*~*~*~*Official Personal Statement Guide and Reader List 2014-2015*~*~*~*

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This thread is for this year's applicants (for the class of 2019) who are beginning to work on their personal statements. If you're looking for someone to read your PS, check out the list of volunteers below In the most recent post ONLY!!
If you need help getting started, check out the second post in this thread.



If you are willing to volunteer, the thread will be self regulated this year. Respond below, following the instructions at the end of this post (and in the third post), with your credentials and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). Please read the full list of rules posted below before you volunteer or contact a reader, and good luck to the 2014 applicants. :thumbup:

Specific comments, questions, or complaints can be addressed to me via PM. If I can't answer them they will be forwarded to the rest of the Pre-Allopathic moderator staff.



Rules for Writers:

  • Please refer to the list in the LAST post only. Do not contact anyone who is found elsewhere in this thread but does not appear in the list at the end.
  • Use caution in deciding who you send your personal statement to. In an anonymous web forum, information can be easily plagiarized.
  • This is not the place for you to get others to write your personal statement. If you need help getting started, check out the Official Personal Statement Guide thread and Depakote's Personal Statement Guide/Tips.
  • If you are looking for feedback on your personal statement, it is better to PM individual users here whose strengths are better suited to your needs rather than posting a response in this thread.
  • Once you contact a reader and they agree to read your personal statement, please email it to them as a Word document with your SDN username in the title. Including your SDN username makes it easier for the readers to keep track of who they've already read for and who they still need to read. DO NOT JUST PM YOUR STATEMENT TO A READER.

Rules for Readers:

  • If you would like to be added or deleted from the list, please make sure that you follow the directions below, and add or delete yourself.
  • As a volunteer, you may read as many or as few personal statements as you'd like or have time for. If you will be unavailable for a certain time or have been inundated with requests, simply take yourself off of the list using the instructions below
  • If you receive a request and are unable to fulfill it, please respond to the writer so he/she is not waiting for a response and can request help from elsewhere.
  • For your protection, we will not allow you to post your email addresses here. All email addresses will be edited out of the list and any further posts containing email addresses will be edited to remove them. Writers will contact you via PM and you can exchange email addresses privately.
  • As this is on a volunteer basis, absolutely NO solicitation of money for your services will be tolerated. Volunteers who violate this policy will be removed from the list and subject to further disciplinary action.

This thread is brought to you by the Pre-Allopathic Volunteer Staff
Please remember that these people are volunteering their time. Be nice to them!


DO NOT ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS!
1) Click "quote" on the most recent post.
2) Add your SDN screen name,
your credentials, and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). DO NOT post your email address.
3) Delete the quote tags at both the top and the bottom.
4)
If you are unable to read any more personal statements, please come back and remove your name from the list.
EXAMPLES:
BobTheReader| M.A. In English, PhD in Creative Writing|Willing to edit for grammar and content

JoeTheReader|Got amazing feedback on my PS when I applied; non-trad especially willing to read non-trad PS| Willing to edit for content only.

JillTheReader|Student Adcom Member; 2nd Year Med Student|Happy to read PS and help with ideas. Will do some reading for content.

Members don't see this ad.
 
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Let the PS exchanging begin. :thumbup:

If you would like to change your status, please make a new post in the thread instead of simply editing your first one.


Helpful hints:

Article on writing your personal statement:
http://jintus.blogspot.com/2011/06/t...-personal.html

braluk said:
Seeing that there is a rise in questions about the personal statement and how to go about writing one since its time that students should have already begun to write one for this year's cycle- these tips on how to write one should be fruitful for the up and coming applicants for the Class of 2012.

Before I go on- I suggest reading through published literature about how to go about writing a personal statement. There are myriads of books that come to mind. Two come to mind:

SDN's own official medical school admissions guide
https://www.millcitypublishing.com/o....aspx?SiteID=7

And

Essays That Will Get You into Medical School (Barron's Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School) by Daniel Kaufman.

Both are helpful to read through. On that note- feel free to add your own tips into the thread :)

Writing a personal statement is a bit like a defendent accused of a crime he or she did not commit, and has to convey to the jury that he is innocent. That is, a personal statement must reveal everything that you want to tell medical school admission's committees to convince them of your goals to become a doctor. Having written two entirely different drafts of personal statements over the course of several months- I understand that the hardest part is finding a way to start one, and finding a way to end one. Here are some tips to begin to write one

Before you begin- I suggest taking some time out of your day, and just freeflow a personal statement and see where that takes you. Believe it or not, this works for many people to get ideas written down for later brainstorming. Write your thoughts and feelings out. They're more helpful than you can possibly imagine, as they are personal after all.

1) Plan and organize: As with any good paper, one must learn how to organize a paper in order to allow the task at hand, to flow in a coherent, efficient, and eloquent manner.
2) Figure out the general theme: Many good personal statements tend to follow some type of theme. Some of these themes are centered around things such as life changing experiences, personal problems, profound research that you are involved in, family, grades, anything you find interesting really.
3) Structure: How will you write your personal statement based around this theme? Are you going to write it in a chronological manner? In a flashback type of way. Perhaps describing in vivid detail about a particular day as you remember it? Break down each paragraph and structure each of them. Make sure each paragraph can flow with each other and aren't random tangents.
4) Begin Writing: Follow some of the suggested pointers below
5) Revise and Rewrite: Have others look over it, and revise revise revise.


Pointers:
A)
Remember to address any insufficiencies or lapses in your grades (or any major weaknesses in your application)
B) Do not make excuses, provide explanations and acknowledge your shortcomings. Stay positive not negative.
C) BE HUMBLE. Hints of arrogance and entitlement are grounds for rejection at many schools.
D) Try to describe vividly. People tend to remember better when stories are visually described, not textually.
E) Start off with something interesting. Not a catch phrase, cliche opening line, but something that can grab the reader and keep them interested without having them roll their eyes.
F) Keep in mind that medical schools see over thousands of applications and you are only one. Everyone, in one form or another, will talk about why they would make a good doctor, the qualities they have as a doctor, and will most likely talk about very similar things that you will talk about. BE UNIQUE. If you have a talent or trait or expertise in some area that you believe makes you unique, write about it.
G) If you talk about research, do not write about it like a journal article. Remember, this is a personal statement. Write about how it is significant to YOU and how you feel about it and why. Do not talk in detailed specifics.
H) Try to tell a story- stories make things interesting. Stay away from writing a personal statement like it is a personal ad.
I) Make the things you talk about relevant in one shape or another.
J) Stay away from cliche. That is... "I want to become a doctor because I want to help people", "I am compassionate", "I am a hard worker" are things that are cliched and are better demonstrated by storytelling and through examples rather than explicitly saying so. Actions speak louder than words.
K) Try not to exaggerate (and of course, do not lie). One statement Ive come across before talked about the profoundness of a particular shadowing experience and how he wanted to become a doctor because of it. Granted this may be true, but most adcoms would smell it as BS a mile away. One doesn't want to suddenly enter into a lifelong, rigorous profession, while going through hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, with no sleep, 80+ hour workweeks, at least a solid decade of schooling with just one short-lived experience. Going into medicine requires that the applicant is well informed, and had built his or her passion for medicine as time went on. Some build it by having relatives, or themselves, go through a significant and painful medical experience, some build it by shadowing. To only focus on one experience without elaborating on further methods to come to the conclusion that you want to be a doctor may be counterproductive.
L) If you have a family legacy of doctors, make sure you convey (without explicitly saying so) that you are going into the career not because of pressure to fill someone else's shoes, or because you have to, but because this choice rested on your own shoulders. Family is a great influence, and many have built their desires on medicine because of it, but make sure if that is the case, that you let the adcoms know, that you are going into medicine for your own personal reasons.
M) Do not hold the adcoms' feelings hostage. That is, its one thing to talk about a significant, emotional experience (family death, illness, tragedy, etc..), but its another to lament it in order to try to capture the emotions that you know should make the adcoms feel guilty and sad. For example, continuing to talk about the death of a close one for the entire personal statement may not be advisable. Instead, talking about its significance to you, its effects, your methods of coping, moving on and becoming stronger is a better way to frame this.
N) Again, don't make excuses- sounding whiny is not the way to go.
O) Have several people read it over and give you constructive criticism. Have people from all spectrum read it, but try to have objective readers.
P) Do not write what you think you want the adcoms want to hear. I made the mistake of doing this for my first personal statement. After getting torn apart by my advisor I completely rewrote my personal statement (with what I wanted to say, not what I thought I wanted to say) the night before with glowing remarks by the committee and my advisor. Since then, at interviews, my personal statement has always been brought up with glowing remarks. You don't necessarily have to make a laundry list of all the medically related things that you've done to prove that you more qualified than even a doctor.
Q) Write about something that may not be covered in the rest of your applications. Keep in mind that you will have the opportunity to write about your extracurriculars on the AMCAS in a separate section. You will be allowed to write about a paragraph about each and can discuss why each is important to you. Try not to overlap, you want to convey as much information about you as possible.
R) Do not sound preachy. Again modesty is probably the best policy. Humility (this does not mean you cannot be confident) is a quality that seems to be a good one. Remember, adcoms will often roll their eyes at students and often ask "what does this kid know to make such an assertion?". Personally acknowledging that you are only premed (albeit informed about the profession) is a good way to stay away from the label of the "know-it-all".
S) You can write about "controversial" topics such as religion, politics, beliefs, abortion, etc..etc.. but understand that you are treading on dangerous grounds. You do not want to express strong opinions that may offend the reader or rub the adcom the wrong way. It's one thing to say that religion or politics has helped me find peace and guidance, but another to write something that can be argued with heatedly. Remember, keep in mind, try to stay away from assertions on topics that are hot topics of debate. As long as you frame things correctly, you should be safe.
T) Do not be a suckup. Writing about how you admire doctors for their hard work and nobility is not getting you anywhere. This goes for secondaries too when answering questions that deal with each particular school.
U) Make sure you end your personal statement by wrapping up everything you've said in a manner that gives closure. Stay away from things like "in conclusion" and other various conclusion disasters. Keep the conclusion concise, but interesting. To end something is just as important as starting it. You want to leave a good aftertaste after the adcom has digested it. Sometimes, it may be helpful to refer back to something you started with so that you come full circle.
V) Try not to be gimmicky. I think this is self explanatory but writing a PS like it were a movie may be considered gimmicky. Or having your PS written as a series of flashbacks as part of a dream and then waking up at the end is gimmicky.

AND FINALLY, Last but not least,

W) DO NOT WRITE IN ANYTHING MORE THAN YOU NEED TO. Writing for the sake of writing, or "filler", is most likely not going to get you anywhere. You want to get your point across and not have it lost or diluted in things that are "empty calories". If they have no value, and are things that people can pick up on without having to be told so, then you probably do not need it.

Finally when done writing (keep track of length) revise revise revise. And then revise again. Have it be seen by multiple readers and have professionals look over it (there are writing centers at colleges for example). Take their comments into serious consideration but remember, this is your own piece and not someone else's.

Anyhow, I hope to add on more information and tips to this as time goes on. Feel free to add more comments in :) Good luck to everyone! Hopefully by the end of it all, you will have convinced the "jury". :D
-Brandon

Depakote said:
First let me apologize to everyone that already submitted their AMCAS applications. Yes, it's late June, this is too late to help those of you that got your stuff in early. That said... STOP READING HERE IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SUBMITTED. There's no sense in looking for mistakes/beating yourself up if you've already pulled the trigger.

Second, I am doing this as a service to Pre-Allo, drawing on the statements I have read over the past few years and the many mistakes I made composing my own personal statement(s). Unfortunately, I do not have time to edit personal statements this year. If you contact me, I will have to politely refuse... just telling you now.


On to the issue at hand.

I know most of you are scientists, not writers. But you should still be able to pull off some of these basics.
Themes
A personal statement works best if it has some unifying element to pull it together. This doesn't have to be an overt parable, just something simple that you can allude to in your intro and conclusion showing a nice point A->B flow of ideas.
A rudimentary example of this would be equating your path to medicine to a growing child and your significant experiences developmental milestones (like learning to talk, going to school, etc. with medicine being your final destination and the child striking out on his/her own.) Side note: Don't do what I did (I'm not even linking you to it), that was a bit of a 3rd round Hail Mary that paid off.

Intro and conclusion
I was always one for the flashy hook intro. But there's a fine line between a hook and melodrama. It's ok to draw the reader into a scene using descriptive and vibrant language, but make sure what you're discussing is worth the attention it's getting. Basically, don't try to make a papercut sound like a severed artery.

Conclusion, refer to the theme you set up in your intro and restate your answer to the "why medicine?" question (which you answered through the body of the personal statement) using your thematic imagery.

What should you be discussing?
This is where most pre-meds start missing the mark. Your personal statement is supposed to demonstrate your personal motivation for a career in medicine. You should answer the "why medicine?" question and give your best support possible. What many, many, many pre-meds do is fall into the Extra-Curricular trap. Rather than discussing why they are motivated to pursue medicine they simply state that they are motivated and then start talking about their extra-curricular activities. (I've done it, and it happened frequently in statements I helped edit) If the EC shows up in your ECs section and you talked about it there, there's no need to talk about the details of what you did in your personal statement. I'm pretty sure performing bench research counting drosophila did little to help your motivation to become a physician, don't throw in a line telling me it did just so you can remind me about that 4 weeks of research experience you've got.

you want to cut anything that does not directly address the following:
  • intro
  • "why medicine?"
  • support for "why medicine?"
  • any problems/gaps in education along the way that really should be addressed in PS
  • conclusion


This doesn't mean your ECs are off limits, it just means that you should discuss specific experiences that actually affected your motivation. It's better to use a single detailed example and illustrate how it drove you to medicine than to try to say you did X here which made you want to be a doc, then did Y there which made you want to be a doc, etc.

Other Mistakes:
-You are a pre-med. In general it is a bad idea to tell the admissions committee what makes a good Med Student/Doctor. You may identify your own positive qualities and say they will help you, but don't start defining what makes a good "doctor" that's their job.

-Don't belittle yourself. Your personal statement is a time to show your good qualities, if you must address negative aspects of your application, do so, but watch for passive and negative wording that hurts the way you represent yourself.

-Don't bash other schools/teachers/doctors/etc. This is a big no-no. You may have disagreements with another institution/party but the best way to handle this situation is to objectively present the facts and let the admissions committee draw their own conclusions. If you start criticizing an institution, it makes them wonder if you'd criticize them like that after you leave their school. Not a huge incentive to accept you.

-Don't work other agendas. "Why Medicine?" is enough. You can mention an interest in research or other career goals (public health, etc) if you want to perform that, but don't spend a paragraph talking about socialized medicine, abortion, stem cell reseach, or other issues in medicine that do not directly affect your application.

