Applying Soon? Last Chance to Sign up for our Group Advising! Cohort closes 1/31! Save $100 now! Start Now!
If you’ve experienced trauma, this one’s for you. I’ll share what to say, what not to say, and how much is too much for your med school interview.
Questions answered here on the podcast are taken directly from the Nontrad Premed Forum over at premedforums.com. Please go ahead and register for an account, ask your question, and have fun with the community. If you haven’t yet as well, be sure to check out our community on Facebook at Premed Hangout.
Also, please be sure to check out all our other podcasts on Meded Media as we try to bring you as many resources as you need on this journey.
Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.
Hi.
So this is a little hard for me to discuss, but I know it’s something that’s going to come up if I’m fortunate enough to get an interview, and I’ve wanted to ask someone about this but I didn’t know who or how, and I recently stumbled across this site, so I’m going to try because this seems like the best forum I’ve come across.
I’m a 26-year-old female and I have a BS in mathematics (graduated when I was 22, but finished my math degree when I was 21), with a 3.46 GPA. When I was 19 (after my freshmen year), I watched one of my professors bleed to death with the rest of my class in another country, then less than nine months later I was raped by a guy I would see for the next three years until he graduated and left (I went to school in a pretty small town, and he was part of my extended friend group). Having witnessed the lives of other close friends get ripped apart when they reported sexual assault and not wanting to hurt my parents (it would wreck them), I never reported anything. For about a year after our professor’s death, we were the pity of everyone who saw us, and it drove me crazy.
My freshmen year of college, I was in all sophomore classes, and I got straight A’s, but then after all of the above happened, I got straight B’s and two C+’s (one of which was in microbio because I had a class in the same building as the guy, and I didn’t attend as much as a should have for that reason). As soon as he left (also around the time I decided to take premed courses), I began getting good grades again, but not all of my premed courses are good grades (most are, and ochem and biochem I got A’s in).
This was a trend I noticed in the last year or two since looking back on my life and experiences. I think I was a bit depressed and withdrawn from everything (I focused on rock and ice climbing as a form of therapy), but now I’m fine. Since there’s a clear trend in my undergraduate grades, I’m expecting to be asked about it, but I have absolutely no idea how to respond without coming off as a delicate flower/unstable or something. I’m not delicate or unstable, and I’m very level-headed and logical, but my reactions as an early 20-something may make an interviewer think otherwise. What happened was pretty much out of my control, but it’s been affecting my life since the day both things happened. I don’t intend to write about any of this in my personal statement or mention anything before an interview since, while it’s something that has happened and is a part of me, it’s not what defines me.
Any advice? Thank you.
And this is whether or not you dealt with a traumatic event that you don’t want to talk about, or really anything in your life that you don’t want to talk about. Another common thing that comes up a lot is addiction issues. Students from all backgrounds that have had traumatic events have affected their grades.
If this is not a part of why you want to be a physician, then you don’t need to throw it in there.
A 3.46 GPA is not a bad GPA. Having a good upward trend is great. So you don’t need to throw in that red flag in your personal statement. You don’t necessarily have to say that. Although it still may come up in an interview for the interviewer to ask about what happened with your grades. Especially if it’s an open interview where they can see your grades and your trends and everything else.
You can just say you had a lot of stuff going on in your life then that you weren’t able to handle it then as you do now. It’s just a simple statement. You don’t have to get personal about it. You don’t have to get specific about it. And hopefully, the interviewer will take a clue.
“Most of us are very empathetic people. We can see that the person we're interviewing is potentially a little bit shy about talking about that subject.”Click To TweetIf it’s not a huge issue, they hopefully won’t push it. But if they do go down that path, you can just say it’s some personal stuff that you’re not very comfortable talking about. It’s been dealt with, so it’s not an issue.
That part of your life is over. You’re just really excited that you took a lot of lessons from that time and you’ve shown that you’ve been able to rebound. So you just talk about as much as possible that it’s not an issue anymore and it’s not going to be an issue in the future. It’s over with. So it’s not a problem.
When it comes to an interview and an application wherever it else may be, the goal is always what did you learn? The more that you can do that, the better you’ll be without really necessarily going into all of those details.
“What did you take away from that situation?'Click To TweetLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit
Just wanted to share my wonderful news! I received my first medical school acceptance! Thank you for all that you do for us Application Academy!!!
I am excited to tell you that I just got my third interview invite from XXXXX today! I can’t believe it. I didn’t even know if I was good enough to get one, let alone three – by mid-September. Thank you so much for all of your help and support up to this point; I would not be in this position without it!!
I wanted to thank you for helping me prepare for my XXXXX interview. Even in a 30-minute advising session, I learned so much from you. Thank you for believing in me, and here’s to another potential success story from one of your advisees!
I just received an acceptance with XXXXX! This is so exciting and such a huge relief and so nice to have one of our top choice schools! I also received an interview with XXXXX which brings the total up to 20 interviews! Thank so much, none of this would have been possible without you!
I just received my admission to XXXXX! This is unreal and almost feels like I am dreaming. I want to thank you for all of your help with my application. I cannot overstate how influential your guidance and insight have been with this result and I am eternally grateful for your support!
IM SO HAPPY!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP, IM INDEBTED TO YOU! Truly, thank you so much for all your help. Thank you doesnt do enough.
I want to take a few moments and thank you for all of your very instructive, kind and consistent feedback and support through my applications and it is your wishes, feedback, and most importantly your blessings that have landed me the acceptance!
I got into XXXXX this morning!!!! It still has not hit me that I will be a doctor now!! Thank you for all your help, your words and motivation have brought me to this point.
I wanted to once again express my heartfelt gratitude for your help in providing feedback during my secondary applications. Your guidance has been instrumental in my journey.
Just wanted to share my wonderful news! I received my first medical school acceptance! Thank you for all that you do for us Application Academy!!!
I am excited to tell you that I just got my third interview invite from XXXXX today! I can’t believe it. I didn’t even know if I was good enough to get one, let alone three – by mid-September. Thank you so much for all of your help and support up to this point; I would not be in this position without it!!
I wanted to thank you for helping me prepare for my XXXXX interview. Even in a 30-minute advising session, I learned so much from you. Thank you for believing in me, and here’s to another potential success story from one of your advisees!
I just received an acceptance with XXXXX! This is so exciting and such a huge relief and so nice to have one of our top choice schools! I also received an interview with XXXXX which brings the total up to 20 interviews! Thank so much, none of this would have been possible without you!
I just received my admission to XXXXX! This is unreal and almost feels like I am dreaming. I want to thank you for all of your help with my application. I cannot overstate how influential your guidance and insight have been with this result and I am eternally grateful for your support!
IM SO HAPPY!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP, IM INDEBTED TO YOU! Truly, thank you so much for all your help. Thank you doesnt do enough.
I want to take a few moments and thank you for all of your very instructive, kind and consistent feedback and support through my applications and it is your wishes, feedback, and most importantly your blessings that have landed me the acceptance!
I got into XXXXX this morning!!!! It still has not hit me that I will be a doctor now!! Thank you for all your help, your words and motivation have brought me to this point.
Join our newsletter to stay up to date
* By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.
Resources
Advising Services
Podcasts & Youtube
Books
About