good or bad idea for Personal Statement?

[PAPPAPPAP]

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Hey everyone,
I was thinking about writing my personal statement about a "C" that I received during undergrad in a biology class. I know that sounds like a mistake to a lot of people, but let me explain...and then I would really appreciate any honest advice.

I was planning to write about this "C" as a defining moment in my life, and as something that allowed me to refocus myself on a career in medicine.

Here is the basic outline.

- I receive a C in biology during my 1st semester sophomore year and it is the first "failure" of my life.

- My immaturity at the time leads me to doubt my abilities and my future as a doctor. But at the same time, my success in organic chemistry and a professors advice leads me down a path toward a career in chemistry.

-Though I love the lab and the critical thinking involved, something is missing and I fall back into hospital volunteer work.

- Over a year after the "C," I am refocused on my lifelong ambition to be a physician and along the way I picked up a love for the lab etc.

So what does everyone think? good or bad idea. I think that it may show some indecision, but at the same time it shows that I am truly in love with medicine and that I discovered that on my own. To be honest..I like the fact that it is not the run of the mill essay...which would be my only alternative...thanks for the feedback.

 

[pseudoknot]

Bad idea. I hope you're kidding.

 

[jon0013]

i dont think it is a bad idea. just be truthful and straightforward. if you were really motivated by that to become a doctor then go for it. everyone's experience is different.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Hey everyone,
I was thinking about writing my personal statement about a "C" that I received during undergrad in a biology class. I know that sounds like a mistake to a lot of people, but let me explain...and then I would really appreciate any honest advice.

I was planning to write about this "C" as a defining moment in my life, and as something that allowed me to refocus myself on a career in medicine.

Here is the basic outline.

- I receive a C in biology during my 1st semester sophomore year and it is the first "failure" of my life.

- My immaturity at the time leads me to doubt my abilities and my future as a doctor. But at the same time, my success in organic chemistry and a professors advice leads me down a path toward a career in chemistry.

-Though I love the lab and the critical thinking involved, something is missing and I fall back into hospital volunteer work.

- Over a year after the "C," I am refocused on my lifelong ambition to be a physician and along the way I picked up a love for the lab etc.

So what does everyone think? good or bad idea. I think that it may show some indecision, but at the same time it shows that I am truly in love with medicine and that I discovered that on my own. To be honest..I like the fact that it is not the run of the mill essay...which would be my only alternative...thanks for the feedback.

I think it's a pretty bad idea. A "C" as the defining moment of your life? You must have had a pretty shallow life, completely free of adversity, before that particular moment. Now whether or not that's true, it's what came to my mind as I was reading it; who knows how many other people thought the same thing? I think you can do better than that.

 

[lakersfan]

that's pretty pathetic...definitely find something else to write about

 

[nightowl]

I have almost the exact same dilemma. A 2.76 gpa sophomore year left me doubting for almost 2 years. Now that I've grown through that experience, I can watch profs scare the **** out of little undergrads, and I just want to be like, the majority of the fight is mental! It's sad to me that that seems to be the primary way they weed out undergrads. Maybe it is more of an internal challenge, but I've watched kids get their first bad grade and then premed advisor say, "well, maybe you should consider changing your plans" or just restate the average gpa, like we don't already know the facts. Anyway, I did get back on track and maintained a 4.0 my entire senior year, which proves to me that my bad grades were mainly due to immaturity followed by this mental block reading "you can't do it". Write about it my personal statement? I have no idea. I don't know if they would appreciate so much honesty. I still haven't written anything...

 

[caffeine37]

Hey everyone,
I was thinking about writing my personal statement about a "C" that I received during undergrad in a biology class. I know that sounds like a mistake to a lot of people, but let me explain...and then I would really appreciate any honest advice.

I was planning to write about this "C" as a defining moment in my life, and as something that allowed me to refocus myself on a career in medicine.

Here is the basic outline.

- I receive a C in biology during my 1st semester sophomore year and it is the first "failure" of my life.

- My immaturity at the time leads me to doubt my abilities and my future as a doctor. But at the same time, my success in organic chemistry and a professors advice leads me down a path toward a career in chemistry.