-Try to keep an open mind. It's fine to have an inkling of what you might want to do after you graduate, but be aware of the fact that you'll probably change your mind a few times in med school. It would be unwise to base your personal statement on a career goal of pediatric cardio-thoracic surgery.

-Recognize your own self-unimportance. This goes along with the papercut comment above, don't portray your role to be anything more significant than what it was. People weren't looking to you with awe and heart-felt gratitude after you gave them a band-aid.

-Previous mistakes:
If you've made mistakes previously, own up to them and take responsibility. Don't try to blame someone else or something else. You want to show that you've moved on and matured. Don't try to make excuses.

-Cliches:
Yes, avoid making cliche statements, but you don't need to pretend you're going into medicine because you think your reasons might be cliche. Most pre-meds are motivated for the same reasons (wanting to help people, love science, early experience with medicine, etc). You don't need a unique reason, just try to discuss it in a way that is unique as possible.



Other Advice:
Wording:
-Don't use the word "fascinating". Probably 80% of statements I reviewed last year used it, very cliched and got to be vomit inducing.

Technical:
-just use a single line between paragraphs, don't try to indent
-don't use more than 1 space between sentences (no one will notice and this is a huge character saver)
-re-read it for any sentences that could be re-worded more efficiently, then have someone else do it. Brevity is key.

Reads:
-Get your PS into as many hands as possible before you submit it, have your mom, brother, school's writing center, adviser, dog, everyone look at it if possible. You want good, honest feedback from multiple sources.
 
Feel free to start it off with this format, folks!! And again, good luck!!:)

Official Personal Statement Reader List
DO NOT ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS!
1) Click "quote" on the most recent post.
2) Add your SDN screen name,
your credentials, and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). DO NOT post your email address.
3) Delete the quote tags at both the top and the bottom.
4)
If you are unable to read any more personal statements, please come back and remove your name from the list.
 
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I understand that this thread is the reader's list for personal statements; however, I feel like the most meaningful experiences "mini essays" are also very important (and something that appears to be somewhat overlooked). I've received such helpful critiques and editing on my PS from this thread. I was just wondering if it would be acceptable for me to ask readers here to look over my meaningful experiences? I apologize if I may have posted this on the wrong thread, but it didn't seem fitting for the work and activities thread.
 
I could use a little advice. What are some strategies to avoid rehatching your resume in your personal statement? I am simply not a creative writer, and this is the only place my mind goes when I try to write anything about myself.
 
Just a couple tips/suggestions:

Writers: Please be patient when sending your PS to a reader. They may be receiving several essays at once, or they may have things going on in their personal life that prevent them from responding quickly. If you have not received a response from a reader in 3-4 days, send a polite reminder PM.

Readers: If you receive a request and are unable to fulfill it, please respond promptly to the writer so he/she is not waiting for a response and can request help from elsewhere. If you can no longer accept personal statements, please be sure to remove yourself the reader list by quoting the most recent post and editing your entry. Old lists are deleted to reduce confusion.

Before posting, please read the entire first post in this thread for instructions.

Scroll down for the most recent list.

Old lists are deleted as new ones are posted.
 
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I have to comment and say HOW AMAZING @surely was. OMG she provided T H E best feedback on my personal statement, with honest and appreciative constructive feedback. You guys are hella lucky if she reads yours! I honestly believe my personal statement is 10,000 times better! :)
 
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ajafighting92/pre-med student applying to 2015 cycle/ need help editing PS content +grammar (make more professional sounding) ASAP (evaluator is requesting the PS by next week. HELP!!)
Also, I am very new to the SDN. I'm not sure if replying to this is correct! Someone please help me edit my PS!
Would anyone please edit my PS?

Be sure to read the instructions in the first post of the thread. Using the most recent list, you can PM the members who say they are "accepting" personal statements.
 
I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but is there any general consensus on length? How many words? Or formatted to 1 page? Thanks.
 
I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but is there any general consensus on length? How many words? Or formatted to 1 page? Thanks.
5300 characters including spaces.
 
5300 characters including spaces.
Well yeah I know that is the "limit", but is there any word count that adcoms "prefer" to stay by? Like 500, or 750 etc.?

I know there is not a direct rule of course, but often with essays admissions people prefer people not go over some arbitrary length.
 
Well yeah I know that is the "limit", but is there any word count that adcoms "prefer" to stay by? Like 500, or 750 etc.?

I know there is not a direct rule of course, but often with essays admissions people prefer people not go over some arbitrary length.
Oh my bad. Hmm. I personally would not worry about that. Just make it the best you can within the limitation and I think you'll be fine. :) It's not like a term paper where you can do 15 pages but the professor prefers 10. Mine is about 5000 characters. HTH
 
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Well yeah I know that is the "limit", but is there any word count that adcoms "prefer" to stay by? Like 500, or 750 etc.?

I know there is not a direct rule of course, but often with essays admissions people prefer people not go over some arbitrary length.

Almost all of the personal statements I've read have been close to the full length. The character count is the "arbitrary length" you are looking for. No one is going to count words. It doesn't make sense for individual schools to have different preferences when AMCAS/TMDSAS are universal to all schools.
 
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Quick question, will people on this thread be willing to help with some secondary essays?
 
I'm trying to get as many readers as I can for my personal statement.
Any takers?

Thanks!
 
Sure, I'd be willing to take a look.
 
i can help - or should I say my hubby - he did publish many articles, and is looking over my shoulder and says that you should PM me and he will review it by tomorrow night..
 
Could someone be kind enough to help me look over my personal statement for DO school? Thank you. Also, how do I go about asking people who are accepting personal statement for help?
 
DO NOT ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS!
1) Click "reply" on the most recent post.
2) Add your SDN screen name,. your credentials, and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). DO NOT post your email address.
3) Delete the quote tags at both the top and the bottom.
4) If you are unable to read any more personal statements, please come back and remove your name from the list

amanyak| Not accepting anymore. Incoming med student, majored in microbiology. 3.6+ GPA, 35 MCAT, was invited to interview at 5 schools (~33% invite rate). I read a lot and have been helping out a bunch of my friends pre-med friends with their applications (PS, work/activities, interviews). I am really into trying to help future med students so I will go all out trying to help. I edit pretty harshly and thoroughly and will tell you everything that is on my mind concerning your essays; it is up to you to decide whether you like my comments or not. I am also very open to follow-ups if you have any questions or would like to give me your second draft. To get me to help you, PM me your email address and a short blurb about your car/friend/self so that I could get a sense of your writing style. I will edit both PS and work/activities (I think this is a more important section in the end).

ArtofMedicalSchool|On hold, be back soon Resident in highly competitive specialty. Will review for content and grammar (if I catch something). I was an average (grade-wise) student but I found many ways to make myself a strong applicant. I have looked over a high number of personal statements and am currently on the acceptance committee for my residency program. I was told my personal statement was "one of the best" that was ever read by multiple program directors during my application cycle. To set me up to best help you, please send me your name and e-mail address. I will then e-mail you directly with further instructions. Be prepared to write a second PS to contrast the one you have already written.

MalloryWeiss|Not accepting PS at this time. Graduating in a few weeks from a top 10 medical school, starting at a top 10 Anesthesiology residency program in a few months. Also served on our med school admissions committee for a few years, interviewed incoming students, and have helped review tons of personal statements in the past. Along the way, I also completed a literature intensive masters degree in philosophy. I can edit for content & style only. Please PM me a quick, one paragraph introduction (who you are, where you're from, interesting things about you, some general background info, what are your goals [top tier vs. any med school], along with some unique & medically relevant accolades), followed by your personal statement in the body of the message.

caffeinemia|Accepting. Now done with med school. PRS intern in 2 months. I'll be doing this for a bit of fun and out of the goodness of my heart until I get bored of it or run out of time (ie July 1st). I've edited a lot of statements in the past (under a different SDN handle) and I know some of you geniuses have been studying science too hard. Apparently I make some difference, because people start doing goofy things like donating to the American Cancer Society on my behalf and having their mothers email to thank me... hilarious. PM me for an email address where you can send me a short blurb about yourself and your PS. Also, if you PM me the wall of text that is your statement, I will just ignore it. Update: I am developing a casual guide for writing statements: medisdabest.blogspot.com.

zacharyw| Accepting only users with 50+ posts| Science major, took a year off and will be a part of Class of 2018. SDN has been very helpful so trying to give back. 3.4+ GPA, 36+ MCAT, ~35% interview invites this cycle. Will matriculate to a top 20 school this fall. Friends and Professors who were initially critical of my essay ended up liking my PS a lot and is probably the reason I received so many II. Will try to respond within 2-3 days except during the weekends. Priority given to those with earlier join date and higher post counts. Further revisions to updated drafts I already edited are welcomed and will also receive priority. |Will read mostly for content and style, but grammar as well if it's something obvious. Make sure to include a short blurb about yourself so that I have some background info.| Check my current queue here: http://tinyurl.com/my4ppvm

Lya| Not accepting PS at this time Incoming medical student, mathematics major with heavy ECs in engineering, music, and projects overseas. Many medical school interviewers mentioned my PS positively. I tutored English writing in undergrad for two years and cannot even count how many PS drafts I've revised this year. I am very harsh on PS drafts, but many students appreciated it and told me their PS drafts have improved after my comments. I usually help each person until people are satisfied with their drafts. Expected turn around is 3-5 days, but I will try my best to finish my review promptly.

eleveneleven| Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Received lots of positive comments on my personal statement during interviews. Used this thread a lot last year and am happy to return the favor! Will read for anything-content/style/grammar. Willing to look over multiple drafts. Also happy to help with activity descriptions/titles if you'd like or are struggling with how to approach those (I was!).

Jeghaber | Not accepting until June 1st. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented favorably regarding my PS. Found this to be helpful last year, so I'm hoping to return the favor! Since I'm working full time, I would prefer at least slightly-polished drafts, but content-wise, I'm open to PS/activity descriptions/secondaries/anything else. If you're sending me a PS only, please include a short blurb (2-3 sentences) about yourself so I have some context in which to read it. Multiple draft exchanges are welcome. As of 5/16, I need to catch up on current requests before accepting new ones. I'll open the queue back up after June.

supermintyfresh |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Accepted student from this past cycle. Engineering student at top 20 school; going to attend a top 30 medical school. Have taken writing courses for fun. Would enjoy critiquing personal statements and editing for content/structure. Thus, would prefer statements that have already been self-revised with minimal errors in grammar. Just personal message me your PS, or send me a link for a Google Document. Current turnaround: within 1 week (with preference given to contributing SDNers with 100+ posts).

Jennyfishy | Not accepting new PSes at this time. Incoming medical student; I was a Bio Sci major and a writing tutor for my undergrad. I generally focus more on the bigger idea when I read papers and can revise for grammar and flow too, but am incredibly honest, blunt, and critical. Also received very positive comments about my PS + Secondaries from the schools I interviewed at, which were in light of my MCAT score :laugh:. Can look over multiple drafts as well as help out with activity descriptions. Turn around will range from 3-7 days depending on my volunteer/work schedule. Update: I will only look at papers from active SDNers (at least 100+ posts), unless you have a very polished paper (has been read by others) already. Include background info about yourself in your PM. Do NOT send me your entire personal statement in a PM if I have not accepted your paper for edits. All PMs that do this will be ignored.

Ace-Co-A | Not accepting new Statements at the moment. Incoming medical student (C/O 2018). I was a biochemistry major in college [3.9+ GPA and 35+ MCAT]. I had a successful 2013-2014 application cycle [invited to interview at 8 of 18 schools applied to (44.4%)]. I have been successful in other applications as well (for instance, I was invited to interview for the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship). My personal statement and secondary essays were frequently praised in my interviews. I will give honest feedback, and I'm willing to edit your essay at any stage in its development (although use of spell-check and basic grammar proofreading ahead of time are expected). I anticipate a turn-around time of 3 days for any essays I receive in normal condition, although it may be as long as 5 days if I must attend to unforeseen obligations. Preference will be given to SDN members with high post counts (300+).

timelesss | Not accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. My LOR writers and several interviewers commended my personal statement writing. I will edit mostly for content but for grammar as well if I notice it. I will be very honest with you. It's preferred that you have a personal statement draft where your story is for the most part complete. However, if you would like me to review a detailed outline of the story you plan to write, I'd be happy to do so as well. Also, please let me know if you have any goals in particular for medical school (aiming top tier? interest in primary care? interest in PH?) so that I could get some context behind your writing.

5dwn7 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. I was a science major and double majored in a relevant non-science also (I can give more details privately). My committee and several interviewers said my PS was very well written. I was successful applying to top 20 schools. I will read for content and will correct grammar if it really jumps out. I will give honest (non-sugarcoated) feedback. My schedule is pretty full, so please only send polished drafts. I would also appreciate some info on your stats, what sort of schools you are applying to, your goals etc. Preference will be given to those who have taken a gap year (or more) after college.

talinnlove | Not Accepting new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student. Science major. Published author in both fiction and nonfiction. Will edit for content, grammar, style, etc.

bakedbeans18 | Accepting. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Definite underdog non-traditional applicant (sub-3.5 GPA, sub-32 MCAT.) Found that my success in the application cycle was due greatly to my ability to spin the sub-par elements of my application into positive attributes, and have been told I have a 'good pen' for essays, EC descriptions, etc. I will look at full drafts only, as I am currently finishing an advanced degree. Turnaround time will be about 1 week. I can edit for grammar, can provide honest feedback on content and will point out weaknesses in the essay from the perspective of elements which may become scrutinized against by an admissions committee - you may choose to follow that advice, take it with a grain of salt, or completely ignore it - it will simply be a devils advocacy sort of thing. Preference is given to active SDN users and non-traditional applicants. In addition to your personal statement, please share some addition information about yourself and a list of EC's so I can get a better sense of you as a whole, which will allow me to better help you strengthen your PS.

GSPhamily | Not Accept new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Current SMP student. 3.4 cGPA 36+MCAT . Biology and political science major. Worked in a direct patient care setting for 2 years after undergrad before starting SMP. Consequently, I feel that I have a good understanding of what it means to care for people. Since I did an SMP, I understand what it means to make mistakes and to try to move on from those mistakes and improve on those mistakes. Furthermore, my education in political science has allowed me to stay current in political changes in health care. It has also given me the ability to read critically and read for logical flow and coherence. I am mostly going to read for content and structure, not so much grammar and spelling. My main focus will be on whether your PS is interesting, whether it is compelling, and whether it flows coherently.

Selladore235 | Accepting. Incoming MD student. English major. Accepted to top-choice medical school. Will edit for content, grammar, style, et cetera.

