Bringing politics into secondary?

[Myrtle1990]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello all!

So JHU has a secondary essay about a time when you were "not in the majority" and what you learned from the experience.

I have very strong (conservative) political views, but I've thus far avoided discussing them as a part of my application for obvious reasons. Because there are myriad experiences I could describe where my political views put me in the minority (e.g. all of college), this seems like an opportune place to bring it up. I think I could write a genuinely good essay about times when I had to defend my views, times when I didn't conform with the majority, etc.

Do you think I could get burned for bringing this up? I would stay away from discussing particular issues to the extent possible, but I'm worried there are certain adcom members who would dismiss me out of hand because I'm a Republican. Is that fear justified?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[hopefulMD12]

Hello all!

So JHU has a secondary essay about a time when you were "not in the majority" and what you learned from the experience.

I have very strong (conservative) political views, but I've thus far avoided discussing them as a part of my application for obvious reasons. Because there are myriad experiences I could describe where my political views put me in the minority (e.g. all of college), this seems like an opportune place to bring it up. I think I could write a genuinely good essay about times when I had to defend my views, times when I didn't conform with the majority, etc.

Do you think I could get burned for bringing this up? I would stay away from discussing particular issues to the extent possible, but I'm worried there are certain adcom members who would dismiss me out of hand because I'm a Republican. Is that fear justified?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

For that same essay, I wrote about my views as well. Growing up in a very traditional and conservative society, I wrote about how I rebelled with my liberal points of view when it came to gender issues and other social issues. I'm just being myself tbh. If the adcoms like it, then I'm happy... if not, there's nothing I can really do. If you are really worried, find something else to write about. If you are fine with letting people know who you really are, then I say go ahead and share that opinion.

 

[Radon XP]

What about if somebody is a communist?

srs question

 

[Dave89]

Don't. It can only hurt you, and that's not what they're looking for anyway.

 

[hopefulMD12]

What about if somebody is a communist?

srs question

Communism> fascism, but I wouldn't really mention either.

 

[jitterbug778]

Hello all!

So JHU has a secondary essay about a time when you were "not in the majority" and what you learned from the experience.

I have very strong (conservative) political views, but I've thus far avoided discussing them as a part of my application for obvious reasons. Because there are myriad experiences I could describe where my political views put me in the minority (e.g. all of college), this seems like an opportune place to bring it up. I think I could write a genuinely good essay about times when I had to defend my views, times when I didn't conform with the majority, etc.

Do you think I could get burned for bringing this up? I would stay away from discussing particular issues to the extent possible, but I'm worried there are certain adcom members who would dismiss me out of hand because I'm a Republican. Is that fear justified?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Wow. That's a rough topic to cover. It sounds like they want you to talk about politics...it's the first thing I thought of when I was reading your post. I admit this is my first time applying, so I don't have much insight, but if I were you I would just make sure I include how you respect others' opinions. That way it shows you strongly support your beliefs, but you know how important it is to try to understand and accept others' beliefs. Good luck. I don't envy you on that essay topic. lol 🙂

 

[Myrtle1990]

Don't. It can only hurt you, and that's not what they're looking for anyway.

Thanks Dave and all. Still kind of conflicted I guess. I'm going to rack my brain to think of something different... maybe I'll just pretend I'm a progressive and write essentially the same essay.

Dave, why do you say that's not what they're looking for? It's a pretty clear situation of being in the minority. Do you think they mean ethnically/culturally? Diversity of thought is just as important, I would imagine.

 

[911 Turbo]

It depends how conservative.... creationism/intelligent design level conservative? Probably not a good idea.

 

[Myrtle1990]

It depends how conservative.... creationism/intelligent design level conservative? Probably not a good idea.

See, this is exactly what I mean. You say you're a conservative and people assume you think evolution is a conspiracy.

I'm not really socially conservative, I guess I'm more of a libertarian. But, anecdotally, it seems like some adcom members and some adcoms more broadly are passionate about single-payer healthcare, social justice etc. and I'm afraid of turning them off as more of a free-marketeer.

 

[Radon XP]

See, this is exactly what I mean. You say you're a conservative and people assume you think evolution is a conspiracy.

I'm not really socially conservative, I guess I'm more of a libertarian. But, anecdotally, it seems like some adcom members and some adcoms more broadly are passionate about single-payer healthcare, social justice etc. and I'm afraid of turning them off as more of a free-marketeer.

Man, I remember when I used to be a libertarian, and thought markets actually worked. lol

 

[Radon XP]

How about writing about religion in your secondary? Would adcoms frown on that?


I'm a Deist, former atheist, former theist, who has struggled with faith for many years. Would that be something worth discussing?

 

[Toss]

See, this is exactly what I mean. You say you're a conservative and people assume you think evolution is a conspiracy.

I'm not really socially conservative, I guess I'm more of a libertarian. But, anecdotally, it seems like some adcom members and some adcoms more broadly are passionate about single-payer healthcare, social justice etc. and I'm afraid of turning them off as more of a free-marketeer.

Remember Colbert's website about the GOP rape debacle?

http://www.dayswithoutagoprapemention.com/

 

[Dave89]

Thanks Dave and all. Still kind of conflicted I guess. I'm going to rack my brain to think of something different... maybe I'll just pretend I'm a progressive and write essentially the same essay.