-Though I love the lab and the critical thinking involved, something is missing and I fall back into hospital volunteer work.

- Over a year after the "C," I am refocused on my lifelong ambition to be a physician and along the way I picked up a love for the lab etc.

So what does everyone think? good or bad idea. I think that it may show some indecision, but at the same time it shows that I am truly in love with medicine and that I discovered that on my own. To be honest..I like the fact that it is not the run of the mill essay...which would be my only alternative...thanks for the feedback.

I wouldn't worry too much about the C- it's not a "failure". I had a friend with several C's who wrote about her true *passions* in her essay (didn't even mention the C's!) and got into a top 10 school. I would recommend this route: don't even mention the C or only spend 1-2 sentences on it. "I like the fact that it is not the run of the mill essay"-- but it would probably bore the reader if you spend a whole essay on just one grade...
They might wonder why you are focusing on the C instead of other things- i.e. don't you have anything else to talk about? If getting a C was truly THE defining moment in your life and crucial to why you want to be a physician, then go for it...

 

[Scrubz67]

yup...baaaaaad idea. it was kinda funny to read about though

 

[sweetpeamd09]

I don't think it is a particularly bright idea. The adcoms do NOT want to hear about your downfalls unless they ask about them. And then you should try to twist it around. 😉

Why do you want to be a physician? Isn't that the premise of the prompt? I am entering school this year but I heard that was the point of the 2006 AMCAS prompt. I would highly recommend NOT writing about the "C". Write about adversity, compassion, strength, all the things that make you YOU, and outstanding applicant (that's what they want--to know YOU better, not your transcript). In a small portion of your statement you can briefly mention (VAGUELY) that you had a rough time...but focus on how you kicked @$$ later!

 

[SpeedRacer]

..........and maybe
......you
..should
.also............the letter C(-)
write
...the
......essay
............so it forms


hahahhahah

 

[xanthines]

1. You should always try to focus on the positive. You know, put your best foot forward.

2. It sounds like you're going to dwell on this for a significant portion of the essay. People who read are going to come away remembering you got a C, not that you learned anything.

3. Too much talk about the lab will make them think you should go to grad school and not med school.

Three strikes, you're out! 🙂

Don't mention the C. Only mention your immaturity once and don't dwell on the lab stuff (unless you're going the MSTP route). Focus on the volunteering experience, what you learned from that, and why you like medicine. Your content doesn't have to be exotically unique like humanitarian missions to 3rd world countries (although it doesn't hurt). The writing style and presentation is the most important. Try to write in such a way that puts the reader in your shoes.


-X

 

[rotatores]

I think you'd be shooting yourself in the foot. Trust me...you can dig deeper and find a more "defining" moment in your life...and if not...you need to get out in the real world for a few years before applying.

rotatores
USUHS 2006

 

[PAPPAPPAP]

Thank you for the advice. Maybe it is not such a great idea...eventhough I think that some of the content of the essay was lost in the summary...I will post the whole essay later tonight if anyone is interested.

My situation is very much like one of you who posted. You can see a dramatic jump in my grades during my senior year once I became focused...eventhough my GPA isnt too bad overall. Therefore, I think that I'm not hiding anything from the admissions committee..they can see my change, they can see my "C"...so why not address it and talk about the fact that I am human and that I learn from my mistakes and that I am better off for them.

Most of the essay is not devoted to the "C" at all...I dont offer any type of excuse for the bad grade or anything else for that matter...The theme of my essay is that I came to the realization of my love for medicine and caregiving on my own, and after some adversity. This is different from the many applicants who never had that type of realization, and instead just had the idea of being a doctor hammered into their brain from age 3.

I guess this is more difficult without reading the actual essay...but I have to get to my home computer to post it...so I will do that tonight. Thank you to all who replied and to all who will take the time to help me out.

 

[bebella24]

..........and maybe
......you
..should
.also............the letter C(-)
write
...the
......essay
............so it forms


hahahhahah

FUNNY FUNNY. LOL

 

[PAPPAPPAP]

THis would be very difficult to pull off without sounding terribly trite. Plus it will fail to distinguish your from the many applicants who got one lousy grade in some tough science class along the way. As other said, try to be more positive, more distinctive, and give them reasons to admit you.

