Risky PS Forum

[sternc]

There is an incident that occurred in a few years ago that I have been thinking about covering with my PS. Basically, a fraternity brother of mine and semi-close friend at the time got very heavy into drugs. He eventually overdosed on Acid (something that is apparently very hard to do) and had a total freak out/meltdown that nearly resulted in cardiac arrest and death. In short, it happened at the fraternity house and everyone basically refused to take a proactive move while it was happening (they were all afraid they, the fraternity, whatever was going to get in trouble), resulting in me having to make a decision, call the ambulance, go against the majority, and doing what I thought was necessary at the time. The scene was incredibly horrific with the kid being chained to a gurney, coughing up blood, madly hallucinating, and all sorts of things that are just hard to even put into words. The doctor made it clear to me that had the call not been made he had as good of a chance to die as he had to live. My question is, should I recount this in my PS and how it has shaped my outlook, was a defining my moment in my life, and taught me how to act in questionable/ethical situations when others do not necessarily agree with me. I ask because of the cons that could be associated with this. Among these are (1) talking about my fraternity, (2) the questionable decision on my part to associate with people that were so apathetic about helping a so called friend, and (3) the even more questionable decision of associating with someone so caught up in drugs. Anyone have any advice?

[tristanlxboyd]

I've not been accepted into any schools yet, nor even completed my PS, so take my advice with 1 tbsp kosher salt:

I think it could be very effective. If I were writing that statement, I would proceed as follows:

1) I was friends with a good kid, he got bad. We weren't as close thereafter but when he would go to big parties, I'd often tag along just to keep him from too much trouble.

2) This night was particularly bad: he went crazy, everyone else wanted to let him die, but I stood by his side and made the right call.

Of course only write this way if you can truthfully cast it in those terms, or terms close thereto. But if you can combine this as an element of your personal statement with other elements such as evidence of a superb work ethic, analytical skills, or w/e, I think your statement will be more effective for it.

/.02

[nycparalegal]

Way too risky. This is not a good idea IMHO.

[PJC]

I definitely would not. People have a lot more leeway with writing about incidents with drugs and questionable characters when they were raised in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. These problems are inherent to the environment. However, your situation occurred in a frat house. More of a self-created problem. So I don't believe that reflecting about your poor choice of friends will be very powerful.

Additionally, while it is commendable that you made the call - this should sort of be expected. What're you going to do? Let your friend freak out and die? While many were willing to allow this to happen, this wasn't really a Sophie's choice dilemma. You did the right thing but the other option was wrong.

I do like risky PS's, but in your situation, the risk is high but also the reward is small. I don't think you'll be communicating anything profound or even much that will demonstrate a personality trait which would lead one to believe that you'll be successful in law school. Particularly since any reader would probably say "I would have definitely made the call...". Conversely, the PS would be more successful if someone would say "I wouldn't have had the guts to do that and he had the hard/correct decision".

In sum, stay away from this topic.

[jerzgrl630]

I agree with the others, this is really way too risky of a subject. Also, I've always been told that your PS shouldn't have a downer feel to it. Although this is sort of uplifting in the sense that your friend lived (thanks to your initiative), it's also a scary and upsetting story. Just reading your story gave me the creeps.

However, it's still great that you made the phone call. I'm not sure how well this would work as I do not know you, but perhaps if you very briefly touched on the incident and then went into how you have changed for the better as a result, maybe that would be worth it. But it's just a thought.

[superserial]

even if this isn't the case, your PS idea, and how nonchalant everyone was about this guy's freakout, give me the impression that you and your frat brothers regularly used hard drugs. not the kind of message you want to send to adcoms. other than that, this PS basically proves that you're not a sociopath.

and it's nearly impossible to OD on acid. he was probably on acid + some other drugs.

[ec2xs]

I agree with the others, this is really way too risky of a subject. Also, I've always been told that your PS shouldn't have a downer feel to it. Although this is sort of uplifting in the sense that your friend lived (thanks to your initiative), it's also a scary and upsetting story. Just reading your story gave me the creeps.