Vans42 | NOT accepting at this time. Incoming MD student. Biology major at my state school. I moved to a new state and gained residency there during my two year gap. For those two years I was fully employed in a stem cell research lab. I interviewed at 9 schools and was accepted by 7 - I will be attending my top choice. I got a lot of great feedback on my PS and I loved working on mine and helping others with theirs during this past cycle. I am a quick responder and I will give honest feedback on content, structure, and cohesiveness.

cybermaxx12 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. I am an incoming medical student for the class of 2018. In college I majored in history and minored in philosophy so I have a fair amount of writing experience. I have also been the primary author on both history and basic science journal articles which have been published in peer reviewed journals. I am willing to help any SDN user with their personal statement and will edit for both content and grammar - though I'm certainly not flawless when it comes to grammar myself! If I receive multiple personal statements at once preference will be given to the SDN user with the highest post count. My expected turn around time is less than four days.

legendaryMD |Not accepting at this time. Incoming medical student with a background in neuroscience and public health. Currently in the midst of a gap year and have some spare time between volunteering and working full-time I'd like to fill up. I used this last year and found it to be extremely helpful, so I'm hoping to return the favor this year. I'm open to editing personal statements/activity descriptions/etc in content, structure, and grammar, but would prefer at least somewhat polished drafts. I'd also love to have some background information for context.

ommnomm | Accepting. Incoming non-trad medical student with background in liberal arts that gave me plenty of writing experience. SDN helped my application out tremendously and I'm hoping to pay that forward. 3.7 cGPA, 3.9 sGPA, 33 MCAT. I'm open to helping with grammar, structure, cohesiveness, and content. Please don't PM me a wall of text, it'll be ignored. Feel free to PM for contact info. I aim for a 3-5 day turnaround. Update: Overwhelmed by the number of people contacting me. As of 5/9/14 I have 60+ people wanting their PS reviewed. Please include a short few sentences about yourself in any PM requesting me to read your PS. I'm going to be placing a preference on active SDN posters. Polished drafts only. May take a while to get back to you because I recently started working overtime, which decreased my time available to edit these things. If you've already e-mailed it to me, and have made a fresh draft without hearing back from me, please re-send it.

Oso |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented positively on my personal statement and essays. Social science major, so I did a lot of writing in college. Hoping to provide honest feedback on content and organization. Would prefer an actual draft and not an outline or semi-completed essay. Will edit 1-3 drafts. Preference will be given to active SDN users (200+ posts), if needed. Please PM me if interested and also provide some background information that will help contextualize your essay. Please do not PM me your actual draft. I'm hoping to return drafts within a few days. Good luck with your PS!

GoodGuyGreg|Accepting. Although I have not yet been accepted this cycle (sitting on a few waitlists), several of my interviewers stated that my personal statement was very intriguing and is probably the reason why I was given an II. Now, I didn't have an extremely interesting story, but I was able to tell my story in an interesting way. With that said, I would like to think that I can offer some valuable constructive feedback on the effectiveness of your PS. Go ahead and PM your PS and I should be able to get back to you within a few hours.

MinnieMD|Not accepting. Rising MS3. I go to a top 20 school and was an admissions tour guide for the past two years. I'm currently studying for boards so I'll have some free time to read, but not much. Please do not PM me your entire statement; instead I'll give you an email address so that I can edit via MS word. I'll fine tune grammar to a degree but I'm more interested in helping make sure the content is solid. I don't remember nor care about what my MCAT and GPA were exactly, but I got into 5 of the 10 schools I applied to (withdrew from the rest once I got accepted to my #1) so I guess I was pretty good at getting into med school. OK, kind of overwhelmed. If you've PMed me already I'll try to get back to you within the next week, but I simply can't keep up with the number of requests I've gotten. If you have already emailed me, get feedback from someone else sooner, and then want me to revise an updated draft, please let me know via email!

Rfenzo| Not Accepting for a couple weeks. Incoming medical student. Saw that things were getting busy on here, and this was a lot of help to me in the past so thought I'd pitch in. Double majored in Bio and English so do have some literary experience. Willing to edit primarily for content, but some grammar as well. Had a very successful cycle - if that is worth anything as far as personal statements are concerned - so can definitely offer help on general application points as well. Let me know!

3838| Not accepting for a few days. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers mentioned that my personal statement was well-written and interesting/emotionally moving to read. Skilled at creative writing (I write poetry in my free time). Public Health major, so I've taken multiple writing heavy courses every semester. I am often approached by friends to help them with application essays for various things. I will edit for content, mostly, but I will edit for grammar mistakes if the content seems done to me. If you wrote a really personal or sensitive personal statement and you're concerned about presenting a sensitive topic to the Adcom, please please reach out to me. I had to handle extremely sensitive subject matter in my own statement so I have experience with that. Please give me a list of your EC's and tell me a little about yourself, your priorities, your values. That will help me help you craft a better statement. And read Barron's Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School if you haven't already.

Velour Fog| Not accepting. Rising Med3. Did this a couple of years ago and have some free time to help others out. I'll read for content, as well as general syntax and language. God help you if you didn't spell-check before sending, though!

Maliro| Not Accepting new PS at this time. Incoming medical student. Had a very successful cycle. Got good reviews from my personal statement from my reviewers, and it was often brought up in interviews on being a very interesting experience. Bio major, took 2 years off to work and get another masters before applying. I have worked with a couple friends on their personal statement and they and their editors seem to find my advice beneficial. I am willing to read less polished versions, especially for people who are still struggling a bit on direction/ tone. Will also look at grammar/ general edits. Please proof read before sending :). As I have been inundated with requests, I will be taking some time off from taking new requests until the current amount becomes more manageable. Sorry!

meringue | Not Accepting. Incoming medical student. I had a lot of help with my PS from my friends that I though was really useful, learned a lot this cycle, received a lot of help from members here, and would like to pass on this knowledge and give back. Did a lot of editing in college for school publications. Have a solid research background. Willing to edit for content and grammar (and big on structure). Please include a brief introduction about yourself in your PM.

Lil Mick | Only accepting personal statements from veterans, folks with substance use/legal issues to address, or MD/PhD applicants. I was accepted to several MD/PhD programs and netted >95%ile on the MCAT writing and GRE writing sections. I have 40+ creative writing pieces published to date and am active in my school's creative writing program. Depending on how many people send me personal statements, I may edit for only content or add in some grammar help, as well. Also, don't freak out and start sending me numerous messages if it takes a while to hear back from me. I am taking my comps for grad school right now and only get a chance to help with this once or twice a week. I will get back to anyone meeting the criteria stated (and answer other application questions for veterans and folks with legal issues). When you send your PS, please put in the message box PS followed by either veteran, legal issue, MD/PhD, or a combination of those depending on which of the three apply to you. Other pieces will be deleted unread.


syoung | Accepting after June 2nd. Previously read for the last 2013-2014 cycle. Non-traditional student. Editing for content and grammar. Rising 2nd year medical student. Will give an honest first impression. 2-3 day turnaround. Posters must have a 50+ posts. PM a short blurb about yourself and a one liner about your personal statement. If you send a wall of text it will be unread.

Z K | Not Accepting; Working my PS now but will be back. Non-traditional 2015 applicant. Editing for content and grammar. Graduated summa cum laude, BS Biological Science.

PurkinjeFibers | Not Accepting; Working on PSs now | Graduated with a BA in English & Molecular and Cellular Bio from a top 20 school, magna cum laude, good MCAT, willing to help as much as I can! | Editing for grammar, content and flow of writing.

Orthos | Accepting | Attending physician with NO direct ties to academia (so please do not ask if I can influence any specific adcoms). | Editing for content primarily, grammar/punctuation secondary. Please no first/rough drafts, make at least some effort at a reasonably polished PS. No e-mail exchange; cut-and-paste content into PM. Provide additional background details if you feel they are important, but don't know how to work them into your PS. Please be aware that my responses may take a while, as I am fairly busy, but I will try to help everyone that I can.

areserine|Accepting | Graduated 2013, currently taking a gap year. I'm applying this cycle too, but have already submitted (and can prove if you have concerns about me "stealing" your ps). Have written lots of fellowship/ grant personal statements are received very positive feedback on all, including med school personal statement. Can probably send things back very quickly (min-hours, depending how bored I am at work). You can PM me directly with your ps, no need to ask first, but include info about yourself and what the thesis/ goal of your statement is (so I can make sure you are actually getting that point across). Will edit mostly for content, but will also flag (but not re-write) areas that need grammatical improvement.

vrog33 |Accepting | I am a non-traditional applicant for the 2014-2015 cycle. I have received numerous compliments on my personal statement. I will edit for style, grammar, content and flow. Willing to help all! I'll give you my honest first impression..

secondroundpremed |Not accepting |

BrainOnFire | Accepting 2015 re-app who was then accepted for 2014. Non-trad PhD, lecturer, and freelance writer; I've done quite a bit of reading and editing in my time. I will make general comments and check your grammar, but only if you have a fully-formed statement in .doc/.docx form since I use track changes. I'll also want your CV/resume. I'm on vacation, but anything given to me by 6/15 is guaranteed.

GonePostalMD| Accepting | MD Resident. Will read for content, not grammar. Please only somewhat put together drafts, with major editing already done. PMs only.

Snowman.33 | Accepting Recent 14 grad, MD reapp for this year, already submitted/verified. Last year PS was very average, and spent a lot of time in the last six months grueling over quality PSs. Turns out hard work pays, readers on here have praised my current PS. Currently on vacation where internet is spotty - may take a couple days to respond but will try and help whoever needs it. Will edit for everything. Polished drafts only please. (I will be blunt.) PM me with a request with some of your basic info/background/stats so I have a slight grasp of your app. Please no new members who create SDN accounts just to get readers please.

surely | Semi-Accepting? | Incoming non-trad MD student. I had an absurdly successful cycle - Still can't believe it. Are you a non-trad? Or maybe a disadvantaged applicant? Or do you like Doctor Who? PM me your personal statement and/or disadvantaged applicant statement plus any questions you have. Don't be shy - I love giving advice! Update 6/21: Wow, I turned off submissions for almost two months, and yet I'm still getting inundated with requests from people who want to know if I'll make an exception for them! So here's what I've decided: If you include in your PM your complete, polished personal statement along with your cGPA, sGPA, MCAT, and at least 10 schools you plan on applying to, I will do my best to review your PS. Unfortunately, life being what it is, I can't promise anything - Wish I could be more helpful. Be warned, though: If, instead of sending me your PS, you message me "Will you please review my PS?", I'm just going to respond with the lyrics to Rick Astley's timeless classic.

stickshifthonda| NOT Accepting at this time MD and DO applicant, C/O 2013. Graduate of a top research institution known for high caliber pre-meds and sciences, have a BA in a social science major w/ lots of writing courses. Will edit for whatever- from experience I mostly look at grammar, flow, and overall cohesiveness of the statement. I am an honest reader! Please PM me with a bit about yourself and I'll give you my email to send a .docx file to! Please have something worth reading- I'm filling secondaries at this time and would like to read well put together stuff.

misseskwee | No longer accepting | Incoming medical student at DO school. I have experience in freelance writing, and I always help friends with their papers and whatnot. Willing to read and edit for content/grammar/structure/flow. I'll give you my overall impression. Just wanna help in any way that I can, since I'm a bit bored until school starts in early August. Also include a bit about yourself so I can get a grasp of who you are as well.
 
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Still looking for some readers for my essay (PS). I have polished it and want to have some suggestions on it.
 
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Is anyone still offering to read Personal Statements and provide feedback? Please let me know, I haven't found someone yet. =(
 
Is anyone still offering to read Personal Statements and provide feedback? Please let me know, I haven't found someone yet. =(

PM me, I can read
 
The readers list hasn't been updated in over a month... is anybody still actively reading these? I'd love a chance for some objective feedback on mine.
 
Can Anybody help me out with my Persona statement?, It's only one page..

Highly appreciated
 
Hi, so I know this is a little last minute but I have been working on my PS. I actually completely rewrote it because wasn't happy with the original. I am just wondering if anyone would be available to give me some feedback? I particularly need help with ending it as well as making it stand out. I don't have the greatest GPA so I am really relying on my PS to help me stand out. Is anyone available to help me with this? Any help is much appreciated. Thank you!
 
please disregard this post...I am in the wrong forum :/
 
Hi guys,
I'm super late to the game, but hoping to get some personal statement feedback. Is there anyone still available to review? The PS is done, pretty much, so it should hopefully be quick to read through. I would be eternally grateful! and of course, if there are other late applicants out there looking for reviews, I'd be glad to read your PS and give advice in return.

Thanks! SwissMs
 
^ Same with me!

If anyone else can read statements, that would be AWESOME!
 
^ Same with me!

If anyone else can read statements, that would be AWESOME!

Should we exchange statements? I'm not an English major or anything, but I'll do my best. I sent you a PM.
 
Hey guys.

Anyone still reading personal statements at this time? I could really use some help on it.

Thank you.
 
I'm currently applying for Post-Bacc, and I would really appreciate it if anyone can also read my personal statement! I would prefer someone who has been accepted, thanks!
 
I am more than happy to read some PS's and give feedback. I read and revised 6 from last cycle- currently have two acceptances this cycle!

PM me if interested.
 
If anyone is still reading personal statements, I'd love some feedback on a very rough draft
 
Anyone who wants to send me something, feel free.
 
I'll be happy to read personal statements.

edit: oops, just realized this thread was for the current cycle. Sorry
 
Accepting -- Research- and humanities-focused style specializing in difficulty/hardships/failures, have read and edited many essays in college, have had successful interview season with applications into 4 different specialties with some residency interviewers commenting on my "amazing" personal statement. 36T MCAT, Step 1 tutor, Caribbean soon-to-be-graduate -- Will edit/comment on content and structure only, do not have time for grammar, prefer a sample of your CV along with the essay. 20+ posters only.
 
Accepting -- Research- and humanities-focused style specializing in difficulty/hardships/failures, have read and edited many essays in college, have had successful interview season with applications into 4 different specialties with some residency interviewers commenting on my "amazing" personal statement. 36T MCAT, Step 1 tutor, Caribbean soon-to-be-graduate -- Will edit/comment on content and structure only, do not have time for grammar, prefer a sample of your CV along with the essay. 20+ posters only.

Are you still looking at personal statements? would you mind looking at mine?
 
Sure. Send a private message or somehow find my email.
 
