- Joined
- Sep 17, 2011
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 0
My story is not common or at least not commonly mentioned. I am applying next cycle but I would like to ask you how much of my personal story should I mention in my PS. How much is too much?
Undergraduate Major :Biology with Honors and Psychology
cumGPA: 3.40
BCPM GPA:3.26
MCAT:Taking in Aug 23rd, practice tests (28-30)
Research: 4 years while in undergraduate. 1 Summer Research program in Ivy League. 6 months of work as a research Assistant in my home schools Med School.
Volunteering: Extensive. Hospital NICU for 2 years 4hrs/ week , L&D volunteer for 1 year 4 hrs/ week. Medical trip to Peru: 1 moth FT (60 hrs/ week) work in the ED and the OR at a public maternity hospital. Many events throughout undergrad of volunteering with a local organization that provides assistance with many events like Race for the Cure, Special Olympics, Homeless shelters Etc.
Shadowing:
- 700+ hours volunteering at a local clinic for the uninsured with a PCP.
-The hours spent shadowing the OB/GYN in Peru.
-Shadowed 20 hours with another OB/GYN while in the Summer research program.
- Currently working as an ER Scribe (planning to do this for 1 year at least)
Personal Story:
I came to the US when I was 15 as an illegal immigrant. My family and I did not enter the country illegally but we were not supposed to stay and we did. My family is made up of my mother (single mother) and my younger sister. We survived with my mother's under the table salary while my sister and I finished high school. After high school my mother was able to get a work visa so I was able to get a social security and apply to college. However, since I was not a US citizen or Permanent resident I paid for the first 2 years of college out of pocket. I did not care I was to happy focused on the fact that I had the opportunity to go to college. Because of my education expenses and the necessity to help my family financially I worked a 35 + hours as a vet tech for the first 2 years of college and my GPA reflects the lack of time to study and turn "B's" into "A's" . After a while of not being able to apply for a green card I proposed to my boyfriend at the time and we got married. The marriage was a disappointment as he was expecting me to be the epitome Hispanic wife cook, clean and make babies and I had different plans for my life, I wanted to be a Doctor. The marriage ended but I was able to get my Green Card out of the deal so it was not a total waste of time. After the green card, I qualified for Financial Aid so I was able to work less time to still help my family financially but I did not have to pay for school. As I started taking upper division courses I applied for a Work Study research position at a lab in my School where I stayed for 4 years. This research experience and the fact that I was working on my own project got me the honors of my degree. After I graduated, I was not able to apply right away because I wanted to return the favor and have my mother go back to school (In the US for her masters) She was by then a resident as well so she was able to go to college. While she was in school she started working PT and worked FT as a Science Teacher for in a low income, low performance, 100% minority Middle School . With my teachers salary I was able to support my mother and sister while they were both in college. I was also able to increase my students passing score in the states science test by 75% . I currently switched to working as a medical Scribe in an ER and both my mother and sister are 1 semester away from graduation! We all 3 will become citizens at the end of this month and despite the struggle, all the sacrifices and the suffering, my mother and sister have always been there to support me. We learned to survive by supporting each other and slowly but surely we have made progress. Until recently, I would have never revealed the fact that I stayed in this country illegally or that I got my green card through marriage. The only motivation I had to even post this is a recent episode of the show NY med where one of the surgeons openly revealed having entered this country illegally.
Is this subject still taboo? Is it important to mention it in my personal statement? It is the main reason why I am on the low end of the GPA scale for med schools. Working almost FT and studying FT was exhausting and some days I just did not have any energy left in me. I dont know how to better explain this. Any advice of previous applicants is appreciated
Undergraduate Major :Biology with Honors and Psychology
cumGPA: 3.40
BCPM GPA:3.26
MCAT:Taking in Aug 23rd, practice tests (28-30)
Research: 4 years while in undergraduate. 1 Summer Research program in Ivy League. 6 months of work as a research Assistant in my home schools Med School.
Volunteering: Extensive. Hospital NICU for 2 years 4hrs/ week , L&D volunteer for 1 year 4 hrs/ week. Medical trip to Peru: 1 moth FT (60 hrs/ week) work in the ED and the OR at a public maternity hospital. Many events throughout undergrad of volunteering with a local organization that provides assistance with many events like Race for the Cure, Special Olympics, Homeless shelters Etc.
Shadowing:
- 700+ hours volunteering at a local clinic for the uninsured with a PCP.
-The hours spent shadowing the OB/GYN in Peru.
-Shadowed 20 hours with another OB/GYN while in the Summer research program.
- Currently working as an ER Scribe (planning to do this for 1 year at least)
Personal Story:
I came to the US when I was 15 as an illegal immigrant. My family and I did not enter the country illegally but we were not supposed to stay and we did. My family is made up of my mother (single mother) and my younger sister. We survived with my mother's under the table salary while my sister and I finished high school. After high school my mother was able to get a work visa so I was able to get a social security and apply to college. However, since I was not a US citizen or Permanent resident I paid for the first 2 years of college out of pocket. I did not care I was to happy focused on the fact that I had the opportunity to go to college. Because of my education expenses and the necessity to help my family financially I worked a 35 + hours as a vet tech for the first 2 years of college and my GPA reflects the lack of time to study and turn "B's" into "A's" . After a while of not being able to apply for a green card I proposed to my boyfriend at the time and we got married. The marriage was a disappointment as he was expecting me to be the epitome Hispanic wife cook, clean and make babies and I had different plans for my life, I wanted to be a Doctor. The marriage ended but I was able to get my Green Card out of the deal so it was not a total waste of time. After the green card, I qualified for Financial Aid so I was able to work less time to still help my family financially but I did not have to pay for school. As I started taking upper division courses I applied for a Work Study research position at a lab in my School where I stayed for 4 years. This research experience and the fact that I was working on my own project got me the honors of my degree. After I graduated, I was not able to apply right away because I wanted to return the favor and have my mother go back to school (In the US for her masters) She was by then a resident as well so she was able to go to college. While she was in school she started working PT and worked FT as a Science Teacher for in a low income, low performance, 100% minority Middle School . With my teachers salary I was able to support my mother and sister while they were both in college. I was also able to increase my students passing score in the states science test by 75% . I currently switched to working as a medical Scribe in an ER and both my mother and sister are 1 semester away from graduation! We all 3 will become citizens at the end of this month and despite the struggle, all the sacrifices and the suffering, my mother and sister have always been there to support me. We learned to survive by supporting each other and slowly but surely we have made progress. Until recently, I would have never revealed the fact that I stayed in this country illegally or that I got my green card through marriage. The only motivation I had to even post this is a recent episode of the show NY med where one of the surgeons openly revealed having entered this country illegally.
Is this subject still taboo? Is it important to mention it in my personal statement? It is the main reason why I am on the low end of the GPA scale for med schools. Working almost FT and studying FT was exhausting and some days I just did not have any energy left in me. I dont know how to better explain this. Any advice of previous applicants is appreciated
