UCSF worksheet B: human condition?

[jimmychowder]

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hello future pharmacists,

I'm workin on the UCSF essays and I came to this one which got me lost:

"How have your personal experiences informed your understanding of the HUMAN CONDITION."

wth do they mean by human condition? can someone pleez clarify for me?

thanx in advance 🙂

 

[dienophile]

What is the meaning of life? lol
What is your philosphy of life?
What have you learned about human behavior?
Will Britney Spears commit suicide?
Good luck narrowing down that topic.

 

[PharmDstudent]

hello future pharmacists,

I'm workin on the UCSF essays and I came to this one which got me lost:

"How have your personal experiences informed your understanding of the HUMAN CONDITION."

wth do they mean by human condition? can someone pleez clarify for me?

thanx in advance 🙂

If I recall correctly...it could be one of three things:
The desire to live or be alive even though you know you'll eventually die.
The desire for humans to live even though we live in an imperfect world. - Essentially, life is a struggle. There are obstacles everywhere.
Finally, the human condition could be what living means to the person. What is life to you?

Just try to tie in hard work, struggle, success, and joy into the same essay 😀.

What makes you tick (I want to be able to help my family financially)? Have you had to overcome anything significant, like a death in your family (My mother's mother died of lung cancer.), poverty (I've been there, done that.), a handicap (Nope, so knock on wood.), a bad childhood (I'd say that was the case, but 11th and 12th grade were fabulous- sports, parties, beauty pageants, did I already mention parties??), etc. Have you done well in something that you are really proud of (My 3.89 GPA in high school with advanced and AP classes, honors student at LSU, completed an internship in Germany, etc.)? Did you go above and beyond any expectations set by yourself or family (I'm the first person in my family to attend a professional school. My father only finished the 8th grade.)?

You don't have to write anything too personal, but once you discover what makes you tick, the essay should fall into place.

 

[alswl]

There's a thread about this question specifically.. Maybe you could search for it. I personally didn't write about it too generally because I thought "Human condition" was such a broad and generalized concept.. So I specified my topic on one and wrote about how my experiences awakened me to that kind of human condition and how it'll affect my tenure as a pharmacist..

I hope this approach would be ok 🙄
or UCSF didn't say too much about it so I believe they're expecting any type of answer you choose to write.. g'luck!

 

[sdn1977]

Actually, I've answered this question for 2 years & I'm a UCSF graduate.

You might search my old posts - lots of them I know & the search function stinks. But, they'll be about this time of year, but in 2006 or before.

They are looking for a particular mindset, but my time is a bit limited right now to tell it again.

Try looking for my old post. Perhaps someone can link if if they find it.

Good luck! Think about how global UCSF is - that's what they are looking for......global can be as small as your neighborhood, since illness can come from the neighbor who went home to India, Mongolia or anywhere else in the world or through any internation airport for that matter. Or, global could be the World Health Organization which works to limit illness, advocate for treatment & prevention in countries other than ours. UCSF looks for candidates who can function in any of those environments. They want to know what you can do with this education to GIVE BACK to the human condition.

What they don't want is to know what pharmacy can do for you.

I've worded this much better in a previous post. I hope you can find it.

Again - good luck!

 

[PharmDstudent]

Actually, I've answered this question for 2 years & I'm a UCSF graduate.

You might search my old posts - lots of them I know & the search function stinks. But, they'll be about this time of year, but in 2006 or before.

They are looking for a particular mindset, but my time is a bit limited right now to tell it again.

Try looking for my old post. Perhaps someone can link if if they find it.

Good luck! Think about how global UCSF is - that's what they are looking for......global can be as small as your neighborhood, since illness can come from the neighbor who went home to India, Mongolia or anywhere else in the world or through any internation airport for that matter. Or, global could be the World Health Organization which works to limit illness, advocate for treatment & prevention in countries other than ours. UCSF looks for candidates who can function in any of those environments. They want to know what you can do with this education to GIVE BACK to the human condition.

What they don't want is to know what pharmacy can do for you.

I've worded this much better in a previous post. I hope you can find it.

Again - good luck!

That would be a different essay. You would know UCSF better than I would, but if that's the essay they want, the topic should be rephrased. From the way it's phrased now, they want to know how the applicant has learned about the human condition. The topic is: "How have your personal experiences informed your understanding of the HUMAN CONDITION." The essay should be about the applicant and their personal experiences.

Essentially, if the applicant describes his/her experiences, the ad com could indirectly infer what they can do with this education to GIVE BACK to the human condition. However, the topic doesn't state anything about the future, so I wouldn't talk about how I would give back to anything. Experiences are always from the past not the future.

So...what makes you tick? What have you do to be where you are today? How does that relate to the human condition?

 

[jimmychowder]

hey thanx for all the help guyz!

This will help me out alot.

Thanx again! good luck errrrrbody 😛

 

[dragonqueen209]

i agree with PharmDstudent

 

[leinaala6]

but this is the explanation they give on their website for that question...doesn't it mean that u should apply to the future?

"For this question you should summarize what you believe you have learned about the nature of humanity and how that will impact your tenure as a student at UCSF and your future as a pharmacist. "

 

[ExpressMaiL]

This question is UCSF's indirect way to see your motivation, passion and commitment to healthcare. I attended UCSF's application workshop over the summer and the admission's officer stated to me (in a one on one private conversation AFTER the workshop) "the amount of time you put into this question will show in your response."

"It's such a simple question yet so complex."

You can't ask others for what the "human condition" is or try and have someone explain the response/answer to you. Sure, you can read different interpretations and thoughts about it, but don't let that persuade or lead you into thinking how or what you should write. This needs to come from you and only you...

The readers of the applications will have read hundreds upon hundreds of responses to this question. In conjunction with the rest of your application, they will be able to tell if your response is bona fide or coming from somewhere else.

Good luck... I believe this question and B5 are the two most influential and interview-landing chances we (I) have.