If it is something compelling and well written,
why not?

sounds Mormon era blogosphere

is it We Can Do Hard Things?

Anonymous wrote:Our family mantra is every morning we say "Remember, don't be an *ss*ole. Good luck!"

This made me laugh out loud. As an admissions officer, I’d definitely keep reading!

Do people really have family mantras? That you discuss? I don't get this.

Is it “work hard, play harder?”

Are you Kendall O’Toole from Peloton

“They can knock you down, but they can never knock you out!” Her family mantra so she said …would them say it at the end of every ride.

Lol

Our family mantra is every morning we say "Remember, don't be an *ss*ole. Good luck!"

Anonymous wrote:Sounds cliche.

EVERYTHING is a cliché. Everything has been done. That’s why this process is painful, you’re supposed to write something new and engaging, but it’s all been done and you have to show how you’ve GROWN and had a realization. Ha. It’s all a bunch of baloney.

I say go for it too!

If it’s cliche, no. Don’t do it.

It really depends. A.) Is the mantra interesting? B.) Is your kid a good/skillful writer? Is there concrete evidence of how the mantra has worked for her?

Semper ubi sub ubi

Only if the mantra is playful and funny. An essay about how a kid was inspired by an earnest family mantra sounds cliche.

Anonymous wrote:We have what I would consider a family mantra and DD used it in her essay. We did not have a college counselor to tell her no. I thought it did a good job on tying all her activities and interests together and what she wanted to do in college. Currently at a t10. I would guess it's all how you use it in the essay

Or what the mantra is. “Never give up, never give in” = boring. “When in doubt, wear a clown nose” = heck, if you can write well, could be unique and attention-grabbing!

OP, it’s not passe. The counselor said it wasn’t captivating, ie, your family mantra isn’t that interesting as a foundation for an essay.

It’s all in the execution, have them write it and then see.