DO NOT ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS!
1) Click "reply" on the most recent post.
2) Add your SDN screen name,. your credentials, and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). DO NOT post your email address.
3) Delete the quote tags at both the top and the bottom.
4) If you are unable to read any more personal statements, please come back and remove your name from the list

Immunolove| Accepting. Medial researcher (and non-trad pre-med) with extensive writing experience (beyond scientific writing). Have read/edited many PS in past. Will edit for content, grammar, and style. Will edit PS and W&A. Please PM with a little intro about you, your objectives, and any special requests.

amanyak| Not accepting anymore. Incoming med student, majored in microbiology. 3.6+ GPA, 35 MCAT, was invited to interview at 5 schools (~33% invite rate). I read a lot and have been helping out a bunch of my friends pre-med friends with their applications (PS, work/activities, interviews). I am really into trying to help future med students so I will go all out trying to help. I edit pretty harshly and thoroughly and will tell you everything that is on my mind concerning your essays; it is up to you to decide whether you like my comments or not. I am also very open to follow-ups if you have any questions or would like to give me your second draft. To get me to help you, PM me your email address and a short blurb about your car/friend/self so that I could get a sense of your writing style. I will edit both PS and work/activities (I think this is a more important section in the end).

ArtofMedicalSchool|On hold, be back soon Resident in highly competitive specialty. Will review for content and grammar (if I catch something). I was an average (grade-wise) student but I found many ways to make myself a strong applicant. I have looked over a high number of personal statements and am currently on the acceptance committee for my residency program. I was told my personal statement was "one of the best" that was ever read by multiple program directors during my application cycle. To set me up to best help you, please send me your name and e-mail address. I will then e-mail you directly with further instructions. Be prepared to write a second PS to contrast the one you have already written.

MalloryWeiss|Not accepting PS at this time. Graduating in a few weeks from a top 10 medical school, starting at a top 10 Anesthesiology residency program in a few months. Also served on our med school admissions committee for a few years, interviewed incoming students, and have helped review tons of personal statements in the past. Along the way, I also completed a literature intensive masters degree in philosophy. I can edit for content & style only. Please PM me a quick, one paragraph introduction (who you are, where you're from, interesting things about you, some general background info, what are your goals [top tier vs. any med school], along with some unique & medically relevant accolades), followed by your personal statement in the body of the message.

caffeinemia|Accepting. Now done with med school. PRS intern in 2 months. I'll be doing this for a bit of fun and out of the goodness of my heart until I get bored of it or run out of time (ie July 1st). I've edited a lot of statements in the past (under a different SDN handle) and I know some of you geniuses have been studying science too hard. Apparently I make some difference, because people start doing goofy things like donating to the American Cancer Society on my behalf and having their mothers email to thank me... hilarious. PM me for an email address where you can send me a short blurb about yourself and your PS. Also, if you PM me the wall of text that is your statement, I will just ignore it. Update: I am developing a casual guide for writing statements: medisdabest.blogspot.com.

zacharyw| Accepting only users with 50+ posts| Science major, took a year off and will be a part of Class of 2018. SDN has been very helpful so trying to give back. 3.4+ GPA, 36+ MCAT, ~35% interview invites this cycle. Will matriculate to a top 20 school this fall. Friends and Professors who were initially critical of my essay ended up liking my PS a lot and is probably the reason I received so many II. Will try to respond within 2-3 days except during the weekends. Priority given to those with earlier join date and higher post counts. Further revisions to updated drafts I already edited are welcomed and will also receive priority. |Will read mostly for content and style, but grammar as well if it's something obvious. Make sure to include a short blurb about yourself so that I have some background info.| Check my current queue here: http://tinyurl.com/my4ppvm

Lya| Not accepting PS at this time Incoming medical student, mathematics major with heavy ECs in engineering, music, and projects overseas. Many medical school interviewers mentioned my PS positively. I tutored English writing in undergrad for two years and cannot even count how many PS drafts I've revised this year. I am very harsh on PS drafts, but many students appreciated it and told me their PS drafts have improved after my comments. I usually help each person until people are satisfied with their drafts. Expected turn around is 3-5 days, but I will try my best to finish my review promptly.

eleveneleven| Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Received lots of positive comments on my personal statement during interviews. Used this thread a lot last year and am happy to return the favor! Will read for anything-content/style/grammar. Willing to look over multiple drafts. Also happy to help with activity descriptions/titles if you'd like or are struggling with how to approach those (I was!).

Jeghaber | Not accepting until June 1st. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented favorably regarding my PS. Found this to be helpful last year, so I'm hoping to return the favor! Since I'm working full time, I would prefer at least slightly-polished drafts, but content-wise, I'm open to PS/activity descriptions/secondaries/anything else. If you're sending me a PS only, please include a short blurb (2-3 sentences) about yourself so I have some context in which to read it. Multiple draft exchanges are welcome. As of 5/16, I need to catch up on current requests before accepting new ones. I'll open the queue back up after June.

supermintyfresh |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Accepted student from this past cycle. Engineering student at top 20 school; going to attend a top 30 medical school. Have taken writing courses for fun. Would enjoy critiquing personal statements and editing for content/structure. Thus, would prefer statements that have already been self-revised with minimal errors in grammar. Just personal message me your PS, or send me a link for a Google Document. Current turnaround: within 1 week (with preference given to contributing SDNers with 100+ posts).

Jennyfishy | Not accepting new PSes at this time. Incoming medical student; I was a Bio Sci major and a writing tutor for my undergrad. I generally focus more on the bigger idea when I read papers and can revise for grammar and flow too, but am incredibly honest, blunt, and critical. Also received very positive comments about my PS + Secondaries from the schools I interviewed at, which were in light of my MCAT score :laugh:. Can look over multiple drafts as well as help out with activity descriptions. Turn around will range from 3-7 days depending on my volunteer/work schedule. Update: I will only look at papers from active SDNers (at least 100+ posts), unless you have a very polished paper (has been read by others) already. Include background info about yourself in your PM. Do NOT send me your entire personal statement in a PM if I have not accepted your paper for edits. All PMs that do this will be ignored.

Ace-Co-A | Not accepting new Statements at the moment. Incoming medical student (C/O 2018). I was a biochemistry major in college [3.9+ GPA and 35+ MCAT]. I had a successful 2013-2014 application cycle [invited to interview at 8 of 18 schools applied to (44.4%)]. I have been successful in other applications as well (for instance, I was invited to interview for the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship). My personal statement and secondary essays were frequently praised in my interviews. I will give honest feedback, and I'm willing to edit your essay at any stage in its development (although use of spell-check and basic grammar proofreading ahead of time are expected). I anticipate a turn-around time of 3 days for any essays I receive in normal condition, although it may be as long as 5 days if I must attend to unforeseen obligations. Preference will be given to SDN members with high post counts (300+).

timelesss | Not accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. My LOR writers and several interviewers commended my personal statement writing. I will edit mostly for content but for grammar as well if I notice it. I will be very honest with you. It's preferred that you have a personal statement draft where your story is for the most part complete. However, if you would like me to review a detailed outline of the story you plan to write, I'd be happy to do so as well. Also, please let me know if you have any goals in particular for medical school (aiming top tier? interest in primary care? interest in PH?) so that I could get some context behind your writing.

5dwn7 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. I was a science major and double majored in a relevant non-science also (I can give more details privately). My committee and several interviewers said my PS was very well written. I was successful applying to top 20 schools. I will read for content and will correct grammar if it really jumps out. I will give honest (non-sugarcoated) feedback. My schedule is pretty full, so please only send polished drafts. I would also appreciate some info on your stats, what sort of schools you are applying to, your goals etc. Preference will be given to those who have taken a gap year (or more) after college.

talinnlove | Not Accepting new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student. Science major. Published author in both fiction and nonfiction. Will edit for content, grammar, style, etc.

bakedbeans18 | Accepting. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Definite underdog non-traditional applicant (sub-3.5 GPA, sub-32 MCAT.) Found that my success in the application cycle was due greatly to my ability to spin the sub-par elements of my application into positive attributes, and have been told I have a 'good pen' for essays, EC descriptions, etc. I will look at full drafts only, as I am currently finishing an advanced degree. Turnaround time will be about 1 week. I can edit for grammar, can provide honest feedback on content and will point out weaknesses in the essay from the perspective of elements which may become scrutinized against by an admissions committee - you may choose to follow that advice, take it with a grain of salt, or completely ignore it - it will simply be a devils advocacy sort of thing. Preference is given to active SDN users and non-traditional applicants. In addition to your personal statement, please share some addition information about yourself and a list of EC's so I can get a better sense of you as a whole, which will allow me to better help you strengthen your PS.

GSPhamily | Not Accept new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Current SMP student. 3.4 cGPA 36+MCAT . Biology and political science major. Worked in a direct patient care setting for 2 years after undergrad before starting SMP. Consequently, I feel that I have a good understanding of what it means to care for people. Since I did an SMP, I understand what it means to make mistakes and to try to move on from those mistakes and improve on those mistakes. Furthermore, my education in political science has allowed me to stay current in political changes in health care. It has also given me the ability to read critically and read for logical flow and coherence. I am mostly going to read for content and structure, not so much grammar and spelling. My main focus will be on whether your PS is interesting, whether it is compelling, and whether it flows coherently.

Selladore235 | Accepting. Incoming MD student. English major. Accepted to top-choice medical school. Will edit for content, grammar, style, et cetera.

Vans42 | NOT accepting at this time. Incoming MD student. Biology major at my state school. I moved to a new state and gained residency there during my two year gap. For those two years I was fully employed in a stem cell research lab. I interviewed at 9 schools and was accepted by 7 - I will be attending my top choice. I got a lot of great feedback on my PS and I loved working on mine and helping others with theirs during this past cycle. I am a quick responder and I will give honest feedback on content, structure, and cohesiveness.

cybermaxx12 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. I am an incoming medical student for the class of 2018. In college I majored in history and minored in philosophy so I have a fair amount of writing experience. I have also been the primary author on both history and basic science journal articles which have been published in peer reviewed journals. I am willing to help any SDN user with their personal statement and will edit for both content and grammar - though I'm certainly not flawless when it comes to grammar myself! If I receive multiple personal statements at once preference will be given to the SDN user with the highest post count. My expected turn around time is less than four days.

legendaryMD |Not accepting at this time. Incoming medical student with a background in neuroscience and public health. Currently in the midst of a gap year and have some spare time between volunteering and working full-time I'd like to fill up. I used this last year and found it to be extremely helpful, so I'm hoping to return the favor this year. I'm open to editing personal statements/activity descriptions/etc in content, structure, and grammar, but would prefer at least somewhat polished drafts. I'd also love to have some background information for context.

ommnomm | Accepting. Incoming non-trad medical student with background in liberal arts that gave me plenty of writing experience. SDN helped my application out tremendously and I'm hoping to pay that forward. 3.7 cGPA, 3.9 sGPA, 33 MCAT. I'm open to helping with grammar, structure, cohesiveness, and content. Please don't PM me a wall of text, it'll be ignored. Feel free to PM for contact info. I aim for a 3-5 day turnaround. Update: Overwhelmed by the number of people contacting me. As of 5/9/14 I have 60+ people wanting their PS reviewed. Please include a short few sentences about yourself in any PM requesting me to read your PS. I'm going to be placing a preference on active SDN posters. Polished drafts only. May take a while to get back to you because I recently started working overtime, which decreased my time available to edit these things. If you've already e-mailed it to me, and have made a fresh draft without hearing back from me, please re-send it.

Oso |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented positively on my personal statement and essays. Social science major, so I did a lot of writing in college. Hoping to provide honest feedback on content and organization. Would prefer an actual draft and not an outline or semi-completed essay. Will edit 1-3 drafts. Preference will be given to active SDN users (200+ posts), if needed. Please PM me if interested and also provide some background information that will help contextualize your essay. Please do not PM me your actual draft. I'm hoping to return drafts within a few days. Good luck with your PS!

GoodGuyGreg|Accepting. Although I have not yet been accepted this cycle (sitting on a few waitlists), several of my interviewers stated that my personal statement was very intriguing and is probably the reason why I was given an II. Now, I didn't have an extremely interesting story, but I was able to tell my story in an interesting way. With that said, I would like to think that I can offer some valuable constructive feedback on the effectiveness of your PS. Go ahead and PM your PS and I should be able to get back to you within a few hours.

MinnieMD|Not accepting. Rising MS3. I go to a top 20 school and was an admissions tour guide for the past two years. I'm currently studying for boards so I'll have some free time to read, but not much. Please do not PM me your entire statement; instead I'll give you an email address so that I can edit via MS word. I'll fine tune grammar to a degree but I'm more interested in helping make sure the content is solid. I don't remember nor care about what my MCAT and GPA were exactly, but I got into 5 of the 10 schools I applied to (withdrew from the rest once I got accepted to my #1) so I guess I was pretty good at getting into med school. OK, kind of overwhelmed. If you've PMed me already I'll try to get back to you within the next week, but I simply can't keep up with the number of requests I've gotten. If you have already emailed me, get feedback from someone else sooner, and then want me to revise an updated draft, please let me know via email!

Rfenzo| Not Accepting for a couple weeks. Incoming medical student. Saw that things were getting busy on here, and this was a lot of help to me in the past so thought I'd pitch in. Double majored in Bio and English so do have some literary experience. Willing to edit primarily for content, but some grammar as well. Had a very successful cycle - if that is worth anything as far as personal statements are concerned - so can definitely offer help on general application points as well. Let me know!

3838| Not accepting for a few days. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers mentioned that my personal statement was well-written and interesting/emotionally moving to read. Skilled at creative writing (I write poetry in my free time). Public Health major, so I've taken multiple writing heavy courses every semester. I am often approached by friends to help them with application essays for various things. I will edit for content, mostly, but I will edit for grammar mistakes if the content seems done to me. If you wrote a really personal or sensitive personal statement and you're concerned about presenting a sensitive topic to the Adcom, please please reach out to me. I had to handle extremely sensitive subject matter in my own statement so I have experience with that. Please give me a list of your EC's and tell me a little about yourself, your priorities, your values. That will help me help you craft a better statement. And read Barron's Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School if you haven't already.

Velour Fog| Not accepting. Rising Med3. Did this a couple of years ago and have some free time to help others out. I'll read for content, as well as general syntax and language. God help you if you didn't spell-check before sending, though!

Maliro| Not Accepting new PS at this time. Incoming medical student. Had a very successful cycle. Got good reviews from my personal statement from my reviewers, and it was often brought up in interviews on being a very interesting experience. Bio major, took 2 years off to work and get another masters before applying. I have worked with a couple friends on their personal statement and they and their editors seem to find my advice beneficial. I am willing to read less polished versions, especially for people who are still struggling a bit on direction/ tone. Will also look at grammar/ general edits. Please proof read before sending :). As I have been inundated with requests, I will be taking some time off from taking new requests until the current amount becomes more manageable. Sorry!

meringue | Not Accepting. Incoming medical student. I had a lot of help with my PS from my friends that I though was really useful, learned a lot this cycle, received a lot of help from members here, and would like to pass on this knowledge and give back. Did a lot of editing in college for school publications. Have a solid research background. Willing to edit for content and grammar (and big on structure). Please include a brief introduction about yourself in your PM.

