Essay strategy

[Wackie]

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I'm trying to avoid studying, and felt a little bit of a writing bug, so help me out here. 😛

The idea is to get your reader curious enough about you that he/she invites you, correct?

In a tight little nutshell, there was a point I was afraid of being in the health profession because of circumstances surrounding my mother's death. I don't really want to go into it on my essay because it is too "woe is me" for my tastes and a bit distracting from the point of the essay, I think. And secondaries usually ask about adversities you've faced anyway so it might be better there instead of the PS.
So, I'm thinking of just touching on it and basically saying just that-"I was afraid of being in the health profession because of circumstances surrounding my mother's death" (reworded of course and more elegant 😀 ). Since my mother's death isn't why I want to be a doctor, I don't feel it needs to be elaborated upon. However, it's part of the reason I had to "start over" (read: explain some bad grades, why I've wanted to be a doctor since little-bitty yet started on a Range Animal Science degree out of highschool, etc). But I'm wondering if this could make the reader a bit curious too? Or just a PIA?

Does this make sense? I'd like to hear any thoughts.

 

[spicedmanna]

I'd view your PS as your best, honest foot foward; a guided, thin slice narrative of why they, the adcomms, should buy in your stock. In other words, be very conscious of what you are selling. It should draw attention to the elements and qualities that you most want to emphasize about yourself. I've also heard it should answer, "why medicine." It should accurately capture your unique essence.

That said, when I read about your fear response, it begs several questions for me, which include:

1) What was the nature of your fear, and how did it inhibit you from doing well in school or from choosing medicine as a career?
2) How did you overcome, or move through, your fear? (have you?)
3) What happened that made you want to overcome your fear?

I would focus less on retroactive explanations, especially ones that draw undue attention to the negative elements of your application (they'll find them all on their own, without your help), and more on your current motivation. If talking about your significant past fears is a thoughtful lead in to why you are going choosing medicine now and demonstrates your strength of character as you overcame it, I'd say it would be worth it, otherwise it might raise some flags.

But, heck, what do I know? I'm still in the process of applying myself, working on secondaries.

Good luck!

 

[LizzyM]

Don't bring up your late mother in a hope to pique the interest of an adcom who will want to know all the "woe is me" details.

You started out in a major unrelated to medicine, you did poorly, you changed your mind and decided upon as an adult what you hope will be the career that satisfies you all of its intellectual and emotional challenges. (Forget what you wanted to be as an itty-bitty kid -- you really didn't know, couldn't know, what medicine involved when you were itty-bitty).

If your mom's docs were great and you'd like to emulate them, say that the memories of the care they provide is something that keeps you going in the hopes of doing the same for others. If they weren't so great, don't say that you want to be better than they were. In fact, don't mention them at all. If your mom died due to a physician shortage, and you are interested in serving in an underserved area, you might mention that as a rationale for going into medicine -- because you want to serve others who, like your mom, have no one else to turn to.

Good luck.