Adversity secondary question

[Yuanjing]

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[AllBleedingStops]

(please do not quote this message)

1. Talk about how I dealt with recovering from a serious injury while working 50+ hours per week during a leave (discussed in my ps)

2. Talk about a person I worked with as the president of an organization really meaningful to me, and how her outward attitude towards my leadership stressed me immensely

I think 1 is more personal but 2 is more applicable to medicine.

How is #2 about adversity?

 

[Yuanjing]

How is #2 about adversity?

Thanks for being considerate about my original request in my message I really really appreciate it.

If people have been able to use poor roommates as adversity than I would absolutely say #2 is adversity. Perhaps I only worded it vaguely.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Thanks for being considerate about my original request in my message I really really appreciate it.

If people have been able to use poor roommates as adversity than I would absolutely say #2 is adversity. Perhaps I only worded it vaguely.

Having a crappy roommate is not adversity. Your number two as you describe it is also not adversity.

As far as being quoted, you should expect anything you write on the internet to be there forever.

 

[Goro]

For the adversity question on secondaries, is it ok if I talk about something that I mention in my primary? My adversity that I have in mind also has to do with why I pursued a medical career.

I am thinking of two ideas:

(please do not quote this message)

1. Talk about how I dealt with recovering from a serious injury while working 50+ hours per week during a leave (discussed in my ps)

2. Talk about a person I worked with as the president of an organization really meaningful to me, and how her outward attitude towards my leadership stressed me immensely

I think 1 is more personal but 2 is more applicable to medicine.

#1 is fine.

#2 will get you rejected immediately.

 

[mk04447]

As written, #1 gets you rejected. Forget the "while working 50 hours" BS.

 

[LizzyM]

You were president of an organization and someone you were required to work with was mean to you or didn't respect your position in the organization or undermined your authority to the point where you were stressed. Not adversity; it's life.

Ditto having to work 50 hours per week while recovering from an injury. If an injury were truly serious you'd be in the ICU or in a rehab unit.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

You were president of an organization and someone you were required to work with was mean to you or didn't respect your position in the organization or undermined your authority to the point where you were stressed. Not adversity; it's life.

Ditto having to work 50 hours per week while recovering from an injury. If an injury were truly serious you'd be in the ICU or in a rehab unit.

What should OP, or anyone for that matter, do if they haven't had anything worse than an injury happen to them? I myself have been fortunate enough to live a happy life. The only adversity I've had in my life is depression from being sexually abused as a child, which is definitely not appropriate to talk about on a secondary.

 

[deleted480308]

The real adversity is being forced to pretend we’ve all had some crazy adversity as though it’s a requirement for being a good doc

 

[LizzyM]

What should OP, or anyone for that matter, do if they haven't had anything worse than an injury happen to them? I myself have been fortunate enough to live a happy life. The only adversity I've had in my life is depression from being sexually abused as a child, which is definitely not appropriate to talk about on a secondary.

There are a great many resources on the pre-med forum. I just searched the pre-med forum for the word adversity and I turned up many gems including a post that contained this link:
Tackling Medical School Secondary Application Essays (Examples Included)
spot-on regarding adversity, diversity and more.

The real adversity is being forced to pretend we’ve all had some crazy adversity as though it’s a requirement for being a good doc

I agree but I don't dictate the secondary questions so let's accept this thing we cannot change.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

There are a great many resources on this site. I just searched this site for the word adversity and I turned up many gems including a post that contained this link:
Tackling Medical School Secondary Application Essays (Examples Included)
spot-on regarding adversity, diversity and more.


I agree but I don't dictate the secondary questions so let's accept this thing we cannot change.

Their sample adversity essay is about leaving the door open and letting their dog out.

 

[LizzyM]

Their sample adversity essay is about leaving the door open and letting their dog out.

But it is responsive to the prompt which was something about a problem and how it was solved.

 

[Zharp]

Their sample adversity essay is about leaving the door open and letting their dog out.

Seems more like negligence than adversity. Poor Fitch.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

But it is responsive to the prompt whihc was something about a problem and how it was solved.

I guess. Doesn’t seem like adversity to me. Sounds like a “tell me about a time you solved a problem.” Maybe my definition of adversity is different.

 

[LizzyM]

I guess. Doesn’t seem like adversity to me. Sounds like a “tell me about a time you solved a problem.” Maybe my definition of adversity is different.

The examples of the prompts were:
Example: “Tell us about a difficult or challenging situation you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills you called upon to resolve the dilemma, and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice.” (University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)

Example: “Tell us about a challenging problem you faced and how you resolved it.” (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine)

note that "adversity" is not in the prompt. One of the best I ever read was about dealing with the situation of siblings who lost their passports and money to a pickpocket in Europe and had to survive for 18 hours with nothing. You don't get yourself in a position of being pickpocketed in Western Europe without some privilege but the writer did a great of showing some imaginative coping skills.

