How to approach personal statement and overall application theme- nontraditional applicant

[GEDrtMD]

Hello,

I have been lurking on these forums for about 3 years. I finally made an account and this is my first post.

Long story short, my mother abandoned our family when I was 14 years old, leaving my 3 sisters and I with my father, who was an alcoholic. I struggled with this and dropped out of high school at 18. I received a GED at 19 and began attending community college. At that point I planned to go to pharmacy school. My dad filed for bankruptcy and lost our house. I dropped out of school and got a full time job making very little and moved out on my own. It was a struggle and I had no support system or knowledge of how to support myself. I ended up homeless for a period of about 2 months. My mother would not let me live with her due to fears her SO would leave her and my dad was in a halfway house and couldn't help. I did have a job and never slept in the streets. I stayed in a cheap motel. As of now, I have not decided if I should include this detail in my application.

I eventually began to learn how to support myself and started earning more money via a position waiting tables. I returned to community college in January of 2011 and began radiography school in 2012. I graduated radiography school in August 2014 and was awarded the outstanding student technologist award for superior patient care upon graduating. It was during radiography school that I discovered that I wanted to become a physician. I started working as a tech in a trauma hospital and enrolled in a university to take the pre-reqs and finish my bachelor's degree. I have done very well in my classes, including receiving the highest score in my 120-student gen chem class.

One month ago, 3 weeks before finals, my father passed away unexpectedly. I was still able to keep A's in all of my classes. My father was an inspiration to me regarding pursuing medicine. I was very dedicated to trying to save him from his disease, as he was truly a remarkable person. My question is this: Am I going to be able to include all of this information in my personal statement with out it sounding depressing and/or like a chronological list of events? Are these types of situations typically brought up in personal statements? Would anyone be willing to read my rough draft and provide feedback?
In case it is helpful my cGPA is 3.937, sGPA is 3.881
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story.

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[chcash]

My question is this: Am I going to be able to include all of this information in my personal statement with out it sounding depressing and/or like a chronological list of events? Are these types of situations typically brought up in personal statements?

Truthfully, probably not. The personal statement should be as much forward-looking as backward-looking. The things about your childhood and difficult upbringing are obviously a big part of who you are, but do they directly influence your desire to want to be a physician? It doesn't sound like, at least not any more than most other applicant's pasts. I think going out of your way to mention all of the details you discussed above might come across as somewhat self-victimizing (though I know that sounds harsh). You have great grades, so if your extracurriculars are strong, discuss those as well. If it seems topical to briefly mention your own past or your father's passing, feel free. But again, the personal statement is as much about your prospective future as it is about your past.

Certainly don't avoid mentioning things from your past if they are appropriate, but let it be something for adcoms to ask you an interview rather than something you put on full display from the get go. For example, if you're talking about why you're interested in medical school NOW, it's perfectly fine to say that you didn't have the means or the opportunity to fully focus on your academics, largely because of your family's financial issues. But again, I don't think it's necessary to bare every detail of your early years because, from the sound of it, a lot of those challenges don't have much to do with where you are at now and where you want to be soon.

Hope this helps - it's mostly my own judgment, and I don't want to sound harsh.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

I think you could incorporate some of your background story in your PS. But I agree with the above ^^^ that the focus of the PS should really be your motivations for becoming a physician. You could certainly write about your father's disease, if that is truly what motivated you. But also make sure that YOU and YOUR story (as opposed to your father's story) are the central focus because that's what med schools want to hear about.

Many schools have secondary essays that ask about challenges or hardships you've overcome in your past. I could definitely see some of this being included there.

If it were me, I wouldn't deliberately avoid mentioning the background story. I would just want to make sure that the story of "why me? why medicine?" doesn't get lost in there. I know this is isn't a totally clear-cut answer... But hopefully, it helps somewhat!

 

[Meeehai]

Write about it in the secondaries.

 

[RuggerMD]

Write about it in the secondaries.

Many secondaries will ask you directly about obstacles you've overcome or personal growth. You could also use your story in the dreaded diversity essay. The above is great advice.

 

[Shirafune]

Maybe adcoms could correct me if I'm wrong, but you would also be able to claim disadvantaged status on your application. I mean, given the fact that you practically had no parents to guide you or financially support you (at least the minimum financial support) through your high school years, I would argue that you were educationally disadvantaged. I have heard similar situations on SDN tossed around, but hopefully someone more senior than I could comment.

But to reiterate, save your background for the "greatest obstacles" prompts. Your personal statement should be about your time in the trauma department and your experience as a radiology technician.

 

[GEDrtMD]

Thank you everyone for your responses! I am particularly looking to avoid looking "self-victimizing." However, I have felt that my story does need to be discussed in my personal statement as I have a GED and I have an unusual trajectory (went to community college, stopped for 3.5 years, back to cc, etc). When I honestly ask myself "why medicine?" I know that I have an innate desire to help people, I love science, and I am passionate about education. The reason that I want to do medicine as opposed to nursing or stay in my career as an x-ray tech, is because my experiences have created a drive in me to reach my full potential and to go beyond what I ever thought was possible. A career as a doctor would also place me in a position to be able to help others who are in the same position that I once was.

 

[Raktertookwan]

OP, I am struggling with the same kind of reason too. It's hard to describe to people that it's was your previous experience that drove you toward medicine and it seems like most readers have a hard time really understanding that. I too am curious how others approach a situation like this where your experience working in the field is what directly influence your reasons to pursue medicine.

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

Some Adcoms have written about the "distance traveled" in your life. You have had a much harder road than most applicants, and that makes you unique. This is part of what makes you who you are. My congrats to you on your GPA. Beast that MCAT, and I would suggest that your road with huge potholes that you overcame is integral to your story. You are not talking about being a victim, but a survivor and thriver. Med School will love that. Best wishes to you.

