Personal Statement - to include or not to include

[Biological]

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Hi everyone, longtime poster, longer-time lurker with a new account for application questions (for the sake of anonymity).

I'm currently working on my personal statement and I'm very torn about whether or not to include something. On one hand, I think it could really help explain who I am as a person, on the other hand I'm concerned it could be a huge turn-off for adcoms.

My sophomore year in high school, I wound up dropping out for a year and working 3 jobs to support a significant personal sport/hobby (and ended the year with 5 top-15 placings in a world competition for this particular sport). The following year, I returned to an alternative school and completed enough credits so that not only could I still graduate on time, but I could take only a half course-load my senior year. I'd like to talk about this as part of my personal journey, but for obvious reasons I'm concerned it may be extremely off-putting to adcoms.

 

[TMC07]

Include it! Being - and doing well - in a world competition is kind of a big deal. Can you relate it to medicine though? Your personal statement should be about why you want to become a physician.

It would also be a cool topic for a diversity essay on a secondary as well. So, if you don't have some other form a diversity going for you, this could be an interesting topic.

 

[Biological]

Include it! Being - and doing well - in a world competition is kind of a big deal. Can you relate it to medicine though? Your personal statement should be about why you want to become a physician.

It would also be a cool topic for a diversity essay on a secondary as well. So, if you don't have some other form a diversity going for you, this could be an interesting topic.

I absolutely can relate it back to medicine - following that year, injuries from the sport began causing me significant problems, to the point where I could no longer compete (and for that matter, could barely walk up and down stairs). It took me almost 3 years to find a physician willing to treat the problem so that I could return to my sport (at a hobby level). This can definitely tie in to the rest of my personal statement, where I talk about my motivation to focus on patient-centered care.

 

[TMC07]

I absolutely can relate it back to medicine - following that year, injuries from the sport began causing me significant problems, to the point where I could no longer compete (and for that matter, could barely walk up and down stairs). It took me almost 3 years to find a physician willing to treat the problem so that I could return to my sport (at a hobby level). This can definitely tie in to the rest of my personal statement, where I talk about my motivation to focus on patient-centered care.

Then I think you should include it! Good luck!

 

[jesie]

You also totally do not have to relate it back to medicine if you don't want to. It can show talent, work ethic, and some uniqueness either way. Not everything needs to relate back to medicine.

 

[DokterMom]

I absolutely can relate it back to medicine - following that year, injuries from the sport began causing me significant problems, to the point where I could no longer compete (and for that matter, could barely walk up and down stairs). It took me almost 3 years to find a physician willing to treat the problem so that I could return to my sport (at a hobby level). This can definitely tie in to the rest of my personal statement, where I talk about my motivation to focus on patient-centered care.

Sounds like something that has the potential to get you noticed! Risks would be:

• Could sound like you'd have stayed out of school had you not been injured -- so an educational derailment versus detour. It's OK to be young and stupid (especially at 16) but if your plans were more long-term, it would be good to outline what they were.
  
• The 'three years to find a physician' bit could sound like you are bad-mouthing the profession or some doctors. Be careful to avoid that if you can.

 

[caffeinemia]

All in the spin . Talk about dedication to something you love and learning to also handle the consequences of your choices, but avoid getting into the mopey stuff about how that caused you injury/health issues -- it's kind of a sob story at that point.

 

[Goro]

Go for it! Very unique.

Hi everyone, longtime poster, longer-time lurker with a new account for application questions (for the sake of anonymity).

I'm currently working on my personal statement and I'm very torn about whether or not to include something. On one hand, I think it could really help explain who I am as a person, on the other hand I'm concerned it could be a huge turn-off for adcoms.

My sophomore year in high school, I wound up dropping out for a year and working 3 jobs to support a significant personal sport/hobby (and ended the year with 5 top-15 placings in a world competition for this particular sport). The following year, I returned to an alternative school and completed enough credits so that not only could I still graduate on time, but I could take only a half course-load my senior year. I'd like to talk about this as part of my personal journey, but for obvious reasons I'm concerned it may be extremely off-putting to adcoms.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

This is how AdComs remember you.

 

[Biological]

Sounds like something that has the potential to get you noticed! Risks would be:

• Could sound like you'd have stayed out of school had you not been injured -- so an educational derailment versus detour. It's OK to be young and stupid (especially at 16) but if your plans were more long-term, it would be good to outline what they were.
  
• The 'three years to find a physician' bit could sound like you are bad-mouthing the profession or some doctors. Be careful to avoid that if you can.

Do you feel that if it's done carefully, there's a way to bring in the aspect of difficulty finding treatment? That is a significant part of my motivation to become a physician. I want to tie it in such that it doesn't come across as accusing those doctors of being bad, just that it's often very difficult to understand the perspectives, concerns, and needs of your patients - and that's something I want to be a big part of my focus in medicine!