Adding academic performance explanation to Personal Statement

[rican18]

When writing my personal statement, should I or should I not address that I have narcolepsy? I recently got diagnosed and I have a full year of straight A's to show that my treatment has helped my academic grades immensely and hence proof that I will do fine in medical school.
Before diagnosis, my grades were not what they should be, so I would like to explain somewhere my low GPA score when applying. This is in no way an excuse. It is a true disorder that affected my grades during my early years in college.

However, I do not know where to talk about this. Can I add into my personal statement as long as it flows with the rest of it?

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[Lya]

Don't explain your academic performance in the PS. You don't have to.

You may explain it in your secondary essays or in interviews if asked explicitly. But even then, if your final GPA ends up great with a strong upward trend, it should not be a big deal at all.

 

[Pacna]

Your PS is your life story. Don't excuse yourself. Make yourself sound like a f***in' champ.

 

[Plecopotamus]

medical problems that caused hiccups in your academics should be in most cases discussed only in the appropriate secondary prompts. Your PS is your spot to sell yourself. When/if you bring it up in the secondaries, make it clear that you have addressed the problem, don't expect it to pose a problem in the future (cite your A's as evidence), tell them how you've learned or grown from the experience, and show that you have thought of functional ways to deal with any impact it may have during school (i.e. you'll avail yourself of resources if needed & have constructively thought of functional things to address any likely needs...I dunno what you need for narcolepsy if anything), etc.

 

[rican18]

medical problems that caused hiccups in your academics should be in most cases discussed only in the appropriate secondary prompts. Your PS is your spot to sell yourself. When/if you bring it up in the secondaries, make it clear that you have addressed the problem, don't expect it to pose a problem in the future (cite your A's as evidence), tell them how you've learned or grown from the experience, and show that you have thought of functional ways to deal with any impact it may have during school (i.e. you'll avail yourself of resources if needed & have constructively thought of functional things to address any likely needs...I dunno what you need for narcolepsy if anything), etc.

I will then leave it for any secondary prompts.
Thank you!!!

 

[aspirantmed]

I feel like something like this is best discussed, if at all, at interviews, when you can have the conversation upfront, give the interviewer a chance to air out all concerns, and respond .. as opposed to an essay where the person can make judgments about your competency that you can't correct.

 

[Plecopotamus]

I feel like something like this is best discussed, if at all, at interviews, when you can have the conversation upfront, give the interviewer a chance to air out all concerns, and respond .. as opposed to an essay where the person can make judgments about your competency that you can't correct.

I respectfully disagree about leaving this for interviews (although you are correct that it may not need to be brought up at all . . . like if the "poor" performance is B+'s).
At some schools the interview will be the appropriate forum, but the interview format these days is too variable school to school to count on this. What do you do if the school does MMI, has a closed file "getting to know you" chat, or you have an overly chatty interviewer who doesn't allow you to say all you wanted to?

My school is closed file and we have very conversational interviews in which your academic performance is not discussed. There is nowhere on the form we give back to the adcom to really appropriately address this as this interviewer. If you expect a busy interviewer to communicate everything you want to say about it, you will likely be short changing yourself, b/c no interviewer has as much of a vested interest in your success as you do -- we have good intentions, but we will never present your "case" as accurately and with the same points of emphasis as you probably would if you wrote about it in your secondary. If you write about it on the secondary, you are in control of how to spin it and are less at the mercy of an interviewer.

Also, if you have an interviewer who doesn't usually talk about academics with interviewees, and you strong arm the interview in that direction and then allude to poor performance, you're totally going to taint that interviewer's impression of you relative to what he/she may have thought if you'd had a more positive conversation/interaction.

 

[aspirantmed]

If it doesn't come up, then you're fine .. most schools will ask you to sign a document where you verify that you have the physical and mental capacity to live up to the psycho-motor standards of being a physician. If your condition doesn't hold you back from performing well in medical school, signing that should tell the school all they need to know. I should clarify that my response wasn't to willingly offer it up at the interview; instead, I meant that you shouldn't raise it intentionally but only mention it if prompted to do so by the interviewer ("I noticed an upward trend in your grades here; care to explain?").

I also agree with the previous poster that academics don't come up that often in medical school interviews; at least, they didn't for me. I did reasonably well in most of my courses, apart from a few B's here and there, and nobody ever questioned anything beyond, say, "What was your favorite undergraduate class?" or the somewhat-bizarre, "Tell me about your preparation for the MCAT." Unless your grades went from really bad to great or something that raises a flag, you may not have to answer for it at all.

