to share should also be pretty recent or have had a current impact on your life, rather than a challenge that happened when you were very young that doesn’t impact you today.

Begin at the end

The opening sentence of your essay about overcoming a challenge should be compelling and make the reader want to continue. It can be tempting to tell the story chronologically, but it can sometimes be adequate to start with the ending or a positive memory.

So, think about when you overcame your challenge or realized that you had improved after facing an obstacle. You might even share a moment when you realized your chosen barrier significantly. Recount this moment as your introductory hook in some way.

You can even preview the lessons you learned in your introduction. That way, readers already know that you will share what you’ve learned rather than just share a story recounting a terrible moment or difficult challenge in your life. This can also make them want to keep reading to see how you got to that place.

Share context about the situation but make it brief

You want the reader to learn about you and your challenges rather than overdoing it in detail. They don't need to know every step of the process or every player in the story.

Of course, you should share the context behind what happened to you that challenged you and changed your life or perspective, but you should not dwell too much on the details. Provide only the ‘need to know’ moments and how they led to changes in your life.

With this kind of essay, readers want to know less about what happened and more about what you learned due to your experience.

Focus on what you learned

Your reflection about what you learned due to your experience should be your primary focus within your essay. This section will help readers understand how you’ve changed after facing your challenge or obstacle to become the stellar student you are today. It can also show the maturity and self-reflection colleges may seek in a student.

By sharing lessons learned in this type of essay, you also share how you will contribute to any college campus with your newly acquired traits and perspectives.

If you had to move from one city to another, perhaps you learned to be flexible or met new friends who helped you discover your fascination with science and technology. If you faced bullying, maybe you learned how to respect yourself without outside validation and gained resilience. Whatever the challenge, the lessons associated with overcoming it are most important.

Share actions you took as a result of overcoming the challenge

To help readers understand how you overcame the challenge and how the lessons you learned tangibly affected your life, you should also consider your actions after overcoming your obstacle.

For example, if you witnessed discrimination at school, you could have founded an anti-bullying campaign or student organization. If you lost a family member to a specific disease, you may have volunteered with an organization to help fund research for a cure.

Remember, all of this information needs to be authentic to your experience. Even the most minor actions can be impactful. So, truth is always best, even if you just learned to treat your family better or significantly improve your grades after facing this obstacle.

Connect the lessons you learned to your future

Finally, you can strengthen your response even more by connecting the lessons you learned and actions you took with your future goals.

Think about how you will show up in college after facing this challenge. And consider how you are better equipped now to achieve your future goals because of the lessons you learned. You can then tie this into how attending each college will help you reach those goals.

Seek support!

Admissions officers should never be the first people to read your essay. Get help from a teacher or college counselor, your parents or guardians, an online college essay writing site like Prompt , or fellow scholars like other NSHSS members   before you hit "submit." 

Have them read your essay and provide you with constructive feedback about content and structure. If you're stuck, you can ask for some "overcoming an obstacle" essay examples or ideas from those who know you well.

Then, submit your essay and enjoy that feeling of accomplishment!

Answering the essay prompt "Describe a Challenge You Overcame" offers a unique opportunity to showcase your resilience, growth, and problem-solving skills. By focusing on the specifics of the challenge, the steps you took to overcome it, and the lessons you learned, you'll answer the prompt effectively and make a lasting impression on the admissions team.

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In the campus protests over the war in Gaza, language and rhetoric are—as they have always been when it comes to Israel and Palestine—weapons of mass destruction.

By Zadie Smith

A philosophy without a politics is common enough. Aesthetes, ethicists, novelists—all may be easily critiqued and found wanting on this basis. But there is also the danger of a politics without a philosophy. A politics unmoored, unprincipled, which holds as its most fundamental commitment its own perpetuation. A Realpolitik that believes itself too subtle—or too pragmatic—to deal with such ethical platitudes as thou shalt not kill. Or: rape is a crime, everywhere and always. But sometimes ethical philosophy reënters the arena, as is happening right now on college campuses all over America. I understand the ethics underpinning the protests to be based on two widely recognized principles:

There is an ethical duty to express solidarity with the weak in any situation that involves oppressive power.

If the machinery of oppressive power is to be trained on the weak, then there is a duty to stop the gears by any means necessary.

