Is it chill to talk about past drug use in personal statement?

[MSMsong]

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Hey all, one thing that has been on my mind recently is how I'm going to draft up my personal statement for medical school applications. For me, the reality is that I was in pretty deep with using drugs, alcohol, partying, etc. my first two years of college, which reflect my poor GPA received those two years. One of the biggest turning points in my life was the summer going into my third year where I was at a very low place physically and mentally as a result of abusing my body through all the substance use. Fast forward, I'll be graduating this June and I am no longer the same person I was in the past, and completely cleaned up my life in terms of my relationship with family, the people I surrounded myself with, my academics and my overall health and well-being.

My question is, is it okay for me to talk about this shift in my life from being addicted to substances and the hedonistic life style in an explicit way to highlight the changes I've made in my life? Part of the reason why I want to go into medicine is because of this experience and it is the flat out truth that drives me to this day. Will the people reading my personal statement see me in a negative light because of it? I don't plan on sending in an application to medical until at least 2022 or maybe 2023, so I was hoping that I would be able to draft my personal statement from an experience during this time period to leave out the drugs, but this shift was definitely huge when I look at my life overall, so I can't see how I can not talk about it. Let me know, thanks!

 

[The wise one]

No, I wouldn't. Drug abuse, alcohol, and medicine don't go together.

 

[Nugester]

No. No. No.

 

[thedocta]

you should skip explicitly mentioning drug use or anything illegal really. from someone who can relate to some aspects of a journey to medicine like yours, there isn't much tolerance for even mentioning that kind of history; i think there are just too many good applicants without red flags like that. which kind of sucks because those experiences can be a powerful driving force for good if properly learned from.

you should be able to be vague enough in your personal statement by talking about that "low point" in your life etc without incriminating yourself while also adding some new experiences like you mentioned

 

[deleted859689]

No. You can just say you didn't know what to do earlier in life until you found your passion in medicine. Do not draw attention to negative details of your application.

 

[and 99 others]

I'd say that it is, in fact, not chill.

 

[MSMsong]

you should skip explicitly mentioning drug use or anything illegal really. from someone who can relate to some aspects of a journey to medicine like yours, there isn't much tolerance for even mentioning that kind of history; i think there are just too many good applicants without red flags like that. which kind of sucks because those experiences can be a powerful driving force for good if properly learned from.

you should be able to be vague enough in your personal statement by talking about that "low point" in your life etc without incriminating yourself while also adding some new experiences like you mentioned

Got it, thanks for the helpful comment. I’ll definitely figure out a way to properly articulate what I was going through and be sure to highlight other experiences I’ll get in the future, cheers!