Dave, why do you say that's not what they're looking for? It's a pretty clear situation of being in the minority. Do you think they mean ethnically/culturally? Diversity of thought is just as important, I would imagine.

If you really have nothing else to go with, then do it. You certainly do not want to lie and claim you're a progressive if you're really a conservative. I know that I myself could never pull off that kind of stunt with an honest and convincing effort.

Diversity of thought is not as valuable to the diversity worshipers as diversity of race, for reasons I won't get into right now. I'm conservative as well, and on one of my interviews the doc asked what I thought about Obamacare. I tried hedging the line b/w "clearly there's a problem with rising costs of healthcare and insurance, but we really ought to solve the issue in as constitutional a manner as possible." After I answered, he started going on about "right-wingers" and such; there was a sudden tension, and it was pretty awkward for me. Bottom line, there are a lot of liberals in medicine and they're not nearly as open-minded as one might think.

Again, now that I think about it, if you have NOTHING else, go with politics. But if you do so, make sure you "balance" your essay so they can't reject you out of hand. It could potentially go well, but the balance is crucial in case yours gets read by a die-hard bleeding heart.

 

[Myrtle1990]

Your derision and the derision of others is noted and not appreciated. And, for the record, I don't care whether markets work if the alternative is greater centralization.

I suppose this is all I needed to see to realize it's not a good topic.

 

[Dave89]

Your derision and the derision of others is noted and not appreciated. And, for the record, I don't care whether markets work if the alternative is greater centralization.

I suppose this is all I needed to see to realize it's not a good topic.

There are actually a great deal of doctors who are religious, support free markets as much as they feel is possible, or both. E.g the ophthalmologist I'm shadowing. It's just that the others tend to drown them out.

 

[medception]

Edit.

 

[Myrtle1990]

If you really have nothing else to go with, then do it. You certainly do not want to lie and claim you're a progressive if you're really a conservative. I know that I myself could never pull off that kind of stunt with an honest and convincing effort.

Diversity of thought is not as valuable to the diversity worshipers as diversity of race, for reasons I won't get into right now. I'm conservative as well, and on one of my interviews the doc asked what I thought about Obamacare. I tried hedging the line b/w "clearly there's a problem with rising costs of healthcare and insurance, but we really ought to solve the issue in as constitutional a manner as possible." After I answered, he started going on about "right-wingers" and such; there was a sudden tension, and it was pretty awkward for me. Bottom line, there are a lot of liberals in medicine and they're not nearly as open-minded as one might think.

Again, now that I think about it, if you have NOTHING else, go with politics. But if you do so, make sure you "balance" your essay so they can't reject you out of hand. It could potentially go well, but the balance is crucial in case yours gets read by a die-hard bleeding heart.

Thanks Dave, this is terrific. And to be honest it matches the dialogue I've been having in my head that tells me this topic is a poor idea unless it's a last resort. I fear, as you allude, that superficial diversity is more important to adcoms than diversity of thought; that kind of diversity is viewed as subversive within the ivory tower. Unfortunately, based on my experience with the "open-minded" left, I fear that expressing a conservative ideology runs the risk of damaging my candidacy much more than if I were coming from the opposite pole. But it is what it is.

 

[juliebethmarie]

I think the only appropriate way to bring up political views is in response to healthcare related topics. For example, I discussed my work in a poor hospital and how it reaffirmed my approval of government-supported healthcare and the ACA because without either, most of the patients would not be able to afford or access the long term care they needed.

You could, for example, indicate that you are pro-life, because as an MD you believe all life is sacred. Now, remember, if you do bring up your viewpoints, you have to defend them. You have to be able to look your interviewer in the eye and honestly support your beliefs. If you don't want to have to tell someone that you don't think there should be an exemption for rape, the mother's life, etc. then don't write about it. They might push you on those views, and they might become a detriment. A lot of interviewers will NOT like some of the viewpoints offered by either side of the aisle, but if you write about them you need to support them in a way that shows you will make a good, compassionate physician. Just saying that you don't like the current administration or that you want guns isn't worthy of your application: it does not endear you to every reader and has nothing to do with your desire to become a physician.

Do you use your viewpoints as a Conservative to gain "diversity"? No. Not only is a significant portion of our country on your side, the Republican base is not known for embracing all people, especially those who are LGBTQ, non-caucasian, non-Christian, non-affluent. I am a bleeding-heart liberal at a very, very conservative college. I don't think it makes me diverse, although I do defend my viewpoints when asked (and I've had a few rough-n-tumbles with students in Philosophy and Ethics). In my opinion, none of my ideological leanings (with the exception above) make me stand out as a "diverse" person, make me unique in any way, or are worth using a response up defending. I believe this stands true for most people.

TLDR: Having political leanings is okay, using precious application space talking about them is not the best, unless it highlights your compassion and desire to become a physician.

 

[juliebethmarie]

How about writing about religion in your secondary? Would adcoms frown on that?


I'm a Deist, former atheist, former theist, who has struggled with faith for many years. Would that be something worth discussing?

I don't think this would be horrible to write about. Just tie it in to what you've learned from each "stage" of your religious path (adcoms eat that **** up), and how you've grown in ways you might not have without conversions. And always, ALWAYS, bring it back to how it will help you be a great physician or how it shows how compassionate you are.