Disadvantaged status essay

[Prncssbuttercup]

Ok, (yes, I've already gleaned as much info as possible from the other threads about this)
I am working on my essay for disadvantaged status... I know there are people who were more disadvantaged, but there are a lot of people a heck of a lot less disadvantaged as well... Anyone have any hints for writing this? Basically, my mom was a single mom (dad IS in the picture), low-income life (she made ~$3 too much per month to qualify for aid besides free school lunches), she married an abusive alcoholic whose nickname for me was shat for brains (no really, he'd say that like it was my first name), obviously after a while the reason she married him (money) wasn't enough and we left, but my older sister had to help with the bills because her waitress job paid her enough to be helpful... Then at 17, my mom remarried (3rd marriage) and basically screwed my chances for getting financial aid (I honestly wasn't going to include that)... how the hell do I sum this up and not sound like 'ohhh woe is me and my life'... Any help or ideas appreciated...

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[Quik]

how the hell do I sum this up and not sound like 'ohhh woe is me and my life'... Any help or ideas appreciated...

Explain each scenario positively, in why it made you as an applicant stronger. Sure, many of our lives were more or less difficult, but don't consider that in your essay, tell it how it is (or was) and don't make it dramatic or exaggerated. Don't make it too personal in a way that might offend the reader (i.e. don't say your stepfather called you "shat-for-brains") but say you were abused and/or tormented by unstable step-parents. As per the fin-aid in college, describe how you were on your own, responsible for your own tuition. This was an obvious disadvantage, because you often couldn't afford books, a diet of healthy foods, no familial financial support, etc.

No woe is me, just this is what it was, this is how I got through it. How do you like me now?

p.s. happy friday

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

My parents divorced before I was nine months old. Some child support, food stamps, and her wages as a secretary barely kept us in the home my mother financed through a low-income government assistance program. My mother made three dollars too much each month to qualify for any additional county assistance. When I was nine my mother remarried to try to ease our financial burden, but the man she married was a verbally abusive alcoholic. Our financial burdens were lessened, but my stepfather made up for the difference by being abusive to my sister and me. When we left him, my mother, sister and I lived in a two-bedroom apartment. My older sister helped pay for food with her waitressing job as I was not old enough to work. Without my sister's help my mother would have been unable to pay the rent. Life is not always fair or easy, while these experiences have shaped who I am, I do not let them hold me back. I have a sense of compassion for those in similar situations and am compelled to work in an underserved community.



This is what I have right now...

 

[TriagePreMed]

I would refine what you have written in a story mode rather than "these are the facts." You definitely qualify as disadvantaged.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

It seems like a LOT of non-trads qualify... I'm sure there are plenty in the pre-allo/pre-osteo areas too, but it seems like we have a lot...

And it's really hard to make a story that flows well in 1325 characters

 

[EdLongshanks]

It seems like a LOT of non-trads qualify... I'm sure there are plenty in the pre-allo/pre-osteo areas too, but it seems like we have a lot...

And it's really hard to make a story that flows well in 1325 characters

For many of us, had things not gone wrong in our lives, whether through our own fault of others, we would have been traditional pre-med students, instead of non-trads. The definition of non-trad means something interrupted our journey.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Ed, that's what I was thinking... I know some people went into other careers and decided to do this later in life, but for some I think it was there all along...

 

[Quik]

I would strike the sentences from "when we left him," through "without my sister's help we wouldn't have money to pay rent," I don't think those really help identify why you were disadvantaged. Possibly re-write that period to discuss family sacrifices made to 'bootstrap' your survival. Certainly speak on how the lack of parental support affected your college experience.

Again, disadvantaged is not relative. Well it is, but you don't make it so. It's a story of survival.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Ed, that's what I was thinking... I know some people went into other careers and decided to do this later in life, but for some I think it was there all along...

In my case, I had 0% desire to go into medicine before. I'm really one of those "born again med student."