Lil Mick | Only accepting personal statements from veterans, folks with substance use/legal issues to address, or MD/PhD applicants. I was accepted to several MD/PhD programs and netted >95%ile on the MCAT writing and GRE writing sections. I have 40+ creative writing pieces published to date and am active in my school's creative writing program. Depending on how many people send me personal statements, I may edit for only content or add in some grammar help, as well. Also, don't freak out and start sending me numerous messages if it takes a while to hear back from me. I am taking my comps for grad school right now and only get a chance to help with this once or twice a week. I will get back to anyone meeting the criteria stated (and answer other application questions for veterans and folks with legal issues). When you send your PS, please put in the message box PS followed by either veteran, legal issue, MD/PhD, or a combination of those depending on which of the three apply to you. Other pieces will be deleted unread.


syoung | Accepting after June 2nd. Previously read for the last 2013-2014 cycle. Non-traditional student. Editing for content and grammar. Rising 2nd year medical student. Will give an honest first impression. 2-3 day turnaround. Posters must have a 50+ posts. PM a short blurb about yourself and a one liner about your personal statement. If you send a wall of text it will be unread.

Z K | Not Accepting; Working my PS now but will be back. Non-traditional 2015 applicant. Editing for content and grammar. Graduated summa cum laude, BS Biological Science.

PurkinjeFibers | Not Accepting; Working on PSs now | Graduated with a BA in English & Molecular and Cellular Bio from a top 20 school, magna cum laude, good MCAT, willing to help as much as I can! | Editing for grammar, content and flow of writing.

Orthos | Accepting | Attending physician with NO direct ties to academia (so please do not ask if I can influence any specific adcoms). | Editing for content primarily, grammar/punctuation secondary. Please no first/rough drafts, make at least some effort at a reasonably polished PS. No e-mail exchange; cut-and-paste content into PM. Provide additional background details if you feel they are important, but don't know how to work them into your PS. Please be aware that my responses may take a while, as I am fairly busy, but I will try to help everyone that I can.

areserine|Accepting | Graduated 2013, currently taking a gap year. I'm applying this cycle too, but have already submitted (and can prove if you have concerns about me "stealing" your ps). Have written lots of fellowship/ grant personal statements are received very positive feedback on all, including med school personal statement. Can probably send things back very quickly (min-hours, depending how bored I am at work). You can PM me directly with your ps, no need to ask first, but include info about yourself and what the thesis/ goal of your statement is (so I can make sure you are actually getting that point across). Will edit mostly for content, but will also flag (but not re-write) areas that need grammatical improvement.

vrog33 |Accepting | I am a non-traditional applicant for the 2014-2015 cycle. I have received numerous compliments on my personal statement. I will edit for style, grammar, content and flow. Willing to help all! I'll give you my honest first impression..

secondroundpremed |Not accepting |

BrainOnFire | Accepting 2015 re-app who was then accepted for 2014. Non-trad PhD, lecturer, and freelance writer; I've done quite a bit of reading and editing in my time. I will make general comments and check your grammar, but only if you have a fully-formed statement in .doc/.docx form since I use track changes. I'll also want your CV/resume. I'm on vacation, but anything given to me by 6/15 is guaranteed.

GonePostalMD| Accepting | MD Resident. Will read for content, not grammar. Please only somewhat put together drafts, with major editing already done. PMs only.

Snowman.33 | Accepting Recent 14 grad, MD reapp for this year, already submitted/verified. Last year PS was very average, and spent a lot of time in the last six months grueling over quality PSs. Turns out hard work pays, readers on here have praised my current PS. Currently on vacation where internet is spotty - may take a couple days to respond but will try and help whoever needs it. Will edit for everything. Polished drafts only please. (I will be blunt.) PM me with a request with some of your basic info/background/stats so I have a slight grasp of your app. Please no new members who create SDN accounts just to get readers please.

surely | Semi-Accepting? | Incoming non-trad MD student. I had an absurdly successful cycle - Still can't believe it. Are you a non-trad? Or maybe a disadvantaged applicant? Or do you like Doctor Who? PM me your personal statement and/or disadvantaged applicant statement plus any questions you have. Don't be shy - I love giving advice! Update 6/21: Wow, I turned off submissions for almost two months, and yet I'm still getting inundated with requests from people who want to know if I'll make an exception for them! So here's what I've decided: If you include in your PM your complete, polished personal statement along with your cGPA, sGPA, MCAT, and at least 10 schools you plan on applying to, I will do my best to review your PS. Unfortunately, life being what it is, I can't promise anything - Wish I could be more helpful. Be warned, though: If, instead of sending me your PS, you message me "Will you please review my PS?", I'm just going to respond with the lyrics to Rick Astley's timeless classic.

stickshifthonda| NOT Accepting at this time MD and DO applicant, C/O 2013. Graduate of a top research institution known for high caliber pre-meds and sciences, have a BA in a social science major w/ lots of writing courses. Will edit for whatever- from experience I mostly look at grammar, flow, and overall cohesiveness of the statement. I am an honest reader! Please PM me with a bit about yourself and I'll give you my email to send a .docx file to! Please have something worth reading- I'm filling secondaries at this time and would like to read well put together stuff.

misseskwee | No longer accepting | Incoming medical student at DO school. I have experience in freelance writing, and I always help friends with their papers and whatnot. Willing to read and edit for content/grammar/structure/flow. I'll give you my overall impression. Just wanna help in any way that I can, since I'm a bit bored until school starts in early August. Also include a bit about yourself so I can get a grasp of who you are as well.
 
I'd be happy to take a look if you'd like. Feel free to PM.

really need some help with reading my personal statement. email or pm me [email protected]

I'm currently applying for Post-Bacc, and I would really appreciate it if anyone can also read my personal statement! I would prefer someone who has been accepted, thanks!

If anyone is still reading personal statements, I'd love some feedback on a very rough draft

Are you still looking at personal statements? would you mind looking at mine?
 
DO NOT ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS!
1) Click "reply" on the most recent post.
2) Add your SDN screen name,. your credentials, and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). DO NOT post your email address.
3) Delete the quote tags at both the top and the bottom.
4) If you are unable to read any more personal statements, please come back and remove your name from the list

Immunolove| Accepting. Medial researcher (and non-trad pre-med) with extensive writing experience (beyond scientific writing). Have read/edited many PS in past. Will edit for content, grammar, and style. Will edit PS and W&A. Please PM with a little intro about you, your objectives, and any special requests.

amanyak| Not accepting anymore. Incoming med student, majored in microbiology. 3.6+ GPA, 35 MCAT, was invited to interview at 5 schools (~33% invite rate). I read a lot and have been helping out a bunch of my friends pre-med friends with their applications (PS, work/activities, interviews). I am really into trying to help future med students so I will go all out trying to help. I edit pretty harshly and thoroughly and will tell you everything that is on my mind concerning your essays; it is up to you to decide whether you like my comments or not. I am also very open to follow-ups if you have any questions or would like to give me your second draft. To get me to help you, PM me your email address and a short blurb about your car/friend/self so that I could get a sense of your writing style. I will edit both PS and work/activities (I think this is a more important section in the end).

ArtofMedicalSchool|On hold, be back soon Resident in highly competitive specialty. Will review for content and grammar (if I catch something). I was an average (grade-wise) student but I found many ways to make myself a strong applicant. I have looked over a high number of personal statements and am currently on the acceptance committee for my residency program. I was told my personal statement was "one of the best" that was ever read by multiple program directors during my application cycle. To set me up to best help you, please send me your name and e-mail address. I will then e-mail you directly with further instructions. Be prepared to write a second PS to contrast the one you have already written.

MalloryWeiss|Not accepting PS at this time. Graduating in a few weeks from a top 10 medical school, starting at a top 10 Anesthesiology residency program in a few months. Also served on our med school admissions committee for a few years, interviewed incoming students, and have helped review tons of personal statements in the past. Along the way, I also completed a literature intensive masters degree in philosophy. I can edit for content & style only. Please PM me a quick, one paragraph introduction (who you are, where you're from, interesting things about you, some general background info, what are your goals [top tier vs. any med school], along with some unique & medically relevant accolades), followed by your personal statement in the body of the message.

caffeinemia|Accepting. Now done with med school. PRS intern in 2 months. I'll be doing this for a bit of fun and out of the goodness of my heart until I get bored of it or run out of time (ie July 1st). I've edited a lot of statements in the past (under a different SDN handle) and I know some of you geniuses have been studying science too hard. Apparently I make some difference, because people start doing goofy things like donating to the American Cancer Society on my behalf and having their mothers email to thank me... hilarious. PM me for an email address where you can send me a short blurb about yourself and your PS. Also, if you PM me the wall of text that is your statement, I will just ignore it. Update: I am developing a casual guide for writing statements: medisdabest.blogspot.com.

zacharyw| Accepting only users with 50+ posts| Science major, took a year off and will be a part of Class of 2018. SDN has been very helpful so trying to give back. 3.4+ GPA, 36+ MCAT, ~35% interview invites this cycle. Will matriculate to a top 20 school this fall. Friends and Professors who were initially critical of my essay ended up liking my PS a lot and is probably the reason I received so many II. Will try to respond within 2-3 days except during the weekends. Priority given to those with earlier join date and higher post counts. Further revisions to updated drafts I already edited are welcomed and will also receive priority. |Will read mostly for content and style, but grammar as well if it's something obvious. Make sure to include a short blurb about yourself so that I have some background info.| Check my current queue here: http://tinyurl.com/my4ppvm

Lya| Not accepting PS at this time Incoming medical student, mathematics major with heavy ECs in engineering, music, and projects overseas. Many medical school interviewers mentioned my PS positively. I tutored English writing in undergrad for two years and cannot even count how many PS drafts I've revised this year. I am very harsh on PS drafts, but many students appreciated it and told me their PS drafts have improved after my comments. I usually help each person until people are satisfied with their drafts. Expected turn around is 3-5 days, but I will try my best to finish my review promptly.

eleveneleven| Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Received lots of positive comments on my personal statement during interviews. Used this thread a lot last year and am happy to return the favor! Will read for anything-content/style/grammar. Willing to look over multiple drafts. Also happy to help with activity descriptions/titles if you'd like or are struggling with how to approach those (I was!).

Jeghaber | Not accepting until June 1st. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented favorably regarding my PS. Found this to be helpful last year, so I'm hoping to return the favor! Since I'm working full time, I would prefer at least slightly-polished drafts, but content-wise, I'm open to PS/activity descriptions/secondaries/anything else. If you're sending me a PS only, please include a short blurb (2-3 sentences) about yourself so I have some context in which to read it. Multiple draft exchanges are welcome. As of 5/16, I need to catch up on current requests before accepting new ones. I'll open the queue back up after June.

supermintyfresh |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Accepted student from this past cycle. Engineering student at top 20 school; going to attend a top 30 medical school. Have taken writing courses for fun. Would enjoy critiquing personal statements and editing for content/structure. Thus, would prefer statements that have already been self-revised with minimal errors in grammar. Just personal message me your PS, or send me a link for a Google Document. Current turnaround: within 1 week (with preference given to contributing SDNers with 100+ posts).

Jennyfishy | Not accepting new PSes at this time. Incoming medical student; I was a Bio Sci major and a writing tutor for my undergrad. I generally focus more on the bigger idea when I read papers and can revise for grammar and flow too, but am incredibly honest, blunt, and critical. Also received very positive comments about my PS + Secondaries from the schools I interviewed at, which were in light of my MCAT score :laugh:. Can look over multiple drafts as well as help out with activity descriptions. Turn around will range from 3-7 days depending on my volunteer/work schedule. Update: I will only look at papers from active SDNers (at least 100+ posts), unless you have a very polished paper (has been read by others) already. Include background info about yourself in your PM. Do NOT send me your entire personal statement in a PM if I have not accepted your paper for edits. All PMs that do this will be ignored.

Ace-Co-A | Not accepting new Statements at the moment. Incoming medical student (C/O 2018). I was a biochemistry major in college [3.9+ GPA and 35+ MCAT]. I had a successful 2013-2014 application cycle [invited to interview at 8 of 18 schools applied to (44.4%)]. I have been successful in other applications as well (for instance, I was invited to interview for the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship). My personal statement and secondary essays were frequently praised in my interviews. I will give honest feedback, and I'm willing to edit your essay at any stage in its development (although use of spell-check and basic grammar proofreading ahead of time are expected). I anticipate a turn-around time of 3 days for any essays I receive in normal condition, although it may be as long as 5 days if I must attend to unforeseen obligations. Preference will be given to SDN members with high post counts (300+).

timelesss | Not accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. My LOR writers and several interviewers commended my personal statement writing. I will edit mostly for content but for grammar as well if I notice it. I will be very honest with you. It's preferred that you have a personal statement draft where your story is for the most part complete. However, if you would like me to review a detailed outline of the story you plan to write, I'd be happy to do so as well. Also, please let me know if you have any goals in particular for medical school (aiming top tier? interest in primary care? interest in PH?) so that I could get some context behind your writing.

5dwn7 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. I was a science major and double majored in a relevant non-science also (I can give more details privately). My committee and several interviewers said my PS was very well written. I was successful applying to top 20 schools. I will read for content and will correct grammar if it really jumps out. I will give honest (non-sugarcoated) feedback. My schedule is pretty full, so please only send polished drafts. I would also appreciate some info on your stats, what sort of schools you are applying to, your goals etc. Preference will be given to those who have taken a gap year (or more) after college.

talinnlove | Not Accepting new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student. Science major. Published author in both fiction and nonfiction. Will edit for content, grammar, style, etc.

bakedbeans18 | Accepting. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Definite underdog non-traditional applicant (sub-3.5 GPA, sub-32 MCAT.) Found that my success in the application cycle was due greatly to my ability to spin the sub-par elements of my application into positive attributes, and have been told I have a 'good pen' for essays, EC descriptions, etc. I will look at full drafts only, as I am currently finishing an advanced degree. Turnaround time will be about 1 week. I can edit for grammar, can provide honest feedback on content and will point out weaknesses in the essay from the perspective of elements which may become scrutinized against by an admissions committee - you may choose to follow that advice, take it with a grain of salt, or completely ignore it - it will simply be a devils advocacy sort of thing. Preference is given to active SDN users and non-traditional applicants. In addition to your personal statement, please share some addition information about yourself and a list of EC's so I can get a better sense of you as a whole, which will allow me to better help you strengthen your PS.