+1

[roxj]

I think this could be a good PS if it was a defining moment/turning point in your life. But be sure that you don't go into the details on your friend's OD (ie, you don't need to describe him coughing up blood, etc). Instead, focus more on how you felt in the moment and how it changed you.

[CardinalRules]

I think that it makes a better story if told orally or informally. As the topic of a formal essay, I'm not sure that it conveys the right impression.

And, to echo an earlier comment, your decision was correct but not particularly heroic. Any responsible member of society would do as you did, so the fact that you don't share your friends' criminal irresponsibility is not especially impressive. The subject is actually a dangerous catch-22 as I see it. If you imply that the decision was challenging or complex in any way, you indicate that you struggle to follow the basic rules of social conduct. If you imply that the decision was not challenging or complex, it's not worthy of a PS because it doesn't say very much about what makes you special.

Just my $.02.

[atlantalaw]

surely there must be a better topic you can write about. everyone wants to write an attention-grabber, but this is not the correct way to do it. you want to write about qualities that will make you a good law student/lawyer.

[manbearwig]

And, to echo an earlier comment, your decision was correct but not particularly heroic. Any responsible member of society would do as you did, so the fact that you don't share your friends' criminal irresponsibility is not especially impressive. The subject is actually a dangerous catch-22 as I see it. If you imply that the decision was challenging or complex in any way, you indicate that you struggle to follow the basic rules of social conduct. If you imply that the decision was not challenging or complex, it's not worthy of a PS because it doesn't say very much about what makes you special.

+1

[BCgoUSC]

There's absolutely no way that your fraternity brother could have gotten his hands on enough LSD to overdose. We would be talking millions of 100 mcg doses. It wouldn't be a typical OD either - sure he may lose control of bodily functions/freakout/etc..... but coughing up blood? No. Simply doesn't happen. Nans.

[sternc]

Alright thanks for all the responses. As for you drug geniuses, I did not mean that the actual LSD was going to cause him to die, rather the bad trip it caused. His heart rate was through the roof and doctors told us when he got to the hospital that without sedation he was at serious risk for cardiac arrest. Also, he was not coughing blood directly from his lungs. He had bitten into the sides of his mouth and speaking/coughing resulted in him spitting/coughing blood. This is an unnecessary explanation, but I wanted to shed some light on it for all the board lurkers who seem to have extensive experience in the world of hallucinogenic hard drugs...

[BCgoUSC]

Alright thanks for all the responses. As for you drug geniuses, I did not mean that the actual LSD was going to cause him to die, rather the bad trip it caused. His heart rate was through the roof and doctors told us when he got to the hospital that without sedation he was at serious risk for cardiac arrest. Also, he was not coughing blood directly from his lungs. He had bitten into the sides of his mouth and speaking/coughing resulted in him spitting/coughing blood. This is an unnecessary explanation, but I wanted to shed some light on it for all the board lurkers who seem to have extensive experience in the world of hallucinogenic hard drugs...

This certainly makes more sense than blaming it on an LSD overdose.

[superserial]

Alright thanks for all the responses. As for you drug geniuses, I did not mean that the actual LSD was going to cause him to die, rather the bad trip it caused. His heart rate was through the roof and doctors told us when he got to the hospital that without sedation he was at serious risk for cardiac arrest. Also, he was not coughing blood directly from his lungs. He had bitten into the sides of his mouth and speaking/coughing resulted in him spitting/coughing blood. This is an unnecessary explanation, but I wanted to shed some light on it for all the board lurkers who seem to have extensive experience in the world of hallucinogenic hard drugs...

Maybe you should have been clearer in your first post, drug genius.

[The Kim Jong illest]

lol, I was about to post that acid making you cough up blood was rather unheard of. Nice job being sarcastic in explaining what actually happened.

