I am stuck with regards to a PS topic. My life is not that exciting, but i'll lay out some topics. Thanks in advance...

Background: Mother is Canadian, father is Mexican. First language was spanish and I was the probably the only kid with a spanish background in my whole private school life (besides college.) Major = Finance + Economics, Minor = Business

Topic A: experienced panic/anger attacks as a child. guidance counselor/teachers help me through this. However, the stabilty one would hope for at home was lacking. my father would depart on business trips for month-long durations on numerous occasions a year. his presence in my upbringing was close to nil. i overcame these issues which took some time and stabilized my life in college. turned a 3.0 first year in to a 3.7 honors graduate with the dual majors listed above. my passion for my major led me to intern at citigroup smith barney, merrill lynch and this semester at the finance committee of NYC. reason for law is to be a well rounded individual. for those of you who are unaware, law was created from business operations for property owners to protect their land from the king (magna carta.) with a strong footing in economics and finance, I think law would enable me to be more of an asset to future employers.

Topic B: my grandparents played an integral role in my life. Unfortunately, they both passed this past year within one year from each other. their influence has guided me through tough situations. hearing the process of the hardships they faced has allowed me to broaden my perspective on experiences that many others are not exposed to. basically, a discussion on my grandparents and their influence on my life.

So, with that said, im not sure which one to approach and which one would make a better topic for a PS. I feel as though the first is somewhat negative and the second is not adequate and perhaps, skims only some aspects of what is required for a well-devised PS. thanks again for all those who contribute with responses....

I'm not sure either of these is good enough in itself for a ps. thoughts?

I'm not sure either of these is good enough in itself for a ps.

Most people say that your ps should be about something that the adcomms can't get from simply reading the rest of your app. Thus, the first one fails this test- they will be able to see what you majored in and what internships you did. Maybe if you focused on 1 internship and 1 experience you could formulate a ps, but just glossing over all the things you have done is probably not the best idea.

As for the 2nd one I think it depends on what you can say about your grandparents and how they have affected you. Most people at the this age will have lost their grandparents so you would have to be able to say what specifically about you has been affected by them, which could be tough to string a whole ps around.

I had a lot of trouble with my ps too. Kind of the same issues you are talking about. I talked a little about my past, some about by family and friend, accomplishments and goals. Seemed to have worked. I don't think Topic A would constitute a good statement. It would be different if you father literally abandoned you and your mum, but to try and spin the fact that he was away because he was trying to make ends meet might backfire, but maybe try a cominbination of A and B and talk about why you think you would be great in this profession.