I Am So Sorry But Yes It's Another Adversity Question

[Chromatica]

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well. I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out what to write about for my adversity essay. Most of my adversity has stemmed out of my identity as a gay man, but I already wrote my diversity essay about that so I don't want to be repetitive.

I wrote a draft today about the difficulty I had moving across the country (from FL to CA) for university and rough start to school (was about to transfer). I highlighted the importance of perseverance and perspective in approaching any situation. Had someone read it and they said it could come off as possibly privileged.

I'm not sure what else to write about, the only other idea I have in my mind is this year my family went through a difficult time and my parents almost divorced because we found out my dad was cheating on my mom, and how I felt the need to hold the family together and be strong for everyone. They ended up working things out, but i'm not sure if this is a good idea; I don't want it to seem like i'm using all of my "cards" (gay card and now almost? divorce card lol).

Let me know if you guys have any ideas about this. Thank you to anyone who can help.

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[LizzyM]

Do not write about your parents' marital woes! As absurd and unlikely as it seems, it is possible that someone who knows your family will read it and that is NOT how you want to be remembered. (I still remember an essay that revealed to me the reason a friend's daughter's marriage fell apart --thanks to a secondary essay written by the divorced couple's daughter.)

What is the specific prompt you are writing for? Does the school have both a diversity essay and a adversity essay? If not, you can certainly use coming out for either one. If a school does require those two specific essay topics, you could show grit and adapatability that it took to acclimate to a new environment. You may find yourself using those same skills as you adapt to the medical school environment and that's the purpose of those essays, "how do you hold it together when the going gets rough?"

 

[Chromatica]

@LizzyM Thanks for the response.

The specific one I'm writing for right now is "The FAU College of Medicine Admissions Committee is interested in learning more about you as a person. Please describe a noteworthy personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral and/or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you learned about yourself as a result."

But FAU for example, among with a lot of schools, have both an adversity and a diversity essay so I feel like it's wise for me to write about something else just for efficiency sake. For some schools that just have one essay, something along the lines of "is there something not in your application that you would like the committee to know?" etc., I am planning on writing about my coming out because it definitely feels right.

It's good to know you think the essay can work. It might simply be about how i'm phrasing it, or just that one person who thought it came off as privilege. I'll have to get more advice to find out.

 

[Chromatica]

@LizzyM @Goro I also used to be overweight as a teen and I could talk about overcoming that and the bullying I faced and finding my love for fitness which changed my life instead of the moving cross country thing. What do you guys think?

 

[Goro]

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well. I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out what to write about for my adversity essay. Most of my adversity has stemmed out of my identity as a gay man, but I already wrote my diversity essay about that so I don't want to be repetitive.

I wrote a draft today about the difficulty I had moving across the country (from FL to CA) for university and rough start to school (was about to transfer). I highlighted the importance of perseverance and perspective in approaching any situation. Had someone read it and they said it could come off as possibly privileged.

I'm not sure what else to write about, the only other idea I have in my mind is this year my family went through a difficult time and my parents almost divorced because we found out my dad was cheating on my mom, and how I felt the need to hold the family together and be strong for everyone. They ended up working things out, but i'm not sure if this is a good idea; I don't want it to seem like i'm using all of my "cards" (gay card and now almost? divorce card lol).

Let me know if you guys have any ideas about this. Thank you to anyone who can help.

You could certainly discuss how you dealt with the difficulties of coming out, homophobia etc. for the adversity prompt.

Agree with the wise LizzyM that the thing about your parents is more about them than you.

 

[LizzyM]

"Please describe a noteworthy personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral and/or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you learned about yourself as a result."

I ... used to be overweight as a teen and I could talk about overcoming that and the bullying I faced and finding my love for fitness which changed my life

Very good. it was a personal challenge, you got through the experience and learned about yourself as a result. Sounds like it would be very appropriate.

 

[KatsuCurry]

Do not write about your parents' marital woes! As absurd and unlikely as it seems, it is possible that someone who knows your family will read it and that is NOT how you want to be remembered. (I still remember an essay that revealed to me the reason a friend's daughter's marriage fell apart --thanks to a secondary essay written by the divorced couple's daughter.)

What is the specific prompt you are writing for? Does the school have both a diversity essay and a adversity essay? If not, you can certainly use coming out for either one. If a school does require those two specific essay topics, you could show grit and adapatability that it took to acclimate to a new environment. You may find yourself using those same skills as you adapt to the medical school environment and that's the purpose of those essays, "how do you hold it together when the going gets rough?"

Sorry to hijack this thread but for such adversity questions that seem to ask for a personal rather than professional challenge that shaped one as a person (like FAU and Case), I'm considering writing about how I've worked to improve a strained relationship with my father. I used to not see eye-to-eye with him since he's a first-generation immigrant and emotionally closed off because of his past hardships, but how I've ultimately come to understand the multitude of experiences that shape one person and the importance of family values. The essay would be mostly about how I've changed, but is writing about not having a good relationship with your family considered taboo or a red flag?

 

[LizzyM]

Sorry to hijack this thread but for such adversity questions that seem to ask for a personal rather than professional challenge that shaped one as a person (like FAU and Case), I'm considering writing about how I've worked to improve a strained relationship with my father. I used to not see eye-to-eye with him since he's a first-generation immigrant and emotionally closed off because of his past hardships, but how I've ultimately come to understand the multitude of experiences that shape one person and the importance of family values. The essay would be mostly about how I've changed, but is writing about not having a good relationship with your family considered taboo or a red flag?

Keep in mind that someone who knows your father may read this essay. Writing about your own relationship wiht someone, such as your dad, is a different situation that writing about a couple's relationship wiht you in the middle or watching from the side. Be mindful of the privacy of anyone who write about who would be identifiable from your application. Would you be comfortable having your father read your essay? If not, it might not be appropriate to submit with your application.

 

[mbio2015]

Keep in mind that someone who knows your father may read this essay. Writing about your own relationship wiht someone, such as your dad, is a different situation that writing about a couple's relationship wiht you in the middle or watching from the side. Be mindful of the privacy of anyone who write about who would be identifiable from your application. Would you be comfortable having your father read your essay? If not, it might not be appropriate to submit with your application.

So if a parent knows it’s an essay topic and you’d be comfortable with them or anyone else you knew reading it, then go ahead? I’m thinking about writing about a parent’s substance abuse history and how it dominated much of my life. They’d have no problem with it, but I didn’t know if that crossed ethical lines.

 

[LizzyM]

So if a parent knows it’s an essay topic and you’d be comfortable with them or anyone else you knew reading it, then go ahead? I’m thinking about writing about a parent’s substance abuse history and how it dominated much of my life. They’d have no problem with it, but I didn’t know if that crossed ethical lines.

I do think that it would be best to say at the end of the essay, "I thank my father for giving his permisison to share the portion of this essay which is his story." or words to that effect so that it is clear that your father is okay with making information about his history public (although what is in your application is confidential, it is also "out there" and many people will read it.)

 

[mbio2015]

I do think that it would be best to say at the end of the essay, "I thank my father for giving his permisison to share the portion of this essay which is his story." or words to that effect so that it is clear that your father is okay with making information about his history public (although what is in your application is confidential, it is also "out there" and many people will read it.)

Sounds good, thanks!