I'm going to apply to a PhD program, but I'm quite nervous about how badly a dropout in my career will affect my prospects of getting into a good school.
My situation is the following: I started a MA, got very good grades, was a top student, but I had to abandon it in the last year... that's it, and that was complicated, so I feel there is no way to explain it in a few words without an awfully vague "personal problems". Two years later, this is 2014, I went back to school, got readmitted to the program and I am successfully writing my MA thesis. During the time I spent outside academia, I learned much more about myself, and it became more clear to me that doing research in my area is a crucial part of what makes me happy.
Other than that, my application is competitive, I guess. I have decent grades, decent GRE scores, probably awesome letters of recommendation (not from any very known professors, though, since I live in Latin America, but they know me very well), and I have plenty of research experience. My MA thesis will not be completed until January or so, but I will have a good written sample of my work to send with the application.
So, the question is: will my past dropout be a kiss of death or can it be overcome by other aspects of my application?