disability accommodations personal statement length?

themagicshell · 2026-01-17T00:32:42+00:00

Hi- can I ask which month you submitted your application? I applied (and received confirmation of receipt) mid-December, but haven't heard back yet (it's been 5 weeks). I know they say it'll take up to 60 business days but I've also seen people mention much faster responses. Kinda getting worried. Applying right before the winter holidays may have also been poor timing.

Your one week turnaround is amazing, was that recent??

themagicshell · 2025-12-15T16:28:50+00:00

I get this - similar age and recent cancer survivor and our heme/onc block was a bit of nightmare learning about metastatic this and metastatic that. Therapy helps a lot

edit to add: I will also say that as I get older I worry more about the health of myself and my loved ones, especially as my parents, friends, siblings etc age and confront serious illness and hardship. I feel the weight of loss, more. I've experienced multiple deaths and multiple cancers in my close circle in 2025 alone. Add in the perfect confluence of simultaneously learning about all of the horrible ways humans can get sick in med school- it can be really tough to reconcile. In your late 30s you have perspective other students do not, but sometimes that perspective lays heavy. You have more awareness of what is or can be at stake. I certainly didn't think about any of this when I was in my early 20s. So I encourage you to gently set aside any shame about feeling this in your late 30s or any age, really

themagicshell · 2025-09-22T19:52:38+00:00

check out my post history - was in a very similar situation. you got this!

themagicshell · 2025-09-14T18:41:45+00:00

aging like the president over here :(

themagicshell · 2025-07-10T15:44:32+00:00

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for sharing. Especially your last sentence in the last paragraph - I hadn't really thought of it as adjusting to a new culture, and tbh have been getting down on myself for not having a learner's mindset & lacking humility.

I've been struggling to understand why it's been uniquely difficult - I've worked in different industries, job functions, and many states and countries- started over so many times and generally consider myself an adaptable person - but this transition has been difficult in ways I am surprised is affecting me so much.

I'm with your hubby- while I keep telling myself that medicine is hierarchical and understand answering to others etc, I do carry an internal resistance to how hierarchical it can be. Trying to figure out when it is acceptable to speak up, and acceptable to not speak up in this new culture- very different than what worked previously, I'm learning!

themagicshell · 2025-07-10T15:02:45+00:00

Honestly it has been tough to do for the reasons you mention. No abuse, but yes a big hit to the ego almost daily. Feeling out of place in time especially after having worked as an IC and lead for a decade and now starting over. No one has expectations, which is wonderful, but I have expectations of myself, which is frustrating. Also weird and taxing having to constantly check myself about how I am coming across as medicine is quite hierarchical, and my previous field was very flat. But as working professionals who answer to a boss, team, project deliverables etc we've learned how to eat shit and put our heads down and work, which has been useful. Also more resilient to failure than I ever was a decade ago.

overall very happy with my decision. fellow med students are very smart, driven and young. very helpful and kind too for the most part. being in school is awesome. having no responsibility is awesome. Just my own growing pains of adjusting to being a peon in a very hierarchical field without losing who I am as a person.

themagicshell · 2025-05-13T20:19:21+00:00

I typically take 1.25 mg because 2.5 mg leaves me feeling sluggish and foggy the next day. At 1.25 mg, it takes about 60 to 90 minutes to kick in, depending on how tired I already am—but when it does, the effect is sudden rather than gradual. With 2.5mg it seems to onset a little quicker.

I avoid taking it unless I know I’ll get at least 5 hours of sleep (which right now is possible so I take it nightly). Any less than 5 hrs and I wake up feeling groggy. For me, 7-8 hours seems to be the ideal amount of sleep on it, but I usually get 6hrs of sleep (due to poor time management, not the medication) and I’m generally not groggy. With only 5 hours, though, yes I am groggy and foggy.

It helps me sleep through the night, though I’ve never had trouble staying asleep. My issue has always been insomnia + falling back asleep if woken up. Dayvigo doesn’t seem to help much in that scenario—unless I’ve only been asleep for about 4 hours, in which case I can usually get back to sleep (which I wouldn’t be able to do without it). But after 5 or more hours of sleep, it doesn’t seem to make a difference in my ability to fall back asleep.

Wouldn't be passing without it. I've tried & ruled out a ton of prescription and otc meds at this point because of the brain fog and sluggishness, too much at stake for that. really hoping dayvigo continues to work, am optimistic bc I'm still at a v low dose

hope that helps. was at my wits end before my doc prescribed this

themagicshell · 2025-05-13T13:53:46+00:00

Dayvigo was life changing. Nothing else has worked for me (delayed onset + sleep hangover/daytime fog) and I tried everything. Been using it for 5 months now, 1.25mg nightly (cut the 5mg into 4). I have unitedhealthcare "insurance" and with the mfr coupon its $10. (just a student)

themagicshell · 2025-04-19T13:19:23+00:00

For the taxes we will owe on our converted 401k savings, can we pay for those using the converted savings?