Anyway, I'm not as pessimistic as everyone here so long as you frame this properly - don't make yourself out to be a hero for doing the only thing any decent human being would do. You'd need to write about how much it troubled you that no one else was willing to take action, etc.

[DrGuano]

This to me sounds like the first thing that popped into your head when you decided to write your PS. While it's not similar in content in anyway to mine, it feels rushed and not well thought out, which is how my original idea felt.

I'd recommend actually sitting down to write this as a warm up to get the creative forces going and see where it takes you. Of the 3 PS I wrote the best one came to me while working on what I originally wanted to write about.

[superserial]

lol, I was about to post that acid making you cough up blood was rather unheard of. Nice job being sarcastic in explaining what actually happened.

Anyway, I'm not as pessimistic as everyone here so long as you frame this properly - don't make yourself out to be a hero for doing the only thing any decent human being would do. You'd need to write about how much it troubled you that no one else was willing to take action, etc.

i still think kid on acid coughing up blood + OP's frat brothers being super-nonchalant about the whole ordeal reflects badly on the OP. it suggests that he was a member of an organization comprised of people who regularly took hard drugs, and many adcoms would infer that he was into drugs as well. neither of those things are good.

[The Kim Jong illest]

lol, I was about to post that acid making you cough up blood was rather unheard of. Nice job being sarcastic in explaining what actually happened.

Anyway, I'm not as pessimistic as everyone here so long as you frame this properly - don't make yourself out to be a hero for doing the only thing any decent human being would do. You'd need to write about how much it troubled you that no one else was willing to take action, etc.

i still think kid on acid coughing up blood + OP's frat brothers being super-nonchalant about the whole ordeal reflects badly on the OP. it suggests that he was a member of an organization comprised of people who regularly took hard drugs, and many adcoms would infer that he was into drugs as well. neither of those things are good.

Then he doesn't have to mention that it was his frat. There are ways around this.

[superserial]

lol, I was about to post that acid making you cough up blood was rather unheard of. Nice job being sarcastic in explaining what actually happened.

Anyway, I'm not as pessimistic as everyone here so long as you frame this properly - don't make yourself out to be a hero for doing the only thing any decent human being would do. You'd need to write about how much it troubled you that no one else was willing to take action, etc.

i still think kid on acid coughing up blood + OP's frat brothers being super-nonchalant about the whole ordeal reflects badly on the OP. it suggests that he was a member of an organization comprised of people who regularly took hard drugs, and many adcoms would infer that he was into drugs as well. neither of those things are good.

Then he doesn't have to mention that it was his frat. There are ways around this.

that's true. I still think he could find a better topic, but I suppose it's possible this can be done tactfully.

[Skool]

Alright thanks for all the responses. As for you drug geniuses, I did not mean that the actual LSD was going to cause him to die, rather the bad trip it caused.

I appreciate this addendum. Your friend would have been the first documented overdose on LSD (the only people who could ever be exposed to enough LSD to OD are manufacturers).

There is a way to write this idea in a moving way while minimizing the illegal activity. The real story is your moral fortitude (think Neville Longbottom standing up to the Harry, Hermione, and Ron when they go through the Trap Door).

If I'm you, I try a draft sensitive of the issues people have discussed here. Maybe you scrap it later.

[MikeM-law]

Alright thanks for all the responses. As for you drug geniuses, I did not mean that the actual LSD was going to cause him to die, rather the bad trip it caused.

I appreciate this addendum. Your friend would have been the first documented overdose on LSD (the only people who could ever be exposed to enough LSD to OD are manufacturers).

There is a way to write this idea in a moving way while minimizing the illegal activity. The real story is your moral fortitude (think Neville Longbottom standing up to the Harry, Hermione, and Ron when they go through the Trap Door).

If I'm you, I try a draft sensitive of the issues people have discussed here. Maybe you scrap it later.

You do realize your giving PS advice to someone who has likely already graduated right?

[Skool]

I didn't. I am embarrassed and confused about how this happened.