Religion

[ammarsfound]

Hi,

So I grew up in Pakistan all the way until college, before i moved to the US. I was raised muslim, but, after taking some courses in the US as well as doing a little bit of soul searching, I became an atheist. BUT I still believe that faith is an important tool for healing and i've seen, in Pakistan, how it can help those whom medicine has failed.

I was just wondering if it would be alright to make this journey the focus of the "how would you add diversity to our school" essay. I know discussing religoin is something of a taboo, but my essay would steer away from things like "God made me want to get into medicine" and "this religion is good this religion is bad".

Thoughts?

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[NateM]

Hi,

So I grew up in Pakistan all the way until college, before i moved to the US. I was raised muslim, but, after taking some courses in the US as well as doing a little bit of soul searching, I became an atheist. BUT I still believe that faith is an important tool for healing and i've seen, in Pakistan, how it can help those whom medicine has failed.

I was just wondering if it would be alright to make this journey the focus of the "how would you add diversity to our school" essay. I know discussing religoin is something of a taboo, but my essay would steer away from things like "God made me want to get into medicine" and "this religion is good this religion is bad".

Thoughts?

Growing up in Pakistan and making your way to the US is unique in itself among us boring suburban-raised premeds. I would be careful with bringing religion in, however, you can always mention how you were exposed to so many different religions and are open to those differences. Talk about your cultural background and how coming to a foreign country exposed you to many other cultures (US is a melting pot) and it made you more open. Religion is just one dynamic of culture, you could mention it, but do not centralize an entire diversity essay around it. Best of luck to you!

 

[RadioCure]

I thought about writing about being an atheist as well. I wonder how that would go over.

 

[indya]

I thought about writing about being an atheist as well. I wonder how that would go over.

it seems like medicine is a full of pretty conservative people. I wouldn't talk about it.

 

[billionaire]

I've been reading for a while, but finally decided I had to post because I went through the exact same thing. It is important to me, so I discussed it in the secondaries for some schools and not others. I say go for it and say whatever you have to say, it's not like it's going to every school. I was also thinking doing the same thing for those questions. Also you may be just focusing on the conversion, but you can easily answer the question from another perspective in which you lived in and understood two other cultures, which are very different. That's pretty much what I am going to do.

 

[Bernoull]

Hi,

So I grew up in Pakistan all the way until college, before i moved to the US. I was raised muslim, but, after taking some courses in the US as well as doing a little bit of soul searching, I became an atheist. BUT I still believe that faith is an important tool for healing and i've seen, in Pakistan, how it can help those whom medicine has failed.

I was just wondering if it would be alright to make this journey the focus of the "how would you add diversity to our school" essay. I know discussing religoin is something of a taboo, but my essay would steer away from things like "God made me want to get into medicine" and "this religion is good this religion is bad".

Thoughts?

I share ur immigrant story, I moved here too for College and i had tons of experiences to discuss for hardship and diversity essays without mentioning anything potentially controversial like religion. I'm sure u can talk about ur exposure to various cultures/belief systems/societies etc etc all of which can be a source of diversity to your incoming class and non-controversial.

Goodluck

 

[dontforgetxx]

You never know if you're going get that one SUPER religious ad-comm be the person who reads your application.

I mean, the rule is that they can't reject you for your views on religion. But I don't think it'd be too hard for an ad-comm to come up other with reasons to reject you if the situation were to arise.

 

[dontforgetxx]

I think all human beings are the same

but I don't think being Muslim is viewed positively in America

o rly?

 

[ArcGurren]

I would just stay away from talking about anything that is controversial. I wouldn't mention being muslim or being atheist. If there is an religious adcom reviewing your file, he may not like if you are atheist.

And don't flame me for saying this and it is only for your benefit but I don't think being Muslim is viewed positively in America. I don't have anything against Muslims and I think all human beings are the same. But some adcom may just discriminate consciously and you loose that vote. Others may discriminate unconsciously and adcom would just be clueless whether he just discriminated or not.

I would rather focus on hardships you saw in Pakistan and how sudden drastic change in point of view when you came to US allowed you to see life from a different perspective that most are unable to.

Lolwut? The healthcare profession is chock full of Muslims of all colors shapes and sizes. I honestly doubt adcoms discriminate unconsciously against them especially since many probably have a Muslim member or two

 

[BigRedder]

I viewed my personal statement and interview as akin to polite dinner conversation, ie no religion or politics. They are very stimulating topics, but you need to get a feeling for your audience to avoid offending them. This is impossible in a personal statement and difficult in an interview. If you want to write about differences you have noticed between the US and Pakistan, as well as your experiences from each, I'm sure you could slip in a bit about your own religious and spiritual growth, just be delicate.

I don't think anyone will be prejudiced against you for being from Pakistan, and if they were you probably don't want to be at that school anyway.

 

[iwastetimehere]

You would have to be a complete ****** if you don't agree with me that at least to certain extent discrimination exists.

By the way, I didn't have to make an effort to help this dude out if I was discriminating against Muslims.

I think it was a sarcastic comment since you were pointing out something obvious...

 

[dillydally]

To the OP:

I think it's fine to mention you went from being Muslim to atheist, but don't talk about your "journey" from one to the other. As other posters have mentioned, this would simply be an evidence of how you have a diverse understanding of cultures. You must be very careful in how you write this.

I think most people respect Islam more than they do atheism. Muslims and the Judeo-Christian world share much in common; atheism flies in the face of most religious beliefs. I suspect it will be difficult for you to mention anything about a journey to atheism without being somewhat preachy and offending someone who believes in a higher power.

If you are very tactful it can be done, however. It's up to you.

 

[ammarsfound]

Thanks everyone! I decided to go with another topic entirely.

MDcraft: I'm not offended at all.