Besides the MCAT, the personal statement has to be the second thing students struggle the most with in their primary application process. Many people just know that they want to be doctors without a significant experience or reason for it. However, this is not enough to write a convincing 5300 characters essay and get away with it. When it was time for me to write my personal statement I read a book by Princeton Review that had a compilation of MD essays. More so, it included the student's scores, the schools they had applied, and the schools they had gotten accepted in. While reading this book and also while proofreading essays for some of my friends, I noticed certain trends in the writing that made the essays all similar to one another. You don't want an average statement in your application. For you to have a strong application, every single component of it needs to be good. Here is a checklist of things to avoid when writing your personal statement:
1) Re-count all the activities in you application--> The average essay narrates everything the applicant has done to prepare for a career in medicine. This is the path most people take when they don't know what else to write. However, these activities are already present in another section of the application. Make your essay focus on the most significant experiences; tell a story related to them, something powerful that gives insight on medicine as your calling. If there is a life experience that changed you, related to medicine or not, it belongs in the essay because it will talk about your character and your response to adversity.
2) The good ol' "I want to help people/ Save lives"--> This is the mother of cliches in MD applications. While it may be true, there are hundreds of less expensive, less time-consuming, and easier ways to help people than to go to medical school. You can help people right now without taking an average of $200,000 in loans. The trick to getting away with this is SHOWING in your essay that you want to help people, not stating it directly. Talk about an experience that has made you want to be an active change in society, something specific that takes a unique angle. Your story lies in specificity; that is what makes you different from the thousand other applicants. One of the greatest essays I read just narrated one experience about a student who was doing missionary work in Central America. He didn't even talk about the whole trip, he just focused on one story in which he admired one of the doctors from his group and how the doctor gave hope, where he couldn't give anything else. It brought me to tears. If your essay can move your reader, you're good.
3) Too many details--> Keep your experiences focused on their main point. Too many details drifts the essay from what your trying to say and it makes it harder for you to transition between paragraphs and keep the whole essay unified. This can be fixed by editing your essay multiple times to cut off non-essentials.
4) Bad grammar & run-on sentences--> By the time you apply you should be either completing a bachelors or have a bachelors already. Your writing should reflect this. Sloppy sentences are inexcusable. Have different people proofreading your essays to prevent this from happening.
5) Naming people--> If you are mentioning any doctors you have worked with, just say Dr. X or Dr. Y. Name dropping can be tacky. Also remember no one is universally liked, you don't know who is reading your essay and the off chance that that person knows the doctor you are referring to. Don't name patients either, their privacy is protected by law and you can get in trouble by mentioning a case too specifically. Keep it political.
6) 5300 characters--> You don't have to reach the limit. If your essay conveys the message in less characters, then don't add anymore. You don't want to risk weakening your essay when it's not necessary.
7) "Because my parents are doctors"--> Careful with this one. While it may be true, it can sound like you are being pushed/brainwashed into a decision. You have to write it in a way in which it seems like you came to the idea on your own. You should also state other experiences that have influenced you medicine; don't make your parents your primary reason, just an initial inspiration.
So basically your personal statement should focus on significant experiences that have influenced your life and hardships that you have overcome. Any detail that makes you different from average people should be included. Show why you want to be a doctor rather than say it. To perfect the piece, give it to different people to proofread it for you as many times as it takes.
Good luck!
1) Re-count all the activities in you application--> The average essay narrates everything the applicant has done to prepare for a career in medicine. This is the path most people take when they don't know what else to write. However, these activities are already present in another section of the application. Make your essay focus on the most significant experiences; tell a story related to them, something powerful that gives insight on medicine as your calling. If there is a life experience that changed you, related to medicine or not, it belongs in the essay because it will talk about your character and your response to adversity.
2) The good ol' "I want to help people/ Save lives"--> This is the mother of cliches in MD applications. While it may be true, there are hundreds of less expensive, less time-consuming, and easier ways to help people than to go to medical school. You can help people right now without taking an average of $200,000 in loans. The trick to getting away with this is SHOWING in your essay that you want to help people, not stating it directly. Talk about an experience that has made you want to be an active change in society, something specific that takes a unique angle. Your story lies in specificity; that is what makes you different from the thousand other applicants. One of the greatest essays I read just narrated one experience about a student who was doing missionary work in Central America. He didn't even talk about the whole trip, he just focused on one story in which he admired one of the doctors from his group and how the doctor gave hope, where he couldn't give anything else. It brought me to tears. If your essay can move your reader, you're good.
3) Too many details--> Keep your experiences focused on their main point. Too many details drifts the essay from what your trying to say and it makes it harder for you to transition between paragraphs and keep the whole essay unified. This can be fixed by editing your essay multiple times to cut off non-essentials.
4) Bad grammar & run-on sentences--> By the time you apply you should be either completing a bachelors or have a bachelors already. Your writing should reflect this. Sloppy sentences are inexcusable. Have different people proofreading your essays to prevent this from happening.
5) Naming people--> If you are mentioning any doctors you have worked with, just say Dr. X or Dr. Y. Name dropping can be tacky. Also remember no one is universally liked, you don't know who is reading your essay and the off chance that that person knows the doctor you are referring to. Don't name patients either, their privacy is protected by law and you can get in trouble by mentioning a case too specifically. Keep it political.
6) 5300 characters--> You don't have to reach the limit. If your essay conveys the message in less characters, then don't add anymore. You don't want to risk weakening your essay when it's not necessary.
7) "Because my parents are doctors"--> Careful with this one. While it may be true, it can sound like you are being pushed/brainwashed into a decision. You have to write it in a way in which it seems like you came to the idea on your own. You should also state other experiences that have influenced you medicine; don't make your parents your primary reason, just an initial inspiration.
So basically your personal statement should focus on significant experiences that have influenced your life and hardships that you have overcome. Any detail that makes you different from average people should be included. Show why you want to be a doctor rather than say it. To perfect the piece, give it to different people to proofread it for you as many times as it takes.
Good luck!
Your blog is great, just found it, you give your advice in such a clear encouraging way!
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well that’s a good advice, though some others are faking the excuses, maybe the reason why others were rejected.
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