Homegrown - Harvard - Medical school application essay help
Hometown: Woodstock, Connecticut, USA
Undergraduate School: Public, The United States Military Academy
Major: Life Science
GPA: 3.94
MCAT: 514. CP: 128, CARS: 128, BB: 129, PS: 129.
Medical school application essay help
One afternoon, when I was fourteen, I came home from school, tossed my backpack on the couch, and shouted for my Mom. “What’s up?” she called back. She did not expect the next words out of my mouth to be, “You will never guess what I learned about the mitochondria today!” She burst into laughter—here was her teenage daughter, raving about the mitochondria rather than the Seventeen magazine sitting on the coffee table. This deviation from the standard interests of teenage girls was not surprising—both of my parents are veterinarians, and I grew up surrounded by science and medicine. I used to comb through the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, even though I inevitably ended up looking at the pictures of the strange household objects that gluttonous dogs had swallowed. I yearned to comprehend the print on the pages, but as a child, understanding the science behind these articles seemed like a lofty goal. Finally, in high school biology class, it started to click. I began to understand biology as the complex subject it was, and I was ecstatic. The lesson on mitochondria ignited my passion for science—how could these tiny organelles power and enable such a diverse spectrum of cell types?
Initially, I planned to attend a civilian undergraduate college. During my junior year of high school, however, I felt I had a second calling: the U.S. Army. I researched careers as an Army doctor and spoke to a handful of physicians and career Army officers. In particular, my uncle, COL (R) Christopher Toomey, and I discussed the realities of a career in the military and his experience with Army physicians. During multiple deployments, he had experience with many doctors. Rather than discourage me, his frank discussions about Army Combat Support Hospitals and the doctors and nurses who work in them only strengthened my resolve to pursue a career as an Army physician. As I progressed in my classes at West Point, however, I began to have doubts. I had many options to pursue, such as becoming a platoon leader or going into research. How could I be sure that I wanted to practice medicine, and that pursuing medicine fit the Army’s needs? My West Point experience has illuminated that my role is to ensure the health and welfare of soldiers. In particular, my experience as a Cadet Team Leader showed me the importance of ensuring soldiers are healthy and cared for while they train and prepare for their future missions. The responsibilities of a Team Leader are to ensure the health, welfare, and success of a single freshman.
As a sophomore Team Leader, I was responsible for the sweetest, but most frenetic, young woman I have ever met. She was overwhelmed by West Point and the rigorous course load. Early in the semester, I got a phone call—my frantic freshman had needed advice over something quite minor, and called me for help. I was studying for a big Organic Chemistry quiz and told myself I would only go up to her room for a moment. When I opened the door, I immediately noticed the red puffy eyes of my freshman, who was curled up in her chair with a box of tissues, too overwhelmed to work. I forgot about the quiz—I had to, because I had a soldier in need. We talked for hours and, finally, the tears stopped. Moments such as this one occurred many more times throughout the semester, but she was thriving as a Cadet by the end. When I became a Cadet Platoon Sergeant and became responsible for more cadets, I spent even more time tending to the needs of my subordinates. These experiences helped me realize my desire to dedicate my career to improving the physical and mental health of soldiers.
While my passion for science has motivated me to pursue medicine, it is really the experiences with the people at West Point that have clearly showed me that being a doctor is my duty. Sometimes when I look around at my classmates, I think about how desperately I want all of us to make it to our fiftieth, tenth, and even just our five year reunion as we navigate a dangerous profession. It hit me that there has to be somebody to bridge the gap between battlefield wounds and stateside healing. My roommates have caught me sleeping curled up with my Human Physiology textbook. My friends tease me for my Organic Chemistry “artwork” that covers the study room’s whiteboard. However, they have no idea that they are all the primary motivation for my hard work. I can only hope that my small role would help bring a soldier home safely or be able to get back in the fight. While my friends tease me for making them listen to my speech about how fascinating the mitochondria is, perhaps this is why the mitochondria is my favorite organelle; I appreciate how such a small organelle has dedicated its entire existence to the rest of the cell’s survival. Similarly, I see myself as dedicating my profession, and all the energy I have, to these remarkable people that I have been blessed to know. The men and women who have dedicated themselves to service are all somebody’s battle buddy, spouse, or child, and they deserve somebody who will go the extra mile as their physician.
Analysis
Jane primarily focuses on her experience as a leader in the United States Military Academy. This close-up of her role as a Cadet Team Leader illuminates how much she values serving others, both on the macroscopic scale of the United States but also on a more personal level, with her cadets and fellow soldiers. As she walks us through her journey of choosing where she wanted to go to school to ultimately becoming the leader of her own team, she shows us how she has matured and discovered what she truly values. This proves to the reader that Jane will be a great doctor, as she dedicates herself to helping others so that they can succeed, rather than focusing on just herself.
Looking at her essay more structurally, Jane introduces her essay with an anecdote about the mitochondria and references this anecdote in her conclusion as well, which wraps up her essay nicely. She gives personal meaning to the mitochondria, and the extended metaphor that she draws between herself and the mitochondria further reinforces how she is passionate about helping others.
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