 

[Plecopotamus]

If it doesn't come up, then you're fine .. most schools will ask you to sign a document where you verify that you have the physical and mental capacity to live up to the psycho-motor standards of being a physician. If your condition doesn't hold you back from performing well in medical school, signing that should tell the school all they need to know. I should clarify that my response wasn't to willingly offer it up at the interview; instead, I meant that you shouldn't raise it intentionally but only mention it if prompted to do so by the interviewer ("I noticed an upward trend in your grades here; care to explain?").

I also agree with the previous poster that academics don't come up that often in medical school interviews; at least, they didn't for me. I did reasonably well in most of my courses, apart from a few B's here and there, and nobody ever questioned anything beyond, say, "What was your favorite undergraduate class?" or the somewhat-bizarre, "Tell me about your preparation for the MCAT." Unless your grades went from really bad to great or something that raises a flag, you may not have to answer for it at all.

OP said s/he has grades that need to be explained, not that s/he was bringing up a medical condition for the hell of it. So I'm not sure what your point is--you want it brought up in the interview but only if the interviewer brings it up even though you realize many interviewers won't be in a position to do so? AND you don't think it should be brought up in the written application. So, you're advising the OP to leave a questionable academic issue unaddressed?

 

[Goro]

I tend to recommend that you don't mention it because stuff like this always comes across more as an excuse rather than how you overcame an obstacle. Perhaps try writing one essay with a mention, another without, and see how it looks. Get plenty of objective eyeballs on them.

When writing my personal statement, should I or should I not address that I have narcolepsy? I recently got diagnosed and I have a full year of straight A's to show that my treatment has helped my academic grades immensely and hence proof that I will do fine in medical school.
Before diagnosis, my grades were not what they should be, so I would like to explain somewhere my low GPA score when applying. This is in no way an excuse. It is a true disorder that affected my grades during my early years in college.

However, I do not know where to talk about this. Can I add into my personal statement as long as it flows with the rest of it?

 

[rican18]

I tend to recommend that you don't mention it because stuff like this always comes across more as an excuse rather than how you overcame an obstacle. Perhaps try writing one essay with a mention, another without, and see how it looks. Get plenty of objective eyeballs on them.

OP said s/he has grades that need to be explained, not that s/he was bringing up a medical condition for the hell of it. So I'm not sure what your point is--you want it brought up in the interview but only if the interviewer brings it up even though you realize many interviewers won't be in a position to do so? AND you don't think it should be brought up in the written application. So, you're advising the OP to leave a questionable academic issue unaddressed?

If it doesn't come up, then you're fine .. most schools will ask you to sign a document where you verify that you have the physical and mental capacity to live up to the psycho-motor standards of being a physician. If your condition doesn't hold you back from performing well in medical school, signing that should tell the school all they need to know. I should clarify that my response wasn't to willingly offer it up at the interview; instead, I meant that you shouldn't raise it intentionally but only mention it if prompted to do so by the interviewer ("I noticed an upward trend in your grades here; care to explain?").

I also agree with the previous poster that academics don't come up that often in medical school interviews; at least, they didn't for me. I did reasonably well in most of my courses, apart from a few B's here and there, and nobody ever questioned anything beyond, say, "What was your favorite undergraduate class?" or the somewhat-bizarre, "Tell me about your preparation for the MCAT." Unless your grades went from really bad to great or something that raises a flag, you may not have to answer for it at all.

I am not here to complain about a few B's here and there. More like C's that also came about. I want to explain why I'll be graduating with a 3.4 but my final year shows a vast improvement of straight A's. I'm afraid my low GPA will cost me rejection without an explanation behind it. But I assume in secondaries I can add it in or if interviews come upon and they ask I will answer, rather than trying to force the subject of my academics

 

[Goro]

Rising trends are always a good thing. I agree with the other posters that your condition can be best saved for interviews or secondaries, or any app that asks "What's the biggest obstacle you overcame?"

I frequently will ask a stellar candidate like you about the uncharacteristic year where the grades dipped. Typically the answer is a health issue.

