Challenge I faced?

[leungdong]

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Hello,

When secondaries ask for a challenge, does it have to be a long-term challenge (ie. discrimiation, language barriers, poverty etc)?

 

[JustUnder9000]

Hello,

When secondaries ask for a challenge, does it have to be a long-term challenge (ie. discrimiation, language barriers, poverty etc)? I got kidnapped and lost in south america one night and found my way back. Does that count?

Yes that counts. Depending on how that went, that would be just awesome to write about.

 

[RedSox10]

Hello,

When secondaries ask for a challenge, does it have to be a long-term challenge (ie. discrimiation, language barriers, poverty etc)? I got kidnapped and lost in south america one night and found my way back. Does that count?

No

 

[Claudin]

Woah, you got kidnapped?! 😱

 

[mmmcdowe]

Hello,

When secondaries ask for a challenge, does it have to be a long-term challenge (ie. discrimiation, language barriers, poverty etc)? I got kidnapped and lost in south america one night and found my way back. Does that count?

Wow, you made it back in one night? Joking aside, unless this was in the context of a bigger social hardship (years of your life lived in poverty or discrimination), this experience is not particularly useful unless you can spin it in some way to demonstrate that it will make you a better student/applicant/doctor. You'll have to give us more deets if you are serious about this happening.

 

[TheShaker]

Hello,

I got kidnapped and lost in south america one night and found my way back. Does that count?

😱

Amazing story but I would choose something that is more able to show your motivation and all that fun stuff. I guess it does show that you can work under pressure though.

 

[justoneplease]

Although its intriguing, I'd have to agree with some of the other posts and say you should write about something else

 

[mirimonster]

Actually, I remember LizzyM posting about a very similar question once upon a time, and she said short term challenges were just fine. She said they were looking to see how you cope/react with a challenge or difficult situation, so something like this would be great. Don't overthink it. Who could fault you for considering being kidnapped to be your most challenging experience?

Found the LizzyM quote!

Coping skills, people!

Think short term challenges or difficulties.

Have you ever had your mode of transportation (car, bike, knees) break down and need to scramble to do get things fixed and get around to places you needed to be?

Have you been the object of a pickpocket and need to replace all your ID's? How did you prioritize and get through it. Double points if it happened in a country where you don't speak the language.
😉

Ever have a very difficult roommate situation? (I knew someone when I was in school who had a roommate who insisted on sleeping with all the lights on!)

Ever have a friend who needed but refused to seek care for a physical or psychiatric problem? What coping skills did you use to deal with the situation?

Ever get a phone call that a loved one was in the ICU? What coping skills did you use to get through the next few days/weeks?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=910690

 

[911 Turbo]

That sounds amazing op. tell us the story?

 

[235788]

Hello,

When secondaries ask for a challenge, does it have to be a long-term challenge (ie. discrimiation, language barriers, poverty etc)? I got kidnapped and lost in south america one night and found my way back. Does that count?

maybe say it was more than one night

 

[Porfirio]

maybe say it was more than one night

At least a week or it is not a real challenge.

 

[LizzyM]

😱

Amazing story but I would choose something that is more able to show your motivation and all that fun stuff. I guess it does show that you can work under pressure though.

The point is not to show your motivation... the point is to explain how you are going to manage being a med student/physician when things hit the fan and you need to deal with stuff that happen in life and stay on an even keel. (e.g. your parent becomes gravelly ill, your car gets smashed on your way to an important interview, you are mugged and lose your wallet)

Describing the coping skills you used to deal with X, reassures adcoms that you will have the coping skills to deal with whatever hardships come your way over the next 4 to 40 years.

 

[Narmerguy]

I'd definitely write about that! Talk about standing out? That's probably not one that they usually read ("that time my mother got sick", "that time my grandmother got sick", "that time I took the test sick")

 

[NonTraditional3]

The point is not to show your motivation... the point is to explain how you are going to manage being a med student/physician when things hit the fan and you need to deal with stuff that happen in life and stay on an even keel. (e.g. your parent becomes gravelly ill, your car gets smashed on your way to an important interview, you are mugged and lose your wallet)

Describing the coping skills you used to deal with X, reassures adcoms that you will have the coping skills to deal with whatever hardships come your way over the next 4 to 40 years.

On the topic of this; I have a documented learning disorder, which, though I was kind of lost when it came to managing its obstacles as a student, being in the working world has allowed me to develop many skills/strategies to keep its challenges at bay, and I am going to put these skills and a professional attitude towards my studies in an MS degree to see if it is sufficient to "meet the mark" so to speak. Would this be an appropriate thing to discuss in addressing how I will be able to cope with challenges in the future?

(sorry, didn't mean to steal OP's thunder or anything like that...)


Thanks!

 

[LizzyM]

On the topic of this; I have a documented learning disorder, which, though I was kind of lost when it came to managing its obstacles as a student, being in the working world has allowed me to develop many skills/strategies to keep its challenges at bay, and I am going to put these skills and a professional attitude towards my studies in an MS degree to see if it is sufficient to "meet the mark" so to speak. Would this be an appropriate thing to discuss in addressing how I will be able to cope with challenges in the future?

