Vanderbilt’s Opportunities for My Personal Growth: College Admission Essay Sample

In the crowded waiting room of a medical facility, the tension was palpable. The few doctors rushed around, overwhelmed by the number of sick children. The kids’ cries and screams filled the air, while mothers competed for the staff’s attention. The saddest part of this story is that this facility was located not in a developing country, but in a working-class South Florida neighborhood.

This image has been imprinted into my mind, as if it were inscribed in stone. Healthcare is a vital component of our livelihoods, yet, miles from my house, too few doctors and too many overcrowded clinics have undermined our liberty to obtain health care. Cornelius Vanderbilt stated: “I have always served the public to the best of my ability. Why? Because, like every other man, it is to my interest to do so.” Having seen the state of urgency of our health care system, I’ve committed myself to become a physician to provide healthcare and help to contribute to alleviating the human bottleneck pervasive in many clinics.

Conventionally, students like me pursuing a career in medicine ambitiously seek to study biomedical engineering, molecular biology, or chemistry. Science courses become compasses to course selection. Vanderbilt, however, offers an interdisciplinary Medicine Health and Society (MHS) degree, which focuses on the scientific backgrounds crucial to medicine, yet at the same time can foster a comprehensive offering of other subjects, preparing me for the demands of the workplace and supplementing my education with more diverse disciplines. Unlike conventional majors that provide “tunnel” learning and focus exclusively on science or health, this track draws inspiration from a variety of courses and fields from Social Sciences, Medicine, Health Economics, and Global Health. I don’t want my passion for medicine to limit me to studies in one concentration; rather, during my time at Vanderbilt, I want to be exposed to a motley of disciplines and subjects that will greatly improve my college experience.

MHS has a rewarding study abroad program in Cape Town that will help me further see the state of medical care in a foreign country, and will allow me to gain experience in international medical care. My interest in geography coincides with the program. I will obtain experience of serving some of Cape Town’s most disadvantaged communities while seeing health care from the perspective of a city burdened by mass inequality. Being a doctor consists of more than just science or anatomy courses. To fully understand the objectives and purpose of the occupation, one must understand the socioeconomic and political factors that affect the patients and the entire industry. This opportunity provides me with the tools to unlock my future career.

A physician with the MHS background will understand the system better and serve the community more efficiently and effectively. MHS gives me a context to pursue my goal of becoming a doctor, as I learn ever more about the importance of my career and the impact it has on the community.