Best choice for a significant obstacle?

[RIckkkkkkyyyy]

So I am currently doing my secondaries and was wondering if anyone could provide guidance to which one of these choices they think would be the best choice for a "significant obstacle". Also with these questions do you think they are looking for more of a concrete event? Or can one of these work.

1. One of my close family members suffers from mental illnesses, and living with them has been a lifelong learning experience. But I feel weird throwing that person under the bus, and talking about my family members health.

2. Lot of family with drug abuse problems, which taught me a lot. But I don't know if it is anything that will make me a better doctor. Just more like don't trust addicts, they'll take advantage of you.

3. Being a first generation college student. I feel like this was my most legitimate obstacle, just because I have had to navigate almost the entire pre-med process myself. But at the same time I'm worried this will seem cliche.

4. Another significant obstacle, and something I have done and feel is well written was my first loss in boxing. But do you think adcom's would look down on a fighting sport?

Sorry about the bombardment of questions, and thanks in advance for any opinions or advice.

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[kraskadva]

So I am currently doing my secondaries and was wondering if anyone could provide guidance to which one of these choices they think would be the best choice for a "significant obstacle". Also with these questions do you think they are looking for more of a concrete event? Or can one of these work.

1. One of my close family members suffers from mental illnesses, and living with them has been a lifelong learning experience. But I feel weird throwing that person under the bus, and talking about my family members health.

2. Lot of family with drug abuse problems, which taught me a lot. But I don't know if it is anything that will make me a better doctor. Just more like don't trust addicts, they'll take advantage of you.

3. Being a first generation college student. I feel like this was my most legitimate obstacle, just because I have had to navigate almost the entire pre-med process myself. But at the same time I'm worried this will seem cliche.

4. Another significant obstacle, and something I have done and feel is well written was my first loss in boxing. But do you think adcom's would look down on a fighting sport?

Sorry about the bombardment of questions, and thanks in advance for any opinions or advice.

I'd say combine the first two and use that as background for focusing on #3. Everybody loves a good bootstrap/underdog story.
You don't need to go into any details about your family, just a brief mention can paint enough of a picture (i.e. "Coming from a family where several members had drug addiction issues or mental illness, I faced the many challenges of a first generation college student without family support. ...") And then go into what you have done to overcome those challenges.
The point of these essays is NOT to have all the applicants compete to see who's had to deal with the worst crap. It's to let you highlight the resilience and successful strategies you've gained in overcoming whatever it is you've dealt with.

 

[Goro]

So I am currently doing my secondaries and was wondering if anyone could provide guidance to which one of these choices they think would be the best choice for a "significant obstacle". Also with these questions do you think they are looking for more of a concrete event? Or can one of these work.

1. One of my close family members suffers from mental illnesses, and living with them has been a lifelong learning experience. But I feel weird throwing that person under the bus, and talking about my family members health.

2. Lot of family with drug abuse problems, which taught me a lot. But I don't know if it is anything that will make me a better doctor. Just more like don't trust addicts, they'll take advantage of you.

3. Being a first generation college student. I feel like this was my most legitimate obstacle, just because I have had to navigate almost the entire pre-med process myself. But at the same time I'm worried this will seem cliche.

4. Another significant obstacle, and something I have done and feel is well written was my first loss in boxing. But do you think adcom's would look down on a fighting sport?

Sorry about the bombardment of questions, and thanks in advance for any opinions or advice.

1,2,3 >>>>4

 

[mydogmolly]

Honestly, and no offense, #4 sounds like a hacky undergrad PS. 99.9% of people who play a sport lose some kind of competition and rebounds from it. I'm not sure it makes for an interesting story.

 

[RIckkkkkkyyyy]

Great, thanks for all of the advice. I'm definitely going to go that route and try and wrap 1,2 and 3 together somehow. Appreciate it.