Including adversity in PS just for the sake of it

[highspeed983]

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So I have a somewhat significant life story. Without getting too personal, my direct family has battled with addiction, suicide, sexuality, and subsequent religious shunning. It definitely shaped me into a different person, and I will be able to care for my patients differently than if I had a more normal background. However, it really has nothing to do with why I want to go to medical school.

My pre-med advisor suggests that I should include all of this into my PS. They think that I'll be offered an interview the second I tell my story and that it should be the first thing that ADCOMS reads. However, it does not fit into why I want to go into medicine, and if I include it, I think my PS will sound like a sob story. I think it would be better suited for some kind of secondary prompt. My advisor argues that not all schools have secondaries that will give me the opportunity to write about this.

I also won't be stating that I am disadvantaged. I have an interesting life story, but I never had to worry about a roof over my head or a meal on my plate.

 

[allseasons]

I'm gonna be honest, I wrote my PS to be the best possible PS, as opposed to the perfectly honest answer as to why I want to be a doctor. Last cycle I chose the honest answer. Granted I changed a lot about my application on top of my PS, but you can see the success I've had this time around. Plus, I like to show people both my old and new PS without telling them which is which and asking them to tell me which one is better, and I always get that my new, contrived one is significantly better.

Not that the events in the new one are false, they just didn't really have much to do with my motivation to enter medicine, as you said.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Can you include why you want to go to medical school in an MME? Or conversely can you include some of the challenges you faced in an MME?

Basically look at your app as a whole. For those schools that screen, your primary needs to contain the most important elements of your experiences and story. Without knowing the details (and you don't have to provide them here), it's hard to say what should go where. Obviously it should all be true, but I could easily see why your PS should be more about your personal development and an MME can address why you want to be a physician.

 

[wysdoc]

So I have a somewhat significant life story. Without getting too personal, my direct family has battled with addiction, suicide, sexuality, and subsequent religious shunning. It definitely shaped me into a different person, and I will be able to care for my patients differently than if I had a more normal background. However, it really has nothing to do with why I want to go to medical school.

My pre-med advisor suggests that I should include all of this into my PS. They think that I'll be offered an interview the second I tell my story and that it should be the first thing that ADCOMS reads. However, it does not fit into why I want to go into medicine, and if I include it, I think my PS will sound like a sob story. I think it would be better suited for some kind of secondary prompt. My advisor argues that not all schools have secondaries that will give me the opportunity to write about this.

I also won't be stating that I am disadvantaged. I have an interesting life story, but I never had to worry about a roof over my head or a meal on my plate.

You will have other opportunities to touch on the challenges you have faced, in the many secondary essays you will write. Many of them ask adversity questions.
Write the personal statement that sounds true to you.

 

[highspeed983]

Can you include why you want to go to medical school in an MME? Or conversely can you include some of the challenges you faced in an MME?

Basically look at your app as a whole. For those schools that screen, your primary needs to contain the most important elements of your experiences and story. Without knowing the details (and you don't have to provide them here), it's hard to say what should go where. Obviously it should all be true, but I could easily see why your PS should be more about your personal development and an MME can address why you want to be a physician.

Right now, my MMEs are basically a reiteration of my PS and my "why medicine". Again, that's how I have them now, however, given what you said maybe I shouldn't have overlap.

I don't think I'll be able to include my life story in an MME. So maybe I should have my PS talk about my life story.

 

[chilly_md]

Your PS is about why medicine and why you want to pursue being a physician. If some aspect of the life experiences you mentioned can be connected to that, it could be a good thing to include. Secondaries are likely the best place to fit some of this in. If it is coming out of left field, then I do not think it will have the effect your premed advisor thinks it should. And some may argue that an essay with too many negative connotations could leave a reader with a similarly negative view of your application (from a psychocological perspective)

 

[wysdoc]

I agree with @chilly_md
Also your MMEs should say what value the experience had to you.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

In many secondary applications, you'll be prompted to describe adversities you have overcome, which may work better there.

I can't say that your advisor's advice is off-base otherwise. It totally depends on what qualities you want conveyed to the screeners and faculty who will read your essay quickly. Let's just say it will resonate with some and turn off others. You can't control or predict this, and there is much more involved in the decision to invite to interview. And yes, whatever you submit, you MUST be prepared to talk about it in greater depth if you are invited to interview.

I would like to see how you turned those negatives into a positive that helps patients or the community, if that is indeed a characteristic you wish to highlight.

We don't award gold medals for awesome personal statements. The goal is simply "survive and advance."

 

[LunaOri]

If your difficulties gave you insight into why you want to be a physician, or if your experiences have helped you relate better to people you are helping, then include them in your PS. If not, most schools have either an adversity essay or an “anything else” essay where you can talk about your upbringing.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Right now, my MMEs are basically a reiteration of my PS and my "why medicine". Again, that's how I have them now, however, given what you said maybe I shouldn't have overlap.

I don't think I'll be able to include my life story in an MME. So maybe I should have my PS talk about my life story.

Your MMEs shouldn't rehash your PS. That's a waste of application real estate. They should complement each other and the PS. Every element should add to the readers' understanding of you.

Think of your application as a jigsaw puzzle. You want the different pieces to dovetail. When the fit together well, they create a wonderful (and authentic) picture of you that in total show not only why you want to be a physician, but the qualities and foundation to become that excellent physician.