Hi everyone. For the prompt below, do you think I could write about my friend’s depression problem that I helped get her through. I want to be a psychiatrist so I thought this would be a good idea but all the sample essays for this prompt seem to be about personal problems like fitting in or academic problems…what do you guys think?
Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
It all depends on how you frame it and how well you write it. However, I would avoid coming across as some mighty healer, you are a teenager (no offense) and psychiatry/psychotherapy is a long involved process with lots of education behind it, plus, actual depression is psychobiological and needs meds (like Prozac) which someone needs to prescribe.
I wasn’t going to make it seem like I completely solved her problem which is obviously not in my hands for many reasons. I was just going to say how I helped her to an extent and how it has helped me decide that I want to do such work in the future(obviously with much more education).
It seems to me that what you are writing about is your compassion. I would suggest using that as the core quality you would like to show to admissions officers, with a side order to problem solving. Your helping your friend would be the story that reveals this admirable quality. Also, these folks love it if you reflect on yourself. Remember, the essay is about you, not your friend. So be sure to show how you think and feel while helping a friend through a tough time.
Hope this is helpful.