Adversity Essay for Medical School: How to Overcome It

What is an Adversity Essay for Medical School?

In addition to writing a diversity essay for medical school, an adversity essay for medical school is a common prompt among medical school secondary essays. Medical school secondary essays dive deeper into your unique characteristics that haven't already been covered elsewhere in your application. While there are many medical school secondary essay examples, the adversity secondary essay is among the most common. Typically, in the essay prompt, you'll be asked to discuss a challenging time you experienced as well as how you overcame that challenge. 

Writing the adversity essay for my medical school application was a deeply introspective process. It required me to delve into one of the most challenging periods of my life and reflect on how it shaped me. I chose to highlight my struggle with the MCAT—a journey marked by multiple attempts, reapplications, and a lot of personal growth. The MCAT represented a substantial barrier, not only due to its notorious difficulty but also because it forced me to confront deeper insecurities and limitations. Initially, I underestimated the exam, assuming my strong academic background would suffice. However, my first attempt and resulting MCAT score proved otherwise, humbling me and making me realize that being a good student didn't necessarily make me a good test-taker for such a comprehensive and grueling exam.

Beyond mastering the vast content and critical thinking skills required, this experience symbolized a deeper internal struggle with self-doubt and the fear of failure. Each reattempt required digging deeper into my resilience and determination, transforming each failure into an opportunity for reflection and adjustment. Through this process, I learned valuable lessons about perseverance, the importance of a growth mindset, and the need to approach challenges strategically. Ultimately, this journey tested my limits, shaped my character, and prepared me for the inevitable challenges of a medical career, strengthening my resolve and deepening my empathy and understanding—qualities essential for a future physician.

How to Write an Adversity Essay for Medical School

My brainstorming process involved reflecting on significant challenges I had faced and their impact on my personal growth. I listed several potential adversities but ultimately chose the MCAT struggle due to its profound effect on my journey to medical school. Other potential adversities that I considered to reflect on included my grandma's death, who was an important role model in my life, and having to delay completion of my Bachelor’s degree. I then outlined key points I wanted to cover, ensuring I focused on both the challenge and the positive outcomes. I also consulted with mentors and peers, seeking feedback on which experiences would resonate most with the admissions committee.

The drafting process was iterative and introspective. I began with a rough outline, detailing the adversity, my response, and the lessons learned. My first draft was heavily focused on the difficulties I faced. However, through multiple revisions, I shifted the emphasis to my growth and resilience. I sought feedback from a medical school advisor and incorporated their suggestions to enhance clarity and impact. Each draft brought me closer to a narrative that was honest, reflective, and aligned with my journey to becoming a physician.

I structured my essay to ensure a clear and compelling narrative. I began with a straightforward statement of my adversity: my struggle with the MCAT. In the following sentences, I provided a brief overview of the situation—retaking the MCAT three times, applying twice, and enduring two gap years, putting off my medical school dreams. Then, I shifted the focus to the positive aspects, reflecting on what I learned and how I grew during this period. I highlighted how continuing my extracurricular activities, working full-time, and traveling contributed to my personal and professional development.

Examples of Adversity Secondary Essay Prompts

Adversity prompts often come in the form of an "overcoming challenges" question, such as these Cornell medical school secondary essay examples. These questions ask the applicant about a difficult situation they were faced with, an obstacle they encountered, or a hurdle they had to push past in order to succeed. Some prompts, like the UCLA secondary essay prompts, ask about your personal growth or lessons you've learned.

1. Discuss a time in your life in which you have failed at something other than an academic experience. How did you confront the failure and what did you learn from it? Please describe how you typically approach challenges that you face in your life.
2. What has been your biggest challenge in pursuing medicine? What have you learned as a result?
3. The admissions committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you learned about yourself as a result.
4. Describe a major problem you have had to deal with at some time in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth.
5. Please describe to the Admissions Committee a challenge you have overcome and what you learned about yourself from that experience.

How to Answer Adversity Secondary Essay Prompts

Relating my adversity to medical school was a crucial part of my essay. I wanted to convey how the challenges I faced and the lessons I learned would make me a better medical student and, ultimately, a better physician. The perseverance required to overcome my MCAT struggles mirrored the resilience needed in medical training. Managing stress, staying disciplined, and pushing through setbacks are skills that would serve me well in the demanding environment of medical school.

The MCAT was a difficult obstacle on my path to medical school. Despite rigorous preparation, I didn’t perform well on my first two attempts. The disappointment was crushing. I had always been a diligent student, and this setback was a blow to my confidence. Nevertheless, I was determined not to let this define my future.

After my second attempt, I applied to medical schools, hoping that other aspects of my application would compensate for my MCAT scores. I faced rejections and was waitlisted. This period was one of the most emotionally taxing times of my life. I found myself grappling with self-doubt and uncertainty about my future. Despite this, I decided to take a gap year to reassess my strategies, improve my application, and prepare for another attempt at the MCAT.

Moreover, the support and encouragement from mentors, family, and peers played a crucial role in my journey. They reminded me of the bigger picture and the reasons I embarked on this path in the first place. The challenges with the MCAT became opportunities for growth, teaching me perseverance, adaptability, and the importance of a growth mindset. These qualities are essential for a successful career in medicine, where setbacks and obstacles are inevitable. My commitment to becoming a physician, coupled with the lessons learned from my struggles, strengthened my resolve to continue pursuing my dream despite the hurdles.