 

[Yuanjing]

I'm surprised that the pickpocketing answer was acceptable for that prompt. I was under the impression that I would have to prepare for this answer like I did for job interviews - writing about adversities taking place in formalized workplace settings. Writing about life adversities should be (unfortunately) much easier. Thank you @LizzyM

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The examples of the prompts were:
Example: “Tell us about a difficult or challenging situation you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills you called upon to resolve the dilemma, and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice.” (University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)

Example: “Tell us about a challenging problem you faced and how you resolved it.” (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine)

note that "adversity" is not in the prompt. One of the best I ever read was about dealing with the situation of siblings who lost their passports and money to a pickpocket in Europe and had to survive for 18 hours with nothing. You don't get yourself in a position of being pickpocketed in Western Europe without some privilege but the writer did a great of showing some imaginative coping skills.

That’s why I said I must have a different definition of adversity. Those prompts were listed specifically under the adversity prompt section, but none of that says adversity to me.

 

[Goro]

The real adversity is being forced to pretend we’ve all had some crazy adversity as though it’s a requirement for being a good doc

N obody has a Charmed Life, we all go through difficulties.

 

[Deleted member 737595]

N obody has a Charmed Life, we all go through difficulties.

Its so hard to think of one though, and deeming it significant for the essay. Also, that Uchicago one... wow that seems hard.

 

[Goro]

Its so hard to think of one though, and deeming it significant for the essay. Also, that Uchicago one... wow that seems hard.

The inability to think about the trials one has had in life is a screening moment for Adcoms.

 

[Yuanjing]

What about adversities where you really didn’t follow through a concrete plan to find a solution? I feel like for extreme adversities (death, homelessness, severe injuries, etc) people don’t always follow a predefined plan, they just grind through it and hope for the best.

 

[ApplicationAnxietatem]

Question- Would this be the sort of prompt to address a shortcoming in school such as a terrible uGPA, coming back strong with a stellar SMP/MCAT, or is that best reserved for other prompts?

 

[sss1219]

What about adversities where you really didn’t follow through a concrete plan to find a solution? I feel like for extreme adversities (death, homelessness, severe injuries, etc) people don’t always follow a predefined plan, they just grind through it and hope for the best.

The point of adversity prompts (or any prompt talking about a specific experience) is to show that in spite of the events, you grew in some form. Sometimes people don't have a clear path to doing so, but that is okay because the more important part that one should write about is what was learned in the process even if you had to struggle in order to make progress.

Question- Would this be the sort of prompt to address a shortcoming in school such as a terrible uGPA, coming back strong with a stellar SMP/MCAT, or is that best reserved for other prompts?

I feel like that's a 'show not tell' kind of thing. You don't want to point out your lower grades in any essay you write because it's like pointing out a pimple on your face - the adcom is going to see them regardless. Let your transcripts do the talking, and if they are interested they'll ask you about it during the interview.

Adversity prompts are usually optional, and imo the vast majority of applicants tend to (and should) leave them blank. It's one thing to use the 2 answers OP proposed and possibly even talking aobut redeeming grades in a 'tell us about a challenge you faced' prompt, but to me adversity is reserved for serious life obstacles e.g. refugee/immigration, overcoming poverty, serious health conditions, etc. This is what I've observed in my experience, at least.

 

[LizzyM]

What about adversities where you really didn’t follow through a concrete plan to find a solution? I feel like for extreme adversities (death, homelessness, severe injuries, etc) people don’t necessarily follow a hard plan, they just grind through it and hope for the best.

So many people come here and tell a story of having a bad GPA for a period of time due to a challenging situation. In other words, their coping skills were insufficient to the challenge and they could not maintain their usual performance while stressed. Are there others who had stresses but used support systems and mechanisms to avoid falling apart under the circumstances. Or even if there was a bump in the road and a dip in the GPA, what (aside from the situation resolving itself independent of your efforts-- e.g. Dad had surgery and was cured of his condition) did you do to manage the stress and get over the struggle.

If there was a real external situation that hurt your GPA and you employed coping skills and support systems to deal with the situation, then write about it. I'm trying to remember how I dealt with the stress of being asked to take on more household responsibilities during my first grad school exam week as my grandmother was hospitalized for surgery, my mother was injured in an accident and hospitalized on her way to see Granny, the holidays were coming, and my parents were closing on a house and moving from their home of 30 years. I don't even recall if my grades suffered because of it. I don't recall what I did but it most likely was prioritizing, letting go of tendencies toward perfection, letting people know that I needed help, being willing to delegate to others things I wanted to do but didn't have to do personally, venting to a friend about situation, and postponing things that could be done later. There was, most likely, some bossing around of my younger sibs, too. So, it wasn't so much a plan as, "Okay, what needs to get done, how much time can I give it compared to competing demands on my time, who can help with this task that doesn't require my personal involvement, what do I need to have them do, who will be a sympathetic ear who will be supportive and make me feel better after chatting for 15 minutes, etc. It unfolded not so much as a plan as just the way a mind puts together a crisis management plan.

