Personal Statement About Growing Up Homeless

[Albino Ape]

First off a little bit about me and being homeless. (Don't want to go into too much detail for sake of anonymity, but difficult since its a unique story)

• I was homeless until I was 7 years old.
• My sister and I were found abandoned in a hospital parking garage.
• Placed into foster care and finally adopted later in life.
• Started school significantly later than peers and demonstrated many severe cognitive and developmental delays.
• Put everything together by high school, went on to college and graduated with a my bachelors.

I have always had difficulty writing about this topic and on many occasions avoided it since I didn't want to use it as a crutch. However everyone around me, physicians, friends, coworkers all believe I should center my personal statement around my story and I tend to agree.

For me my biggest struggle has been attempting to tie it to medicine. It isn't a direct motivator, but my story has profoundly impacted who I am as person and my aspirations. Ex: While I have many reasons I want to pursue medicine, the adversity I experienced through growing up under extreme conditions allows me the confidence knowing I can handle the rigors of medical school.

Any advice on how to approach this?
I know its difficult to ask advice with so little info but anything will be helpful. Thanks in advance.

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[kavorca]

Have you seen Lost?

 

[Moko]

Definitely include this life experience in your PS ! It will help distinguish you from most other applicants. I would highlight it in the first paragraph, though I would tone down the part about your "many severe cognitive and developmental delays"

Possible structure:
P1: answer "who am I" [insert your story about being homeless and having an underprivileged upbringing, including the pertinent points up until college or graduation]. If you don't want to give off the impression of using your story as a "crutch", keep everything succinct and factual, and let the reader infer your emotions and struggles
P2: answer "what got me interested in medicine" [insert transition to what initially sparked your interest in medicine and how you challenged your belief that medicine was right for you, e.g. "I never thought becoming a doctor was possible until..."]
P3-P5: answer the standard PS stuff, e.g. [what have I done since then to reaffirm my interest in medicine*] [what other motivations for medicine, e.g. leadership, research, teaching] followed by your concluding paragraph i) plainly stating your mission, ii) taking the reader back to your humble beginnings, and iii) including some statement about your willingness to work hard to succeed in medical school and beyond

Your PS practically writes itself.

*bonus points if you have an interest towards serving the homeless

 

[Albino Ape]

Definitely include this life experience in your PS ! It will help distinguish you from most other applicants. I would highlight it in the first paragraph, though I would tone down the part about your "many severe cognitive and developmental delays"

Possible structure:
P1: answer "who am I" [insert your story about being homeless and having an underprivileged upbringing, including the pertinent points up until college or graduation]. If you don't want to give off the impression of using your story as a "crutch", keep everything succinct and factual, and let the reader infer your emotions and struggles
P2: answer "what got me interested in medicine" [insert transition to what initially sparked your interest in medicine and how you challenged your belief that medicine was right for you, e.g. "I never thought becoming a doctor was possible until..."]
P3-P5: answer the standard PS stuff, e.g. [what have I done since then to reaffirm my interest in medicine*] [what other motivations for medicine, e.g. leadership, research, teaching] followed by your concluding paragraph i) plainly stating your mission, ii) taking the reader back to your humble beginnings, and iii) including some statement about your willingness to work hard to succeed in medical school and beyond

Your PS practically writes itself.

*bonus points if you have an interest towards serving the homeless

Thank you for the great advice.