The first principle sometimes takes the “weak” to mean “whoever has the least power,” and sometimes “whoever suffers most,” but most often a combination of both. The second principle, meanwhile, may be used to defend revolutionary violence, although this interpretation has just as often been repudiated by pacifistic radicals, among whom two of the most famous are, of course, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr . In the pacifist’s interpretation, the body that we must place between the gears is not that of our enemy but our own. In doing this, we may pay the ultimate price with our actual bodies, in the non-metaphorical sense. More usually, the risk is to our livelihoods, our reputations, our futures. Before these most recent campus protests began, we had an example of this kind of action in the climate movement. For several years now, many people have been protesting the economic and political machinery that perpetuates climate change, by blocking roads, throwing paint, interrupting plays, and committing many other arrestable offenses that can appear ridiculous to skeptics (or, at the very least, performative), but which in truth represent a level of personal sacrifice unimaginable to many of us.

I experienced this not long ago while participating in an XR climate rally in London. When it came to the point in the proceedings where I was asked by my fellow-protesters whether I’d be willing to commit an arrestable offense—one that would likely lead to a conviction and thus make travelling to the United States difficult or even impossible—I’m ashamed to say that I declined that offer. Turns out, I could not give up my relationship with New York City for the future of the planet. I’d just about managed to stop buying plastic bottles (except when very thirsty) and was trying to fly less. But never to see New York again? What pitiful ethical creatures we are (I am)! Falling at the first hurdle! Anyone who finds themselves rolling their eyes at any young person willing to put their own future into jeopardy for an ethical principle should ask themselves where the limits of their own commitments lie—also whether they’ve bought a plastic bottle or booked a flight recently. A humbling inquiry.

It is difficult to look at the recent Columbia University protests in particular without being reminded of the campus protests of the nineteen-sixties and seventies, some of which happened on the very same lawns. At that time, a cynical political class was forced to observe the spectacle of its own privileged youth standing in solidarity with the weakest historical actors of the moment, a group that included, but was not restricted to, African Americans and the Vietnamese. By placing such people within their ethical zone of interest, young Americans risked both their own academic and personal futures and—in the infamous case of Kent State—their lives. I imagine that the students at Columbia—and protesters on other campuses—fully intend this echo, and, in their unequivocal demand for both a ceasefire and financial divestment from this terrible war, to a certain extent they have achieved it.

But, when I open newspapers and see students dismissing the idea that some of their fellow-students feel, at this particular moment, unsafe on campus, or arguing that such a feeling is simply not worth attending to, given the magnitude of what is occurring in Gaza, I find such sentiments cynical and unworthy of this movement. For it may well be—within the ethical zone of interest that is a campus, which was not so long ago defined as a safe space, delineated by the boundary of a generation’s ethical ideas— it may well be that a Jewish student walking past the tents, who finds herself referred to as a Zionist, and then is warned to keep her distance, is, in that moment, the weakest participant in the zone. If the concept of safety is foundational to these students’ ethical philosophy (as I take it to be), and, if the protests are committed to reinserting ethical principles into a cynical and corrupt politics, it is not right to divest from these same ethics at the very moment they come into conflict with other imperatives. The point of a foundational ethics is that it is not contingent but foundational. That is precisely its challenge to a corrupt politics.

Practicing our ethics in the real world involves a constant testing of them, a recognition that our zones of ethical interest have no fixed boundaries and may need to widen and shrink moment by moment as the situation demands. (Those brave students who—in supporting the ethical necessity of a ceasefire—find themselves at painful odds with family, friends, faith, or community have already made this calculation.) This flexibility can also have the positive long-term political effect of allowing us to comprehend that, although our duty to the weakest is permanent, the role of “the weakest” is not an existential matter independent of time and space but, rather, a contingent situation, continually subject to change. By contrast, there is a dangerous rigidity to be found in the idea that concern for the dreadful situation of the hostages is somehow in opposition to, or incompatible with, the demand for a ceasefire. Surely a ceasefire—as well as being an ethical necessity—is also in the immediate absolute interest of the hostages, a fact that cannot be erased by tearing their posters off walls.

Part of the significance of a student protest is the ways in which it gives young people the opportunity to insist upon an ethical principle while still being, comparatively speaking, a more rational force than the supposed adults in the room, against whose crazed magical thinking they have been forced to define themselves. The equality of all human life was never a self-evident truth in racially segregated America. There was no way to “win” in Vietnam. Hamas will not be “eliminated.” The more than seven million Jewish human beings who live in the gap between the river and the sea will not simply vanish because you think that they should. All of that is just rhetoric. Words. Cathartic to chant, perhaps, but essentially meaningless. A ceasefire, meanwhile, is both a potential reality and an ethical necessity. The monstrous and brutal mass murder of more than eleven hundred people, the majority of them civilians, dozens of them children, on October 7th, has been followed by the monstrous and brutal mass murder (at the time of writing) of a reported fourteen thousand five hundred children. And many more human beings besides, but it’s impossible not to notice that the sort of people who take at face value phrases like “surgical strikes” and “controlled military operation” sometimes need to look at and/or think about dead children specifically in order to refocus their minds on reality.

