Should I talk about my mother's death in my personal statement?

[johncalvin]

Obviously, her death has affected me, and I can think of ways to tie it in. One caveat, though, she died from a genetic disorder. Since I am her biological son, would this be any cause of any alarm by adcoms?

On a similar note, if an applicant writes about someone in their family battling depression (statistically, this does tend to run in families), does that reduce their chances of being accepted? I can imagine such a student *could* be a liability.

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[D and D]

I think if it impacted you in a way that lead you to pursue medicine (or intensified your interest in it) then include it. I sort of have a similar concern, as I've had a couple of seizures and want to mention it in the PS. I'd think it'd be really unfair for adcoms to look negatively upon any illness an applicant may have... but honestly I don't know.

 

[sirius08]

I didn't write about my mother's death in my PS, but I did in many of my secondary essays. If the experience is relevant to your career aspirations, don't be afraid to include it if you can talk about it in a thoughtful and meaningful way. I wouldn't worry about alarming adcom members with the topic - they are more concerned with seeing how you relate the experience to a desire to pursue medicine, so as long as you maintain that focus, you should be okay.

 

[RL536]

I agree. Write about it if it's relevant to your aspiration to become a doctor. Is her death relevant to these aspirations, or is your experience with her illness relevant? Personally, my father died when I was a teenager and I wrote about his illness and my experience with it in my personal statement. In almost every open interview I went to, my personal statement was positively commented upon, and in two of these interviews the interviewer actually told me to try to get it published. I think that when your motivations for medicine are emotionally and personally inspiried, it makes a positive, memorable difference for the admissions committee (as opposed to someone who doesn't seem to have any clearcut motivation, obviously). Anyhow, I certainly don't know any statistics about adcoms looking negatively upon applicants with predisposition to illnesses and/or depression, but I would highly doubt it...

 

[Appless]

They arent going to look at it negatively. The worst case scenario is you come off as sort of run of the mill and boring as everyone and their mother usually writes about how some sick family member made them want to be a doctor, whether its true or not. If its true in your case then by all means go for it. Im not saying your experience isnt meaningful btw, its just that you have to remember if youve read thousands of personal statements, after a while when 80% are about sick family members it can be a bit harder to stand out after a while.

 

[efitzpat]

I talked about my mom's death. However, I did not focus on it. I opened my personal statement with it, but then went on to talk about many other things and did not revisit the topic until the end when I tied everything together. If you are going to talk about it, don't use it 1) as an excuse for bad grades/scores/involvement 2) as a sob story or 3) as something to make you unique (there are a lot more dead parents then you would think!).

That being said, go for it but you do not have to talk about how she died; it would be better to focus on how the experience impacted YOU and not just a description of it.

 

[matth87]

I talked about my mom's death. However, I did not focus on it. I opened my personal statement with it, but then went on to talk about many other things and did not revisit the topic until the end when I tied everything together. If you are going to talk about it, don't use it 1) as an excuse for bad grades/scores/involvement 2) as a sob story or 3) as something to make you unique (there are a lot more dead parents then you would think!).

That being said, go for it but you do not have to talk about how she died; it would be better to focus on how the experience impacted YOU and not just a description of it.

I used my grandfather's death in my PS. because he was a doctor himself and died because of irresponsibility in the OR

 

[09medstudent13]

OP:

Well it looks like most of my response to this question has been covered by other posts, but here it goes. The death of a parent will almost certainly have an effect on someone's live. Whether or not this tragic event has pushed towards a career in medicine, it has certainly been a main ingredient in your growth as a person and therefore would rightfully be included in your PS. I think adcom would look at this as an event of personal growth; one which coping with has elicited maturity. Similarily, a family member suffering depression can cause you to grow up in a hurry. My personal thought is that both of these talking points display a sense of responsibility and maturity. If these event were to have happened to me (for which I am sorry here that they have affected you) I would use them in my PS.

Secondly, I do not believe adcoms to be evil entities that would reject you via worry about genetic disposition. I've known several individuals who have gained much success as physicians despite their special circumstances; and these people actually have a condition, rather than a possible genetic disposition.

Overall, as long as you present these experiences sincerely I believe they will be favorable looked upon. You have been through a lot and I would like to personally commend you for that. If medicine is your passion, you will have success.

 

[johncalvin]

OP:

Well it looks like most of my response to this question has been covered by other posts, but here it goes. The death of a parent will almost certainly have an effect on someone's live. Whether or not this tragic event has pushed towards a career in medicine, it has certainly been a main ingredient in your growth as a person and therefore would rightfully be included in your PS. I think adcom would look at this as an event of personal growth; one which coping with has elicited maturity. Similarily, a family member suffering depression can cause you to grow up in a hurry. My personal thought is that both of these talking points display a sense of responsibility and maturity. If these event were to have happened to me (for which I am sorry here that they have affected you) I would use them in my PS.

Secondly, I do not believe adcoms to be evil entities that would reject you via worry about genetic disposition. I've known several individuals who have gained much success as physicians despite their special circumstances; and these people actually have a condition, rather than a possible genetic disposition.

Overall, as long as you present these experiences sincerely I believe they will be favorable looked upon. You have been through a lot and I would like to personally commend you for that. If medicine is your passion, you will have success.

I don't know if her death has directly contributed to my decision to go into medicine. However, whenever I see an adult patient during my volunteering time, I tend to start thinking that if the doctor does his or her job right, a child somewhere will continue to have a parent. If I can, in such a manner, even touch a few lives in my lifetime, my work is done.

Thanks for your support, by the way. It's rare to find compassion on the internet, and whether I get into med. school or not, I'm glad there will be doctors like you serving our communities.

 

[theroadtomed]

milk that **** for all it's worth holmes 😎

 

[09medstudent13]

I don't know if her death has directly contributed to my decision to go into medicine. However, whenever I see an adult patient during my volunteering time, I tend to start thinking that if the doctor does his or her job right, a child somewhere will continue to have a parent. If I can, in such a manner, even touch a few lives in my lifetime, my work is done.

Thanks for your support, by the way. It's rare to find compassion on the internet, and whether I get into med. school or not, I'm glad there will be doctors like you serving our communities.

Well thanks you for the kind words. In reading this response, something really jumped out at me, “I tend to start thinking that if the doctor does his or her job right, a child somewhere will continue to have a parent. If I can, in such a manner, even touch a few lives in my lifetime, my work is done." I know that I don't know much about you; however, this sentence alone projects confidence that you would be a sincere and driven physician. Furthermore, this is exactly how I would use this topic in your PS. Focus on how your outlook of medical care has been shaped by this tragedy; how it would drive you be perform at your very best. I think you should especially expand of this, "...even touch a few lives in my lifetime, my work is done" This shows your sincere desire to help people, even if it's only a few. This could definitely lead to a strong PS.