Optional essays question

[Karcasstic]

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I am looking for advice on the optional essays on the TMDSAS application. I wrote about the death of a loved one -- how it impacted me and how I believe it will ultimately make me a better doctor. Would that better fit optional essay 1 ("Briefly discuss any unique circumstances or life experiences that are relevant to your application which have not previously been presented.") or optional essay 2 ("Please describe any personal characteristics and/or important or challenging experiences you have had that will contribute to the diversity (broadly defined) of or provide educational benefits to the student body.")? My experience seems to fit the "challenging experiences" of optional essay 2, but I don't know if it is best described as something that will add to the diversity/education of the student body...

 

[sat0ri]

I'd say number 2. What I've seen on here before is that it actually isn't that unique, and this is a common motivation (death is a fairly common thing, wry humor there). It could be unique, but not necessarily.

 

[Person0715]

I agree with @sat0ri that the situation you describe is a better fit for essay 2. It's a really broad question. I think as long as you focus on how the death affected you and how you grew from it/gained a new perspective, you can't go wrong.

 

[DokterMom]

I'd work backwards. Write a master list of all the things you want to highlight about yourself, your qualifications, personal characteristics, experiences, etc -- Anything you would like somehow to get in there. Develop each of these items into a few sentences or paragraphs.

Then fit them into the prompts given. Your 'death of a loved one' experience could legitimately go into several spots. Handy. What about the other points you want to bring up? Are they equally flexible? Or do they fit better into this prompt vs. that prompt?

 

[Karcasstic]

Thank you all. I think the other thing I'd like to write about is my experience working with underprivileged people inside and outside of the US, and it sounds like that probably fits the "unique experiences" essay a tad bit better. Although it is also a pretty flexible topic, I think.