Secondary Application Essay- Should I include this?

[funkymonkey0987]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am writing an essay for a secondary app, and the prompt is to write about "any hardships, such as, but not limited to, financial difficulties, personal or family illness, a medical condition, a death in the immediate family or educational disadvantage" that I have had. My life is incredibly vanilla and I have been very fortunate to not have experienced anything very serious. However, my mother did have very severe OCD that she was actually hospitalized for while i was in high school. This had a huge impact on me and my dad and also opened my eyes to how medical professionals should handle mental disorders (she was undiagnosed for a long time and then a doctor sat down with her and really talked with her to figure out what was happening). Would this be appropriate to talk about? I don't want to leave the essay blank.

 

[IL Pre Med]

I wouldn't include it. This isn't it's as severe as losing a family member or being involved in a major car accident and if you include it it may be perceived as you trying to write a sob story and may hurt you in the end. Sometimes people just haven't experienced any real disadvantages, I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

 

[Ismet]

I think it would be a fine topic for the essay, as it clearly says "family illness" and I know how difficult it can be to live with someone with severe OCD. It doesn't need to be as drastic as a death in the family or a debilitating car accident, it just needs to be about a challenging time in your life. Just be very careful to avoid bashing physicians or other healthcare professionals, even if they were less than helpful on your mom's road to recovery. This is an essay that it would be in your best interest to have someone you trust to look over it for professionalism.

If the essay is not optional, leaving it blank or just saying that you haven't had any major challenges can actually be grounds for rejection, depending on the school. I'd consider it as copping out of the essay and not answering the prompt. EVERYONE has faced a challenge in their life that they had to deal with and overcome, not everyone has faced life-changing challenges or things that really stick out or make "good stories," but if you really dig deep, anyone can come up with a challenge. For the most part, med schools don't care what the challenge is, they want to see how you overcame it. Med school is one big challenge, and if you don't have the tools to rise to the challenge, they might see you as a risk.

 

[DokterMom]

I'm with @Ismet. As difficult as that chapter of your life was, I've no doubt that you learned a lot from it. You've got the potential for a really good essay --