Application essays

[NaDaniel]

I am a nontraditional applicant that will be beginning the application process in the fall. As an undergrad pre-med student I was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes. My grades took a slight hit after my diagnosis due to working full time and taking classes while trying to get my life back to normal (I graduated with a 3.6). My experience working with dedicated medical professionals strengthened my resolve to work in the medical field. I have taken three years off since graduation to get back on my feet and to ensure that I could be as dedicated to medicine as the physicians that have worked with me to return my life to normal.
My question is how much to include these points on my application essays. I certainly don't want to appear to be exploiting such a personal experience. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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[edawgmd]

I am a nontraditional applicant that will be beginning the application process in the fall. As an undergrad pre-med student I was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes. My grades took a slight hit after my diagnosis due to working full time and taking classes while trying to get my life back to normal (I graduated with a 3.6). My experience working with dedicated medical professionals strengthened my resolve to work in the medical field. I have taken three years off since graduation to get back on my feet and to ensure that I could be as dedicated to medicine as the physicians that have worked with me to return my life to normal.
My question is how much to include these points on my application essays. I certainly don't want to appear to be exploiting such a personal experience. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

If your grades only took a slight hit, I don't think it warrants any explaining. You definitely don't want to explain grades in your PS. Most secondaries will have optional essays on explaining any irregular GPA trends, but I still don't think it's necessary to dive into it. You're right, adcoms hate it when students write cliche essays and throw a pity party for themselves so it'll guilt them into accepting them. It's not going to work.

You can write about anything in your PS as long as it shows your motivation, dedication to medicine and why you are unique. You'll have secondary essays like "tell us about a failure or hardship , how did you handle it, and what did you learn from it?" You can certainly share your experience and struggle with Type-1 Diabetes in those essays as long as you show how it has made you a stronger person today. This is only one aspect though. Be sure to highlight other parts of your application in secondary essays.

 

[Mclovin0351]

Exploit that personal experience all the way into an awesome personal statement, isn't that what we all do? What else would you write about?