Answering Optional Questions: There are two optional secondary questions that are common to most applications, one that you can always answer and one that you should only answer if it is appropriate. Let us explain the second.
Have you experienced any hardships?
If you have experienced hardships regarding your health, family, finances, or any significant interruptions to your education, share them here. If you have not experienced such hardships, don't exaggerate a small hurdle or massage any facts to answer this question. A hardship prompt is different from an adversity prompt. We've all faced adversity in our own way. But an optional secondary question about hardships is exactly that—optional. We once had a client write in a draft that she lived in a medically underserved area. Her home state was in the top 10 medically underserved states, but this description applied to rural parts of the state and areas of her city deeply affected by poverty—not where she lived.
She had a primary care physician in her immediate neighborhood and was less than an hour away by reliable public transportation from a specialist she saw. Including this obvious exaggeration of affiliation in her submitted application might have led to an interview confrontation or a reader throwing her app in the trash. We told her to lose that answer from her application and cautioned her against embellished responses to prompts and interview questions.
Need more help with your secondary application? Check out our webinars (we have one devoted to brainstorming and writing!) or contact us for a consultation.
Have you experienced any hardships?
If you have experienced hardships regarding your health, family, finances, or any significant interruptions to your education, share them here. If you have not experienced such hardships, don't exaggerate a small hurdle or massage any facts to answer this question. A hardship prompt is different from an adversity prompt. We've all faced adversity in our own way. But an optional secondary question about hardships is exactly that—optional. We once had a client write in a draft that she lived in a medically underserved area. Her home state was in the top 10 medically underserved states, but this description applied to rural parts of the state and areas of her city deeply affected by poverty—not where she lived.
She had a primary care physician in her immediate neighborhood and was less than an hour away by reliable public transportation from a specialist she saw. Including this obvious exaggeration of affiliation in her submitted application might have led to an interview confrontation or a reader throwing her app in the trash. We told her to lose that answer from her application and cautioned her against embellished responses to prompts and interview questions.
Need more help with your secondary application? Check out our webinars (we have one devoted to brainstorming and writing!) or contact us for a consultation.
