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- Sep 28, 2009
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1. Great.I'm having trouble gauging if these topics fit the prompts well.
1. Describe your experience with a situation that had an unfavorable outcome. How did you react, and how might you have responded differently. What did you learn about yourself?
Will discuss being on bhangra team (B-team) for a year, working to improve my dancing ability as someone who started off as a beginner, only to get cut from tryouts the following year (B-team no longer existed, so there were less spots available on the team). Bhangra was the only avenue through which I connected with my South Asian culture as well, so I had a tough time adjusting. I ended up meeting every month with other dancers who failed the tryouts to just freestyle bhangra dance, and I also pursued new clubs that better fit my strengths (i.e. joined a club responsible for organizing music/comedy/other entertainment events on campus)
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2. What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it? (250 words)
Research PI said I need to be more vocal about my ideas and contribute to our lab conversations more. I'm usually reserved in group settings when I feel there are people who have more expertise than me, since I'm afraid of being wrong. This is something I've been actively aware of for a long time, since high school, but never really addressed it. The fact that my PI noticed my quiet demeanor and wanted me to change, forced me to actively change my mindset. I learned that expressing my opinions and ideas, even if wrong, is okay because it contributes to a productive conversation. I've also become wayyy more confident and assertive since then, which has been beneficial outside of research, as well.
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3. Tell us about a challenging problem you faced and how you resolved it. (250 words or less)*
I volunteered with a patient with schizophrenia for 1.5 years. There was one situation where the patient made sexually-charged comments to me and I was extremely taken aback. I had been briefed on her history and knew that these comments were not new. However, I had to figure out how to address the situation right away and respond effectively, so as to ensure these kinds of comments would not become commonplace in the future.
In that moment and in future incidents when she used inappropriate language, I learned to respond confidently and clearly to (1) state my discomfort with her language, (2) either redirect the conversation or re-establish boundaries (depending on the nature of what she said), and (3) describe alternative ways to communicate respectfully. These instances (in addition to episodes) were always reported to the volunteer coordinator, who supervised my visits in the library. Overall, in learning how to handle situations like this, I also gained a keen awareness of the nature of psychiatric disorders. Her language was a symptom of the disorganized behavior characteristic of schizophrenia and not to her own fault. I had to acknowledge her experience in the process and realize that my response had to purposefully reflect respect and understanding.
Worried about mentioning that the patient's comments were "sexual" ... will adcoms think it's a red flag?
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4. Share with us a difficult or challenging situation you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills you called upon to resolve the dilemma, and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice. We suggest that you limit your essay to about 550 words.
In the spring of 2018, my grandfather (whom I had a very close relationship with) unexpectedly passed away from cardiac arrest. This was the time I experienced the death of a close relative. The moment I found out, I was in shock. The very next morning I had to volunteer at a free clinic and the following day had to lead a group of volunteers (tutoring organization that went to a middle school to work with students) in our regular weekly shift.
For this essay, I can flesh out the immediate emotions (Feelings of regret, contemplating the inevitability of death, thinking about how my mother was doing, as it was her father, etc). And then transition into how it was challenging to balance coping with maintaining my commitment to the people in my community/campus who depended on me. I found strength in volunteering, as it focused my mind elsewhere. But at the same time, I realized I couldn't just ignore my feelings of grief, I had to take actual steps to address it. As someone who usually handles emotions/challenges alone, I learned the value of reaching out to close friends and family and not being afraid of sharing the full extent of my feelings. It also made me realize that life is short, so it's in my best interest to take advantage of opportunities and pursue my goals to the utmost degree. This is when I decided to join the live comedy/music event club, sign up for group piano classes because I always wanted to learn, and take two gap years after graduating so that I could take the time to explore my interest in precision imaging research.
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5.) Describe a situation which you found challenging. How did you manage it? (UVA)
Don't know whether to use the answers from #3 or #4 for this prompt
Appreciate any help/advice! Thanks
2. Looks ok.
3. I actually really like this one. Someone else making comments about you is not a red flag, and the word sexual is not a bad word.
4. Looks good.
5. I would use number 3. I think the example is very robust.
