bad MCAT as an obstacle

[qwer123456]

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One of the secondaries I'm working on asks about obstacles I've overcome. I was wondering if it would be a bad idea to talk about the MCAT. The first time I took the MCAT I got a 23. I was shocked and discouraged but evaluated my study habits and weaknesses, then took it again and got a 34.

I don't really want to draw attention to a 23, but I can't think of too many other obstacles I've overcome to write about, and I definitely almost gave up because of the 23 but ultimately learned a lot. So would talking about this be a bad idea for a secondary?

 

[NickNaylor]

One of the secondaries I'm working on asks about obstacles I've overcome. I was wondering if it would be a bad idea to talk about the MCAT. The first time I took the MCAT I got a 23. I was shocked and discouraged but evaluated my study habits and weaknesses, then took it again and got a 34.

I don't really want to draw attention to a 23, but I can't think of too many other obstacles I've overcome to write about, and I definitely almost gave up because of the 23 but ultimately learned a lot. So would talking about this be a bad idea for a secondary?

Yes.

 

[ponyo]

One of the secondaries I'm working on asks about obstacles I've overcome. I was wondering if it would be a bad idea to talk about the MCAT. The first time I took the MCAT I got a 23. I was shocked and discouraged but evaluated my study habits and weaknesses, then took it again and got a 34.

I don't really want to draw attention to a 23, but I can't think of too many other obstacles I've overcome to write about, and I definitely almost gave up because of the 23 but ultimately learned a lot. So would talking about this be a bad idea for a secondary?

You cannot imagine how jealous I am that the biggest obstacle you've encountered in your life was a bad MCAT score...

And my personal opinion is that this might make you seem a little whiny and inexperienced in life. Someone might take it the wrong way and think you are immature and haven't handled anything really difficult (which might be entirely false but it does kind of give that impression).

 

[MediCynical]

Yes.

this. as you said, OP, you don't want draw attention to a negative aspect of your application.

 

[qwer123456]

Thanks guys. Point taken. I definitely didn't mean to say that was one of my only obstacles. I guess it's just that it was the only thing that almost deterred me from my goal of being a doctor. I'll choose something else!

 

[kpcrew]

don't worry about it dude, it's a tough question

i forgot who said this but the advice went something like this: adcoms don't want to hear you complain about your sob stories, the point of the essay is to see your thought process and how you dealt with the obstacle so that they can get a better picture of you.

i hope that helps.

 

[MT Headed]

If this is the UWashington secondary, note that it asks about obstacles but not necessarily obstacles on the path to becoming a doctor.

I've lead an utterly charmed life with no obstacles on my path to being a physician (sorry, ponyo), so I wrote about my self-imposed mountaineering obstacles, the different ways I resolved them, and how those same strategies will apply when I am a practicing physician.

I suspect the adcoms want to see an obstacle, what you did to overcome it, and how that type of action will apply in the future. If you managed to turn a 23 into a 34 with a carefully thought out strategy, learned yourself a lesson, and think you can apply that type of strategy in the future, what's not to like about it?

I vote 👍

 

[ponyo]

If this is the UWashington secondary, note that it asks about obstacles but not necessarily obstacles on the path to becoming a doctor.

I've lead an utterly charmed life with no obstacles on my path to being a physician (sorry, ponyo), so I wrote about my self-imposed mountaineering obstacles, the different ways I resolved them, and how those same strategies will apply when I am a practicing physician.

I suspect the adcoms want to see an obstacle, what you did to overcome it, and how that type of action will apply in the future. If you managed to turn a 23 into a 34 with a carefully thought out strategy, learned yourself a lesson, and think you can apply that type of strategy in the future, what's not to like about it?

I vote 👍

I absolutely didn't mean that having an obstacle-free life is bad! It's great actually and it probably means you don't have a world of personal problems that will constantly distract you during your medical career.

But you have to admit that mountaineering obstacles are orders of magnitude more interesting than MCAT as an obstacle, and the fact that you went out of your way to create them like said more about you than the obstacle itself.

 

[fneverforget]

Feel free to PM me on how you managed such an impressive score improvement. 🙂 Seriously PM me.

 

[ppfizenm]

It's not horrible but think about all the people who have been through this. There are literally thousands each year. I would pick something more unique to you. You are trying to stand out from the crowd and give the adcom an idea of who you are.

 

[HH Holmes]

Phrase it like this:

"I used to totally suck. But now I don't suck. Have you seen my MCAT score report yet? It's a 34. Yeah, I rock. I'll be waiting for the acceptance letter from your insitution to add to all my other acceptance letters."

'Look at your MCAT score, now back at mine, now back to your MCAT score, now back at mine. Sadly, your score isn't mine, but if you were as amazing as me, you could have the same score. What's in your hand? Now back at me. It's an acceptance letter at the school of your dreams.'

Also good wording ^ Include Isaiah Mustafa as your photo.

 

[chronicidal]

Getting a 23 is a big obstacle IMO. It's understandable that there might not be bigger hardships in your life. The impression you makes depends on how you write about it.

 

[NickNaylor]

Getting a 23 is a big obstacle IMO. It's understandable that there might not be bigger hardships in your life. The impression you makes depends on how you write about it.

This question is an opportunity to share something unique and meaningful and the best the OP can come up with is... the MCAT? Even if the OP explains the situation well, I (as an application reviewer) would be wondering what you've been doing in life if the MCAT is the first and/or most significant obstacle you've experience in your life.

 

[qwer123456]

So do I even need to address the bad MCAT score at all? I have yet to address it in any part of my primary or secondaries, and I'm not sure if I should, or if it's fine to leave out since my most recent one was better. And what about a prompt asking about a personal OR academic challenge (the Stritch secondary)?

 

[paul411]

Great job on the score improvement 👍

Find something else to write about because the scores speak for themselves. I guess it's okay for the "academic challenge" prompt if you don't find a worthy enough "personal challenge".

 

[Morsetlis]

Let the scores speak for themselves.

 

[rockafella12]

This question is an opportunity to share something unique and meaningful and the best the OP can come up with is... the MCAT? Even if the OP explains the situation well, I (as an application reviewer) would be wondering what you've been doing in life if the MCAT is the first and/or most significant obstacle you've experience in your life.

definitely true...

 

[ponyo]

'Look at your MCAT score, now back at mine, now back to your MCAT score, now back at mine. Sadly, your score isn't mine, but if you were as amazing as me, you could have the same score. What's in your hand? Now back at me. It's an acceptance letter at the school of your dreams.'

Also good wording ^ Include Isaiah Mustafa as your photo.

👍