To send the police in to arrest young people peacefully insisting upon a ceasefire represents a moral injury to us all. To do it with violence is a scandal. How could they do less than protest, in this moment? They are putting their own bodies into the machine. They deserve our support and praise. As to which postwar political arrangement any of these students may favor, and on what basis they favor it—that is all an argument for the day after a ceasefire. One state, two states, river to the sea—in my view, their views have no real weight in this particular moment, or very little weight next to the significance of their collective action, which (if I understand it correctly) is focussed on stopping the flow of money that is funding bloody murder, and calling for a ceasefire, the political euphemism that we use to mark the end of bloody murder. After a ceasefire, the criminal events of the past seven months should be tried and judged, and the infinitely difficult business of creating just, humane, and habitable political structures in the region must begin anew. Right now: ceasefire. And, as we make this demand, we might remind ourselves that a ceasefire is not, primarily, a political demand. Primarily, it is an ethical one.

But it is in the nature of the political that we cannot even attend to such ethical imperatives unless we first know the political position of whoever is speaking. (“Where do you stand on Israel/Palestine?”) In these constructed narratives, there are always a series of shibboleths, that is, phrases that can’t be said, or, conversely, phrases that must be said. Once these words or phrases have been spoken ( river to the sea, existential threat, right to defend, one state, two states, Zionist, colonialist, imperialist, terrorist ) and one’s positionality established, then and only then will the ethics of the question be attended to (or absolutely ignored). The objection may be raised at this point that I am behaving like a novelist, expressing a philosophy without a politics, or making some rarefied point about language and rhetoric while people commit bloody murder. This would normally be my own view, but, in the case of Israel/Palestine, language and rhetoric are and always have been weapons of mass destruction.

It is in fact perhaps the most acute example in the world of the use of words to justify bloody murder, to flatten and erase unbelievably labyrinthine histories, and to deliver the atavistic pleasure of violent simplicity to the many people who seem to believe that merely by saying something they make it so. It is no doubt a great relief to say the word “Hamas” as if it purely and solely described a terrorist entity. A great relief to say “There is no such thing as the Palestinian people” as they stand in front of you. A great relief to say “Zionist colonialist state” and accept those three words as a full and unimpeachable definition of the state of Israel, not only under the disastrous leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu but at every stage of its long and complex history, and also to hear them as a perfectly sufficient description of every man, woman, and child who has ever lived in Israel or happened to find themselves born within it. It is perhaps because we know these simplifications to be impossible that we insist upon them so passionately. They are shibboleths; they describe a people, by defining them against other people—but the people being described are ourselves. The person who says “We must eliminate Hamas” says this not necessarily because she thinks this is a possible outcome on this earth but because this sentence is the shibboleth that marks her membership in the community that says that. The person who uses the word “Zionist” as if that word were an unchanged and unchangeable monolith, meaning exactly the same thing in 2024 and 1948 as it meant in 1890 or 1901 or 1920—that person does not so much bring definitive clarity to the entangled history of Jews and Palestinians as they successfully and soothingly draw a line to mark their own zone of interest and where it ends. And while we all talk, carefully curating our shibboleths, presenting them to others and waiting for them to reveal themselves as with us or against us—while we do all that, bloody murder.

And now here we are, almost at the end of this little stream of words. We’ve arrived at the point at which I must state clearly “where I stand on the issue,” that is, which particular political settlement should, in my own, personal view, occur on the other side of a ceasefire. This is the point wherein—by my stating of a position—you are at once liberated into the simple pleasure of placing me firmly on one side or the other, putting me over there with those who lisp or those who don’t, with the Ephraimites, or with the people of Gilead. Yes, this is the point at which I stake my rhetorical flag in that fantastical, linguistical, conceptual, unreal place—built with words—where rapes are minimized as needs be, and the definition of genocide quibbled over, where the killing of babies is denied, and the precision of drones glorified, where histories are reconsidered or rewritten or analogized or simply ignored, and “Jew” and “colonialist” are synonymous, and “Palestinian” and “terrorist” are synonymous, and language is your accomplice and alibi in all of it. Language euphemized, instrumentalized, and abused, put to work for your cause and only for your cause, so that it does exactly and only what you want it to do. Let me make it easy for you. Put me wherever you want: misguided socialist, toothless humanist, naïve novelist, useful idiot, apologist, denier, ally, contrarian, collaborator, traitor, inexcusable coward. It is my view that my personal views have no more weight than an ear of corn in this particular essay. The only thing that has any weight in this particular essay is the dead. ♦