 

[Yuanjing]

So many people come here and tell a story of having a bad GPA for a period of time due to a challenging situation. In other words, their coping skills were insufficient to the challenge and they could not maintain their usual performance while stressed. Are there others who had stresses but used support systems and mechanisms to avoid falling apart under the circumstances. Or even if there was a bump in the road and a dip in the GPA, what (aside from the situation resolving itself independent of your efforts-- e.g. Dad had surgery and was cured of his condition) did you do to manage the stress and get over the struggle.

If there was a real external situation that hurt your GPA and you employed coping skills and support systems to deal with the situation, then write about it. I'm trying to remember how I dealt with the stress of being asked to take on more household responsibilities during my first grad school exam week as my grandmother was hospitalized for surgery, my mother was injured in an accident on her way to see Granny, the holidays were coming, and my parents were closing on a house and moving from their home of 30 years. I don't even recall if my grades suffered because of it. I don't recall what I did but it most likely was prioritizing, letting go of tendencies toward perfection, letting people know that I needed help, being willing to delegate to others things I wanted to do but didn't have to do personally, venting to a friend about situation, and postponing things that could be done later. There was, most likely, some bossing around of my younger sibs, too.

Thank you for the thoughtful response. In retrospect, many of the things you say you did were things I probably have done in overcoming two incidents I have in mind. I guess those are things we don’t realize were so important for our growth until we think about it.

Regarding my other question in the OP: one of these incidents I have already talked about in my PS, although I only tied the incident to my interest in medicine. Would it be fine to reuse this incident for the adversity essay if I focus on my personal growth from it?

 

[Goro]

Question- Would this be the sort of prompt to address a shortcoming in school such as a terrible uGPA, coming back strong with a stellar SMP/MCAT, or is that best reserved for other prompts?

People who think that having bad grades is an adversity also make for easy screening.

EDIT: This shows that one is incapable of introspection, which is a crucial skill for a doctor.

 

[ApplicationAnxietatem]

People who think that having bad grades is an adversity also make for easy screening.

That's what I figured, the examples someone else were posting didn't seem like an adversity so wasn't sure if the definition was more loose here. I'll go with my original adversity prompt then. Thanks!

 

[LizzyM]

You don't need to tie your challenge (let's not call it "adversity") to medicine. Developing skills to deal with stressful circumstances or events will be useful in life. We want to know that you can handle stress in whatever form it takes and at whatever point in your journey it appears.

 

[ApplicationAnxietatem]

You don't need to tie your challenge (let's not call it "adversity") to medicine. Developing skills to deal with stressful circumstances or events will be useful in life. We want to know that you can handle stress in whatever form it takes and at whatever point in your journey it appears.

A contributor above mentioned that adversity prompts are typically optional and many applicants do not submit one, is this true and how is this looked at by adcoms? It seems by the way you've worded it, essentially an evaluation of one's coping / stress management skills, that it's probably a crucial measurement of how one will handle the rigors of medical school and being a physician and thus a crucial piece to the applicant puzzle.

Thanks!

 

[LizzyM]

I don't know how many schools have an essay that asks about challenges or stress or coping skills. I would highly doubt that those school's that ask those questions make them optional. OTOH, there are essays that might ask about disadvantage/diversity/hardship sort of thing and those might be optional. Two different questions, IMHO.

 

[DrRiker]

The examples of the prompts were:
Example: “Tell us about a difficult or challenging situation you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills you called upon to resolve the dilemma, and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice.” (University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)

Example: “Tell us about a challenging problem you faced and how you resolved it.” (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine)

note that "adversity" is not in the prompt. One of the best I ever read was about dealing with the situation of siblings who lost their passports and money to a pickpocket in Europe and had to survive for 18 hours with nothing. You don't get yourself in a position of being pickpocketed in Western Europe without some privilege but the writer did a great of showing some imaginative coping skills.

Would persevering through multiple failed application cycles, learning more about the career and becoming engaged in the community along the way, be well received? Or, perhaps moving cross country alone for a job and steps taken to acclimate to a new community?

 

[LizzyM]

Would persevering through multiple failed application cycles, learning more about the career and becoming engaged in the community along the way, be well received? Or, perhaps moving cross country alone for a job and steps taken to acclimate to a new community?

I can't recall ever seeing either of those themes so I don't know how they'd be received but keep in mind that the point is the skills you mobilized to do well in the circumstances, not necesarily the circumstances themselves.