No Adversity....Anyone Else?

[Spiker]

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So I cant think of any major adversity that has affected my life in recent times. Of course there are some difficulties but I never let my grade suffer as result. Just by looking at last year's secondary alot of the school have adversity as one of the essay prompt. What do I write for that? While, nothing major happened I can assure you that I busted my ass off for a 4.0 just the same, I dont want them to make the assumption that I "just had it easy".

So what about you guys...I am sure some of you are in similar situation that I am in. What is your plan?

 

[oze]

So I cant think of any major adversity that has affected my life in recent times. Of course there are some difficulties but I never let my grade suffer as result. Just by looking at last year's secondary alot of the school have adversity as one of the essay prompt. What do I write for that? While, nothing major happened I can assure you that I busted my ass off for a 4.0 just the same, I dont want them to make the assumption that I "just had it easy".

So what about you guys...I am sure some of you are in similar situation that I am in. What is your plan?

Some secondaries ask that if you have never suffered through adversity, what you have learned from others' adversity.

 

[Bernoull]

So I cant think of any major adversity that has affected my life in recent times. Of course there are some difficulties but I never let my grade suffer as result. Just by looking at last year's secondary alot of the school have adversity as one of the essay prompt. What do I write for that? While, nothing major happened I can assure you that I busted my ass off for a 4.0 just the same, I dont want them to make the assumption that I "just had it easy".

So what about you guys...I am sure some of you are in similar situation that I am in. What is your plan?

This can be one of thosethings that you have to think long and hard for, sometimes we discount or straight-out forget adversities we've faced.. Working while in school is one example. I don't think simply studying hard for straight As will be considering adversity. Besides just don't focus on the academic, you can have family, friendship etc challenges that qualify as adversities...

goodluck

 

[Spiker]

I can tell them about how bad breaking up during final week sucked...but I would rather not lol....

 

[arrivee]

I can tell them about how bad breaking up during final week sucked...but I would rather not lol....

That subject may be too...personal, emotional, private, what have you. But everyone has had something happen to them that made them feel bad, and everyone recovered from it or found ways to cope. Yes, it may not be the most dramatic event, but if it is important to you, then that is what you should write about. Think of something that is meaningful deep within you, something more fundamental than grades or activities (in my opinion), and think about that for a while. I bet you'll come up with something!

 

[JokerMD]

Some secondaries ask that if you have never suffered through adversity, what you have learned from others' adversity.

ive never seen that one...which school are you talking about?

 

[Anita817]

Just by looking at last year's secondary alot of the school have adversity as one of the essay prompt. What do I write for that?

Any of the schools I applied to asked this questions in a way that made it sound optional. Like, "if there have been circumstances affecting your academic pursuits, please describe them here." I always left this area blank or wrote "not applicable". I feel like there is a tendency for people without much adversity to over explain things that look less than perfect on their record. I did not feel the need to explain away my single C and single W, or explain why I've been doing post bacc work part time. Sure there are reasons, but that is just how my life ended up going, and I do not think the circumstances leading to these things were extenuating. If interviewers care to hear the reasons, I would gladly explain, but I think devoting an essay to them sounds like whining.

 

[obgyny]

What about the secondary prompts that ask you to describe an obstacle in your life and how you overcame it?

I have no idea what I would write. I'm not applying yet, but I was trying to see what kinds of questions to expect and it seems like that question is asked by a lot of schools. I don't really have anything on my academic record that needs an explanation (so far). And anything that I can come up with seems too personal and I'd rather not write about it. What is it exactly that they are looking for? Maybe I could write about why I did the community college route (financial reasons, but it's complicated)?

 

[obgyny]

This can be one of thosethings that you have to think long and hard for, sometimes we discount or straight-out forget adversities we've faced.. Working while in school is one example. I don't think simply studying hard for straight As will be considering adversity. Besides just don't focus on the academic, you can have family, friendship etc challenges that qualify as adversities...

goodluck

About the secondary question in the OP, what if you had a perfect academic record (4.0 gpa), but also worked through college, did a lot of EC's, took care of a family member, etc? Would you write about how you were challenged in UG, but didn't let your grades suffer? Or are they just asking you to explain weak points on your application?

 

[apumic]

About the secondary question in the OP, what if you had a perfect academic record (4.0 gpa), but also worked through college, did a lot of EC's, took care of a family member, etc? Would you write about how you were challenged in UG, but didn't let your grades suffer? Or are they just asking you to explain weak points on your application?

