rad86 Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 Do people usually provide any additional info for the optional question? Is it there only in case that there's something special to mention? Or is it meant to be taken as an opportunity to expand and comment on your strengths not covered through the other questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 I gave explanation for bad things, like Ws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 I'm not sure what to make of this... I considered speaking about gpa inconsistencies etc... in this extra essay, but I decided against doing that since queens won't be looking at your essays until after your interview, at which point they will have thrown out your marks and mcat score, so I figured highlighting these things after they've been ignored would actually hurt instead of help. (can you say run-on-sentence?? hahaha) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 I'm not sure what to make of this... I considered speaking about gpa inconsistencies etc... in this extra essay, but I decided against doing that since queens won't be looking at your essays until after your interview, at which point they will have thrown out your marks and mcat score, so I figured highlighting these things after they've been ignored would actually hurt instead of help. (can you say run-on-sentence?? hahaha) Ohhh! Well, now that I know that, I'll definitely not use it to address weaknesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 that's just what I did... i'd be interested in hearing if most people did fill in this question, and if so, what they put in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toffeetree Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 i talked about my vision for combining medicine with human rights work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ac042186 Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 Would it be bad to put family/relationship issues here? I do think some things that happened in the last two years have affected my performance, but I don't know how believable it's going to sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toffeetree Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 it would be best to put your experiences in the most POSITIVE light possible. it may have affected your performance, BUT you learned a lot, grew a lot, became more mature, deepened a lot, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webshy Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 Would it be bad to put family/relationship issues here? I do think some things that happened in the last two years have affected my performance, but I don't know how believable it's going to sound. Once you make it to the interview/essay stage at Queen's, your GPA and MCAT no longer matter. Therefore, it may not serve you well to point out difficulties in areas that are no longer relevant to your application. Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xylem29 Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 I did make the mistake of highlighting some negatives in the optional question last year, and I have learned my lesson. If you truly have something important to write, then go ahead. But I definitely would not use it to explain your university performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayervillager Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 I actually wrote a bunch of stuff about my interests and hobbies, and how I am as a person. However, I have no idea whether it actually helped (or worsened!) my application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellen Posted September 27, 2007 Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 Another idea: I did my undergraduate degree in an area other than the biological sciences, so I used the space to explain how my educational background helped to prepare me for a career in medicine. I think that was helpful since it sets me apart from other applicants, and also let me show my interest in/passion for medicine even though I didn't major in anatomy or cell biology or physiology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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