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• Welsh leads equity-centered research practice partnership to reduce racial disparities in school discipline

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May 13, 2024, 11:51 AM

By Jenna Somers

Last year, Richard Welsh reported findings on the persistence of racial disparities in exclusionary school discipline practices. Despite suspensions declining over the past decade as schools reformed their policies, exclusionary disciplinary rates remained higher for African American students. Across the South, in-school suspensions (ISS) are particularly prevalent and disruptive to the education of racially minoritized students. Given these facts, Welsh has embarked on a new co-design process of ISS that leverages an existing research-practice partnership with a school district in Georgia to crack the code on truly resolving racial inequities in school discipline policies and practices.

Supported by a $474,178 grant from the William T. Grant Foundation and a $125,000 grant from the American Institutes of Research Equity Initiative, Welsh is leading a three-year project with the school district to understand the role of race and power in equity-centered research-practice partnerships, how the dynamics of the partnership affect partnership activities, and how these activities influence research use by school administrators, district leaders, and school board members.

“These are the three key decisionmakers who can advance racial equity in school districts through policies, programs, and personnel. They make decisions about codes of conduct, which disciplinary programs to implement, and who to hire, including behavioral specialists to support students’ social-emotional development,” said Welsh, associate professor of education and public policy at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development.

“Improving the use of research evidence among education leaders via equity-centered research-practice partnerships can possibly lead to disruptive decisions necessary to addressing persistent racial inequities in school discipline. Also, turning the analytical lens on ourselves to examine how inequities might manifest in the partnership has implications for partnership and student outcomes,” Welsh added.

The research team will analyze their interviews with key decision makers, research-practice partnership primary investigators, and co-design team members. They will also observe school board meetings, school discipline committee meetings, and partnership meetings, as well as co-design workshops, district- and school-level documents, and materials to record the partnering process as well as the use of research evidence and disruptive decision-making. By engaging in cycles of disciplined inquiry to improve ISS processes, the partnership aims to reach its goal of improving youth outcomes.

The co-design process includes working with a team of school leaders and school personnel at three middle schools to analyze and reimagine their ISS process and infrastructure.

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The Long Road to Graduation: Chelsea Harkins’ 14-year journey to a bachelor’s degree

May 13, 2024

On Saturday, May 11, at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Chelsea Harkins completed a 14-year journey to receive her college degree from Georgia Southern University. It’s a quest she pursued with passion and perseverance, overcoming unimaginable obstacles along the way.

“It’s been something that I could never just step away from and just say, ‘I’m throwing my hands up and I just can’t do it,’” she said. “It was a need to continue doing this for myself.

“Now that I’m at the finish line, I can look back and see how unique it is. But at the time, when you’re in it, it’s a hard line between ‘Wow, I failed because I didn’t do it the way people normally do’ and ‘Wow, I did it even though people said I couldn’t.’”

Despite their opinions, few people could have traveled the road Harkins took to get her degree.

A native of Cincinnati, Harkins began her college education in 2009 at Miami University in Ohio, where she pursued an English education degree to become a teacher in an urban school district. Her passion was and still is helping people, and teaching students in difficult circumstances seemed a fulfilling way to spend a career.

Just a few semesters into her education, however, Harkins and her family were faced with the ultimate nightmare for any parent. Her oldest daughter, only 9 years old at the time, was diagnosed with severe mental health issues. She spent the next few years finding the right medications, receiving specialized therapy and joining groups for socialization and play.

In an effort to keep her education moving, and to learn more about what was going on with her daughter, Harkins changed her major and pursued courses to become a psychiatric nurse.

“You start digging really deep and doing as much research as you can to figure out what’s happening with your child,” she said. “It led me to want to work in the mental health field because I saw what was lacking and also what was good. But it was a lot of ‘Let me try to take a class here or there,’ but my daughter had to go to a lot of institutions and doctors and I just couldn’t keep up.”

It was several years before Harkins could commit to school at all again, but health setbacks required her to shift her life again.

