Challenge/Adversity secondary ideas - any feedback appreciated!

[itsgonnabemed]

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Hi all! I'm having trouble with deciding what to write about for my challenge/adversity essays. I know these are two fundamentally different categories of essays but wanted to see if the ideas I'm spitballing would work at all. I feel super generic which is really discouraging, so I'd be grateful for any feedback!

1. Difficult relationships with Asian tiger parents when I was growing up that led to huge fights when I was applying to college. Very rough year in my life but I took a step back and realized this was stemming from fear on their end as much as it was mine, wanting the best for their first child having the opportunity to be educated in America. Took steps to build better relationships with parents and although things aren't perfect they're much better now.
   1. Con - Maybe this is too generic?
2. President of huge student organization that plans a massive concert every year. Headliner of the concert pulled out 30 minutes before she was supposed to go on. Lots of backlash from student body, complaints written all over social media, etc. Although some parts of this were out of our control, led the board in reflecting/doing damage control/surveying the student body on what we could do better and tried to make our other end of year events as immersive as possible for the students.
   1. Con - Not much was done to fully fix the situation outside from just trying our best to better serve the students, also was near the end of my term/experience with the organization so I wasn't part of any large-scale changes
3. Was bullied for severe strabismus as a child, needed to get surgery for it. Symptoms were greatly resolved but I still struggle with depth perception at night sometimes which led to a fear of driving especially at night. Worked on overcoming this by practicing driving at night more especially since I knew I would have to drive at night for night shifts as a scribe.
   1. Con - might bring into question my meeting the technical standards?
4. Very intense OCD as a child paired with cultural minimization of mental health struggles led to my feeling very isolated growing up. Sought out online resources until I got to college when I was able to get into therapy and get medicated.
   1. Con - mental health
5. Shyness and scribing in the hectic environment of the ED - had to get over this for scribing in the ED since it's a hectic environment and you need to be able to ask providers for EKG reads, nurses for directions, etc.
   1. Con - generic

 

[polymerization]

For a challenge essay, I think #2 is probably the best from this list. Typically people answer this question with a purely academic challenge. It's always either:

"I failed an assignment/test/class and I was so devastated but of course I sought help appropriately through office hours and tutoring and lo and behold, I got an A in the class in the end. Now I am going to know how to leverage resources and ask for help at medical school."

or

"I was a research assistant and I made a cheap/expensive mistake in the lab. I was so devastated but of course I worked more closely with my mentor/PI and I dove into laboratory techniques and practice and lo and behold, now I published in Nature/completed a senior thesis. Now I am going to know how to engage collaboratively and enthusiastically as I face new challenges at medical school."

I think this framework is a stereotype because the acceptable window for vulnerability is actually very narrow. My opinion is that your other ideas are too personal. I don't think anyone will be overtly biased, I just don't see these topics adding anything to your profile. If anything, they significantly expand the scope of any potential conversation that could be had about you. Instead of thinking about your positive qualities, they are focused on your family relationships, mental state, and self-esteem. Those are not conversations you would want to have with an interviewer.

The admissions office is very happy to receive any information you volunteer, but that doesn't mean the process embraces all of that information equally. Think about all of this like it's a job application, because it is. You would not lead with OCD and a discussion about your shyness when you are applying to a very public-facing role.

They want a challenge, but it's a wink-wink challenge.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

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[MedSchoolPilot]

I think the essays that work best usually have some clear tension, reflection, and then a concrete change. From your list, I would probably lean toward the concert leadership situation. It gives you enough room to show growth without getting too tricky in terms of how you frame it.

The OCD and bullying ones are a bit more delicate since they can drift into mental health or technical standards concerns even if that’s not your main focus. The shyness/scribing one also feels pretty common unless there’s a very specific moment that really changed how you approach things.

 

[mistafab]

Recommend #2. It offers lots of opportunity for reflection, change, growth, etc. Low risk topic and good opportunity to talk about failure that doesn't actually cost you anything. #5 is just too generic; it loses to number #2 because there are aspects of #2 where you took responsibility for failure even though it had nothing to do with you - which shows maturity and potential for growth/reflection. #5 might backfire if it seems you aren't good at handling stress.

#3/#4 Mental health and disability is usually water I wouldn't venture into. #1 The tiger parents risks perceived immaturity - essentially telling them your parents sucked; can come off like a whiney/entitled brat.