do you think discussing a relationship i had with someone who had a girlfriend is inappropriate for this question? it's the only thing i can think of. it wouldn't be trashy or anything... i'd just say why i made the decision and what i learned from it.
tricky call lola - I must admit part of what took me *soooo* long with this question was more deciding which of the many, many ethical/moral dilemmas I have faced were too risque or too bland. I think it is bad to do something bland, but something like you suggest is, in my opinion, pretty risque, so if you do it, it needs to be done *well*. How good a writer are you? oh and I am pleased to report - I HAVE FINALLY COMPLETED THE PITT ETHICAL DILEMMA ESSAY!!!!! (thats the first time I've felt like using the clapping smilie as I normally hate it...)
lola....be careful with that. honestly, i wouldn't write about it because i don't want them thinking about me in more than a professional (ethics) sort of light. i think if you can write it maturely, that's great (though i can't come up with any ways to do that with a romantic situation...it's hard to coldly analyze something like that) and definitely go for it! also, what lessons did you learn? if those lessons can be extended in some capacity (not necessarily one you write down, but one that can be extracted from the essay) into your future professional life, then i would say it's a great topic. try it out and if it doesn't sound like something you want to send out, go back to the drawing board...sometimes that's faster than just brain-storming endlessly. that's how i finally got that thing sent out...though the diversity question stumped me more!! the boy wonder- what did you write about?
I read somewhere (in one of the many "how to apply to med school" books that I've perused over the past year), that it was definitely not a good idea to write anything about relationships. I would stay away from it, unless you really are a budding Isabel Allende. boy wonder, I too am dying to know what you wrote about for Pitt's ethical dilemma essay! Do tell!!
i am a pretty good writer. my boyfriend is a great writer, but i doubt he'd really want to proofread the essay i did learn important life lessons from it (e.g. sometimes you need to think with your head and not just your heart), but i suppose it is probably not the best topic for a med school essay. everything else just seems so boring! there was one instance when i caught a guy making up data for a reasearch project i was involved with, but i can't even remember the details and wouldn't want them to question me on it. a few weeks ago i thought of a topic while lying in bed, and now it has completely slipped my mind. i guess i'll need to start thinking harder or something.
That sounds perfect! (As long as it wasn't a research project for a class -- as I recall, they say not to discuss cheating in an academic setting). What did you do? You must remember that! I think it's the thought processes you went through they want to hear about and not the details of the phony data.
uhhhhh, I would really stay away from that, Lola!! I had gone to a seminar offered by a UCSF advisor who actually told us a story about a lady who wrote a story similar as yours(only difference was that those two people met at work). She was using it as an example of what NOT to do. I would strongly advice you to not do it. On the other hand, the guy botching up numbers sounds like a good idea. So what if you don't know enough about it? you only have to write a paragraph anyway. Perhaps you can talk MORE about what thinking proceses you went through as you told/did not tell on him. Stuff like that. And hey, this issue is definitely something that will come up at the interivew so you will have something to talk about where YOU look good (as opposed to the other example where you look *not so good*). Know what I mean? Let me know what you decide!
i guess the thing about the guy botching up the numbers just wasn't much of a dilemma for me. i knew i needed to tell my supervisor and have her deal with it. also, the data was sort of unimportant and not the real data of the project, so it's kind of a boring story! the main reason i told was sort of self-serving -- not really because i was all that worried about the project. i was pissed i was wasting time tallying his numbers that weren't even real! i guess i don't have to explain that, but i really wouldn't want them to ask me about the situation in an interview. the other situation was one of the few real ethical dilemmas i have faced in my life, but i guess i won't use it even though i could write a much more interesting heartfelt essay on it. i guess because i pretty much always do the right thing, not many things are what i would classify as dilemmas. this was one situation i agonized over and perhaps didn't do the right thing.
a-ha! i thought of an ethical dilemma that is not trashy or boring! well, a little boring, but not too bad. just wanted to let you guys know. thanks for your help