 

[Raktertookwan]

Some Adcoms have written about the "distance traveled" in your life. You have had a much harder road than most applicants, and that makes you unique. This is part of what makes you who you are. My congrats to you on your GPA. Beast that MCAT, and I would suggest that your road with huge potholes that you overcame is integral to your story. You are not talking about being a victim, but a survivor and thriver. Med School will love that. Best wishes to you.

I'm so confused because some folks (not in this thread) are saying that mentioning your journey aren't "really" telling someone about you. Just like OP, I am a tech and it's working in the field that opened my eyes to the possibility of medicine which is my biggest reason for pursuing it. But to some readers, that's not really "good enough" ?

Edit: Congrats on a great cycle too! Rainbow

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

I'm so confused because some folks (not in this thread) are saying that mentioning your journey aren't "really" telling someone about you. Just like OP, I am a tech and it's working in the field that opened my eyes to the possibility of medicine which is my biggest reason for pursuing it. But to some readers, that's not really "good enough" ?

Edit: Congrats on a great cycle too! Rainbow

I disagree, your journey makes you who you are. Especially when you have a unique story. Remember, most of us are pretty cookie cutter, privileged backgrounds, yada yada yada. Read through the Adcom Goro's thread:

Application season has started! Goro's guide to the app process:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...arted-goros-guide-to-the-app-process.1075272/

Excerpt:

• • Don't use your PS to explain why you got bad grades. It's for "Who are you?", for "Why Medicine?" and how you got to that decision.
  • Do NOT write in your PS or secondary about what you think we want to see...write about your passions and what drives you. Write about what makes you interesting.
  • If English is NOT your native language, have some native English speakers go over your app.

A must read for any applicant. Many thanks for your kind words, I have been blessed by the gods with good fortune, good parents and good advice from @Goro and others on SDN. I had 2 MCATs, a learning disablity to contend with, but good coaches on writing and interviewing. We don't have to be perfect, we just need to tell a compelling story.

 

[Raktertookwan]

I disagree, your journey makes you who you are. Especially when you have a unique story. Remember, most of us are pretty cookie cutter, privileged backgrounds, yada yada yada. Read through the Adcom Goro's thread:

Application season has started! Goro's guide to the app process:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...arted-goros-guide-to-the-app-process.1075272/

Excerpt:

• 
  
  
  • Don't use your PS to explain why you got bad grades. It's for "Who are you?", for "Why Medicine?" and how you got to that decision.
  • Do NOT write in your PS or secondary about what you think we want to see...write about your passions and what drives you. Write about what makes you interesting.
  • If English is NOT your native language, have some native English speakers go over your app.

A must read for any applicant. Many thanks for your kind words, I have been blessed by the gods with good fortune, good parents and good advice from @Goro and others on SDN. I had 2 MCATs, a learning disablity to contend with, but good coaches on writing and interviewing. We don't have to be perfect, we just need to tell a compelling story.

Totally agree with everything you wrote and what Goro has advise. It's just weird to me because I had some folks read my essay and apparently my reason to pursue medicine, which was from previous health care experience, wasn't driving it home to them and they didn't feel like they knew me even though I talked about my background. I'm wondering if it's the way I executed it and articulated it? I'm not sure.
OP, I apologize for hijacking your thread, as I question the same situation also.

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

Totally agree with everything you wrote and what Goro has advise. It's just weird to me because I had some folks read my essay and apparently my reason to pursue medicine, which was from previous health care experience, wasn't driving it home to them and they didn't feel like they knew me even though I talked about my background. I'm wondering if it's the way I executed it and articulated it? I'm not sure.
OP, I apologize for hijacking your thread, as I question the same situation also.

Get some writing expert to have a look at it. I had a professor and lots of others read over my PS and EC descriptions for flow and style. Maybe you need that type of editing. Stay away from doctors unless they are professors who do a lot of writing for PS advice.

It is a story, and write like a story, a theme, an Arc (whatever that is). The people who helped me made my story so much more interesting than the way I wrote about it (I did this and then that, do you like me??) They helped me tie it all together in a coherent and compelling manner. My II success I attribute to how well written my PS and ECs were (and has been mentioned at my interviews). Use experts to help you tell your story (just like professional writers use editors). Good Luck to you.

 

[musicalfeet]

It is totally possible to have a condensed enough story to have both your past and your medical experiences. I think my PS, in the end (after a major rehaul) was one of my strengths, largely because I decided to scrap the stereotypical format of talking about all my medically relevant experiences and instead talked about what made me unique. Of course, you need to bring in how you got into pursuing medicine (critical for a non trad), but in terms of "looking to the future", one short concluding paragraph is all that's needed for that.

Remember, you also have space to write in depth about the important medically relevant experiences in your 15 things. You should partition out various parts of you and your qualities, so that when looking at your entire application, all of your dimensions are covered

 

[GEDrtMD]

I'm so confused because some folks (not in this thread) are saying that mentioning your journey aren't "really" telling someone about you. Just like OP, I am a tech and it's working in the field that opened my eyes to the possibility of medicine which is my biggest reason for pursuing it. But to some readers, that's not really "good enough" ?

Edit: Congrats on a great cycle too! Rainbow

I ended up receiving some great advice/help with my personal statement. Essentially what I'm doing is integrating patient experiences with aspects of my story. For example, writing about a patient experience that meant a lot to me and then talking about a hurdle I've overcome in the same paragraph. My whole story is not in the personal statement, but I'm hopeful that secondaries will provide an opportunity to give my history more completely.