Discussing a weakness

[Bruskie_77]

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Hey I’m working on a potential explanation for a common medical school question about describing a weakness. Would I be shooting myself in the foot to bring this up in an interview or secondary prompt? Any suggestions or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

One of my weaknesses is self-confidence in being competent enough as a doctor. I have encountered this before when I first wanted to be an engineer freshmen year. To deal with this I worked harder to prove I was competent enough and was more diligent from my fear of failure. Also, I identified the flawed mentality by recognizing how I isolated myself into the category of doubt without realizing others feel the same way, comparing myself to others which lead to unrealistic expectations of accomplishment, and placing myself around people who are supportive of my goals. By doing this I was able to be fairly successful in the chemical engineering program (3.6 GPA) and was able to improve my confidence in abilities.

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Because I pushed myself to work harder and was more diligent because I feared failure I was less likely to make mistakes leading to poor performances in courses. I believe this will be useful in medicine because having overconfidence can lead to overlooking things resulting in mistakes. Therefore, if I’m concerned about the consequences of my inability I’m less likely to overlook things

 

[DingoPingo]

I'd say it's completely fine because it's a genuine weakness you've reflected on. I also think it is a good weakness to have, because it is, as you say, also a strength.

Just be straightforward and don't say anything you feel forced to say. A weakness is a weakness. Sometimes weaknesses can be good. Not always.

The real problem is why you're telling medical school you want to be an engineer.

 

[Tenk]

Just say spiders. Nobody likes spiders. They even make some grown men scream like girls. Present company excluded of course!

 

[MaxPlancker]

Ehhh...I'd be prepared for a bunch of questioning if you talked about that weakness.

 

[P0ke]

Just say spiders. Nobody likes spiders. They even make some grown men scream like girls. Present company excluded of course!

Unless you're Spider-Man. Then you can say how your biggest weakness turned into your greatest strength. That's what you're supposed to do with this sort of question.

 

[Bruskie_77]

Ehhh...I'd be prepared for a bunch of questioning if you talked about that weakness.

Why do you believe that would lead to lots of questions based on my reasoning? What would you suggest to be a possibly better alternative that would be less potentially damaging to my chances?

 

[Bruskie_77]

Just say spiders.They even make some grown men scream like girls.

Is that based on your own personal experiences?

 

[Mad Jack]

I can't remember my answer to the weakness question, wow. I had a really good one back in the day too.

 

[ac62994]

You're basing your competence as a potential physician on your GPA...in Chemical Engineering?

It's definitely a valid weakness, but the support/evidence is weak in my opinion and the essay is not structured very well.

 

[DingoPingo]

Here's my own approach to the weakness question, which is somewhat similar to yours.

My weakness is that I am heavily influenced by mistakes I make. This is my weakness because a mistake can cause me to tilt, like in poker. But I've recently realized that it's also my greatest strength. It allows me to learn quickly, and motivates me towards corrective behavior in my work. Now, I embrace my mistakes because they help me improve.

 

[Bruskie_77]

You're basing your competence as a potential physician on your GPA...in Chemical Engineering?

It's definitely a valid weakness, but the support/evidence is weak in my opinion and the essay is not structured very well.

I'm willing to suppose that two of the more important measures a medical school uses to determine an applicants potential competence as a physician is their performance in undergrad (GPA) and MCAT score. So I don't see how your first statement weakness my position. Now the method I used may need to be refined because medical school is different but showing that I can problem solve through my weaknesses and obtain success is pretty important. If you didn't recognize that from reading my prompt what would be your suggestion? Also, what do you believe would be better support?

 

[Bruskie_77]

Here's my own approach to the weakness question, which is somewhat similar to yours.

My weakness is that I am heavily influenced by mistakes I make. This is my weakness because a mistake can cause me to tilt, like in poker. But I've recently realized that it's also my greatest strength. It allows me to learn quickly, and motivates me towards corrective behavior in my work. Now, I embrace my mistakes because they help me improve.

Thanks for that example. I now recognize how my example is a little more edgy and easier to pick at.