Anything else you would like us to know essay

[ThirdTimesTheCharm]

Hello again,

I had am now working on completing my secondaries as quick as I can but want to make sure there are of a higher quality than previous cycles. I am not sure what to put for the question "Use this space to provide additional information, which is non-COVID related, you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application". Should I use this to address my lower GPA (3.46) and how I feel that I have learned from this and worked to address this while working on other areas of my application? For reference I am a first generation college graduate and came from an area where academics were not prioritized. I consider my academic journey a learning experience, learning about the demands of a higher level school, time management, study habits etc.

Thank you to anyone who can help and I appreciate all of your feedback on my previous post!

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[Dral]

How exactly did you learn from it?

Usually with GPA, people put their money where their mouth is and do coursework that proves they can handle the vigor of med school. 3.46 isn't horrible, so I'm not suggesting you need to go that route, but how exactly are you planning on convincing people that you have what it takes in terms of coursework/grades?

I was a first gen college student and academics weren't really prioritized in my life either, but I ended up with a 3.9 undergrad. You'll need something compelling in your narrative to be convincing.

The intent of my post is not to be adversarial, but to let you know that you'll need something to prove yourself more than what you've said in your post. If you had a nice upward trend in your grades, that would be convincing to me for example. Hopefully you have something concrete to back up your claims.

 

[bincx1602]

I dont think you necessarily have to address your GPA. Maybe use this space to discuss about your upbringing. Like talk about how growing up in a household/community where education was never a priority affects you. How did it lead to certain decisions that you made, etc? Then you can expand to maybe you wanna break out of that cycle and decided to go for a college degree? Then maybe go into how you still have to figure it out gradually as you go through college? At the end you got the degree right? So that's still an accomplishment imo. Focus on the positive hehe!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Blank canvas TMAY. What makes you cool or an inspiration to others according to the entering competencies? How has your life so far shown resilience and adaptability, integrity and self-awareness? Where does becoming a doctor fit in your life story to inspire others and gain their trust in you?

 

[ThirdTimesTheCharm]

How exactly did you learn from it?

Usually with GPA, people put their money where their mouth is and do coursework that proves they can handle the vigor of med school. 3.46 isn't horrible, so I'm not suggesting you need to go that route, but how exactly are you planning on convincing people that you have what it takes in terms of coursework/grades?

I was a first gen college student and academics weren't really prioritized in my life either, but I ended up with a 3.9 undergrad. You'll need something compelling in your narrative to be convincing.

The intent of my post is not to be adversarial, but to let you know that you'll need something to prove yourself more than what you've said in your post. If you had a nice upward trend in your grades, that would be convincing to me for example. Hopefully you have something concrete to back up your claims.

I wrote a rough draft talking about coming from an area where academics weren't a priority and how the adjustment in college was difficult. Then went into how I learned and improved throughout school. I did pretty well on the MCAT and I am now taking some graduate physiology courses online. I do believe there was somewhat of an upward trend, my last semester was my best by far, and was not a cakewalk by any means. Would this be convincing enough?

 

[ThirdTimesTheCharm]

Blank canvas TMAY. What makes you cool or an inspiration to others according to the entering competencies? How has your life so far shown resilience and adaptability, integrity and self-awareness? Where does becoming a doctor fit in your life story to inspire others and gain their trust in you?

I also plan to write one where I talk about how I self-reflected and identified my shortcomings following my last cycle being unsuccessful. I talked about overcoming some challenges and my resiliency in my personal statement so I didn't want to harp on that part too much again. In terms of a 'tell me about yourself" answer could I do something relating to my time in athletics and personal struggles growing up and how that contributes to my diverse experiences? I've also lived in 3 different places for an extended period of time that are quite different and I feel that it contributes to an expanded world view. Rural hometown, Atlanta and now NYC so quite a bit of variation.

I hadn't thought about the where becoming a doctor fits into my life story angle. I would probably say something along the lines of how my family and I have benefitted greatly from medicine and I want to give that gift to others. I also feel that a physician should be a role model and help to usher in the next generation of medical professionals and ensure they're prepared. Medicine is also a very intimate field in the sense that people come to you at their most vulnerable and place their trust in you and I want to be there and help people in this case.

I'm just worried I'll end up rehashing my personal statement a little here, but maybe my approach is wrong.

 

[ThirdTimesTheCharm]

I dont think you necessarily have to address your GPA. Maybe use this space to discuss about your upbringing. Like talk about how growing up in a household/community where education was never a priority affects you. How did it lead to certain decisions that you made, etc? Then you can expand to maybe you wanna break out of that cycle and decided to go for a college degree? Then maybe go into how you still have to figure it out gradually as you go through college? At the end you got the degree right? So that's still an accomplishment imo. Focus on the positive hehe!

Yeah maybe this is a good approach being I didn't have an incredibly high GPA at the end of things.

 

[ThirdTimesTheCharm]

Thank you all!

 

[Dral]

Yes writing about improving up to your last semester is good. Also, assuming you get As in your grad courses, you would talk about that as well.