Her youngest son was diagnosed with heart failure while still in the womb. When he was born, Harkins said he had a stroke and died in her hands. He was immediately airlifted to another hospital and brought back to life. It was years before he could experience the normal, healthy life he enjoys today.

“Those extra worries don’t really go away,” she said. “Even when doctors start saying things are better, they still sit in your mind as a mom.”

After years of upheaval, Harkins’ life began to get back to a semblance of normalcy when she and her family decided to move to Richmond Hill, Georgia, in 2018. She wanted to continue schooling when she arrived but had to wait two years to be able to get in-state tuition at Georgia Southern’s Armstrong Campus in Savannah.

When it was time to go back to school, however, Harkins wasn’t sure where to begin again.

“I changed my major a lot,” she said. “It’s actually a running joke in my family and circle of friends that I never know what I want to do when I grow up.”

She decided to pursue an Interdisciplinary Studies degree with concentrations in sociology and criminal justice, and a minor in psychology. The interdisciplinary degree would allow her to use the credits she’d gained in other programs, and her concentrations and minor would allow her to pursue her passion for helping others through such difficult circumstances as her own.

“It was hard because the mom guilt made me feel bad for doing it,” she said. “But personally, I loved doing it — every class I took. A lot of people say, ‘Man, you wasted a lot of time, though, changing majors or taking courses you didn’t need. And always my response is, ‘That’s not true! Because nobody can take this knowledge from me. I don’t have to give it back. It’s mine. I get to keep it so I don’t feel like it was a waste.’”

Harkins return to school was anything but easy. In order for her to become a full-time student again, she relied on her family to rely less on her. She was still helping keep family finances in the black, and she worked at The Crab Shack on Tybee Island as a waitress and bartender as well as an assistant at McNamara Law Firm in Savannah.

Despite the long hours, Harkins still found time to do hours of service-learning at a women’s shelter in Richmond Hill and take 18 credit hours for the last two semesters of her degree.

“This ending year is the hardest I’ve done, but I’m doing it,” she said. “We had a family meeting and we all agreed that I’m going to push through and do it. And they would try not to rely on me for as many things. So it was kind of a family affair by the end. Even my husband started cooking! It was great!

“Are there times I wanted to quit? Yes, today,” she added, laughing. “As I’m looking at how many papers are due, today is a good day if I wanted to quit.”

Though she faced difficulties and isolation as an older student, Harkins says she was motivated to keep going by her kids, who watched her persevere for years to reach this goal. She says they’re all thriving now,  and some of them are now adults. But she wants them to remember how important education is — especially her daughters.

“I’m the first woman on my mother’s side to earn a college degree,” she said. “I think it’s important for women to be educated and to know that their education is worth it and that they can do anything. I tell my daughters one of the most dangerous things you can do is be completely dependent on somebody else.”

As Harkins reflects on her journey, she still wrestles with whether she should feel guilt for taking so long to finish or feel pride for pushing through and crossing the finish line. She faced personal doubts, guilt and occasional negativity from friends and family who thought she shouldn’t be in college at all.

At the end of this road, however, she’s happy they’ll all be there to see her do what seemed impossible.

“I tear up as I think about the people who are coming from all over the U.S. to watch me do this,” she said. “So I am just excited and ready to see everybody and let them see me do what some of them said I couldn’t.

“It’s a hard debate inside your brain of whether you should celebrate yourself or should you be mad at yourself because you didn’t already have it done. But the other side of being happy with myself is winning. It’s starting to win out.”

Being happy should win out for Harkins, who has crammed four years of college into 14 as the saying goes. And while she’s proud of her accomplishments, she knows there’s still some ribbing she’ll have to endure.

“I think people still don’t believe there’s actually a graduation party,” she said.

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Protests Swell in Russia’s Far East in a Stark New Challenge to Putin

Demonstrations in the city of Khabarovsk drew tens of thousands for the third straight weekend. The anger, fueled by the arrest of a popular governor, has little precedent in modern Russia.

By Anton Troianovski

KHABAROVSK, Russia — Watching the passing masses of protesters chanting “Freedom!” and “Putin resign!” while passing drivers honked, applauded and offered high-fives, a sidewalk vendor selling little cucumbers and plastic cups of forest raspberries said she would join in, too, if she did not have to work.

“There will be a revolution,” the vendor, Irina Lukasheva, 56, predicted. “What did our grandfathers fight for? Not for poverty or for the oligarchs sitting over there in the Kremlin.”

