"Adverse circumstances in your premed journey due to COVID-19 " secondary prompt

[deleted1087447]

Hi all! I was hoping to gather insight on the common secondary prompt that asks if COVID-19 has negatively impacted one's premed journey. I am unsure of what qualifies to be mentioned here. Throughout the pandemic, I did not suffer from loss of loved ones or financial stability. The impact of COVID-19 on my pre-med journey is at the same baseline as I think most applicants': campus closed, and as a result, I missed out on involvement in research and extracurriculars for a year, so I have fewer hours than I would have. I had shadowing lined up but as of recently was still not allowed in the facilities. My GPA was not negatively impacted, and I found new extracurriculars to participate in, to account for the ones that were paused.

Would any of this be worth mentioning? I am aware of my privilege in having a less stressful experience during the pandemic than many others and do not want to come across as being ignorant to this. Thank you in advance.

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[7thAndLASTPoopoftheDay]

I did not suffer from loss of loved ones or financial stability.

I missed out on involvement in research and extracurriculars for a year, so I have fewer hours than I would have. I had shadowing lined up but as of recently was still not allowed in the facilities

Would any of this be worth mentioning? I am aware of my privilege in having a less stressful experience during the pandemic than many others and do not want to come across as being ignorant to this. Thank you in advance.

So you got a golden excuse to get out of some of your commitments and gained more free time. It sounds to me like your quality of life actually improved. It's ok to admit (mine did too), but framing this as adversity comes off as an astonishing lack of self-awareness. You definitely shouldn't mention this in an essay.

 

[deleted1087447]

So you got a golden excuse to get out of some of your commitments and gained more free time. It sounds to me like your quality of life actually improved. It's ok to admit (mine did too), but framing this as adversity comes off as an astonishing lack of self-awareness. You definitely shouldn't mention this in an essay.

Thanks for your response. I had no plan to frame my experience as adversity, and I believe that I did acknowledge awareness of my fortunate position in my original post. I apologize if I didn't communicate that effectively. I was just curious whether I should objectively mention that I did miss out on research and clinical hours that I had planned, as most schools ask if COVID negatively affected my premedical journey.

 

[KnightDoc]

Thanks for your response. I had no plan to frame my experience as adversity, and I believe that I did acknowledge awareness of my fortunate position in my original post. I apologize if I didn't communicate that effectively. I was just curious whether I should objectively mention that I did miss out on research and clinical hours that I had planned, as most schools ask if COVID negatively affected my premedical journey.

Why not? The prompt doesn't ask you to explain how you were impacted more than most; it's asking how you were impacted. It's intentionally open ended to allow you say whatever you want.

I'm not an adcom, but I honestly don't think it's a contest to see who suffered the most negative adverse consequences. Your hours were reduced and you missed out on opportunities? That's what they're asking about, so tell them, even if we are all going to do the same thing, to a greater or lesser extent.

I am personally just considering it free space to vent. We all had negative impacts, and the schools know this. The person with straight Cs online is not going to to get a pass due to COVID. Neither is the person with a 495 on the MCAT, or no ECs, etc.

To the extent EC opportunities were curtailed, or academic performance was slightly diminished, schools are aware, whether or not we write about it, because it is evident from a transcript, test score, or activities section of a primary. The prompt is there so they can appear to be even more "holistic" than they already are. It's not going to magically turn a trash application into treasure.