If you've overcome adversity and your grades haven't suffered, I'd say that's far more impressive than the person who is "explaining away" their weaknesses through adversity. I, for one, will probably talk about some of the things I have had to overcome to be able to achieve in school. I don't think any of us has had a perfect life without any form of adversity. I know for me, much of what I have come through is such a part of me that I don't even tend to recognize it as a disability because I have, for the most part, entirely overcome it. I actually got arrested due to it, though! The charges were, of course, dropped the moment the disability came to light and the DA was faced with that, lol, but it made for a maddening experience nonetheless! That will almost certainly make it on my med school apps despite my strong academic record!

 

[azrael87]

When I was asked a question that specifically referenced overcoming adversity or difficulties, I would first state that I considered myself to be rather fortunate since I haven't had what I would consider to be especially difficult experiences in my life. I would then say that if I had to pick the most difficult portion of my life it would be my experience in college as a whole since it required me to live on my own for the first time, experience a greater level of academia, and just regulate my own life in general. I then explained briefly how over time those difficulties became routine and easy to deal with, how I expect med school to present a similar difficulty at first, and how I expect to overcome it just as I did with undergrad.

It took me a while to settle on that. Like you, I don't think I've had much in the way of hard times. I think this gives us a nice objective perspective on other people's problems. It's for that reason that people ask me for advice a lot of the time. I'm not previously colored by negative experiences, so I can advise from a logical standpoint. My point is, don't think that having a low adversity life will look bad. It is what it is.

 

[Medgirl55]

I tried to avoid those essays - but it's sort of the cowardly thing to do. I guess in some I focused on what I learned about adversity from what those around me had to go through - those I lived with in college and people I met in foreign countries.

 

[apoptosis123]

.

 

[Bernoull]

About the secondary question in the OP, what if you had a perfect academic record (4.0 gpa), but also worked through college, did a lot of EC's, took care of a family member, etc? Would you write about how you were challenged in UG, but didn't let your grades suffer? Or are they just asking you to explain weak points on your application?

most essays are not asking you to explain weak points in your application rather, they want to assess how you cope with stress, challenges etc because there'll be a lot of this dureing med school and beyond. The want to guage how your manage such difficulties. In your example, you coped very well with your challenges and that's a desirable trait to ADCOMs..

 

[obgyny]

most essays are not asking you to explain weak points in your application rather, they want to assess how you cope with stress, challenges etc because there'll be a lot of this dureing med school and beyond. The want to guage how your manage such difficulties. In your example, you coped very well with your challenges and that's a desirable trait to ADCOMs..

Thanks for clarifying 🙂

 

[Wheee]

Ugh and trust me, if they don't ask it in a secondary, they ask you in the interview...I've honestly got nothing that can really be considered an adversity to get over. Obstacles yes, but whining about them just makes me sound like a pansy because I've had a great life. So when I've been asked, I start out saying that and mentioning that my greatest adversity may pale in comparison to some other people's, but it was still personally challenging. Then I go on about how growing up I was rather shy but I've realized how much being more outgoing would benefit me, and how I've managed to get over that. It's not great, but it's what I've got. I've thought a lot about it and I really don't have anything more challenging, though changing your personality is pretty hard!

 

[7starmantis]

Just dont be lame and make something up. You dont have to fill out every optional field anyway.

 

[Spiker]

Just dont be lame and make something up. You dont have to fill out every optional field anyway.

Yea I hate to make excuses. However, I bet alot of people grossly overstate their "adversities".

 

[gr33n]

So I cant think of any major adversity that has affected my life in recent times. ?

Adversity is subjective. Just because something really dramatic hasn't happened doesn't mean that you haven't dealt with situations that you found tough. After all, life isn't exactly a frolic through sunlit meadows. This question is pretty likely to come up during the application process (either in secondaries or interviews). So, you should focus on the *tougher* times you have faced (even though they may not seem all that dramatic or big).

 

[7starmantis]

After all, life isn't exactly a frolic through sunlit meadows.

Its not

 

[NickNaylor]

Its not

🙁

 

[LizzyM]

There are at least two versions of this prompt:

1. An opportunity (optional) to explain a problem with your academic record

2. An opportunity (generally not optional) to describe how you cope with stress.


Some folks need and are grateful to the opportunity to explain a rough patch that created some academic challenges. For them, #1 does the job.

Everyone has stress at some point. If you've never had a moment of stress, you aren't trying hard enough. So, what do you do about it? Swim, run, run away, pray, weep softly into your pillow, talk it over with someone you trust, write in a journal, tweet, blog, whine, analyze the issue and change what you can, etc, etc. The point is, you should have and be able to describe some coping mechanisms that you employ when faced with a difficult or painful situation or even something as simple as an overbooked calendar where you need to decide between attending two important events.