The "challenge" essay

[deleted212936]

To those of you who applied and are going to apply: what did/will you guys write about if you see "What has been your biggest challenge so far?" on secondaries ?

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[stayclassy]

Losing my v-card

seriously though, they want to see how you overcame something tough you faced in your life.

 

[Appless]

I guess youre looking for ideas but seriously this question is so personal its going to be vastly different for everyone. Everyone has had to overcome something in life, even if you are some spoiled rich white kid from the suburbs. If you cant make up something good, just learn to BS, becuase lets face it thats what getting into med school is all about. How good and most importantly believable do you sound when you spout the bs you are going to. The best applicants have that skill lol

This should be one of the easier questions for all applicants and is also one of the more common next to the "how can you add diversity to the class" question.

 

[BlueElmo]

I guess youre looking for ideas but seriously this question is so personal its going to be vastly different for everyone. Everyone has had to overcome something in life, even if you are some spoiled rich white kid from the suburbs. If you cant make up something good, just learn to BS, becuase lets face it thats what getting into med school is all about. How good and most importantly believable do you sound when you spout the bs you are going to. The best applicants have that skill lol

This should be one of the easier questions for all applicants and is also one of the more common next to the "how can you add diversity to the class" question.

Best advice in the world.

 

[nick_carraway]

I'm thinking about writing about my decision to reapply to med school.

It sounds a bit desperate and sad when I think about it, but epically failing was a pretty vivid experience.

 

[witness23]

koko, no! don't. write about your cat or something.

 

[nick_carraway]

koko, no! don't. write about your cat or something.

I did last time

 

[nick_carraway]

Really?? You bringing your cat to Gtown next year? I think your original thinking is fine.

I know people used that kinda thing to talk about struggles with the MCAT.

PS your cat is cute and reminds me of my mom's black cat.

Hey thanks for your encouragement. I've been skipping these challenge essays for now simply because I wasn't sure that I should remind med schools that they rejected me once before.

But, yeah. Last time, I wrote about when Koko got sick and stopped eating and the vet scared us by telling us that cats start to suffer organ failure if they don't eat in like 4 days (and of course each diagnostic test was $$$).

I'm not bringing my cat to Georgetown since she's with my GF who will stay in CA. I'll just make a trip to Petsmart or something whenever I miss having a cat around

 

[Appless]

Hey thanks for your encouragement. I've been skipping these challenge essays for now simply because I wasn't sure that I should remind med schools that they rejected me once before.

But, yeah. Last time, I wrote about when Koko got sick and stopped eating and the vet scared us by telling us that cats start to suffer organ failure if they don't eat in like 4 days (and of course each diagnostic test was $$$).

I'm not bringing my cat to Georgetown since she's with my GF who will stay in CA. I'll just make a trip to Petsmart or something whenever I miss having a cat around

I know ive told you this before but god your cat is cute . Best avatar on SDN!!

 

[Adamarama]

Ha, this question drives me nuts too. I've had a pretty solid life, and the reason is because I've had amazing parents that have made sacrifices so that I never had to. It kinda sucks knowing that apparently, medical schools don't want kids with parents that were constantly supportive and helpful -_-

The diversity essay is another crock of ****. I'm a white straight male from middle-class suburbia. I majored in biology. I can't play any instruments, and I've never been outstanding at anything except for my studies and my beer pong skills. I somehow doubt they want to hear about that, so I'm going with my background in theatre and Comedy Sports. Bleh.

 

[rHinO1]

If only my parents had been poor. If only they loved me less. I wish my BMW had been a moped. Why couldn't I have gotten my high school GF pregnant? I have no advantage on this one little part of my application. Oh well, I'm set if I want to run for congress, senate, vice president, president, or tax collector. At least I can join the CIA, FBI, NSA, or do just about anything else in life.

 

[nick_carraway]

I somehow doubt they want to hear about that, so I'm going with my background in theatre and Comedy Sports. Bleh.

How is that bleh? That's awesome! Every person is unique. Some of us just have to BS a bit more to prove it.

 

[nick_carraway]

I know ive told you this before but god your cat is cute . Best avatar on SDN!!

I feel like I should update the pic. She's much bigger now, but I do like her spunkiness in defending those socks.

Awesome guy. He has told a couple of people I know that they need to address and at least one that they should've addressed their struggles with the MCAT or app related matters and shown the positive of what they learned. So some people want to see that you can acknowledge it but show what you've done to turn around the situation and learned.

Makes sense. If I were an adcom, I'd like a reapplicant to emphasize growth/maturation to make it easier to see what's changed. I'll go for it! Thanks!

 

[witness23]

i think if you emphasize maturity and achievement (like your idea) during this year, it will work out really well. i just worry that some people get too brutally honest in their essays and writing and come out sounding a little down.

 

[BlueElmo]

Truth spoken. Not only BSing but expanding I mean exaggerating about simple things to give an example.

I love how a few schools ask to label an ethical situation which you've encountered. A lot of traditional students i know are very sheltered so the only thing they've really seen is cheating. That's when the BSing goes full blown. Not everyone has real crazy life stories esp. when you are talking to traditional students who've been sheltered.