Working full-time and engaging in various activities during my gap years honed my ability to balance multiple responsibilities—a critical skill for any medical student. These experiences also enhanced my empathy and understanding of patients’ struggles. Having faced significant challenges myself, I can relate to patients’ feelings of frustration and despair and provide the support and encouragement they need.

Check out our video for some adversity essay tips:

What if I Don't Know What to Write About?

Some students struggle with the "overcoming challenges" prompt because they feel truly fortunate in life and don't feel that they've faced adversity. So, if you haven't faced adversity, what should you write in this section?

The truth is, everyone has faced adversity, the struggle that students face in answering this question is that they are categorizing the prompt incorrectly. Adversity simply means difficulty or misfortune, but students often take this term to the most extreme and feel that it only applies to a serious situation such as the loss of a loved one, a serious disability or a life-altering illness. While these are certainly hardships worth discussing, they are not the only hardships people face.

Everyone has overcome a difficult situation, but if you're having a hard time identifying such a time in your life, read these questions below to help determine a hardship that affected you personally. If you answered yes to any of the below questions, you likely have a good topic for discussion, as long as you can expand the topic and think about how it affected you and what you learned moving forward.

Also keep in mind, if a school doesn't have a specific adversity essay prompt, you can address personal difficulties in other places, like the UCSD secondary essays autobiographical sketch.

Adversity Secondary Essay Examples

Medical School Adversity Essay Example #1

1. Please describe any significant barriers or challenges you may have overcome in the pursuit of your personal/professional goals.

My skin disorder began as a faint light spot near my eyes, something I barely noticed at first. Gradually, the spot grew whiter, and soon, two more small spots appeared near it, with others forming around my lips. I became concerned for my health. During my senior year of undergraduate studies, I found myself struggling to cope with my diagnosis of vitiligo.

During this time, peers began to notice the white spots on my face, leading to odd looks and whispered comments that I struggled to explain. This marked the beginning of a difficult period in my life. Unfortunately, I had to endure some distasteful jokes about the spots on my face. This was initially demoralizing to my self-esteem and made me feel embarrassed about something that I had no control over. As a result, I avoided social gatherings and even routine errands, fearing the judgement of strangers. My mind became full of self-doubt as I contemplated my future and how my condition would affect my goals of finding a potential spouse and securing a job for myself without being judged or discriminated against.

I had finally gone to my primary care physician who simply told me that I had vitiligo without fully examining my face or completing additional tests to confirm my diagnosis. I felt abandoned by the healthcare system, which only heightened my sense of despair. In denial and desperate for a more thorough examination, I sought a second opinion with a dermatologist, Dr. Maggie, who used a wood’s lamp to thoroughly examine my skin. I was crushed again to hear that I have vitiligo. I knew very little about this disease and was scared of the possibility of it spreading all over my face and body. My heart began pounding with anxiety and panic as I pondered what my life was going to be like with this diagnosis. I feared that this condition would worsen and potentially hinder my future opportunities due to social stigma and societal isolation. Unlike the first physician, Dr. Maggie carefully and meticulously explained my disorder. He ordered blood tests and conducted allergy tests to supplement my treatment. Dr. Maggie reassured me that there is a strong possibility the pigmentation in my skin would return naturally. He also explained that, in the worst-case scenario, laser light therapy could be an option. He thoroughly answered all of my questions and helped create a diet plan aimed at improving my immune system.

With Dr. Maggie’s support, I gradually began to accept my condition and focus on my overall well-being. Following a regimented treatment plan, including the use of steroid creams and dietary adjustments, I noticed significant improvements on my face and that the vitiligo did not spread anywhere else on my body. Through Dr. Maggie’s guidance, I was able to equip myself with the knowledge and understanding of my disorder in order to change my outlook on life and strengthen my determination to overcome my vitiligo. This direct personal experience exemplified how a physician can greatly affect a person’s life in a positive light given the right approach and consideration, reinforcing my own resolve to become a compassionate and knowledgeable physician who can provide the same level of care and reassurance to my future patients. 

Medical School Adversity Essay Example #2

2. Describe a time in your life that demonstrated resilience.

During my sophomore year of high school, my family’s financial situation had just begun to improve, allowing us to live comfortably with a steady income for the first time. However, on my 15th birthday, my dad accidentally sawed off three of his fingers while building a shed. He was rushed to the ER, where the doctors surgically reattached two of his fingers. The cost of the surgery and his inability to work for several months caused a major financial setback. I vividly recall helping my mom at our kitchen table, deciding which bills to pay, which created feelings of uncertainty that I had not felt since we immigrated to the US. To help my parents, I gave up driving and walked 1.5 miles to school each morning. I relinquished my cell phone, and cut down on spending, but it still was not enough. I considered dropping out of high school to work full time, but my parents insisted that I continue my education. I had to find a way to make money without sacrificing my education. I got creative and immersed myself in the sneaker culture of Portland, buying and selling rare Nikes to generate income. I gave up my social life to wait in line at shoe stores after school and on weekends. Even though I became one of the main breadwinners in my family, I managed to pay the bills and maintain a 4.0 GPA. Through this hardship, I learned to manage my time efficiently, prioritize tasks, and devise new solutions for seemingly impossible challenges. 

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