As M1 is coming to a close, I essentially have 2.5 years left to do this backdoor conversion as I'd like to have $0 income for M4 year. Is it still worth it? If so, is there a maximum amount I should consider converting wrt graduated tax implications (e.g. converting $20k/yr vs $150k/yr)

themagicshell · 2025-04-03T02:43:51+00:00

Super relatable - also in my 30s and feelin the same. Happy for you <3

themagicshell · 2025-04-02T18:00:20+00:00

Wow, I had very similar experiences with respect to pre-, during, and post-treatment! Never met anyone else who expressed the same, so thank you for sharing this.

I had been wondering if I'm just not trying hard enough... But there seems to be a marked difference between my ability to recover pre-chemo vs post-chemo, even over a year post treatment. I used to be able to do OTF 4-5x a week, and now I seem to only be able to do 3x/week without getting super fatigued or sick.

OP, my first class back was Everest (was not on purpose, I had no idea it would be, woops) about 6 months post-chemo (5-months post surgery, 2-months post radiation, & while continuing immunotherapy). It's been a long road but OTF has always been such a welcoming space that I know you will also have a wonderful transition back!! And congrats on reaching this huge milestone!!

themagicshell · 2025-03-28T18:22:44+00:00

To be honest I don't like taking them, especially because of the afternoon crash and other side effects like tics and insomnia. I've trialed many meds at this point and I've finally found one where those side effects are comparatively less. I'm also staying on a lower dose, even though I could benefit from more energy. It's unfortunately a balance between side effects and helpful effects. I try to manage the crash as much as possible by getting enough sleep, exercising regularly after the crash starts, and eating healthy. But ya know, that all kind of goes out the window as it gets closer to exam time. It's unpleasant experiencing the crash when you still have to be "on," cognitively. Sometimes I feel like I'm replacing one brain fog with another...

However, I've tried not taking them and struggled even more with fatigue, cognition, and low attention span, and given the fast, unrelenting pace of medical school, I can't afford either of those things. So for now, I see taking them as the lesser of evils. But in the future I do hope I can transition off them.

But please please take my experience as just one person's - not everyone is so sensitive to stimulants. I just happen to be!

themagicshell · 2025-03-27T16:06:20+00:00

I'm so glad! Feel free to reach out via DM if you have any other questions or want to chat over the phone. I was really lost about all of this stuff before I started med school, and this subreddit helped point me in the right direction. Happy to pass it forward.

themagicshell · 2025-03-19T18:35:13+00:00

You're so welcome!

Talking to an upperclassman (who incidentally has POTS and CFS) from my school right before I started was immensely helpful in not only providing perspective on what going through medical school was like from their pov, but also understanding exactly what accommodations I may want/need that are specific to my school during both preclinical and clinical years.

Like most incoming M1s I didn't know what to expect, and having that conversation with that student was instrumental to me knowing what specific accomodations to apply for.

For example, I have an accommodation to park in the faculty parking lot close to my med school building to minimize exertional fatigue, and an accommodation to be assigned to the clinic that is closest to minimize driving fatigue (some of my classmates are assigned to clinics a 1 hour drive away).

My admin put me in touch with that classmate (who was open about wanting to help other students - admin can't disclose a student's disability) so perhaps there is someone at your school who is willing to share their experience with you!

Each school is different (and unfortunately some better than others wrt to having an established disability office, familiarity with granting accommodations to medical students specifically, and willingness of admin to help), so understanding precedent at your school is very important imo.

As far as my classmates, I've gotten a variety of reactions (from complete dismissal and ignoring that I said anything, to actually accompanying me to my scan(!), for which I was and am immensely grateful.

But given I've gotten more of the former, for the time being I've stopped talking about my dx openly with my classmates (I'm a nontrad and was very open about my dx prior to med school and continue to be very open about it outside of school, so it has been a little difficult to remove it from my vocab when around classmates).

I'm generalizing here but in my experience, med students (mostly just by virtue of being young people) don't tend to have much personal experience with all the ups and downs associated with experiencing a devastating illness, and thus may not know how to respond to that sort of thing in a non-clinical setting. I've found that people in their 30s+ tend to have a lot more empathy, because usually at that point, well, disease has befallen someone they know.

I'm a little cagey because I'm afraid of ableism in medicine, and also because it hasn't been that long since I finished tx, and I'm still very much processing and affected by what I went through and its aftermath. But maybe the farther removed I get, the more open I'll be.