Back to the drawing board.

good point

 

[willthatsall]

Thank you for the advice. Maybe it is not such a great idea...eventhough I think that some of the content of the essay was lost in the summary...I will post the whole essay later tonight if anyone is interested.

My situation is very much like one of you who posted. You can see a dramatic jump in my grades during my senior year once I became focused...eventhough my GPA isnt too bad overall. Therefore, I think that I'm not hiding anything from the admissions committee..they can see my change, they can see my "C"...so why not address it and talk about the fact that I am human and that I learn from my mistakes and that I am better off for them.

Most of the essay is not devoted to the "C" at all...I dont offer any type of excuse for the bad grade or anything else for that matter...The theme of my essay is that I came to the realization of my love for medicine and caregiving on my own, and after some adversity. This is different from the many applicants who never had that type of realization, and instead just had the idea of being a doctor hammered into their brain from age 3.

I guess this is more difficult without reading the actual essay...but I have to get to my home computer to post it...so I will do that tonight. Thank you to all who replied and to all who will take the time to help me out.

I would advise to make sure that the C is nowhere near the main theme of the essay. There is nothing wrong with mentioning a trend in grades or something, but you should try to work it in, not make it the center of your PS.

 

[sfbear]

i would avoid mentioning the C and instead focus on how your volunteer and lab experiences have reaffirmed/confirmed your passion for medicine and consequently you worked much harder to acheive your goal. focus on how these experiences really solidified your commitment to medicine and acheiving your goals. you can also mention how becoming more mature, etc., helped you, but i would not explicitly state any of the negative aspects of your application in your essay.

 

[beanbean]

Absolutely do not write about this as your personal statement.

The personal statement is supposed to give the reader some insight into who you are and why you are applying to medical school. Getting a 'C' is not anywhere close to a failure and plenty of students get them. I understand that it caused you to reevaluate your life and priorities, but this is not what your personal statement should be about. If I read a statement that just over a year ago someone thought about not applying to med school because they got one 'C' and apparently the whole experience was so somehow "matured" them and refocused their pre-med dreams, I would certainly question their judgement and ability to handle the stress of med school. I can not stress to you how bad this would be as the focus of your essay. There are plenty of ways to write a unique essay and make it not "run of the mill". Why are you applying to medical school? Are you applying because you got a 'C' and realized it wasn't the end of the world? No. Write about what makes you and your dream unique. What will you bring to the world of medicine? What will make you a good doctor? How have your medical/volunteer experiences have confirmed and strengthened your desire to pursue medicine?

 

[NikkiFSU]

..........and maybe
......you
..should
.also............the letter C(-)
write
...the
......essay
............so it forms


hahahhahah

ROTFLMAO

 

[Kazema]

A "C" might seem like a huge deal to you, but compared to a lot of people, that's barely a stumbling block, much less a hurdle you had to get over in order to get into medical school. I opened my PS talking about how I changed my attitude and overcame my early undergraduate performance, but my early undergraduate performance was a 2.4 including 7 F's and multiple W's which is a bit more conspicuous than a C in biology (which I also had btw). And even then I didn't mention my GPA nor did I mention failing any of my classes; I only spent about a paragraph on the whole issue, focusing my essay on what I've done to prove that I know what I'm getting into and explaining why I'll be a good doctor.

Structuring your essay based on one "bad" grade (a C isn't a horrible grade, it's just not a good grade) is just a plain bad idea. I also am kind of wary of your intent to talk about going back and forth between your decision to pursue medicine, especially saying that getting a C initially made you give up on medicine and decide on a career in chemistry. It kind of makes it seem like you don't take setbacks well (I'm not saying that about you, just what your essay's structure implies) and that you're really not that sure about wanting to be a physician. And writing the whole essay about a "C" makes it seem like you haven't really encountered any real setbacks in life either, which makes it easy for adcoms to wonder, "Is this guy really ready for the stress of medical school? What will happen if he does poorly initially, will he drop out?"

You don't want adcoms asking those types of questions.

 

[PAPPAPPAP]

And the answer is....BAD IDEA! Thank you to everyone and I will be rethinking my approach. I agree with a lot of the comments and they led me to a better idea.