Diversity Secondary

[cheshirecatxox]

Of the list below, can you tell me what stands out most?

socio-econoimic disadvantage due to my single mother becoming permanently disabled when I was 9.
how we were treated because of this,
how it has made me want to help disadvantaged and disabled
I've been her caretaker since 2013 when she moved in with me
I'm a nontraditional student, graduated 2009 with degree in Egyptology minor in classical civilization, then decided to go the medical route in 2012. finished pre-medical certificate in 2013.
dealing with abuse from my step mother, taking a restraining order out on my father, and my mom getting custody of me at 10 ( i dont know if I should ever write about this at all)
dad is from south africa, mom's parents are immigrants
ive traveled to Thailand, Peru, France, Ireland, Mexico, and lived in Italy for 1 month for a study abroad.
work as a medical scribe working with the underserved
living the first 6 year and last 10 years in los angeles, the heterogenous community melting pot that it is
exposure to different cultures: mom's Indian boyfriend, Polish Catholic Godparents (my babysitters), mom's Brazilian best friend and her family

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Crayola227]

It's very important when talking about your personal struggles to make it very clear how that contributes to your character, how that makes you suited for medicine, how that will contribute to better/unique care for patients

Adcoms want to know how you deal with adversity as it relates to a medical career and what impact you will have on patients, so understand it is not about you personally except for that

 

[Crayola227]

Of the list below, can you tell me what stands out most?

socio-econoimic disadvantage due to my single mother becoming permanently disabled when I was 9.
how we were treated because of this,
how it has made me want to help disadvantaged and disabled
I've been her caretaker since 2013 when she moved in with me
I'm a nontraditional student, graduated 2009 with degree in Egyptology minor in classical civilization, then decided to go the medical route in 2012. finished pre-medical certificate in 2013.
dealing with abuse from my step mother, taking a restraining order out on my father, and my mom getting custody of me at 10 ( i dont know if I should ever write about this at all)
dad is from south africa, mom's parents are immigrants
ive traveled to Thailand, Peru, France, Ireland, Mexico, and lived in Italy for 1 month for a study abroad.
being a medical scribe working with the underprivileged

All of this is great experience but it needs to be honed.

Focus on the disadvantage in how it makes you better

Focus less on how she lives with you/you are her caretaker, they may see this as a liability/distraction to medicine (sounds wicked but they are pragmatic)

The major/minor/post bacc and travel and scribing aren't all that unique in that many students have those experiences, it is more interesting if you can succintly impart how your own diverse background and adversities faced informs how you handle diversity and adversity, and if you can weave in how Egyptology relates to who you are and what that will add to your practice of medicine, what your work with the disadvantaged taught you

The immigrant/ethnic background stuff is usually good

You can mention abuse, but you have to be very delicate. You have to be very careful to come across matter of fact and how you overcame it and what was the positive. I'm not saying this is you but it's important and touchy not to come across as a "victim"

That's just my 2 cents on each bio-factoid you shared, the key will be putting the right emphasis, finding a unifying theme that will weave all the diverse experiences into a narrative answering 1) why medicine and not some other do-gooder activity to help the disadvantaged, what brought you to it? 2) and why all of this makes you uniquely prepared to succeed in medical school, to handle adversity and diversity in medicine and 3) will shape you into a great physician

 

[Crayola227]

Ah shoot, this isn't for your PS bit the diversity statement. Most of what I said holds. Again, you can mention each thing but you do want to have some sort of summary to what is the advantage of your diversity. It can really depend on the specifics of what the essay question is looking for.

I'd take a look at what you come up with if you want to PM me.