How to put/explain extenuating circumstances/hardships on apps?

[Tennis Guy]

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Hey everybody,
I was wondering, if anyone can give advice on how to put extenuating circumstances on apps, such as deaths in the family, other hardships, etc.? How would you all advise (from those with experience with this) on how to present these experiences, without them looking as excuses for bad grades and such (even if they had that sort of significant impact in that regard?) Thank you all for your advice, assistance, and insight..... it is greatly appreciated!!! 🙂

 

[deleted480308]

Hey everybody,
I was wondering, if anyone can give advice on how to put extenuating circumstances on apps, such as deaths in the family, other hardships, etc.? How would you all advise (from those with experience with this) on how to present these experiences, without them looking as excuses for bad grades and such (even if they had that sort of significant impact in that regard?) Thank you all for your advice, assistance, and insight..... it is greatly appreciated!!! 🙂

Probably somewhere in the secondary, but to risk sounding harsh you still have to produce the numbers

Everyone has some unexpected stuff happen and we’re all expected to put out production whether or not it’s fair

Hope it works out for you

 

[PursuingHappy]

Some schools asked specifically if there was anything that might have affected my grades, and I wrote about it there. Otherwise, it may be a great challenge question if you don't already have an answer for that. Just make sure to have someone look over it to make sure it does not sound like you want pity.

 

[Dave1980]

Would avoid doing this unless your extenuating circumstances are beyond the scope of what normal people experience throughout normal life.

A practicing physician will be expected to perform at a high level during stressful periods (death of a loved one, divorce, raising difficult children). Medical school, residency, and practice are much more stressful and time consuming than college so if you falter in college when faced with difficulties you have a problem and any attempt to explain will likely not go over well.

 

[ciestar]

I put this stuff on my secondaries. Granted, my hardships were brutal and I still managed over a 3.7. Resiliency was the theme of my app.

 

[freedoctor17]

The only time I mentioned something like this was in my one autobiography secondary. Granted I do have a friend who mentioned going through a difficult time that led to a temporary drop in his grades and they a few interviews right now. They wrote about it in the sections on the secondary that ask if there's anything they'd like to explain. Just know that they have had a strong upward trend since and have scored well on the mcat so they clearly have shown they've overcome it.

 

[LizzyM]

If you have a pre-med advisor or committee that is familiar with your struggles, it might end up in the letter written on your behalf. Some schools have letter writers who are really good at putting a positive spin on terrible circumstances and because it comes through a third party, often someone who was walking with you while the bad stuff was happening, it sounds more like a testimonial and less like an excuse.