Medical Can I talk about being rejected for Adversity/challenge essay for reapplicants

[Goro]

I applied in a previous cycle and will be reapplying this cycle. Is speaking about failing to gain acceptance the first time around and applying again a good topic for the adversity secondary prompt? I wonder if it is too cliche, or if speaking about doubling down on your commitment to medicine even after being rejected would be well received.

It will not be well received. Admissions committees want to see that you have a life outside of Medicine.

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[GoSpursGo]

No I wouldn’t do this.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Not cliche but Automatic deny. Your answer shows you don't appreciate the true adversity that your patients face.

 

[Goro]

Interesting perspective on this prompt I hadn't heard before, thanks for mentioning it. Is the goal to demonstrate understanding of the adversity our future patients may face through reflecting on our adversity? I had always thought of the prompt as a way to demonstrate personal resilience.

My wise colleagues response implies that you were trivializing adversity

 

[GoSpursGo]

beyond it generally being a bad topic, this also isn’t a challenge you have overcome yet.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

No, don’t use that. What in your life of 20-30 something years have you overcome. You haven’t technically overcome getting rejected from medical school yet.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I argue that empathy is very important for physicians and the lack of it is a deal breaker for applicants. How does your resilience improve your doctoring? I argue by being more sensitive to others' adversity and resilience.

To directly answer your question: I won't say it is an explicit goal that we all use to evaluate applicants, but how screeners and faculty interpret the prompt will vary widely. As someone who is sophisticated with reading essays (meaning, I read a ton of them every year since moving to an admissions role), it is worth thinking about when it comes to how you stand out in your approach to answering the prompt. Demonstrating your personal resilience is not wrong, but resonating in a manner that stands out may require more. (In other words, understand who is reading your essays, which is a much more difficult task if you don't do your homework connecting with schools before you apply.)