How much does it matter to medical schools that I grew up in Iraq and I've lived through the war?

[Futuresurgeon92]

I am a senior, female, studying Biochemistry, and I am planning to apply to med school next year. I moved to the US when I was 14 and English is obviously my second language. I got my A.A. from a community college and then transferred to the best university in my state. I currently have 3.80 GPA, with sufficient hours of volunteering/Shadowing experience, and I'm planning to take the MCAT in Feb.

First, how much does it matter to medical schools that I've been through war, and should I emphasize this in my personal statement?

Second, from what I mentioned about myself, is it safe to say I have a decent chance of getting accepted somewhere?

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[LizzyM]

Determining your chances hinges on the MCAT.

Your personal statement (PS) should be why you want a career as a physician and how you have tested your interest in medicine. If the war inspired your interest in medicine or if you are interested in a field of medicine that came out of your experiences as a child, then you should work it into your PS.

You may also want to hold on to some stories about the war for secondary essays about hardships, overcoming difficulties, etc.

 

[whatever5]

I agree with what LizzyM said.

I have a similar story to you growing up in the middle east and enduring terrorism and wars. I touched on it a little bit in my personal statement to show my humanitarian qualities in terms of how I reacted to the events, but talked about it mostly in the secondaries to discuss strength in overcoming challenges.

I do want to preserve some anonymity, but PM me if you want more help on how I went about it.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Are you considering USUHS? They may be very interested.

 

[Goro]

You have a decent chance of getting an II if you do well on MCAT and apply strategically. Getting accepted is 100% on you.

I am a senior, female, studying Biochemistry, and I am planning to apply to med school next year. I moved to the US when I was 14 and English is obviously my second language. I got my A.A. from a community college and then transferred to the best university in my state. I currently have 3.80 GPA, with sufficient hours of volunteering/Shadowing experience, and I'm planning to take the MCAT in Feb.

First, how much does it matter to medical schools that I've been through war, and should I emphasize this in my personal statement?

Second, from what I mentioned about myself, is it safe to say I have a decent chance of getting accepted somewhere?

 

[WingedOx]

Determining your chances hinges on the MCAT.

Your personal statement (PS) should be why you want a career as a physician and how you have tested your interest in medicine. If the war inspired your interest in medicine or if you are interested in a field of medicine that came out of your experiences as a child, then you should work it into your PS.

You may also want to hold on to some stories about the war for secondary essays about hardships, overcoming difficulties, etc.

This is pretty much accurate. If you want to integrate such experiences into your personal statement, it needs to come off eloquently. I read a residency application statement last fall that was basically a page-long life story about growing up with a father who was incarcerated for running a meth ring, a mother with severe alcoholism, and a couple other horrible abuse and neglect experiences that basically ended with a "...and that's why I want to be a psychiatrist" without any description of the applicant's professional experiences and goals. Hopefully you can see why I saw that as not necessarily a red flag, but at least a moderately-siezed yellow one.

Every admissions committee loves a good hardship story, but you need to be able to make a narrative connection between your hardship and your future as a physician for it to really count.