I am not here to complain about a few B's here and there. More like C's that also came about. I want to explain why I'll be graduating with a 3.4 but my final year shows a vast improvement of straight A's. I'm afraid my low GPA will cost me rejection without an explanation behind it. But I assume in secondaries I can add it in or if interviews come upon and they ask I will answer, rather than trying to force the subject of my academics

 

[Plecopotamus]

I am not here to complain about a few B's here and there. More like C's that also came about. I want to explain why I'll be graduating with a 3.4 but my final year shows a vast improvement of straight A's. I'm afraid my low GPA will cost me rejection without an explanation behind it. But I assume in secondaries I can add it in or if interviews come upon and they ask I will answer, rather than trying to force the subject of my academics

If it's just to the degree of a 3.4 and a few B's and C's, then I actually wouldn't say much about it. The average of accepted GPAs is a bit higher than yours, but you're within the bell curve and you don't have a semester of D's and F's or something drastic. Many secondaries will have a spot to ask about any interruptions or abnormalities in your academics -- rather than making a big deal about this and drawing a lot of attention to it in response to something like an "obstacles overcome" prompt, I think it might be best to spin it in a completely positive light by saying little more than "my grades improved in the latter half of my undergrad education when I was able to perform to my true capacity after starting and stablizing treatment for previously undiagnosed narcolepsy".

 

[gumdrops]

When writing my personal statement, should I or should I not address that I have narcolepsy? I recently got diagnosed and I have a full year of straight A's to show that my treatment has helped my academic grades immensely and hence proof that I will do fine in medical school.
Before diagnosis, my grades were not what they should be, so I would like to explain somewhere my low GPA score when applying. This is in no way an excuse. It is a true disorder that affected my grades during my early years in college.

However, I do not know where to talk about this. Can I add into my personal statement as long as it flows with the rest of it?

Do not disclose that you had narcolepsy. Explain that you had an undiagnosed medical condition that had severely interfered with your focus, concentration and energy. That's all you need to do. Medical schools are not allowed to probe any further. Your 4.0 shows what you're capable of now so you're set. Just keep up the good work!

 

[dorian baltar]

What if the bad grades, the reason for them, and the recovery from the cause are key elements to why I want to be a doctor and why I think I will be a good doctor?
Also, I had about a year and a half of terrible grades - medically withdrew in a spring semester, then a D, two F's, 2-3 C's, and two more withdraws the following year. All of that was 8-9 years ago.

In addition to feedback on my specific situation, I am wondering if there are situations in which it is acceptable/good to mention medical problems in the PS, especially if it is key to the "why do I want to be a doctor" aspect.

 

[knv2u]

What if the bad grades, the reason for them, and the recovery from the cause are key elements to why I want to be a doctor and why I think I will be a good doctor?
Also, I had about a year and a half of terrible grades - medically withdrew in a spring semester, then a D, two F's, 2-3 C's, and two more withdraws the following year. All of that was 8-9 years ago.

In addition to feedback on my specific situation, I am wondering if there are situations in which it is acceptable/good to mention medical problems in the PS, especially if it is key to the "why do I want to be a doctor" aspect.

Write about how your illness and recovery led you to medicine, but omit references to the grades in the personal statement. If you include a time frame, I bet adcom members will connect the dots! If not, you could subtly bring it up in an interview, but as has been said, don't make it look like you are making excuses.

 

[dorian baltar]

Thanks for the advice!
So what do you (or anyone else) think about this paragraph?
"My first year of college taught me that I was not ready to be a doctor. In High School, minimal effort provided A’s, not so in college. I didn’t adapt early enough in my first semester which resulted in performance significantly worse than I expected. My second semester was even worse. I was still struggling to adapt and my poor grades shook my confidence, exacerbating my academic problems. I soon spiraled into severe depression and anxiety. Near the end of the semester, I was having frequent panic attacks and had to withdraw due to medical reasons."
Is this too much information? It's important to me to contrast the 18 year old who thought he wanted to be a doctor to my current self. I want to explain this failure because it marked the moment when I started growing up.

 

[Genore]

Start strong by emphasizing the positive. Right now the paragraph is too focused on the negatives. If I were an adcom, I'd worry about you not being able to handle the stress of med school. They may or may not have enough time to finish your essay so you want to showcase your best features from the beginning, not your worst.

 

[SpringButterfly]

There is a space in the AMCAS application for explaining your academic performance. Mentioning that in your PS takes some space that could be used to show your strengths and unique characteristics. I'm in the same boat ,, I was in a school with discriminated teachers that told me I'm a stupid person because English is my second language! I was given F's & D's for no reason & wasn't allowed to see my tests! I was placed on 2 academic probation for my low GPA ... then I transferred and graduated with a 3.46 ... Now I'm a master student & my first semester GPA is 3.94 which shows huge improvement. I was told by a member of the admission committee not to mention discrimination as a reason as this will sound like "ACCEPT ME". So, I explained that is due to the unstable environment in the country "Lebanon". I'm going to apply this cycle & I'm not planning to waste my PS justifying my low GPA ... they have eyes and they can see the improvement, I'll definitely mention that in the provided space in my application & if they bring it up & wanted to know more in the interview, I'll talk about it; otherwise, I won't bring it up myself