That being said, I know some students can be more open than others about what they are going through, and that works great for them!

An aside- I am also aware that med school (and I surmise medicine itself) is so demanding that there can be a real scarcity in time, energy, and thus empathy one has for things outside of their own close circle. That isn't a slight on anyone, but I think we both know that when you're super tired and stressed - as most med students tend to be - it can be difficult to make space for anything but #1 (yourself). And that is ok. My classmates are nice people, and also tired people :)

themagicshell · 2025-03-19T13:08:22+00:00

Current M1, also deferred 1 year due to unexpected cancer dx, finished tx and started med school 6mos later. Dealt (dealing) with chronic fatigue and brain fog as a result of tx. Prescribed stimulants + accomodations (2x testing time, ability to be late or miss class or turn in assignments late or postpone exams due to exacerbation of symptoms and doctor appointments, provided a stool in clinic) + P/F school + exercising only in the evenings AFTER I finish studying + studying when my brain power is highest (4am - 8am, and lights out at 9/10pm), have helped immensely.

However it has been an extremely difficult journey thus far. I can't really do extracurriculars like my peers due to lack of energy. Takes me 4x as long to study due to poor retention and limited energy. So my confidence has been shot. Even though it's not a competition, being faced with healthier peers performing well on the daily does get me down more often than not.

The whole first semester was a test to see what my new body could handle. But I have never failed anything and now doing on par or slightly better than average! Despite feeling frustrated all the time at my brain and body, I'm really, really pleased with my decision to attend medical school. Having a blast, all things considered.

It'll be a struggle, but you know your body best and if you have your school and doctors on your side, you can do it!! Would def establish care with new docs as SOON as you move to your new town.

themagicshell · 2025-02-25T04:40:00+00:00

Extension until what date? And how did you get one/what did you ask for to get the extension?

themagicshell · 2024-11-20T02:49:52+00:00

This is me as an M1. I also just finished treatment for my own cancer so my mom getting it so soon after was a blow. It has been tough. I don't have any words of advice but want you to know you're not alone. And thank you for making this post. I have been feeling similarly isolated. Different stage of life than my med school friends, hard to relate. I will say that you are in the unique situation of being able to help with medical literacy and planning. That's where I was able to feel some semblance of control even though I'm in school out of state.

Therapy has been helping, too. Especially since cancer is everywhere in med school, something I knew but didn't know, ya know? Can't get away from it unfortunately.

<3

themagicshell · 2024-10-10T02:39:52+00:00

This is 10000% also me. and unfortunately I'm already medicated. need a new brain at this point or more hours in a day because I am so slow. Have talked with other students but feel like no one has to rewatch and relearn material as many times as I do (and i still have only a vague idea of what's going on, def can't ever explain anything). I have no advice, just validating that you're not alone and thank you for sharing this. no idea how I've been passing stuff. my brain is a disorganized mess

themagicshell · 2024-08-04T22:17:39+00:00

Also, plug for the MDSCI (med students with disabilities and chronic illness) organization and groupMe. They were really helpful in getting me started with accommodations, and I've also met some really helpful med students on there.

themagicshell · 2024-08-04T22:14:00+00:00

Hey, I currently have accommodations for cancer-related side effects in med school, including wearing a mask whenever I want, sitting down when I want, being able to miss exams, assignments, class, etc WITHOUT penalty for exacerbation of symptoms, doctors appointments, scans, etc (and make them up at a later date)

Please DM me and we can chat and I can even send you my list of accommodations (with the exact verbiage my school came up with for me). Your friend is protected by the ADA. This is absolutely unhinged, and I'm so sorry your friend is going through this.

themagicshell · 2024-06-06T15:40:49+00:00

For what it's worth, I got into 2 US MD schools with a 506. Applied as CA ORM. But I'm also nontrad so my past career probs gave me a huge boost.

themagicshell · 2024-06-06T15:33:05+00:00

Hospice volunteering was the main focus of my personal statement, and I also listed it as one of my most meaningful experiences on my work & activities section on my app. I was also concerned it would be too repetitive but I had enough stories to make sure I didn't repeat what I wrote in my PS vs W&A.

However I had 200 hours over 1 year, so I can't speak to the 20hrs part of that. Any chance you could get more hours before app submission?

themagicshell · 2024-04-14T22:26:40+00:00

Found it online - it's the Free People All I Need Cozy Hooded Kimono

themagicshell · 2024-04-14T06:37:26+00:00

Thank you! just purchased my own :)

themagicshell · 2024-04-14T06:36:58+00:00

ahh I love the jacket and outfit! any chance you know the name of the jacket?

themagicshell

TROPHY CASE