Addressing Major Weakness in PS

[almostnever]

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Did a search...got mixed reviews.

I'm applying to a bunch of schools this year and the major weakness in my app is my multiple MCAT scores (with the last score being lower than the second). A major theme in my PS is persistence, as my path to medicine and life in general has required this ten-fold.

I won't focus on my MCAT issue, but is it alright for me to bring it up in a sentence or two and explain what it taught me? I won't make excuses about my performance, but this experience has definitely made me take a hard look at why I'm still trying to become a doctor and how it's worth it to me.

Thoughts?

 

[DrMidlife]

if your mcat is a major weakness, then why are you applying? hard to appreciate the persistence story here when the job isn't done yet. it looks more like you gave up on the mcat.

there isn't a PS angle that will make adcoms appreciate how hard you TRIED to do well on the mcat. adcoms NEED you to do well on the mcat so they can bet on you to make it as a med student.

yes, i understand, the mcat is a beast and you're sick of it. but doing well on it is the price of admission. med school sucks really bad if you struggle with hours-long multiple-choice exams covering massive amounts of material. those exams come at you about every other week for two straight years. not that they stop after the 2nd year.

tl;dr: PS never trumps MCAT.

best of luck to you.

 

[almostnever]

@DrMidlife My scores are still good enough to apply with for DO (27-29 with 32 superscore). I was just wondering if my multiple scores should be addressed at all in my PS.

 

[Goro]

The purpose of the PS is to answer these two questions:
"Why Medicine?"
"Who am I"?

In my long experience, no matter how it's written, any attempts to explain academic weaknesses simply come off as excuses.

Save explanations for interviews.

Did a search...got mixed reviews.

I'm applying to a bunch of schools this year and the major weakness in my app is my multiple MCAT scores (with the last score being lower than the second). A major theme in my PS is persistence, as my path to medicine and life in general has required this ten-fold.

I won't focus on my MCAT issue, but is it alright for me to bring it up in a sentence or two and explain what it taught me? I won't make excuses about my performance, but this experience has definitely made me take a hard look at why I'm still trying to become a doctor and how it's worth it to me.

Thoughts?

 

[almostnever]

@Goro good to know. I'll leave it out then. Thanks!

 

[Cawolf]

Is that something that applies to everyone? Leave weakness explanations out of the PS?