Should I include *very serious* incident in my PS??

[MzAmerykah]

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Hi guys,

Thanks in advance for reading this. I am a fairly new member who has been lurking for a minute. I've finally decided to post a question that's been burning inside for a while, of which I would like your advice.

I experienced a tragedy involving my younger brother during the summer before my junior year of undergrad. To sum it up, he started hanging out with the wrong crowd, sold drugs and did every other stereotypical thing that a young African American male on does "on the streets". His behavior ultimately landed himself in prision on a 15-year sentence for car jacking, bank robbery and involuntary manslaughter.

While nothing can really prepare you for something like this, because I was up at college, I had NO idea that any of this was happening. Words really cannot describe what our family went through. Shock, humiliation, depression-- all mere understatements.

Anyway, the FBI came knocking on our door in mid-August, tore the house apart like they do in the movies, and in early September I went back to school as if nothing happened. My grades suffered and I almost lost my scholarship, but I pulled it together and managed to graduate with a 3.0 in Public Health.

Now finally here's my question:
I am planning to do a post-bacc program to increase my gpa, finish pre-reqs & gain extra preparation for MCATs. Should I discuss this circumstance in my personal statements? I'm not looking for any special considerations. In fact, I'd prefer to avoid it at all costs, if possible.

Again, thanks for your time!!

 

[xeulee]

I think you can talk about how the situation affected you and how that hurt your grades. I don't know how much detail you should write about the situation with your brother. I would think to not write too much detail on what exactly happened.

 

[MSKalltheway]

I think by talking about it briefly would be advantageous to you. By mentioning how it has affected you personally and professionally, it will allow adcoms to see your maturity yet at the same time show them you can handle your coursework, given that was your only abberation and you did well otherwise. I know you aren't looking for any special consideration, but honestly you should be allowed reprieve for your slip in GPA during those events! If the rest of your app is strong then you should be just fine. I know of people who got in with a semester or two of not-so-hot grades (but excellent grades otherwise) and didn't even need a post-bacc. Hope that helps!

 

[flaahless]

You should definitely mention it. But don't mention it as an excuse for a sub-par academic performance. Instead, be triumphant and discuss how it has contributed to the person you are today. How did it impact your life? What did it reveal about yourself? What did you learn from the situation? How can use this experience to aid you in the future? Etc.

I have a somewhat similar story. My father was released from prison my sophomore year and my parents went through a very nasty and lengthy divorce. My grades tanked, I nearly lost my scholarship etc.

What is most important is how you bounce back from this situation. Do well on the MCAT and I believe adcoms will forgive your gpa, but they are really going to look at how you've grown from this experience, how you can use this experience to aid you in your quest to be a physician, and how this experience (and others) can help educate your med school class. You've come a long way. Stay strong and good luck.

 

[doctorperez]

Back in the day, in the AMCAS application there used to be a section where one could write things like extenuating circumstances. Is this not the case anymore? I remember a member of an adcom once telling me, this was a preferred place to write such things as this.

 

[LovelyMD]

Back in the day, in the AMCAS application there used to be a section where one could write things like extenuating circumstances. Is this not the case anymore? I remember a member of an adcom once telling me, this was a preferred place to write such things as this.

You might be referring to the "Disadvantaged" section on the application. If you check disadvantaged, you have to answer a series of questions about your upbringing (ie: was your family on food stamps, etc), and it does give you space to explain why you consider yourself disadvantaged. However, I think it primarily refers to circumstances that affected you while growing up (prior to 18 y/o), rather than events that happened while in college. You would have to read the AMCAS instructions about that section because I'm not too familiar with it.

In the OP's case, it may be better to briefly address it in the personal statement, with emphasis on what the OP learned from it/ how the OP overcame, etc., rather than providing a lot of detail on the event itself.

 

[abesha]

You also would want to consider if you put this experience in your PS how this event affected your desire/ability to be a doctor. A better place for it may be in the special circumstance part of the app. where you can explain that part of your transcript.

 

[MaddieMay]

I wrote about 3/4 of a page on my "extenuating circumstances" in college and called it Addendum to Transcript. It must have worked, because I got in. 🙂