Dear blondi8021,

You ask a good question as there is a line you do not want to cross on disclosing personal information. I think the key is to give the readers a clear indication of the hardship, but do not give lots of details on the hardship itself. For example, if you are a cancer survivor, you want to state that you were diagnosed with cancer, endured 2 years of treatment and are now in remission. But you don't want to provide details of the treatment, how it made you sick, or how the cancer and treatments affected you physically. You want to spend the bulk of the essay on what the experience taught you and how it made you who you are today.

There are distinctions in the type of hardship to disclose. I think it is best to stay away from things like alcoholism, drug abuse, problems with law enforcement, and any other hardships that could be repeated and cause the committee to question either your character or ability to handle the stress of business school. Hardships like physical illness, loss of a family member, or taking care of a sick family member are a better choice.

I hope that clarifies things for you. Remember, it's about what you learned/how you changed, not the actual hardship.

Good luck,
Lisa