Describing Obstacles Overcome

[Dookie2010]

One of my secondary prompts asks me to describe the obstacles I have overcome to get to the point of applying to medical school. Although my family has struggled with some financial difficulties, overall I consider myself to have been very fortunate with the opportunities provided to me. I feel somewhat phony describing what I consider to be minor annoyances (such as having to work part time throughout undergrad) that are just part of life as "obstacles" on my path to medical school. My question is, do you think it would be detrimental or awkward if I were to preface the essay with some kind of disclaimer statement acknowledging that I feel I have been very lucky to not have many (if any) obstacles before proceeding to discuss what I have overcome? I hate the idea of whining about waitressing when I know there are many others who have had it far more difficult than me, but I also don't want to list "nothing" and have the admissions committee think I am either overindulged or unable to reflect on past difficulties. Any input would be appreciated

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[DancingThruLife]

I would argue that working part-time during undergrad could have been a significant challenge for you depending on hours, courseload, and rigor of your school.

What I will say is that, whatever you choose to write about, you should write these essays in a neutral tone. Try to refrain from using emotionally-charged adjectives. You want to be as dispassionate as possible in order to not sound like you are whining. And always end it on a positive note (read: what have you learned from the experience and how has it made you grow?). At least that's the advice I've been given.

I don't know about your preface. If you write it well enough, it might not sound awkward, I suppose. Maybe someone else can chime in?

 

[Janieve]

I know someone who wrote an 'obstacles' essay on her uphill battle against an unsupportive boyfriend who urged her to go into nursing instead, thinking that women didn't make as good of doctors. She nearly believed him and actually enrolled in pre-nursing classes, but came to her senses when a female doctor was the biggest hit at the career fair. It's not a huge obstacle either, but it was significant to her.

I wouldn't advise putting a disclaimer, but maybe an introduction. Something about how it's easy to be an optimist with your background, maybe. As long as it doesn't make it seem like you don't think what you're writing really is an obstacle.

But I think we need more help than just your peers. Where's LizzyM or Catalystik? This may not be their primary department, but they could answer...

 

[LizzyM]

To me, the obstacles are less important than the means you used to overcome them. If the obstacle was financial, you did what you had to do to get & keep a job that helped cover your expenses. If the obstacle was doing well in school while needing to work to cover your expenses, the way you overcame that was with good time management skills, or finding ways to cut corners or use flexible hours to arrange your schedule around exams or whatever.... you get the idea.

 

[Dookie2010]

thanks for the advice everyone! I think I was approaching the prompt from the wrong angle. going to focus more on the how of overcoming and how it changed me than the obstacle itself.