Part of the reason for being a physician, (I've always wanted to be one since a teen, but this has been exemplified in recent memory) is due to a sort of sociopolitical upbringing. I'm not an American, I come from a different country (I don't want to disclose anything about it really). My country is in poverty, and has a corrupt government, so it's pretty much anarchy, including all things medical.
Growing up in that environment was really tough. My country is also a war torn country, and you get to definitely appreciate things like medicine in the US, and even just a clean environmental setting. Part of the reason why I've wanted to be a physician was being in that environment as a kid and having a calling.
I don't know the pros and cons of having a PS like that. In some ways it seems like some random generic "That kid with a weird name and a pretty crappy circumstance, and he wants to be a physician to help others". On the other hand, I got some help writing the PS from an English professor who I've went to counseling for, and we got one crafted that really shows the sociopolitical aspect of health care and the factors that inspired me to pursue medicine. Reading this piece, I honestly cried. There are political websites and international news sites like Liveleak, etc. that shows places of my neighborhood getting bombed, streets that I walk in getting destroyed. There's even a video of someone that I KNEW dying. It's very difficult to see, and it has a huge role in wanting me to pursue medicine.
Should I go for it? My GPA is higher than my average institution and higher than the mean and median of all the medical schools I want to apply for. My MCAT is also higher than the average for my state, and higher than that statistical average for the medical schools that I'm shooting for. My mock interviewers (we have an official group of psychologists at our campus that donate time for students who come from less traditional backgrounds to assess their interpersonal skills) say I have very strong communication skills and I don't even need coaching. I've done an REU at a medical school, etc., etc.
Should I risk a solid application with this PS? I can't think of any other PS to be honest.
Growing up in that environment was really tough. My country is also a war torn country, and you get to definitely appreciate things like medicine in the US, and even just a clean environmental setting. Part of the reason why I've wanted to be a physician was being in that environment as a kid and having a calling.
I don't know the pros and cons of having a PS like that. In some ways it seems like some random generic "That kid with a weird name and a pretty crappy circumstance, and he wants to be a physician to help others". On the other hand, I got some help writing the PS from an English professor who I've went to counseling for, and we got one crafted that really shows the sociopolitical aspect of health care and the factors that inspired me to pursue medicine. Reading this piece, I honestly cried. There are political websites and international news sites like Liveleak, etc. that shows places of my neighborhood getting bombed, streets that I walk in getting destroyed. There's even a video of someone that I KNEW dying. It's very difficult to see, and it has a huge role in wanting me to pursue medicine.
Should I go for it? My GPA is higher than my average institution and higher than the mean and median of all the medical schools I want to apply for. My MCAT is also higher than the average for my state, and higher than that statistical average for the medical schools that I'm shooting for. My mock interviewers (we have an official group of psychologists at our campus that donate time for students who come from less traditional backgrounds to assess their interpersonal skills) say I have very strong communication skills and I don't even need coaching. I've done an REU at a medical school, etc., etc.
Should I risk a solid application with this PS? I can't think of any other PS to be honest.
