Under represented/ good story

[Averagemanboy]

I've seen a lot of people here talk about under represented students or students with a compelling story have a higher chance at some schools. Is this more or less true? For the story, what if its fairly personal but important? Like grew up broke, had to work for everything, had parent addiction issues... and other things like that. Would you put that kind of stuff in the application? If so, in your personal statement? Or does it make you look like you're using excuses.

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[takeurmeds02]

I wouldn't necessarily discuss underrepresented status if it has no bearing in you wanting to pursue medicine. Adcom can look your demographics and come to that conclusion plus you would run the risk of looking like you're trying to garner sympathy. I also wouldn't write the PS as if it were a laundry list of circumstance.

If your circumstances are truly salient to you wanting to pursue medicine then I'd say go for it, but be tactful and have other people review your work for the tone and the way it reads.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Keep in mind that many secondary applications have essays that ask specifically about challenges you've overcome and/or how you will bring diversity to the school. This could be a good place to talk about obstacles you faced growing up.

As mentioned above, the PS should really answer "Why medicine?" If your background is an important part of why you want to be a doctor, then you could certainly mention it. But there are other things that are worth conveying in your essay, too--like what you've learned in your EC's and how those experience contribute to your desire to be a doctor.

Bottom line: Balance is important. It's not a bad idea to talk about your background but it probably shouldn't be the focus of your application to the exclusion of everything else you have to offer. Find someone you trust to proofread your essays once you've written them! (SDN can be a good resource for this as well as your advisor, professors, and friends/family to some extent)

 

[LizzyM]

There is a section on the application about childhood family circumstances. There are a series of short answer questions about working before age 18, working to provide for family before age 18 (not just working for spending money), receiving gov't benefits (this would apply if you received any of the following: free school lunch, Medicaid, Section 8 housing) and a place to write a brief paragraph about your family situation. If you think that you went to college "behind" other college students due to economic hardship, then describe the circumstances. It helps the adcom get a picture of who you are and how you got to where you are today. It also provides a hope that you will represent an otherwise unheard view point in class discussions and in patient care meetings given your own family circumstances.

There is also a section for listing your parents names, living (y/n), where they live (county), where they last attended school, their highest degree attained, and their occupations.

 

[Goro]

URM = Underrepresented Minorities = African Americans, Mexicans, Native Americans, and sometimes Hmong, Puertoriquenos.

This is different from Economically Disadvantaged, which refers to things that would have impacted your ability to get into or afford college.

There's a box to check for both. The PS might be a place for a come-from-behind story as one purpose of this essay is to answer "Who Am I?"

The PS is NOT a place for explanation as to why you did poorly in college...these almost always come across as excuses.

There are prompts in secondaries for "Significant Challenges and How You Dealt With Them?" or "Anything Else You Want to Tell Us"?

I've seen a lot of people here talk about under represented students or students with a compelling story have a higher chance at some schools. Is this more or less true? For the story, what if its fairly personal but important? Like grew up broke, had to work for everything, had parent addiction issues... and other things like that. Would you put that kind of stuff in the application? If so, in your personal statement? Or does it make you look like you're using excuses.

 

[NYCpremed212]

I'm an URM and had significant obstacles growing up. It depends who you ask, I know some students who included it in their personal statement, and some were advised not to. I included it in my personal statement and it definitely seemed to have worked out in my favor (3 acceptances, 4 WL some at top/Ivy league medical schools).

IMO, Include it, it wont hurt. Try to tie it to the "why medicine?" so that it isn't completely out of place. Some schools only look at your primary before inviting you to complete a secondary, so it really may be your only chance to demonstrate what you've overcome and why you're pursuing medicine.

 

[ArizonaVet480]

I think if you word everything in the right way it will make for a compelling story. I am kind of in the same boat as you so I plan on writing about how my life has been about breaking negative cycles and how it has lead me to medicine.