I think there are really a much smaller amount of people who can answer these questions with real honesty and non exaggeration. Most of the people going into medicine are still people who have not faced a lot of huge challenges, who have not had to worry about a lot of ethical dilemmas, who have not had done something so out of the ordinary that they'd consider themselves this huge diverse person in the class. The ones that exemplify those situations on large scale are far fewer in number even if they exist.

I totally agree. I sometimes get the feeling my dad or mom could write a great PS and have a great EC section if they were applying instead of me.

 

[witness23]

well, I came from a somewhat non traditional background and lived in like 6 different countries and I guess my parents were students for most of my life (they are young) and all that. I don't know if thats diversity but I don't associate myself with any group and I don't know if I was economically disadvantaged and I didn't know what the **** that meant before SDN (that was too late, to apologize). But who thinks they are poor when they are growing up anyway. Most parents do a decent job of trying to "cover up" and some kids are just always happy. I made friends everywhere (and I lost them quickly too), so I don't know. I like my life just fine. There are little challenges here and there, but I had a hard time of those essays last year because I didn't want to overplay it (shoutouts to Barack).


I think almost all people, no matter the background, experience the same set of problems in different orders. random thoughts, but again, the pursuit of happyness was a great movie. I wish my life was like that. We were homeless for a bit but I never slept in a subway bathroom. That is so extreme.

 

[metallica81788]

I think I'm just gonna pull the "Hurricane Katrina killed my senior year of high school, I had to commute 2 hours to night school for a whole semester and had my best friend living in my house because he lost his" thing. I don't have anything else, but I think that's pretty good as long as I don't sound whiny and show what I learned from it.

 

[nick_carraway]

the inspiring story of Ben Carson and his mother's pursuit to not show her own past lack of reading skills to help her boys has always inspired me.

The ABC show Hopkins made Dr. Carson look so uncaring when speaking to family members of a pediatric patient.

Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa FTW!

Actually, that whole series FTW! I hope they come out with another season.

 

[mvenus929]

I'm thinking about writing about my decision to reapply to med school.

It sounds a bit desperate and sad when I think about it, but epically failing was a pretty vivid experience.

That was a pretty big basis for my PS, actually. My obstacles essay (should I have to write one) will be about what I'm going through now... acting as a mom to my two baby sisters (who, admittedly, aren't babies anymore... they're 11 and 13) while my mom serves in Iraq. Fun times.

 

[Appless]

PS I agree that Pursuit of Happyness is one of the awesomest stories ever.

That movie seriously made me cry ...im such a loser lol. It made me think of me and my son. Not that we are in that situation but still. On a side note im so sick of writing about diveristy essays and obstacle essays. I have rehased the same **** so many times im sick of myself...if that makes sense lol. I want myself to stfu about my own story. Granted I have a very easy time writing them because of my life story but still, I guess thats what 30 + secondaries will do to you. I think maybe that signifies its time to take a break....

 

[nick_carraway]

Yah. Some secondaries I had had separate obstacle essays and essays dedicated to grade fluctuations which sometimes overlap with the obstacle/adversity situation. So it was like you would have 2 spaces to talk about that sorta stuff.

Yeah I also have a second, more personal challenge response about a family member's mental illness that I only use if I have to fill two spaces.

I think writing about reapplication for an academic challenge is a far less sensitive topic that I'm more comfortable writing about.

 

[nick_carraway]

That movie seriously made me cry ...im such a loser lol. It made me think of me and my son. Not that we are in that situation but still. On a side note im so sick of writing about diveristy essays and obstacle essays. I have rehased the same **** so many times im sick of myself...if that makes sense lol. I want myself to stfu about my own story. Granted I have a very easy time writing them because of my life story but still, I guess thats what 30 + secondaries will do to you. I think maybe that signifies its time to take a break....

30+?? You're on a roll!! Thanks to three days of gaming, I'm only on #23.

 

[Appless]

30+?? You're on a roll!! Thanks to three days of gaming, I'm only on #23.

what game!! I wish my comp didnt die i miss pc gaming. this mac cant run a game to save its life-_-...maybe i should go buy a 360 game!

 

[nick_carraway]

what game!! I wish my comp didnt die i miss pc gaming. this mac cant run a game to save its life-_-...maybe i should go buy a 360 game!

Dude Macs saved my GPA during my post-bacc. Thank God they can't game. Around May, I got desperate and downloaded Scrabble and my productivity plummeted.

I've been playing Empire: Total War, but thankfully it keeps crashing so I stopped playing it.

I can only imagine what my GPA could've been at Davis if I had used a Mac exclusively.

 

[bruceleehiiiyaa]

i used to sling crack back in the day. then i was shot 9 times. luckily i came back to 100% full health and made multi-platinum cds rapping about it.

now i'm applying to med school.

thats was my biggest challenge.

 

[Appless]

Dude Macs saved my GPA during my post-bacc. Thank God they can't game. Around May, I got desperate and downloaded Scrabble and my productivity plummeted.

