A helping hand - Harvard - Free sample medical school statement
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Undergraduate School: Private, Howard University
Major: Biology / Pre-Medicine
GPA: 3.96
MCAT: 29. PS: 9, V: 10, BS: 10.
Free sample medical school statement
Summers in the city were tough to bear. My internship at the Community Action Partnership’s Human Development Corporation (HDC) burdened me with the task of recording “Family-need Evaluation” minutes. When underprivileged individuals, some recent immigrants, entered the office to demonstrate their federal aid need, their physical appearance reflected their standard of living as much as their documents did. It was emotionally tolling to record details illuminated during the interview when I could not escape the thought that many aspects of their health condition were hidden, and even took a backseat to the issues that my job attempted to resolve. Dr. James Whittico first exposed me to treatments that utilized a complementing clinical approach for human betterment. He allowed me to observe a remedy that my occupation’s food pantry, energy assistance, and financial literacy provisions could supplement to improve our community members. Each day after work, I’d watch this past National Medical Association president surprise clients with his recollection of prior visit details and affectionate treatment. Dr. Whittico explained every encountered condition to me as if I was his colleague, and he inspired me to pursue a lifestyle in health care.
Guidance from my mentor amplified my interest in science courses. On alternating days during high school, between my final class and evening sports practice, I was either leading Science Olympiad exercises as co-Captain or further examining my Anatomy & Physiology group’s dissected cat. My AP Biology instructor required that every student summarize a research publication each month. Reading about scientific discoveries helped me to view the subject as a “living” field, and it stimulated my interest to unearth findings of my own. Violence among the middle-aged and child abandonment had left the “head of household” responsibility to most elderlies who entered the HDC. While the education background and language barrier sometimes justified clients’ confusion during the interviews, there was often an unexplainable behavior of disorientation demonstrated. Conducting dementia research under the direction of Dr.’s Burke (Howard Univ. College of Medicine) and Lemere (Harvard Institute of Medicine) helped me to identify more Alzheimer’s disease characteristics. Further studies on the physiological correlations with this ailment made me realize that a stronger grasp of biochemical pathways helps to promote treatment innovation, so I submitted my UK fellowship application to gain more preparation for service.
Contrary to the balanced-course US curriculum, Oxford offered me only classes that aligned with my Biochemistry major. Small group tutors who learned to recognize my tendencies, challenge me beyond comfort, and structure my progress with each meeting accompanied a typical institution’s lecture theatre presenters. Unlike the familiar standardized multiple choice and short answer tests, Oxford evaluated me on the merit of my ability to connect multiple topics and to accurately incorporate mechanisms into the whole being through compositions. Each day spent assessing various system interpretations sharpened my eyes for identifying valid experimental evidence. I had no idea that even popular textbooks cannot always be trusted as the undeniable truth. One textbook and Wikipedia used to be sufficient for each subject. Now, I cited at least four textbooks, and many more current research publications, before providing my analysis for each paper. I have become so familiar with the respective focuses of each reference that I even recognize which one would best assist my response to certain prompts. Devlin’s works must be consulted when I seek to uncover a corresponding diagnosis for protein deficiencies, while Stryer displays mechanisms with great clarity.
The fellowship year abroad taught me the basics of dynamic discovery that I will continue to utilize throughout medical training. By not limiting my resources, I plan to take full advantage of the medical education in preparation for a health care career. My pursuit of service through the clinical profession spawned from my desire to serve more effectively, and each subsequent experience leading to my destiny has further fueled this aspiration. Examining the Kenyan sanitation practices and creating a presentation with Swiss clinicians as a “Teach a Child—Africa” volunteer taught me the consistency of medical practice throughout the world. Of course, there is great importance in recognizing the culture-specific afflictions, but the surprisingly uniform translation of medicine alludes to an opportunity to serve both a local and global community. I am equally as intrigued by medical practice technique turnover through time as I am of its uniformity across space. Brigham and Women’s Hospital surgeon Dr. Eldrin Lewis told me during my weekly shadowing session that everything studied 20 years ago had now become obsolete in his specialty field. I am thrilled with the need to be a lifelong learner, an open-minded caretaker, and a creative visionary. During medical school, I will develop skills that I practiced during bench research and distinct curriculum styles in order to improve the health condition of humanity, one patient at a time.
Analysis
In this essay, Kyle relates the academic rigor he has honed through his undergraduate experiences to his desire to use this skill set to serve humanity through medicine. In particular, he goes into depth on a transformative fellowship abroad at Oxford. As he compares this to the United States, he demonstrates an inquisitive and reflective nature. In addition, he connects this fellowship experience with his prior experiences and internships, establishing a strong narrative that aptly describes his academic background.
Kyle effectively relates this academic dimension to his interest in medicine in the last paragraph where he clearly describes his desire to help others in a health care career. This motivation is well supported from the sentiment established in the opening and from specific examples of Kenyan sanitation practices and Swiss clinician presentations introduced. These latter experiences in particular demonstrate that he holds a cosmopolitan awareness that sets him apart from other applicants.
Kyle concludes with a powerful sentence that reflects his desire to continue impactful learning that will improve the lives of others, which is an important and recurring theme throughout the essay.
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