Documentation of personal problems

[walawala]

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During the course of my college career, my dad battled cancer. I made the decision to write about it in my personal statement, because it affected the choices I made in college and what activities I chose to become involved with. Because of his sickness, I would have to return home often, and this also had a negative effect on some of my grades. Obviously since I chose to write about it in my personal statement, if I am lucky enough to get an interview somewhere it will be a topic of conversation that is discussed. My question though, is during the application process, is it necessary to provide documentation of my father's illness. I'm not sure how graduate programs proceed with verifying these sorts of things. I feel like it's pretty private stuff (people's medical records and all), but obviously if they need documentation. Not sure how these things are handled? If anyone knows it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[OTFuturePharmD]

They won't ask for documentation of your father's illness. That would be inappropriate. If you do get into pharmacy school, and your father's illness has impacted your parents financially, they may ask for a letter with further details. That's about it.

Just be sure what ever you write in your personal statement you feel comfortable talking to strangers about during the interview. If you feel some of what you wrote is too personal, I would remove it from your personal statement. Also, if you are explaining why you have some not so good grades, make sure you put a positive spin on it and tell what you have learned. I hope this helps.

 

[FuturePharmist]

I wrote about mother's sudden death in my essay, how it affected me and what I've done since to get back on track. No school asked for documentation but like the above poster said, it is very important to mention something about how you are able to move forward. They are more willing to cut you a break if you show you can rebound from it. If you are still struggling they won't want to risk having you not able to complete the program. Hope your dad is doing well and good luck with your applications.

 

[4apharmd]

My grandad had some major heart problems my senior year of h/s and then all through my first few years of college. I wrote some about how it had affected me in my personal essay and what I had learned from it, etc. When I interviewed, I was asked about it, but nothing really personal. You may be asked a few questions about it, but those questions will be mainly to see if your answers match up with your essay.

 

[rphfan2009]

During the course of my college career, my dad battled cancer. I made the decision to write about it in my personal statement, because it affected the choices I made in college and what activities I chose to become involved with. Because of his sickness, I would have to return home often, and this also had a negative effect on some of my grades. Obviously since I chose to write about it in my personal statement, if I am lucky enough to get an interview somewhere it will be a topic of conversation that is discussed. My question though, is during the application process, is it necessary to provide documentation of my father's illness. I'm not sure how graduate programs proceed with verifying these sorts of things. I feel like it's pretty private stuff (people's medical records and all), but obviously if they need documentation. Not sure how these things are handled? If anyone knows it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

No one is going to ask for this to be verified. Just talk about how you dealt with it and how it affected you personally and school wise. Best of luck!

 

[AKN16]

most likely this won't be brought up.. In fact, this would be a great way to answer that age old question, "why do you want to be a pharmacist." The adcom will feel like bringing this up, given if its a open-file interview, but if you do it instead of them, it will make your application more solid. My 2 cents.

 

[dt88]

I'm stuck in a dilemma and any sort of help would be greatly appreciated.

During my Junior year of college, I was suspended by my university for one year for a minor incident I was involved in. Now, on my transcript, it shows no record of a suspension but just an academic year that is missing. During this year, however, I did enroll in community colleges and took a full-time job as well as not to remain idle.

Now, I'm wondering if I should or have to include this on my personal statement to address the missing academic year on my transcript or if I can just not mention it?

Also, on PharmCAS it specifically asks about any academic dismissals or infractions. Should I explain my case here or just select 'no' and claim that I took a year off for personal leave?

 

[trailrider400]

I'm stuck in a dilemma and any sort of help would be greatly appreciated.

During my Junior year of college, I was suspended by my university for one year for a minor incident I was involved in. Now, on my transcript, it shows no record of a suspension but just an academic year that is missing. During this year, however, I did enroll in community colleges and took a full-time job as well as not to remain idle.

Now, I'm wondering if I should or have to include this on my personal statement to address the missing academic year on my transcript or if I can just not mention it?

Also, on PharmCAS it specifically asks about any academic dismissals or infractions. Should I explain my case here or just select 'no' and claim that I took a year off for personal leave?

You should probably start your own thread instead of hijacking this one. And by 'minor' incident I'm assuming you mean cheating.