Closeup - Harvard - Medical school admissions essay help
Hometown: Sacramento, California, USA
Undergraduate School: Private, Harvard University
Major: Molecular and Cellular Biology
GPA: 3.97 out of 4.0
MCAT: 39. PS: 13, V: 12, BS: 14.
Medical school admissions essay help
“Foot Care,” “Condoms,” “Yeast Infection Kit.” I squinted to read the labels as I restocked the medicine cabinet in the basement of Harvard Epworth Church. An unpleasant fusion of body odor, tobacco, and artificial grape threatened to overwhelm me. It was my first day as a volunteer with Youth on Fire (YOF), an organization that provides a range of services for at-risk youth in Cambridge, including food and hygiene supplies, needle exchange, and overdose education. Because many of our program members are intravenous drug users and sex workers, we also seek to offer counseling and limited health care. As I went to fetch more spray-on deodorant for this eclectic collection labeled “medicine,” I began to ponder what this label really meant to me and how I ended up here.
Early on, I understood medicine to be an extenuation of biology, a field of discovery and intellectual prowess. As a child, I discovered a fascination for science when I was six years old, exploring my backyard with my first microscope set. After exhausting the slides provided, I created my own with leaves, insects, and hair. This curiosity developed into a knack for biology in seventh grade when I was lucky enough to dissect a fetal pig. As a hobby blossomed into a potential vocation, I entered the world of research my freshman year of high school, enjoying every moment of designing experiments and analyzing results. Convinced that medicine meant understanding biology, I shadowed, researched, and studied physiology for leisure. I thought about cellular respiration during swim practice (“I’m tired . . . I must be running out of ATP!”) and mentally traced the route of the digestive tract during dinner. I even attempted to diagnose my occasional stomach pains and examined my own sore throat with a flashlight and mirror to look for symptoms of strep. At the beginning, I fell in love with medicine because of a fascination with the natural world and a hunger for knowledge.
When I came to college, I realized a more visceral affinity for medicine when I attended a surgery seminar with the Harvard Premedical Society. I remembered this mixture of excitement and calm coming over me as I learned to insert a neck catheter. With an ultrasound wand in one hand and a needle in the other, I felt at home as I located the central vein on the simulation dummy. I let out a slow breath and smoothly inserted the needle. Blue liquid rushed into the catheter, affirming my success. In this instance, I knew that medicine was no longer restricted to my mind, but instead, permeated through my entire body as a physical, hands-on experience. However, even then, there was still something missing from my understanding of medicine.
Oddly enough, it was not during an exciting surgery or successful experiment but during an average night in my dining hall that I found this missing piece. I was browsing the portfolio of one of my favorite photographers, Chris Arnade, and found his new series, Faces of Addiction. This photojournalism project followed the lives of prostitutes and drug addicts in Hunts Point, New York; in the next four hours, I met Millie who died from an overdose, Michael who sometimes became Shelly, and Eric who had dreams of getting clean and owning a farm. Reading their life stories, I realized that perhaps the idea of temptation, relapse, and redemption might not be that foreign. I looked upon those misunderstood faces and didn’t see drug addicts. I saw humans whose coping mechanisms may differ, but who have fears, make mistakes, and require grace just like me. Though I had not experienced drug addiction myself, I found myself relating to this group, and the pain of feeling their suffering would not leave me. I now knew that medicine was not only intellectual and practical, it was understanding. Regardless of one’s history, mistakes, or beliefs, medicine touches upon the very essence that makes us human and allows us to care for others as our peers.
Beeeeeeep. The ring of the doorbell jolted me from my thoughts. As I glanced at the monitor, I saw a woman with a mop of dreadlocks and bright red sneakers. That day I met Sal, an African-American transsexual whose drug of choice was heroin. I helped her pick out some new socks from our hygiene cabinet and heat up beefy mac and cheese from the pantry. She challenged me to a game of pool and won.
The truth is that while the exhilaration and intellectual rigor of medicine first drew me to this field, there is something deeper, almost unexplainable, which allows me to say with full certainty that this is my future. While I still feel the rush of excitement when conducting physicals or thinking through differential diagnoses, I also feel the warmth and complexity of a person’s character, the bitterness of their afflictions, and their need for healing. When I think about medicine today, becoming a physician is no longer the end goal, but a way to best equip myself. I joined YOF to serve despite my limited skills today, but I know that with a medical education, I will be poised to do so much more for so many more.
At the end of the day, I brought Sal to the medicine cabinet, hoping that one day, I could offer her more than just “Foot Care,” “Condoms,” and “Yeast Infection Kits.”
Analysis
Throughout the essay, Selena delineates the development of her passion for medicine from an academic interest in biology to an excitement for its practical applications via hands-on experiences to her ultimate appreciation for the human aspect of the field.
Selena uses a powerful anecdote to illustrate a transformative moment in her life that invigorated her passion for medicine. She recalls looking through a photography journal of “the lives of prostitutes and drug addicts,” recognizing how misunderstood the people featured were, and realizing that humans are complex beings. She effectively uses this anecdote to segue into the reasons why she is interested in a career in medicine, like the opportunity to understand and help people, particularly t hose who are often misunderstood.
By explaining the varied unique circumstances that drew her to the medical field, Selena communicates an enthusiasm to help and an admirable appreciation for often-overlooked patients that makes her stand out as an applicant.
From 50 Successful Harvard Medical School Essays edited by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson. Copyright (c) 2020 by the authors and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group