Hi there! Some students struggle with the "overcoming challenges" prompt, so you are not alone! The idea here is to focus on one experience that has proven to be challenging for you. In general, when answering these prompt types, you want to begin by reflecting on your past experiences, which you likely already did when you wrote your medical school personal statement, and think about a time when you faced a difficult situation. What happened? What were the steps you took to overcome the challenge? What did you learn from the experience? Often, you won't have a lot of available words or characters to answer the question, so you need to make sure your answer is direct and to the point. Here are some questions that can help you brainstorm ideas and select an appropriate experience to talk about:
Did you ever have to move because of issues at school? Have you been bullied before? Have you had a hard time making friends? Did you face an obstacle while gaining shadowing or clinical experience? Have you been the new person at school? Have you lost a loved one? Have you or a loved one faced injury or illness? Has a loved one struggled with addiction? Did your parents get divorced? Do you or a loved one struggle with a physical, physiological, or developmental condition or disability? Can you think of a time when something didn't go the way you had hoped? For example, maybe you could have played professional basketball, but an injury forced you to change plans. Have you faced discrimination or prejudice of some kind? Have you had to learn a new language? Have you had to manage a financial hardship? Have you made a mistake that had unfortunate consequences?
Hope this helps! Best of luck to you.