How should I start my personal statement?

[dbeast]

Guys... I'm stuck. What's a solid opening line for a personal statement? Everything else is written, but all of my potential first sentences sound awful.

I'm kind of serious. Inspiration may strike in weird ways.

inb4 write it yourself, lazy-ass.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Smurfette]

moving to ERAs

 

[mvenus929]

What field are you going into? I started my PS with an anecdote about my childhood interactions with physicians, but I'm going into Pediatrics, so it fit.

 

[atomi]

You want to grab the reader's attention, but at the same time you don't want to make them roll their eyes. It's a fine line to walk.

Example #1:

"Ever since I was a young boy, I have wanted to be a neurosurgeon because..."

BORING. You've probably lost the reader already. This personal statement won't hurt you because the majority of the personal statements the PD reads are going to start like this.

Example #2:

"Brains. Everywhere. I look down at my hands. My fingertips have been replaced with 10 miniature brains, fully functioning and integrating into my neural network ever increasing my processing power. I then wake up with an enormous grin on my face. This is my recurring dream and it empowers me."

Ok. This opener no doubt captures the readers attention. With only 2 lines you have guaranteed that your personal statement will not be forgotten like the first example. Unfortunately it also makes you sound like a psychopath. There is a decent chance a resident will print it and put it up on their bulletin board next to funny patient quotes and consult pages.

Example #3:

It was 2 AM on a Wednesday and my second time being on call during my away rotation at <impressive university here>. We were in a crainotomy case when we got the page from the ED, and my resident asked me to go down and get started...

Well, this isn't exactly boring and it doesn't make you sound like a psychopath. The reader is interested and wants to know more. What was this case? How did you respond to it? What does this have to do with your desire to be a neurosurgeon. This is a good opener.

Example #4:

"I'm an actor. It's not brain surgery. If I do my job right, people won't ask for their money back." -Sean Connery

No. Resist the temptation to use quotes or references to pop culture. This is instant eye roll material. For some reason we all did things like this for college admission personal statements. I don't know why we were told to use the words and references of other people in what is supposed to be a personal statement.

TL;DR? Just write an opening that (1) is not boring, (2) does not make you seem like a psychopath, and (3) does not make people roll their eyes, and you will be good.

 

[BlondeDocteur]

Make sure it's not just your resume in prose, too .

 

[womp]

For ortho, I would not recommend starting with "After I got my ACL...." or "Ever since I broke my humerus when I was 10, I wanted to be a bone doc...."

 

[Modafinil]

"I have a morning ritual that I need to share. I call it "the terminator". First I crouch down in the shower in the classic "naked terminator traveling through time" pose. With my eyes closed I crouch there for a minute, visualizing either Arnold or the guy from the second movie (not the chick in the third one because that one sucked) and I start to hum the terminator theme. Then I slowly rise to a standing position and open my eyes. It helps me to proceed through my day as an emotionless, cyborg badass. The only problem is if the shower curtain sticks to my terminator leg. It ruins the fantasy."

 

[NotAProgDirector]

"I have a morning ritual that I need to share. I call it "the terminator". First I crouch down in the shower in the classic "naked terminator traveling through time" pose. With my eyes closed I crouch there for a minute, visualizing either Arnold or the guy from the second movie (not the chick in the third one because that one sucked) and I start to hum the terminator theme. Then I slowly rise to a standing position and open my eyes. It helps me to proceed through my day as an emotionless, cyborg badass. The only problem is if the shower curtain sticks to my terminator leg. It ruins the fantasy."

I kid you not, would totally interview someone who wrote something like this. At least it's interesting. Unlike the usual "When I was 4, I was named kindergartener of the year."

 

[Trogghunter]

I started mine with something relating to my passion of my chosen field... that it is a calling to a specific type of person, then I built my entire PS on that with anecdotes from my time on service, personal life examples that lead me to my field, my interest in the field, etc etc. Got a lot of compliments on the PS.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Beer before liquor...


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Gastrapathy]

So no one told me life was gonna be this way...

(You'll be stuck in the pd's head just like that evil song is now stuck in yours)


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Gastrapathy]

Describe your shirtless cameo on COPS


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

 

[IM2GI]

--Anectote/story/patient
--Why XYZ field?
--Career goals/5 year plan
--Wrap it up.

No spelling or grammar errors. Almost every PD has told me that these can only really hurt you if you do a bad job, and at best provide something to talk about during the interview.