Adversity essay ideas

[bluepeony]

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[deleted972488]

I actually don’t think either of these is a great adversity essay topic. #1 happened too long ago to shed light on how you recover from setbacks as an adult.

And I wouldn’t consider losing a friend significant adversity. I think you could tie #2 into your diversity essay, explaining how you’re an LGBT ally.

 

[bluepeony]

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[deleted972488]

Hmm...how recent does the adversity need to happen? Would it be better if I focused on assimilating back to my home country's culture after moving back to the US? Or should the adversity be something that happened during college and beyond?

I’m not an expert on these essays, but I would say the more recent the better.

 

[907914]

One event = recent is better

Long time series of events/lifelong adversity (Low SES, ESL, minority in poor community) = talk about that one instead

 

[deleted972488]

One event = recent is better

Long time series of events/lifelong adversity (Low SES, ESL, minority in poor community) = talk about that one instead

I agree. Be aware that many of the secondary prompts ask for a specific challenging event. Others may be more geared towards lifelong adversity.

 

[capriccio]

n=1, but both versions of my challenge/adversity essays that I used were about experiences in high school or earlier, and both topics I wrote about were much, much less intense than something like moving back and forth from a country/culture. I think it's fine if you can demonstrate what you learned and show that it's something you continue to apply to your life and how you do things (which it's clear that you're doing!)

Also, I prefer #1 for your adversity essay. I would shy away from discussing personal/relationship problems.

Your PS, diversity, and adversity/challenge essays are all essentially about the same topic though? I think it's great for you to emphasize your immigrant background, as it's clearly heavily shaped your life, outlook, and passions, but you have only so much space to tell med schools about yourself, and I think it's worth thinking about how you can diversify your image and personality by talking about some different topics. I actually think the diversity essay might be an area to consider talking about something else, as I think it sounds a bit too similar to your PS (at least from your brief summary). Do you have any hobbies or other interests that you might feel strongly about?

 

[bluepeony]

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[deleted972488]

Just wanted to add that your story sounds very compelling overall and I'm sorry if I sounded dismissive. But, if you are talking about topic #1 in the PS, I would try to come up with another topic for the adversity/challenge essays.

 

[LizzyM]

Be mindful of each prompt. Some want to know of your coping skills or how you responded to a problem (adversity). You can't write one essay and expect it to fit all the schools. Look at the school specific threads to make sure you are responsive to each school's specific prompt.