challenge essays: personal problem, adversity, etc

[Dulcina]

There are a million of these prompts, asking for a difficult personal situation, and how you coped, etc. Some ask that they not be academic.

Once again, I feel like the only topics that really address the question are inappropriate. Are either of these topics ok?

1--trouble sleeping/depression, went to a psychiatrist. Pretty sure I wont mention the reason (relationship issue)

2-- family sort of fell apart slowly over the years. dad not all that interested in having a family (said if he could redo it, he woudlnt have had a kid), and remarried. mom fell into depression bc dad left, relied heavily on me, but still got angry at times, told me she wish i didnt exist, etc.

either of these ok? Its fairly difficult for me to write about the second one, because i didnt have any specific coping mechanisms... i just... dealt with it. I've also heard to avoid family AND relationship issues, which pretty much leaves me with nothing

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[p30doc]

I def. would not use number 1. It is probably not a good idea to mention personal problems that the adcoms could hold against you. They could bring in to question your stability and fitness to practice medicine. I feel like #2 is the better way to go because the adversity is 100% caused by external forces. With questions like these you obviously want minimize discussing any weakness in yourself and maximize the positive spin of how you overcame and grew from the situation.

 

[Lacheln]

I def. would not use number 1. It is probably not a good idea to mention personal problems that the adcoms could hold against you. They could bring in to question your stability and fitness to practice medicine. I feel like #2 is the better way to go because the adversity is 100% caused by external forces. With questions like these you obviously want minimize discussing any weakness in yourself and maximize the positive spin of how you overcame and grew from the situation.

Yup. Avoid any indication that you are not emotionally stable - a major thing adcoms look for is someone who can handle a high level of stress, so the 2nd idea is a good one if you can show how you dealt with it successfully and what you learned from it.

 

[beachblonde]

I would run screaming away from #1 as fast as possible. we all have issues and there's nothing wrong with seeking help, but I wouldn't wave the fact around on a flag for adcoms to see.

number #2 sounds like it has the makings of a decent essay.

frankly, I feel like these essays are just to make sure you can at least pretend to be rational. like, when somebody creates drama, you don't loose your head and become a quivering pile of emotions.

 

[diosa428]

Keep in mind that whatever you write is game for the interview. So not only will you be writing about your personal life, you're opening yourself up to be asked about it. If it's still a sensitive subject or something you haven't totally dealt with or is not totally in the past, it might be a tough for you to talk about.

I know how you feel writing these essays; it's hard when you haven't really faced any adversity. I remember writing about some situation with a friend and thinking that I my essay must seem really dumb compared to people who have spent their lives working to get what was handed to me. But ultimately, the adcoms aren't looking at whether or not your situation is "tough enough", they just want to see how you handled it. So, while I agree with other posters that situation 1 might be better left off your applications, situation 2 might not be best if you can't come up with a discussion about how you coped. Perhaps you can come up with something different, even if it's just a not-so-significant story about an argument with a friend or a situation where you did what was right when it was the harder choice. I know they often say that you can't discuss cheating, but something else that follows those lines (ie, someone was doing something that was wrong and it was hard for me but somehow I stopped it) - those work pretty well. Arguments with parents/friends that you somehow worked out, etc.

 

[ButImLETired]

You know, I agree with Dulcina on this. I think when you've actually gone through a REAL problem (topic number 2 in your essay, say) you can't really pinpoint what you did to cope. You just do, cause you have no choice.

I wrote about the death of a parent and moving to a country where I didn't speak the language, having to learn to grow up and take care of my family...etc. It's not as "pretty" as a story about an annoying/sick roommate whose life I fixed would have been, but it does have the potential to be a very real, poignant essay. Your life is what it is, and you deal. I feel like as an AdCom, I wouldnt mind reading even that: I think as doctors we'll sometimes have to deal with a situation that we can't control or fix, and that "well, I'll just wake up tomorrow and go on with my life" attitude might actually be appealing.

I wrote about how I had no idea what I did to cope, I just did because there was no room for me to be demanding or obnoxious, and I simply had to learn to be an adult, and suck it up. Honestly, for the most part, when it comes to true emotional issues, sucking it up is the best you can hope for.

 

[Begaster]

Two is infinitely better for adversity. You never want to say you saw a psychiatrist. There's still a serious stigma in the professional world against admitting you had a psychological problem that you needed help with.

 

[chad5871]

If the essays did not specify non-academic situations only, I wrote about issues I struggled with as a genetics preceptor, specifically dealing with my friends that were in the class I assisted with. For those "only non-academic situations" essays I wrote about moving to Texas when I was 15 and how not a single person talked to me at school (of over 5,000 students). I then mentioned that I learned to stand up for myself and be independent, and how I've used that experience throughout college and how it will help me in med school and as a physician.

 

[sunnysnow7]

I wrote about being married to my bf of 2 months, moving to Southern Cali with him (I'm from Northern Cali), him deploying right after, living alone, divorcing when he got back, dealing with his pregnant gf during the divorce while he was overseas again.

So it sounds like talking about relationships is looked down upon, but I think I coped well with it by becoming a stronger person and more independent. And I really grew from it. I am definitely less naive.

 

[beachblonde]

I wrote about being married to my bf of 2 months, moving to Southern Cali with him (I'm from Northern Cali), him deploying right after, living alone, divorcing when he got back, dealing with his pregnant gf during the divorce while he was overseas again.

So it sounds like talking about relationships is looked down upon, but I think I coped well with it by becoming a stronger person and more independent. And I really grew from it. I am definitely less naive.

Dang, girl, talk about quite the situation to deal with.

I know that people say to stay away from talking about relationships, but everybody is affected by relationships! Isn't it silly to avoid mentioning that stuff when you'd be hard pressed to find a person who has never dealt with problems stemming from other people they were close to. I figure as long as you have some perspective on the incident and handled it as maturely as possible, you're fine.

 

[elterible]

i would go with number 2 for sure.

i know we are supposed to stay away from mentioning high school, but can we talk about a difficult experience that happened in high school if it is really unique and interesting?

 

[Dulcina]

i would go with number 2 for sure.

i know we are supposed to stay away from mentioning high school, but can we talk about a difficult experience that happened in high school if it is really unique and interesting?

I dont think we're supposed to stay away from mentioning highschool for these essays. Just for activities/ECs.

 

[diosa428]

I wrote about being married to my bf of 2 months, moving to Southern Cali with him (I'm from Northern Cali), him deploying right after, living alone, divorcing when he got back, dealing with his pregnant gf during the divorce while he was overseas again.

So it sounds like talking about relationships is looked down upon, but I think I coped well with it by becoming a stronger person and more independent. And I really grew from it. I am definitely less naive.

I think it's generally advised to stay away from relationship issues b/c writing about how "my boyfriend broke up with me and I cried a lot but now I'm a stronger person" isn't that great of an essay. Everyone has been through it and, while dealing with a breakup isn't fun, it's not really something than demonstrates to medical schools how you deal with and have grown from a tough situation. Especially when you consider that most adcom members are much older than 22 and might consider someone who wrote that essay to be immature. Your situation, however, is very different (and extremely difficult) and I'm guessing had a huge impact on your life and who you are.