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Institutional Action Explanation

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You tell the truth and own any transgressions. Do NOT make excuses. The PS is not for this; it's for "Who am I?" and "Why Medicine?"

You'll have prompts in the secondary for explanations for the IA and dismissal.

Adcom members read the entire thing...they're not parceled out.


I'm in the process of writing an institutional action explanation for the AACOMAS app. It was an institutional dismissal due to the quality of my grades at the time. I was under academic probation for two quarters, and subsequently dismissed when I failed to show improvement. Since the expulsion, I took a year off from academics, and then went on to graduate and complete 140 units of a DIY postbacc with a 3.8 gpa for these last units.

Now, the personal crisis I had at my undergraduate institution strongly ties to my interests in medicine and why I would like to become a physician. I've mentioned this crisis and my reasoning in my personal statement.

How would I address my IA statement? Do I summarize the issues highlighted in my PS and add it to this statement? Or will a quick 4-5 sentence explanation be sufficient?

Do adcoms read personal statements in conjuction with IA statements, or do different people read each section?

Thank you in advance for your advice.
 
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You tell the truth and own any transgressions. Do NOT make excuses. The PS is not for this; it's for "Who am I?" and "Why Medicine?"

You'll have prompts in the secondary for explanations for the IA and dismissal.

Adcom members read the entire thing...they're not parceled out.
Would it be fine to briefly mention the crisis and how it led me to medicine in the PS? And witholding mention of the IA until the alotted section in the secondary?