The protests in Khabarovsk, a city 4,000 miles east of Moscow, drew tens of thousands of people for a three-mile march through central streets for the third straight week on Saturday . Residents were rallying in support of a popular governor arrested and spirited to Moscow this month — but their remarkable outpouring of anger, which has little precedent in post-Soviet Russia, has emerged as stark testimony to the discontent that President Vladimir V. Putin faces across the country.

Mr. Putin won a tightly scripted referendum less than four weeks ago that rewrote the Constitution to allow him to stay in office until 2036. But the vote, seen as fraudulent by critics and many analysts, provided little but a fig leaf for public disenchantment with corruption, stifled freedoms and stagnant incomes made worse by the pandemic .

“When a person lives not knowing how things are supposed to be, he thinks things are good,” said Artyom Aksyonov, 31, who is in the transportation business and who was handing out water from the trunk of his car to protesters under the baking sun in Lenin Square, on the protest route. “But when you open your eyes to the truth, you realize things were not good. This was all an illusion.”

Across Russia, fear of being detained by the police and the seeming hopelessness of effecting change has largely kept people off the streets. Many Russians also say that whatever Mr. Putin’s faults, the alternative could be worse or lead to greater chaos. For the most part, anti-Kremlin protests have been limited to a few thousand people in Moscow and other big cities, where the authorities usually crack down harshly.

Partly as a result, Mr. Putin remains firmly in control. And independent polling shows he still enjoys a 60 percent approval rating, though the figure has been falling.

But the events in Khabarovsk have shown that the well of discontent is such that minor events can ignite a firestorm. The weekend crowds have been so large that the police have not tried to control them — even though the protesters did not have a permit, let alone a clear leader or organizer.

And with Russians switching en masse from television, which is controlled by the government, to the largely uncensored internet to get their news, the state can easily lose its grip on the narrative.

Khabarovsk, a city of 600,000 close to the eastern terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Chinese border, had not seen any protests of much significance since the early 1990s. That changed after July 9, when a SWAT team dragged the governor, Sergei I. Furgal , out of his car and whisked him to Moscow on 15-year-old murder accusations.

Khabarovsk social media forums erupted in indignation over an arrest that looked like a Kremlin move to eliminate a young and well-liked politician who had upset an ally of Mr. Putin in the regional election in 2018.

Tens of thousands spontaneously poured into the streets on July 11 as residents called for protests online, and they re-emerged in greater numbers on July 18. Smaller-scale marches through the city continued daily.

Russian journalists who have been following the protests since the beginning said Saturday’s crowds were the biggest yet. Opposition activists estimated that 50,000 to 100,000 had turned out . City officials said that about 6,500 people had attended , clearly an undercount.

As they have on previous weekends, the protesters gathered in the central Lenin Square by the headquarters of the regional government. They marched down a main street, blocking traffic, and made a three-mile loop through the city center before returning to the square. Police officers walked along casually on the sidewalk, without interfering.

The crowd, some of whom wore face masks stenciled with Mr. Furgal’s name, looked like a cross section of the city, including working-class and middle-class residents, pensioners and young people. The most concrete demand in their chants was that Mr. Furgal face trial in Khabarovsk rather than in Moscow, but they did not shy away from challenging Mr. Putin directly. They shouted “Shame on the Kremlin!”, “Russia, wake up!” and “We are the ones in power!”

Mr. Putin last Monday appointed a 39-year-old politician from outside the region, Mikhail V. Degtyarev, as the acting governor of the Khabarovsk region, angering residents further. Asked whether he would meet with the protesters, Mr. Degtyarev told reporters that he had better things to do than talk to people “screaming outside the windows.”

The Kremlin appears determined to wait the protests out. The regional authorities have warned that they could worsen the spread of the pandemic, announcing on Saturday a sharp rise in coronavirus infections and noting that medical equipment and personnel had arrived from Moscow to aid local hospitals.

One of the protesters, Vadim Serzhantov, a 35-year-old railway company employee, said he had held little interest in politics until recently. The arrest of Mr. Furgal, whom residents praise for populist moves such as cutting back on officials’ perks, was a turning point, Mr. Serzhantov said.

“To be honest, I used to not care at all,” Mr. Serzhantov said. “But this is lawlessness.”

Anton Troianovski has been a Moscow correspondent for The New York Times since September 2019. He was previously Moscow bureau chief of The Washington Post and spent nine years with The Wall Street Journal in Berlin and New York. More about Anton Troianovski