GSPhamily | Not Accept new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Current SMP student. 3.4 cGPA 36+MCAT . Biology and political science major. Worked in a direct patient care setting for 2 years after undergrad before starting SMP. Consequently, I feel that I have a good understanding of what it means to care for people. Since I did an SMP, I understand what it means to make mistakes and to try to move on from those mistakes and improve on those mistakes. Furthermore, my education in political science has allowed me to stay current in political changes in health care. It has also given me the ability to read critically and read for logical flow and coherence. I am mostly going to read for content and structure, not so much grammar and spelling. My main focus will be on whether your PS is interesting, whether it is compelling, and whether it flows coherently.

Selladore235 | Accepting. Incoming MD student. English major. Accepted to top-choice medical school. Will edit for content, grammar, style, et cetera.

Vans42 | NOT accepting at this time. Incoming MD student. Biology major at my state school. I moved to a new state and gained residency there during my two year gap. For those two years I was fully employed in a stem cell research lab. I interviewed at 9 schools and was accepted by 7 - I will be attending my top choice. I got a lot of great feedback on my PS and I loved working on mine and helping others with theirs during this past cycle. I am a quick responder and I will give honest feedback on content, structure, and cohesiveness.

cybermaxx12 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. I am an incoming medical student for the class of 2018. In college I majored in history and minored in philosophy so I have a fair amount of writing experience. I have also been the primary author on both history and basic science journal articles which have been published in peer reviewed journals. I am willing to help any SDN user with their personal statement and will edit for both content and grammar - though I'm certainly not flawless when it comes to grammar myself! If I receive multiple personal statements at once preference will be given to the SDN user with the highest post count. My expected turn around time is less than four days.

legendaryMD |Not accepting at this time. Incoming medical student with a background in neuroscience and public health. Currently in the midst of a gap year and have some spare time between volunteering and working full-time I'd like to fill up. I used this last year and found it to be extremely helpful, so I'm hoping to return the favor this year. I'm open to editing personal statements/activity descriptions/etc in content, structure, and grammar, but would prefer at least somewhat polished drafts. I'd also love to have some background information for context.

ommnomm | Accepting. Incoming non-trad medical student with background in liberal arts that gave me plenty of writing experience. SDN helped my application out tremendously and I'm hoping to pay that forward. 3.7 cGPA, 3.9 sGPA, 33 MCAT. I'm open to helping with grammar, structure, cohesiveness, and content. Please don't PM me a wall of text, it'll be ignored. Feel free to PM for contact info. I aim for a 3-5 day turnaround. Update: Overwhelmed by the number of people contacting me. As of 5/9/14 I have 60+ people wanting their PS reviewed. Please include a short few sentences about yourself in any PM requesting me to read your PS. I'm going to be placing a preference on active SDN posters. Polished drafts only. May take a while to get back to you because I recently started working overtime, which decreased my time available to edit these things. If you've already e-mailed it to me, and have made a fresh draft without hearing back from me, please re-send it.

Oso |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented positively on my personal statement and essays. Social science major, so I did a lot of writing in college. Hoping to provide honest feedback on content and organization. Would prefer an actual draft and not an outline or semi-completed essay. Will edit 1-3 drafts. Preference will be given to active SDN users (200+ posts), if needed. Please PM me if interested and also provide some background information that will help contextualize your essay. Please do not PM me your actual draft. I'm hoping to return drafts within a few days. Good luck with your PS!

GoodGuyGreg|Accepting. Although I have not yet been accepted this cycle (sitting on a few waitlists), several of my interviewers stated that my personal statement was very intriguing and is probably the reason why I was given an II. Now, I didn't have an extremely interesting story, but I was able to tell my story in an interesting way. With that said, I would like to think that I can offer some valuable constructive feedback on the effectiveness of your PS. Go ahead and PM your PS and I should be able to get back to you within a few hours.

MinnieMD|Not accepting. Rising MS3. I go to a top 20 school and was an admissions tour guide for the past two years. I'm currently studying for boards so I'll have some free time to read, but not much. Please do not PM me your entire statement; instead I'll give you an email address so that I can edit via MS word. I'll fine tune grammar to a degree but I'm more interested in helping make sure the content is solid. I don't remember nor care about what my MCAT and GPA were exactly, but I got into 5 of the 10 schools I applied to (withdrew from the rest once I got accepted to my #1) so I guess I was pretty good at getting into med school. OK, kind of overwhelmed. If you've PMed me already I'll try to get back to you within the next week, but I simply can't keep up with the number of requests I've gotten. If you have already emailed me, get feedback from someone else sooner, and then want me to revise an updated draft, please let me know via email!

Rfenzo| Not Accepting for a couple weeks. Incoming medical student. Saw that things were getting busy on here, and this was a lot of help to me in the past so thought I'd pitch in. Double majored in Bio and English so do have some literary experience. Willing to edit primarily for content, but some grammar as well. Had a very successful cycle - if that is worth anything as far as personal statements are concerned - so can definitely offer help on general application points as well. Let me know!

3838| Not accepting for a few days. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers mentioned that my personal statement was well-written and interesting/emotionally moving to read. Skilled at creative writing (I write poetry in my free time). Public Health major, so I've taken multiple writing heavy courses every semester. I am often approached by friends to help them with application essays for various things. I will edit for content, mostly, but I will edit for grammar mistakes if the content seems done to me. If you wrote a really personal or sensitive personal statement and you're concerned about presenting a sensitive topic to the Adcom, please please reach out to me. I had to handle extremely sensitive subject matter in my own statement so I have experience with that. Please give me a list of your EC's and tell me a little about yourself, your priorities, your values. That will help me help you craft a better statement. And read Barron's Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School if you haven't already.

Velour Fog| Not accepting. Rising Med3. Did this a couple of years ago and have some free time to help others out. I'll read for content, as well as general syntax and language. God help you if you didn't spell-check before sending, though!

Maliro| Not Accepting new PS at this time. Incoming medical student. Had a very successful cycle. Got good reviews from my personal statement from my reviewers, and it was often brought up in interviews on being a very interesting experience. Bio major, took 2 years off to work and get another masters before applying. I have worked with a couple friends on their personal statement and they and their editors seem to find my advice beneficial. I am willing to read less polished versions, especially for people who are still struggling a bit on direction/ tone. Will also look at grammar/ general edits. Please proof read before sending :). As I have been inundated with requests, I will be taking some time off from taking new requests until the current amount becomes more manageable. Sorry!

meringue | Semi-Accepting? First-year medical student at a top five school. I had a lot of help with my PS from my friends that I though was really useful, learned a lot from applying, received a lot of help from members here, and would like to pass on this knowledge and give back. Did a lot of editing in college for school publications. Have a solid research background. Willing to edit for content and grammar (and big on structure). I'd like to work with one or two people for an extended period on their PS, and can read the rest of their application (activities) for cohesiveness if you'd like-- I hope this would work for you. If this sounds good, please include a brief introduction about yourself in your PM (and why you are pursuing medicine). I'd really like to help people with interesting stories and motivations, but just can't find the words to put it together!

Lil Mick | Only accepting personal statements from veterans, folks with substance use/legal issues to address, or MD/PhD applicants. I was accepted to several MD/PhD programs and netted >95%ile on the MCAT writing and GRE writing sections. I have 40+ creative writing pieces published to date and am active in my school's creative writing program. Depending on how many people send me personal statements, I may edit for only content or add in some grammar help, as well. Also, don't freak out and start sending me numerous messages if it takes a while to hear back from me. I am taking my comps for grad school right now and only get a chance to help with this once or twice a week. I will get back to anyone meeting the criteria stated (and answer other application questions for veterans and folks with legal issues). When you send your PS, please put in the message box PS followed by either veteran, legal issue, MD/PhD, or a combination of those depending on which of the three apply to you. Other pieces will be deleted unread.


syoung | Accepting after June 2nd. Previously read for the last 2013-2014 cycle. Non-traditional student. Editing for content and grammar. Rising 2nd year medical student. Will give an honest first impression. 2-3 day turnaround. Posters must have a 50+ posts. PM a short blurb about yourself and a one liner about your personal statement. If you send a wall of text it will be unread.

Z K | Not Accepting; Working my PS now but will be back. Non-traditional 2015 applicant. Editing for content and grammar. Graduated summa cum laude, BS Biological Science.

PurkinjeFibers | Not Accepting; Working on PSs now | Graduated with a BA in English & Molecular and Cellular Bio from a top 20 school, magna cum laude, good MCAT, willing to help as much as I can! | Editing for grammar, content and flow of writing.

Orthos | Accepting | Attending physician with NO direct ties to academia (so please do not ask if I can influence any specific adcoms). | Editing for content primarily, grammar/punctuation secondary. Please no first/rough drafts, make at least some effort at a reasonably polished PS. No e-mail exchange; cut-and-paste content into PM. Provide additional background details if you feel they are important, but don't know how to work them into your PS. Please be aware that my responses may take a while, as I am fairly busy, but I will try to help everyone that I can.

areserine|Accepting | Graduated 2013, currently taking a gap year. I'm applying this cycle too, but have already submitted (and can prove if you have concerns about me "stealing" your ps). Have written lots of fellowship/ grant personal statements are received very positive feedback on all, including med school personal statement. Can probably send things back very quickly (min-hours, depending how bored I am at work). You can PM me directly with your ps, no need to ask first, but include info about yourself and what the thesis/ goal of your statement is (so I can make sure you are actually getting that point across). Will edit mostly for content, but will also flag (but not re-write) areas that need grammatical improvement.

vrog33 |Accepting | I am a non-traditional applicant for the 2014-2015 cycle. I have received numerous compliments on my personal statement. I will edit for style, grammar, content and flow. Willing to help all! I'll give you my honest first impression..

secondroundpremed |Not accepting |

BrainOnFire | Accepting 2015 re-app who was then accepted for 2014. Non-trad PhD, lecturer, and freelance writer; I've done quite a bit of reading and editing in my time. I will make general comments and check your grammar, but only if you have a fully-formed statement in .doc/.docx form since I use track changes. I'll also want your CV/resume. I'm on vacation, but anything given to me by 6/15 is guaranteed.

GonePostalMD| Accepting | MD Resident. Will read for content, not grammar. Please only somewhat put together drafts, with major editing already done. PMs only.

Snowman.33 | Accepting Recent 14 grad, MD reapp for this year, already submitted/verified. Last year PS was very average, and spent a lot of time in the last six months grueling over quality PSs. Turns out hard work pays, readers on here have praised my current PS. Currently on vacation where internet is spotty - may take a couple days to respond but will try and help whoever needs it. Will edit for everything. Polished drafts only please. (I will be blunt.) PM me with a request with some of your basic info/background/stats so I have a slight grasp of your app. Please no new members who create SDN accounts just to get readers please.

surely | Semi-Accepting? | Incoming non-trad MD student. I had an absurdly successful cycle - Still can't believe it. Are you a non-trad? Or maybe a disadvantaged applicant? Or do you like Doctor Who? PM me your personal statement and/or disadvantaged applicant statement plus any questions you have. Don't be shy - I love giving advice! Update 6/21: Wow, I turned off submissions for almost two months, and yet I'm still getting inundated with requests from people who want to know if I'll make an exception for them! So here's what I've decided: If you include in your PM your complete, polished personal statement along with your cGPA, sGPA, MCAT, and at least 10 schools you plan on applying to, I will do my best to review your PS. Unfortunately, life being what it is, I can't promise anything - Wish I could be more helpful. Be warned, though: If, instead of sending me your PS, you message me "Will you please review my PS?", I'm just going to respond with the lyrics to Rick Astley's timeless classic.

stickshifthonda| NOT Accepting at this time MD and DO applicant, C/O 2013. Graduate of a top research institution known for high caliber pre-meds and sciences, have a BA in a social science major w/ lots of writing courses. Will edit for whatever- from experience I mostly look at grammar, flow, and overall cohesiveness of the statement. I am an honest reader! Please PM me with a bit about yourself and I'll give you my email to send a .docx file to! Please have something worth reading- I'm filling secondaries at this time and would like to read well put together stuff.

misseskwee | No longer accepting | Incoming medical student at DO school. I have experience in freelance writing, and I always help friends with their papers and whatnot. Willing to read and edit for content/grammar/structure/flow. I'll give you my overall impression. Just wanna help in any way that I can, since I'm a bit bored until school starts in early August. Also include a bit about yourself so I can get a grasp of who you are as well
 
DO NOT ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS!
1) Click "reply" on the most recent post.
2) Add your SDN screen name,. your credentials, and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). DO NOT post your email address.
3) Delete the quote tags at both the top and the bottom.
4) If you are unable to read any more personal statements, please come back and remove your name from the list

Immunolove| Accepting. Medial researcher (and non-trad pre-med) with extensive writing experience (beyond scientific writing). Have read/edited many PS in past. Will edit for content, grammar, and style. Will edit PS and W&A. Please PM with a little intro about you, your objectives, and any special requests.

amanyak| Not accepting anymore. Incoming med student, majored in microbiology. 3.6+ GPA, 35 MCAT, was invited to interview at 5 schools (~33% invite rate). I read a lot and have been helping out a bunch of my friends pre-med friends with their applications (PS, work/activities, interviews). I am really into trying to help future med students so I will go all out trying to help. I edit pretty harshly and thoroughly and will tell you everything that is on my mind concerning your essays; it is up to you to decide whether you like my comments or not. I am also very open to follow-ups if you have any questions or would like to give me your second draft. To get me to help you, PM me your email address and a short blurb about your car/friend/self so that I could get a sense of your writing style. I will edit both PS and work/activities (I think this is a more important section in the end).

ArtofMedicalSchool|On hold, be back soon Resident in highly competitive specialty. Will review for content and grammar (if I catch something). I was an average (grade-wise) student but I found many ways to make myself a strong applicant. I have looked over a high number of personal statements and am currently on the acceptance committee for my residency program. I was told my personal statement was "one of the best" that was ever read by multiple program directors during my application cycle. To set me up to best help you, please send me your name and e-mail address. I will then e-mail you directly with further instructions. Be prepared to write a second PS to contrast the one you have already written.