(sorry, didn't mean to steal OP's thunder or anything like that...)


Thanks!

Describe a challange and your coping skills.... you might not want to use a learning disorder as your challenge.... best not to bring up a longstanding problem that requires a long-term work-around. I think it is better to use an external problem (something that happened to you) or a prior problem that you worked to overcome (I've seen some good ones on obesity & health behaviors for example). Don't use an example that could lead the adcom to say, "this one could be a problem..."

 

[dmf2682]

Is it good practice to try and use the STAR technique from interviewing in these secondary essays? Or should we just focus on the action or resolution?

 

[LizzyM]

Is it good practice to try and use the STAR technique from interviewing in these secondary essays? Or should we just focus on the action or resolution?

I'd go with stAr... most emphasis on the action (coping skills) and not so much on the situation, task, and results (maybe one sentence for each). I've seen too many essays where 2/3rd of the text was the situation. This is not a measure of who has had the most awful situation, it is a question about how you approached a problem and the resources you brought to bear on it (did you consider different approaches, ask others for help or advice, collect information from reliable sources, jump into action, ponder and meditate, etc).

 

[NonTraditional3]

Chose to clear post for privacy purposes.

 

[kestralray]

The point is not to show your motivation... the point is to explain how you are going to manage being a med student/physician when things hit the fan and you need to deal with stuff that happen in life and stay on an even keel. (e.g. your parent becomes gravelly ill, your car gets smashed on your way to an important interview, you are mugged and lose your wallet)

Describing the coping skills you used to deal with X, reassures adcoms that you will have the coping skills to deal with whatever hardships come your way over the next 4 to 40 years.

Honestly, one of the biggest challenges I've faced in life is having a LD relationship for the last three years of college (1st year he lived in the same city before going off to college himself). We're still together. I really feel like this taught me many coping skills and would showcase maturity and patience, etc... but I'm wary about writing about a SO in a medical school application. Thoughts?

 

[red7]

I think it is better to use an external problem (something that happened to you) or a prior problem that you worked to overcome (I've seen some good ones on obesity & health behaviors for example). Don't use an example that could lead the adcom to say, "this one could be a problem..."

I lost a lot of weight as a teenager and since then I've always been very active - was a high school athlete, became a university athlete, still careful about my physical conditioning nowadays. Do you think that would be a good challenge story, or is it too long ago? It was back when I was a high school freshman

 

[LizzyM]

I lost a lot of weight as a teenager and since then I've always been very active - was a high school athlete, became a university athlete, still careful about my physical conditioning nowadays. Do you think that would be a good challenge story, or is it too long ago? It was back when I was a high school freshman

what coping skills did you use? Have you used those skills since? Keep in mind, it is about the skills and your ability to bounce back from a difficulty, not what the difficulty itself was. Also, you might have different coping skills as an adult than you had as a kid.

 

[MedPR]

Describe a challange and your coping skills.... you might not want to use a learning disorder as your challenge.... best not to bring up a longstanding problem that requires a long-term work-around. I think it is better to use an external problem (something that happened to you) or a prior problem that you worked to overcome (I've seen some good ones on obesity & health behaviors for example). Don't use an example that could lead the adcom to say, "this one could be a problem..."

Is it best to use a non-application related challenge? One of the secondaries I pre-wrote asked about a personal or academic challenge and I talked about time management and burnout in regard to studying for the MCAT while working/school/volunteering simultaneously. Writing that out here makes it seem like not a big deal.. Maybe I should write about something else?

 

[mohad]

I was going to talk about how I got over a slight gambling addiction, but upon reading this thread, I feel like it would be better for me to not discuss the phase in my life where I didn't know how to manage money.

 

[BurghStudent]

There are a few things I could write about, but my health during college stands out to me.

One spring I contracted a virus which lead to a lackluster semester, and the following semester I broke my ankle = wheelchair in the snow for a few months.

Would describing these situations be adequate?

 

[LizzyM]

There are a few things I could write about, but my health during college stands out to me.

One spring I contracted a virus which lead to a lackluster semester, and the following semester I broke my ankle = wheelchair in the snow for a few months.

Would describing these situations be adequate?

It's not the situations, it is the coping skills you used.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

There are a few things I could write about, but my health during college stands out to me.

One spring I contracted a virus which lead to a lackluster semester, and the following semester I broke my ankle = wheelchair in the snow for a few months.

Would describing these situations be adequate?

Illness is probably the normal/typical one, because eventually almost everyone gets sick while in college and it makes everything much more difficult. I may be using this as my copypasta for these essays, explaining how I dealt with being very sick and still adequately did my studies and EC's (mine lasted 3 months).

 

[kestralray]

Honestly, one of the biggest challenges I've faced in life is having a LD relationship for the last three years of college (1st year he lived in the same city before going off to college himself). We're still together. I really feel like this taught me many coping skills and would showcase maturity and patience, etc... but I'm wary about writing about a SO in a medical school application. Thoughts?

bump? (LD = long distance, btw)