Mentioning divorce in a personal statement

[ProbablySo]

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When I was a bit younger (and arguably much dumber), I got married and then moved out of state to be with my husband. Well, the marriage only lasted about two years, and the divorce was extremely bad, as in violent. Much of the rest of my story is really hard to frame without the context of the divorce, because it is kind of the story of how I came into my own (corny, I know, but it's true); it was the catalyst for me to begin searching for meaning in my life and it's that search that ultimately brought me to start volunteering and eventually decide on medicine. (For clarity, the divorce itself did not make me want to go into medicine, but it forced me to examine my life, determine what I truly valued and reflect in more depth on other medicine-related experiences I'd had previously, but to which I'd never given much thought up until that point). I am hesitant to mention it in my PS though, because I don't want to sound like a victim (I'm definitely not). Thoughts on this? Do med schools generally frown upon including things like this?

 

[mauberley]

When I was a bit younger (and arguably much dumber), I got married and then moved out of state to be with my husband. Well, the marriage only lasted about two years, and the divorce was extremely bad, as in violent. Much of the rest of my story is really hard to frame without the context of the divorce, because it is kind of the story of how I came into my own (corny, I know, but it's true); it was the catalyst for me to begin searching for meaning in my life and it's that search that ultimately brought me to start volunteering and eventually decide on medicine. (For clarity, the divorce itself did not make me want to go into medicine, but it forced me to examine my life, determine what I truly valued and reflect in more depth on other medicine-related experiences I'd had previously, but to which I'd never given much thought up until that point). I am hesitant to mention it in my PS though, because I don't want to sound like a victim (I'm definitely not). Thoughts on this? Do med schools generally frown upon including things like this?

If it truly informed your decision to pursue medicine, I can't see why you shouldn't mention it. Just mind your spin, have disinterested third parties read it over (such as the volunteers in the PS thread), and you'll be fine.

 

[pfaction]

I shouldn't've posted this, ignore.

 

[Kaustikos]

When I was a bit younger (and arguably much dumber), I got married and then moved out of state to be with my husband. Well, the marriage only lasted about two years, and the divorce was extremely bad, as in violent. Much of the rest of my story is really hard to frame without the context of the divorce, because it is kind of the story of how I came into my own (corny, I know, but it's true); it was the catalyst for me to begin searching for meaning in my life and it's that search that ultimately brought me to start volunteering and eventually decide on medicine. (For clarity, the divorce itself did not make me want to go into medicine, but it forced me to examine my life, determine what I truly valued and reflect in more depth on other medicine-related experiences I'd had previously, but to which I'd never given much thought up until that point). I am hesitant to mention it in my PS though, because I don't want to sound like a victim (I'm definitely not). Thoughts on this? Do med schools generally frown upon including things like this?

Here's what I'll say - do your VERY BEST to highlight the positives in you and why you decided on medicine. Talk about some of the characteristics you feel are greatly appreciated/admired by adcoms and how you demonstrate them. If you still need to discuss this important matter, I guess it's unavoidable if you're talking about your decision to start medicine. But, honestly, it seems that talking about a divorce and how badly it went after might cause more harm than basically rounding out the edges and trying to make it into a positive catalyst. I read PS for pre-meds here (personal statement reader list) and I'd be glad to help you out, if you'd like, so shoot me a PM. I can take a look at what you have and try to steer you away from some of the pitfalls that haunt other people's statements (and this isn't an insult, people, it's just fact).

 

[NickNaylor]

I will go a step further than mauberley and say that unless your reasoning and motivation to go into medicine absolutely makes no sense without mentioning this, I would leave it out. The personal statement is not a place to talk about dramatic things that happened in your life if the tangentially played a role in causing you to become a physician.