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socratease

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  • Location
    Boston, MA
  • Application Season
    2017 Fall
  • Program
    Psychology/Vision Science

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  1. I agree with the first commenter about that first paragraph. Additionally, your anecdote about answering "happy" to your teacher is a beaten cliche. Even if it really happened, it comes off has totally contrived.
  2. Hi everyone! I'll try to make this as succinct as possible. I am applying for PhD programs, and one (very, very competitive school) requires both a Statement of Purpose and a Personal History. The Statement of Purpose mainly details your relevant experience, career goals, etc. The Personal History is more, well...personal. Here's how the school describes it: "Anything that can give reviewers a sense of you as a person belongs here; you can repeat information about your experiences in your research statement, but any experiences that show your promise, initiative, and ability to persevere despite obstacles belongs here. This is also a good place to display your communication skills and discuss your ability to maximize effective collaboration with a diverse cross-section of the academic community. If you have faced any obstacles or barriers in your education, sharing those experiences serves both for the selection process, and for your nomination for fellowships. If one part of your academic record is not ideal, due to challenges you faced in that particular area, this is where you can explain that, and direct reviewers’ attention to the evidence of your promise for higher education." "The personal statement should give concrete evidence of your promise as a member of the academic community, giving the committee an image of you as a person. This is also where you represent your potential to bring to your academic career a critical perspective rooted in a non-traditional educational background, or your understanding of the experiences of groups historically under-represented in higher education and your commitment to increase participation by a diverse population in higher education." To put in plainly, I have faced numerous obstacles/barriers to my education. They are very personal, I value every experience I have had for who they have made me, but I'm just a bit hesitant to talk about them, even know it is encouraged. I guess I'm just looking for advice and opinions on what makes sense to include and what is best left out. Let me start by saying: there is nothing in my background that suggests I should have ended up where I am currently, a modestly successful budding researcher at Harvard Medical School. Here we commence a description of my somewhat colorful past. Working class family. I.e., poor growing up. First-gen college student (although my mother did end up achieving an associate's of nursing degree) ADHD, undiagnosed until about age 20--the result is that my childhood was marked by a struggle to perform well in school and a history of being punished for ADHD-related behaviors (speaking out of turn, acting impulsively, etc.) Mother with bipolar depression. I'd love to not go into details about this, but the idea is that this made my years 1-18 incredibly unstable. Both parents are alcoholics and abusive. Again, incredibly unstable and negative upbringing. I myself am an alcoholic. I am sober now, but this has had a huge influence of my life. I am a lesbian. Came out young and the harassment and isolation that followed was swift and relentless. Finally, after graduating college (at which point I developed coping mechanisms for my ADHD, learned to excel in school, had a very positive relationship with my own sexuality, friends, etc.) my family system collapsed when my mother and stepfather (basically my dad since I was 8 years old) got divorced and my mother filed for bankruptcy. After graduation (while I had great grades, research experience, and awards), I was completely broke and went back to my hometown to live with my parents. There are no opportunities in this town, and I had no financial support--I worked for 1 year, saving up enough money to move to Boston and eventually get a job as a research assistant, where I found my current position at Harvard Medical School and where I been ever since. Whew. If you've read this far, thanks for sticking with me. As you can see, a lot of those tidbits are highly personal and perhaps a bit to "real" and dark for an admissions essay. Nonetheless, each and every one represents a hugely significant barrier to education and achievement, each required an enormous amount of creativity and resilience to overcome, and each had overarching effects on who I am today. On to my actual question: what do I say, guys? What makes the most sense to focus on? I know I wouldn't necessarily be doing myself any favors to detail, say, my history as an alcoholic and subsequent attainment of sobriety (although I consider that to be the most impressive thing I have ever done, but I digress...) What version of my history makes the best story? How would you approach an essay with my life's history? I realize this is highly subjective and there is no right answer. I would just greatly appreciate any opinions and thoughts others would be willing to share. Thanks!
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