MalloryWeiss|Not accepting PS at this time. Graduating in a few weeks from a top 10 medical school, starting at a top 10 Anesthesiology residency program in a few months. Also served on our med school admissions committee for a few years, interviewed incoming students, and have helped review tons of personal statements in the past. Along the way, I also completed a literature intensive masters degree in philosophy. I can edit for content & style only. Please PM me a quick, one paragraph introduction (who you are, where you're from, interesting things about you, some general background info, what are your goals [top tier vs. any med school], along with some unique & medically relevant accolades), followed by your personal statement in the body of the message.

caffeinemia|Accepting. Now done with med school. PRS intern in 2 months. I'll be doing this for a bit of fun and out of the goodness of my heart until I get bored of it or run out of time (ie July 1st). I've edited a lot of statements in the past (under a different SDN handle) and I know some of you geniuses have been studying science too hard. Apparently I make some difference, because people start doing goofy things like donating to the American Cancer Society on my behalf and having their mothers email to thank me... hilarious. PM me for an email address where you can send me a short blurb about yourself and your PS. Also, if you PM me the wall of text that is your statement, I will just ignore it. Update: I am developing a casual guide for writing statements: medisdabest.blogspot.com.

zacharyw| Accepting only users with 50+ posts| Science major, took a year off and will be a part of Class of 2018. SDN has been very helpful so trying to give back. 3.4+ GPA, 36+ MCAT, ~35% interview invites this cycle. Will matriculate to a top 20 school this fall. Friends and Professors who were initially critical of my essay ended up liking my PS a lot and is probably the reason I received so many II. Will try to respond within 2-3 days except during the weekends. Priority given to those with earlier join date and higher post counts. Further revisions to updated drafts I already edited are welcomed and will also receive priority. |Will read mostly for content and style, but grammar as well if it's something obvious. Make sure to include a short blurb about yourself so that I have some background info.| Check my current queue here: http://tinyurl.com/my4ppvm

Lya| Not accepting PS at this time Incoming medical student, mathematics major with heavy ECs in engineering, music, and projects overseas. Many medical school interviewers mentioned my PS positively. I tutored English writing in undergrad for two years and cannot even count how many PS drafts I've revised this year. I am very harsh on PS drafts, but many students appreciated it and told me their PS drafts have improved after my comments. I usually help each person until people are satisfied with their drafts. Expected turn around is 3-5 days, but I will try my best to finish my review promptly.

eleveneleven| Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Received lots of positive comments on my personal statement during interviews. Used this thread a lot last year and am happy to return the favor! Will read for anything-content/style/grammar. Willing to look over multiple drafts. Also happy to help with activity descriptions/titles if you'd like or are struggling with how to approach those (I was!).

Jeghaber | Not accepting until June 1st. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented favorably regarding my PS. Found this to be helpful last year, so I'm hoping to return the favor! Since I'm working full time, I would prefer at least slightly-polished drafts, but content-wise, I'm open to PS/activity descriptions/secondaries/anything else. If you're sending me a PS only, please include a short blurb (2-3 sentences) about yourself so I have some context in which to read it. Multiple draft exchanges are welcome. As of 5/16, I need to catch up on current requests before accepting new ones. I'll open the queue back up after June.

supermintyfresh |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Accepted student from this past cycle. Engineering student at top 20 school; going to attend a top 30 medical school. Have taken writing courses for fun. Would enjoy critiquing personal statements and editing for content/structure. Thus, would prefer statements that have already been self-revised with minimal errors in grammar. Just personal message me your PS, or send me a link for a Google Document. Current turnaround: within 1 week (with preference given to contributing SDNers with 100+ posts).

Jennyfishy | Not accepting new PSes at this time. Incoming medical student; I was a Bio Sci major and a writing tutor for my undergrad. I generally focus more on the bigger idea when I read papers and can revise for grammar and flow too, but am incredibly honest, blunt, and critical. Also received very positive comments about my PS + Secondaries from the schools I interviewed at, which were in light of my MCAT score :laugh:. Can look over multiple drafts as well as help out with activity descriptions. Turn around will range from 3-7 days depending on my volunteer/work schedule. Update: I will only look at papers from active SDNers (at least 100+ posts), unless you have a very polished paper (has been read by others) already. Include background info about yourself in your PM. Do NOT send me your entire personal statement in a PM if I have not accepted your paper for edits. All PMs that do this will be ignored.

Ace-Co-A | Not accepting new Statements at the moment. Incoming medical student (C/O 2018). I was a biochemistry major in college [3.9+ GPA and 35+ MCAT]. I had a successful 2013-2014 application cycle [invited to interview at 8 of 18 schools applied to (44.4%)]. I have been successful in other applications as well (for instance, I was invited to interview for the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship). My personal statement and secondary essays were frequently praised in my interviews. I will give honest feedback, and I'm willing to edit your essay at any stage in its development (although use of spell-check and basic grammar proofreading ahead of time are expected). I anticipate a turn-around time of 3 days for any essays I receive in normal condition, although it may be as long as 5 days if I must attend to unforeseen obligations. Preference will be given to SDN members with high post counts (300+).

timelesss | Not accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. My LOR writers and several interviewers commended my personal statement writing. I will edit mostly for content but for grammar as well if I notice it. I will be very honest with you. It's preferred that you have a personal statement draft where your story is for the most part complete. However, if you would like me to review a detailed outline of the story you plan to write, I'd be happy to do so as well. Also, please let me know if you have any goals in particular for medical school (aiming top tier? interest in primary care? interest in PH?) so that I could get some context behind your writing.

5dwn7 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. I was a science major and double majored in a relevant non-science also (I can give more details privately). My committee and several interviewers said my PS was very well written. I was successful applying to top 20 schools. I will read for content and will correct grammar if it really jumps out. I will give honest (non-sugarcoated) feedback. My schedule is pretty full, so please only send polished drafts. I would also appreciate some info on your stats, what sort of schools you are applying to, your goals etc. Preference will be given to those who have taken a gap year (or more) after college.

talinnlove | Not Accepting new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student. Science major. Published author in both fiction and nonfiction. Will edit for content, grammar, style, etc.

bakedbeans18 | Accepting. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Definite underdog non-traditional applicant (sub-3.5 GPA, sub-32 MCAT.) Found that my success in the application cycle was due greatly to my ability to spin the sub-par elements of my application into positive attributes, and have been told I have a 'good pen' for essays, EC descriptions, etc. I will look at full drafts only, as I am currently finishing an advanced degree. Turnaround time will be about 1 week. I can edit for grammar, can provide honest feedback on content and will point out weaknesses in the essay from the perspective of elements which may become scrutinized against by an admissions committee - you may choose to follow that advice, take it with a grain of salt, or completely ignore it - it will simply be a devils advocacy sort of thing. Preference is given to active SDN users and non-traditional applicants. In addition to your personal statement, please share some addition information about yourself and a list of EC's so I can get a better sense of you as a whole, which will allow me to better help you strengthen your PS.

GSPhamily | Not Accept new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Current SMP student. 3.4 cGPA 36+MCAT . Biology and political science major. Worked in a direct patient care setting for 2 years after undergrad before starting SMP. Consequently, I feel that I have a good understanding of what it means to care for people. Since I did an SMP, I understand what it means to make mistakes and to try to move on from those mistakes and improve on those mistakes. Furthermore, my education in political science has allowed me to stay current in political changes in health care. It has also given me the ability to read critically and read for logical flow and coherence. I am mostly going to read for content and structure, not so much grammar and spelling. My main focus will be on whether your PS is interesting, whether it is compelling, and whether it flows coherently.

Selladore235 | Accepting. Incoming MD student. English major. Accepted to top-choice medical school. Will edit for content, grammar, style, et cetera.

Vans42 | NOT accepting at this time. Incoming MD student. Biology major at my state school. I moved to a new state and gained residency there during my two year gap. For those two years I was fully employed in a stem cell research lab. I interviewed at 9 schools and was accepted by 7 - I will be attending my top choice. I got a lot of great feedback on my PS and I loved working on mine and helping others with theirs during this past cycle. I am a quick responder and I will give honest feedback on content, structure, and cohesiveness.

cybermaxx12 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. I am an incoming medical student for the class of 2018. In college I majored in history and minored in philosophy so I have a fair amount of writing experience. I have also been the primary author on both history and basic science journal articles which have been published in peer reviewed journals. I am willing to help any SDN user with their personal statement and will edit for both content and grammar - though I'm certainly not flawless when it comes to grammar myself! If I receive multiple personal statements at once preference will be given to the SDN user with the highest post count. My expected turn around time is less than four days.

legendaryMD |Not accepting at this time. Incoming medical student with a background in neuroscience and public health. Currently in the midst of a gap year and have some spare time between volunteering and working full-time I'd like to fill up. I used this last year and found it to be extremely helpful, so I'm hoping to return the favor this year. I'm open to editing personal statements/activity descriptions/etc in content, structure, and grammar, but would prefer at least somewhat polished drafts. I'd also love to have some background information for context.

ommnomm | Accepting. Incoming non-trad medical student with background in liberal arts that gave me plenty of writing experience. SDN helped my application out tremendously and I'm hoping to pay that forward. 3.7 cGPA, 3.9 sGPA, 33 MCAT. I'm open to helping with grammar, structure, cohesiveness, and content. Please don't PM me a wall of text, it'll be ignored. Feel free to PM for contact info. I aim for a 3-5 day turnaround. Update: Overwhelmed by the number of people contacting me. As of 5/9/14 I have 60+ people wanting their PS reviewed. Please include a short few sentences about yourself in any PM requesting me to read your PS. I'm going to be placing a preference on active SDN posters. Polished drafts only. May take a while to get back to you because I recently started working overtime, which decreased my time available to edit these things. If you've already e-mailed it to me, and have made a fresh draft without hearing back from me, please re-send it.

Oso |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented positively on my personal statement and essays. Social science major, so I did a lot of writing in college. Hoping to provide honest feedback on content and organization. Would prefer an actual draft and not an outline or semi-completed essay. Will edit 1-3 drafts. Preference will be given to active SDN users (200+ posts), if needed. Please PM me if interested and also provide some background information that will help contextualize your essay. Please do not PM me your actual draft. I'm hoping to return drafts within a few days. Good luck with your PS!

GoodGuyGreg|Accepting. Although I have not yet been accepted this cycle (sitting on a few waitlists), several of my interviewers stated that my personal statement was very intriguing and is probably the reason why I was given an II. Now, I didn't have an extremely interesting story, but I was able to tell my story in an interesting way. With that said, I would like to think that I can offer some valuable constructive feedback on the effectiveness of your PS. Go ahead and PM your PS and I should be able to get back to you within a few hours.

MinnieMD|Not accepting. Rising MS3. I go to a top 20 school and was an admissions tour guide for the past two years. I'm currently studying for boards so I'll have some free time to read, but not much. Please do not PM me your entire statement; instead I'll give you an email address so that I can edit via MS word. I'll fine tune grammar to a degree but I'm more interested in helping make sure the content is solid. I don't remember nor care about what my MCAT and GPA were exactly, but I got into 5 of the 10 schools I applied to (withdrew from the rest once I got accepted to my #1) so I guess I was pretty good at getting into med school. OK, kind of overwhelmed. If you've PMed me already I'll try to get back to you within the next week, but I simply can't keep up with the number of requests I've gotten. If you have already emailed me, get feedback from someone else sooner, and then want me to revise an updated draft, please let me know via email!

Rfenzo| Not Accepting for a couple weeks. Incoming medical student. Saw that things were getting busy on here, and this was a lot of help to me in the past so thought I'd pitch in. Double majored in Bio and English so do have some literary experience. Willing to edit primarily for content, but some grammar as well. Had a very successful cycle - if that is worth anything as far as personal statements are concerned - so can definitely offer help on general application points as well. Let me know!

3838| Not accepting for a few days. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers mentioned that my personal statement was well-written and interesting/emotionally moving to read. Skilled at creative writing (I write poetry in my free time). Public Health major, so I've taken multiple writing heavy courses every semester. I am often approached by friends to help them with application essays for various things. I will edit for content, mostly, but I will edit for grammar mistakes if the content seems done to me. If you wrote a really personal or sensitive personal statement and you're concerned about presenting a sensitive topic to the Adcom, please please reach out to me. I had to handle extremely sensitive subject matter in my own statement so I have experience with that. Please give me a list of your EC's and tell me a little about yourself, your priorities, your values. That will help me help you craft a better statement. And read Barron's Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School if you haven't already.

Velour Fog| Not accepting. Rising Med3. Did this a couple of years ago and have some free time to help others out. I'll read for content, as well as general syntax and language. God help you if you didn't spell-check before sending, though!

Maliro| Not Accepting new PS at this time. Incoming medical student. Had a very successful cycle. Got good reviews from my personal statement from my reviewers, and it was often brought up in interviews on being a very interesting experience. Bio major, took 2 years off to work and get another masters before applying. I have worked with a couple friends on their personal statement and they and their editors seem to find my advice beneficial. I am willing to read less polished versions, especially for people who are still struggling a bit on direction/ tone. Will also look at grammar/ general edits. Please proof read before sending :). As I have been inundated with requests, I will be taking some time off from taking new requests until the current amount becomes more manageable. Sorry!

meringue | Semi-Accepting? First-year medical student at a top five school. I had a lot of help with my PS from my friends that I though was really useful, learned a lot from applying, received a lot of help from members here, and would like to pass on this knowledge and give back. Did a lot of editing in college for school publications. Have a solid research background. Willing to edit for content and grammar (and big on structure). I'd like to work with one or two people for an extended period on their PS, and can read the rest of their application (activities) for cohesiveness if you'd like-- I hope this would work for you. If this sounds good, please include a brief introduction about yourself in your PM (and why you are pursuing medicine). I'd really like to help people with interesting stories and motivations, but just can't find the words to put it together!

Lil Mick | Only accepting personal statements from veterans, folks with substance use/legal issues to address, or MD/PhD applicants. I was accepted to several MD/PhD programs and netted >95%ile on the MCAT writing and GRE writing sections. I have 40+ creative writing pieces published to date and am active in my school's creative writing program. Depending on how many people send me personal statements, I may edit for only content or add in some grammar help, as well. Also, don't freak out and start sending me numerous messages if it takes a while to hear back from me. I am taking my comps for grad school right now and only get a chance to help with this once or twice a week. I will get back to anyone meeting the criteria stated (and answer other application questions for veterans and folks with legal issues). When you send your PS, please put in the message box PS followed by either veteran, legal issue, MD/PhD, or a combination of those depending on which of the three apply to you. Other pieces will be deleted unread.


syoung | Accepting after June 2nd. Previously read for the last 2013-2014 cycle. Non-traditional student. Editing for content and grammar. Rising 2nd year medical student. Will give an honest first impression. 2-3 day turnaround. Posters must have a 50+ posts. PM a short blurb about yourself and a one liner about your personal statement. If you send a wall of text it will be unread.

Z K | Not Accepting; Working my PS now but will be back. Non-traditional 2015 applicant. Editing for content and grammar. Graduated summa cum laude, BS Biological Science.

PurkinjeFibers | Not Accepting; Working on PSs now | Graduated with a BA in English & Molecular and Cellular Bio from a top 20 school, magna cum laude, good MCAT, willing to help as much as I can! | Editing for grammar, content and flow of writing.