I've been playing Empire: Total War, but thankfully it keeps crashing so I stopped playing it.

I can only imagine what my GPA could've been at Davis if I had used a Mac exclusively.

LOL...i guess thats true. When I did have my PC i would sacrifice sleep to play. After my son was asleep id be on it at night...then it died 2 years ago...and now i do a lot more productive things. Then i found SDN..........and it plummeted once again .

 

[deleted212936]

Copying ... nah, I'm not gonna do that.
I'm sure everyone's life is different.
Just curious what everyone wrote about, though.

1/ Since my primary essay's theme is already about challenges, I do feel awkward to write about challenge again.

2/ Some schools do ask about ETHICAL dilemma, specifically. Maybe I haven't examined my life closely enough, but just in case, is it OK to say I've never encountered one, then put up a hypothetical situation and write about how I would expect to deal with it?

 

[Appless]

Copying ... nah, I'm not gonna do that.
I'm sure everyone's life is different.
Just curious what everyone wrote about, though.

1/ Since my primary essay's theme is already about challenges, I do feel awkward to write about challenge again.

2/ Some schools do ask about ETHICAL dilemma, specifically. Maybe I haven't examined my life closely enough, but just in case, is it OK to say I've never encountered one, then put up a hypothetical situation and write about how I would expect to deal with it?

If you have to repeat some of your PS you can, sometimes you have no choice but to. You can always expand up on it later. An exmaple being i wrote in the PS about how being a father at 19 changed a lot in my life, i also obviously use this for the diversity essays and other essays that i can apply it to since it was an important moment in my life, not to mention probably something adcoms dont see all that often.

As far as ethical goes, saying you have never been in one is not ok and really unless you are some extremely sheltered rich kid, there has got to be something. Examine your life more. It doesnt have to be profound, just something that shows how you think, your decision making process, etc etc...Usually with the ethical questions there is no right or wrong answer. As long as you come across as intelligent and can make a sound argument as to why you chose what you chose, you should be good to go

 

[nick_carraway]

2/ Some schools do ask about ETHICAL dilemma, specifically. Maybe I haven't examined my life closely enough, but just in case, is it OK to say I've never encountered one, then put up a hypothetical situation and write about how I would expect to deal with it?

As elijah said, do not speak in hypotheticals. Some schools even add that it is unacceptable to say that you have never faced an ethical dilemma. To that end, think about a decision that you're very proud of (or not so proud of). I'm sure it involved an ethical dilemma.

 

[BlueElmo]

It's all a game, a game. Play it well.

 

[deleted212936]

She purposely kept putting off her interview so she could update them about random volunteering and shadowing she did to give them what she wanted.

To me, it only showed her insincerity. She must've had a 4.0/40 or something.

 

[onb2014]

To those of you who applied and are going to apply: what did/will you guys write about if you see "What has been your biggest challenge so far?" on secondaries ?

getting laid-off and looking for a job--yay for non-trads.

 

[Ilovewater]

I was wondering...is it OK to talk about something very very personal? I've dealt with many (too) interesting experiences in my life...and I don't wanna freak the admission people out.

 

[zerial]

does jailbait count as an 'ethical dilemmma?'

 

[nick_carraway]

does jailbait count as an 'ethical dilemmma?'

I fail to see the dilemma.

 

[sarahl86]

I'm thinking about writing about my decision to reapply to med school.

It sounds a bit desperate and sad when I think about it, but epically failing was a pretty vivid experience.

I touched upon that when I did this essay too, koko Its all in how you paint the picture.

 

[zerial]

I fail to see the dilemma.

the dilemma is:
1. YES
2. wait a year, then YES

 

[yokopon]

Losing my v-card

seriously though, they want to see how you overcame something tough you faced in your life.

LMAO, good one

 

[Food]

So uh...what is the consensus? Is it okay to talk about the challenge of applying to medical school? It may sound trite, but going through the application process, and then the re-app has been a challenge for me. There is a lot that I have learned from it that I think I could write really well about. But if it's something that will come off as cliche, and boring to a jaded adcom...I'll think of something more unique lol.

 

[NotSur]

Ha, this question drives me nuts too. I've had a pretty solid life, and the reason is because I've had amazing parents that have made sacrifices so that I never had to. It kinda sucks knowing that apparently, medical schools don't want kids with parents that were constantly supportive and helpful -_-

Poor poor you! Life is so unfair!

 

[EricTan]

i used to sling crack back in the day. then i was shot 9 times. luckily i came back to 100% full health and made multi-platinum cds rapping about it.

now i'm applying to med school.

thats was my biggest challenge.

This is awesome. I'm sad that my applications are in and I can't put this down as well. The adcoms that have never heard of 50 cent would have let me in for sure, this is the good ****

 

[Jolt21]

This is awesome. I'm sad that my applications are in and I can't put this down as well. The adcoms that have never heard of 50 cent would have let me in for sure, this is the good ****

i wrote about the decision to find my father. i didn't think of it like a challenge at the time, more of a long journey. however looking back, it was def. a tough thing. like people have said before, its personal. just sit and think for a while.