How to explain a traumatic/sensitive topic a cause poor undergrad performance without asking for pity?

[MolecularCatalyst]

Hello everyone,

I am writing to ask you all since I am not really sure where to ask this. I have changed some things for more anonymity, but the content, GPA, and events are very real. It would just be easy for someone in my personal life to link these things together and recognize me. Potential trigger warning to anyone that needs it, my story contains domestic abuse.

My college experience was not ideal, I became homeless during the summer between sophomore and junior years. Around that same time I became involved in a relationship and moved in with an individual who was extremely abusive both physically and mentally. During that time I suffered a lot of broken teeth, bruises, scratch/bite marks, etc. It probably sounds crazy and stupid, but I stayed in that relationship for a little over 4 years. I just hoped that things would change for the better, but they never did. The physical abuse was not daily, more so every couple of weeks if I bought the wrong type of dish soap or toothpaste. It's hard to explain to someone who has never experienced it before, I used to think "well just leave it can't be that hard" but I was wrong.

During that time I was so stupid to continue to try to take classes for my degree, I ended up withdrawing from a lot of my classes just after a couple days after the start of the semester since my SO at the time did not want me to go to college. I ended up finishing my degree by some miracle and was able to get a job far away and never went back. I finished my bachelors with a 3.2 uGPA, but unfortunately I collected over 50 W's on my transcript. Since graduating, I have taken advanced undergraduate classes as sort of a "DIY" post-bacc. I have been able to maintain a 3.9x (all A's expect one B+ due to my own stupid self) with about 26 credits, I was just taking anything remotely related to medicine/biology that I could during the evenings while working full-time. My total GPA rose to like a 3.3 I believe, not that it matters much.

I am studying for the MCAT, but realize that I will likely have to complete a formal SMP program as my undergrad transcript has MASSIVE red flags. This of course all occurred over 5 years ago so I am a much different person now than before.

I am just unsure of how or if I should talk about this in my PS. Like it is not the primary reason why I want to become a doctor, but I feel as if this is a huge elephant in the room. I don't want sympathy or an excuse, I just want to say "yes this is why - my poor performance was due to these events not my abilities, it was unfortunate, but I've improved and will make me a better physician in the future." I also wouldn't be sure how to incorporate it into my PS, like it would feel weird to just have a small section on my PS about domestic abuse and then move past it. I am rambling but I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say.

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[Rapsidy]

I included my own history of abuse in my PS and talked about it during the what happened during this period of your grades part of secondaries. It doesn’t have to be a story of pity or trying to make excuses. It can be simply this is what happened, and this is how I grew from the experience. Then your current grades speak for themselves in who you are as a person and a student outside of those circumstances.

The adcoms are not robots, many of them have likely had their own backgrounds and struggles with emotional/physical abuse, and will relate to the fact that the person you are now is not the person you were back then.

 

[Goro]

So sorry to hear about these troubles. No one should have to go through that.

Be honest and up front. You're not the first applicant who has had to travel down a dark road.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for sharing. I first advise you to be sure you are able to talk about whatever you disclose should it ever come up in interviews. For sure, it may be something you have to be comfortable with when you need to discuss it once you are in medical school.

Secondly, not everything has to be in the personal statement. You'll need to think about whether this is something you can bring up in secondaries for individual schools who want to know more about you, adversity you had to overcome or still experience, or academic challenges that need explaining. The PS should generally be a brief focused presentation of your motivation to work in medicine as shown through specific insights about you or your interactions with patients (in general). What should a patient know about you as a physician? That's what you can write about in the PS.

 

[Mdcsmitty]

Just be honest and direct about the situation. I had issues with abuse starting early in childhood that continued into my early college career and ultimately impacted me academically. I ended up dropping out of college initially so I could work and remove myself from that situation and that did a number on my transcript as I basically just disappeared one day with no communication with the school I was attending. That being said I eventually returned and continued with my education during my application cycle it was an obvious red flag and something that I had to address.
I had to submit a separate document to one of the schools I applied to because of what happened with my transcript and I told them about the situation directly. This happened, I made this decision as it was best for me at the time, and this is how I rectified the situation. Ironically the school that I had to jump through extra hoops to even be looked at because of my past is also the school that accepted me so you just have to trust the process but as was mentioned above you are not the only person who was dealt a bum hand in life and its not something that everyone is going to hold against you for the rest of your life, your history is a part of what makes you who you are and your a better person for being able to bounce back from whatever trials you may face.