Orthos | Accepting | Attending physician with NO direct ties to academia (so please do not ask if I can influence any specific adcoms). | Editing for content primarily, grammar/punctuation secondary. Please no first/rough drafts, make at least some effort at a reasonably polished PS. No e-mail exchange; cut-and-paste content into PM. Provide additional background details if you feel they are important, but don't know how to work them into your PS. Please be aware that my responses may take a while, as I am fairly busy, but I will try to help everyone that I can.

areserine|Accepting | Graduated 2013, currently taking a gap year. I'm applying this cycle too, but have already submitted (and can prove if you have concerns about me "stealing" your ps). Have written lots of fellowship/ grant personal statements are received very positive feedback on all, including med school personal statement. Can probably send things back very quickly (min-hours, depending how bored I am at work). You can PM me directly with your ps, no need to ask first, but include info about yourself and what the thesis/ goal of your statement is (so I can make sure you are actually getting that point across). Will edit mostly for content, but will also flag (but not re-write) areas that need grammatical improvement.

vrog33 |Accepting | I am a non-traditional applicant for the 2014-2015 cycle. I have received numerous compliments on my personal statement. I will edit for style, grammar, content and flow. Willing to help all! I'll give you my honest first impression..

secondroundpremed |Not accepting |

BrainOnFire | Accepting 2015 re-app who was then accepted for 2014. Non-trad PhD, lecturer, and freelance writer; I've done quite a bit of reading and editing in my time. I will make general comments and check your grammar, but only if you have a fully-formed statement in .doc/.docx form since I use track changes. I'll also want your CV/resume. I'm on vacation, but anything given to me by 6/15 is guaranteed.

GonePostalMD| Accepting | MD Resident. Will read for content, not grammar. Please only somewhat put together drafts, with major editing already done. PMs only.

Snowman.33 | Semi-Accepting (STARTING APRIL 1st) 2014 grad, MD reapp for this year (accepted two places so far woooooooo), MD class of 2019. Last year PS was very average, and spent a lot of time in the last six months grueling over quality PSs. Turns out hard work pays, readers on here have praised my current PS (and ADCOMS apparently). Will edit for everything. Polished drafts only please. (I will be blunt.) PM me with a request with some of your basic info/background/stats so I have a slight grasp of your app. Please no new members who create SDN accounts just to get readers please.

surely | Semi-Accepting? | Incoming non-trad MD student. I had an absurdly successful cycle - Still can't believe it. Are you a non-trad? Or maybe a disadvantaged applicant? Or do you like Doctor Who? PM me your personal statement and/or disadvantaged applicant statement plus any questions you have. Don't be shy - I love giving advice! Update 6/21: Wow, I turned off submissions for almost two months, and yet I'm still getting inundated with requests from people who want to know if I'll make an exception for them! So here's what I've decided: If you include in your PM your complete, polished personal statement along with your cGPA, sGPA, MCAT, and at least 10 schools you plan on applying to, I will do my best to review your PS. Unfortunately, life being what it is, I can't promise anything - Wish I could be more helpful. Be warned, though: If, instead of sending me your PS, you message me "Will you please review my PS?", I'm just going to respond with the lyrics to Rick Astley's timeless classic.

stickshifthonda| NOT Accepting at this time MD and DO applicant, C/O 2013. Graduate of a top research institution known for high caliber pre-meds and sciences, have a BA in a social science major w/ lots of writing courses. Will edit for whatever- from experience I mostly look at grammar, flow, and overall cohesiveness of the statement. I am an honest reader! Please PM me with a bit about yourself and I'll give you my email to send a .docx file to! Please have something worth reading- I'm filling secondaries at this time and would like to read well put together stuff.

misseskwee | No longer accepting | Incoming medical student at DO school. I have experience in freelance writing, and I always help friends with their papers and whatnot. Willing to read and edit for content/grammar/structure/flow. I'll give you my overall impression. Just wanna help in any way that I can, since I'm a bit bored until school starts in early August. Also include a bit about yourself so I can get a grasp of who you are as well
 
Is anyone still looking at p.s I have contacted few people that haven't gotten back to me.
 
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Immunolove| Accepting. Medial researcher (and non-trad pre-med) with extensive writing experience (beyond scientific writing). Have read/edited many PS in past. Will edit for content, grammar, and style. Will edit PS and W&A. Please PM with a little intro about you, your objectives, and any special requests.

amanyak| Not accepting anymore. Incoming med student, majored in microbiology. 3.6+ GPA, 35 MCAT, was invited to interview at 5 schools (~33% invite rate). I read a lot and have been helping out a bunch of my friends pre-med friends with their applications (PS, work/activities, interviews). I am really into trying to help future med students so I will go all out trying to help. I edit pretty harshly and thoroughly and will tell you everything that is on my mind concerning your essays; it is up to you to decide whether you like my comments or not. I am also very open to follow-ups if you have any questions or would like to give me your second draft. To get me to help you, PM me your email address and a short blurb about your car/friend/self so that I could get a sense of your writing style. I will edit both PS and work/activities (I think this is a more important section in the end).

ArtofMedicalSchool|On hold, be back soon Resident in highly competitive specialty. Will review for content and grammar (if I catch something). I was an average (grade-wise) student but I found many ways to make myself a strong applicant. I have looked over a high number of personal statements and am currently on the acceptance committee for my residency program. I was told my personal statement was "one of the best" that was ever read by multiple program directors during my application cycle. To set me up to best help you, please send me your name and e-mail address. I will then e-mail you directly with further instructions. Be prepared to write a second PS to contrast the one you have already written.

MalloryWeiss|Not accepting PS at this time. Graduating in a few weeks from a top 10 medical school, starting at a top 10 Anesthesiology residency program in a few months. Also served on our med school admissions committee for a few years, interviewed incoming students, and have helped review tons of personal statements in the past. Along the way, I also completed a literature intensive masters degree in philosophy. I can edit for content & style only. Please PM me a quick, one paragraph introduction (who you are, where you're from, interesting things about you, some general background info, what are your goals [top tier vs. any med school], along with some unique & medically relevant accolades), followed by your personal statement in the body of the message.

caffeinemia|Accepting. Now done with med school. PRS intern in 2 months. I'll be doing this for a bit of fun and out of the goodness of my heart until I get bored of it or run out of time (ie July 1st). I've edited a lot of statements in the past (under a different SDN handle) and I know some of you geniuses have been studying science too hard. Apparently I make some difference, because people start doing goofy things like donating to the American Cancer Society on my behalf and having their mothers email to thank me... hilarious. PM me for an email address where you can send me a short blurb about yourself and your PS. Also, if you PM me the wall of text that is your statement, I will just ignore it. Update: I am developing a casual guide for writing statements: medisdabest.blogspot.com.

zacharyw| Accepting only users with 50+ posts| Science major, took a year off and will be a part of Class of 2018. SDN has been very helpful so trying to give back. 3.4+ GPA, 36+ MCAT, ~35% interview invites this cycle. Will matriculate to a top 20 school this fall. Friends and Professors who were initially critical of my essay ended up liking my PS a lot and is probably the reason I received so many II. Will try to respond within 2-3 days except during the weekends. Priority given to those with earlier join date and higher post counts. Further revisions to updated drafts I already edited are welcomed and will also receive priority. |Will read mostly for content and style, but grammar as well if it's something obvious. Make sure to include a short blurb about yourself so that I have some background info.| Check my current queue here: http://tinyurl.com/my4ppvm

Lya| Not accepting PS at this time Incoming medical student, mathematics major with heavy ECs in engineering, music, and projects overseas. Many medical school interviewers mentioned my PS positively. I tutored English writing in undergrad for two years and cannot even count how many PS drafts I've revised this year. I am very harsh on PS drafts, but many students appreciated it and told me their PS drafts have improved after my comments. I usually help each person until people are satisfied with their drafts. Expected turn around is 3-5 days, but I will try my best to finish my review promptly.

eleveneleven| Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Received lots of positive comments on my personal statement during interviews. Used this thread a lot last year and am happy to return the favor! Will read for anything-content/style/grammar. Willing to look over multiple drafts. Also happy to help with activity descriptions/titles if you'd like or are struggling with how to approach those (I was!).

Jeghaber | Not accepting until June 1st. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented favorably regarding my PS. Found this to be helpful last year, so I'm hoping to return the favor! Since I'm working full time, I would prefer at least slightly-polished drafts, but content-wise, I'm open to PS/activity descriptions/secondaries/anything else. If you're sending me a PS only, please include a short blurb (2-3 sentences) about yourself so I have some context in which to read it. Multiple draft exchanges are welcome. As of 5/16, I need to catch up on current requests before accepting new ones. I'll open the queue back up after June.

supermintyfresh |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Accepted student from this past cycle. Engineering student at top 20 school; going to attend a top 30 medical school. Have taken writing courses for fun. Would enjoy critiquing personal statements and editing for content/structure. Thus, would prefer statements that have already been self-revised with minimal errors in grammar. Just personal message me your PS, or send me a link for a Google Document. Current turnaround: within 1 week (with preference given to contributing SDNers with 100+ posts).

Jennyfishy | Not accepting new PSes at this time. Incoming medical student; I was a Bio Sci major and a writing tutor for my undergrad. I generally focus more on the bigger idea when I read papers and can revise for grammar and flow too, but am incredibly honest, blunt, and critical. Also received very positive comments about my PS + Secondaries from the schools I interviewed at, which were in light of my MCAT score :laugh:. Can look over multiple drafts as well as help out with activity descriptions. Turn around will range from 3-7 days depending on my volunteer/work schedule. Update: I will only look at papers from active SDNers (at least 100+ posts), unless you have a very polished paper (has been read by others) already. Include background info about yourself in your PM. Do NOT send me your entire personal statement in a PM if I have not accepted your paper for edits. All PMs that do this will be ignored.

Ace-Co-A | Not accepting new Statements at the moment. Incoming medical student (C/O 2018). I was a biochemistry major in college [3.9+ GPA and 35+ MCAT]. I had a successful 2013-2014 application cycle [invited to interview at 8 of 18 schools applied to (44.4%)]. I have been successful in other applications as well (for instance, I was invited to interview for the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship). My personal statement and secondary essays were frequently praised in my interviews. I will give honest feedback, and I'm willing to edit your essay at any stage in its development (although use of spell-check and basic grammar proofreading ahead of time are expected). I anticipate a turn-around time of 3 days for any essays I receive in normal condition, although it may be as long as 5 days if I must attend to unforeseen obligations. Preference will be given to SDN members with high post counts (300+).

timelesss | Not accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. My LOR writers and several interviewers commended my personal statement writing. I will edit mostly for content but for grammar as well if I notice it. I will be very honest with you. It's preferred that you have a personal statement draft where your story is for the most part complete. However, if you would like me to review a detailed outline of the story you plan to write, I'd be happy to do so as well. Also, please let me know if you have any goals in particular for medical school (aiming top tier? interest in primary care? interest in PH?) so that I could get some context behind your writing.

5dwn7 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. I was a science major and double majored in a relevant non-science also (I can give more details privately). My committee and several interviewers said my PS was very well written. I was successful applying to top 20 schools. I will read for content and will correct grammar if it really jumps out. I will give honest (non-sugarcoated) feedback. My schedule is pretty full, so please only send polished drafts. I would also appreciate some info on your stats, what sort of schools you are applying to, your goals etc. Preference will be given to those who have taken a gap year (or more) after college.

talinnlove | Not Accepting new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student. Science major. Published author in both fiction and nonfiction. Will edit for content, grammar, style, etc.

bakedbeans18 | Accepting. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Definite underdog non-traditional applicant (sub-3.5 GPA, sub-32 MCAT.) Found that my success in the application cycle was due greatly to my ability to spin the sub-par elements of my application into positive attributes, and have been told I have a 'good pen' for essays, EC descriptions, etc. I will look at full drafts only, as I am currently finishing an advanced degree. Turnaround time will be about 1 week. I can edit for grammar, can provide honest feedback on content and will point out weaknesses in the essay from the perspective of elements which may become scrutinized against by an admissions committee - you may choose to follow that advice, take it with a grain of salt, or completely ignore it - it will simply be a devils advocacy sort of thing. Preference is given to active SDN users and non-traditional applicants. In addition to your personal statement, please share some addition information about yourself and a list of EC's so I can get a better sense of you as a whole, which will allow me to better help you strengthen your PS.

GSPhamily | Not Accept new personal statements at this time. Incoming MD student, class of 2018. Current SMP student. 3.4 cGPA 36+MCAT . Biology and political science major. Worked in a direct patient care setting for 2 years after undergrad before starting SMP. Consequently, I feel that I have a good understanding of what it means to care for people. Since I did an SMP, I understand what it means to make mistakes and to try to move on from those mistakes and improve on those mistakes. Furthermore, my education in political science has allowed me to stay current in political changes in health care. It has also given me the ability to read critically and read for logical flow and coherence. I am mostly going to read for content and structure, not so much grammar and spelling. My main focus will be on whether your PS is interesting, whether it is compelling, and whether it flows coherently.

Selladore235 | Accepting. Incoming MD student. English major. Accepted to top-choice medical school. Will edit for content, grammar, style, et cetera.

Vans42 | NOT accepting at this time. Incoming MD student. Biology major at my state school. I moved to a new state and gained residency there during my two year gap. For those two years I was fully employed in a stem cell research lab. I interviewed at 9 schools and was accepted by 7 - I will be attending my top choice. I got a lot of great feedback on my PS and I loved working on mine and helping others with theirs during this past cycle. I am a quick responder and I will give honest feedback on content, structure, and cohesiveness.

cybermaxx12 | Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. I am an incoming medical student for the class of 2018. In college I majored in history and minored in philosophy so I have a fair amount of writing experience. I have also been the primary author on both history and basic science journal articles which have been published in peer reviewed journals. I am willing to help any SDN user with their personal statement and will edit for both content and grammar - though I'm certainly not flawless when it comes to grammar myself! If I receive multiple personal statements at once preference will be given to the SDN user with the highest post count. My expected turn around time is less than four days.

legendaryMD |Not accepting at this time. Incoming medical student with a background in neuroscience and public health. Currently in the midst of a gap year and have some spare time between volunteering and working full-time I'd like to fill up. I used this last year and found it to be extremely helpful, so I'm hoping to return the favor this year. I'm open to editing personal statements/activity descriptions/etc in content, structure, and grammar, but would prefer at least somewhat polished drafts. I'd also love to have some background information for context.

ommnomm | Accepting. Incoming non-trad medical student with background in liberal arts that gave me plenty of writing experience. SDN helped my application out tremendously and I'm hoping to pay that forward. 3.7 cGPA, 3.9 sGPA, 33 MCAT. I'm open to helping with grammar, structure, cohesiveness, and content. Please don't PM me a wall of text, it'll be ignored. Feel free to PM for contact info. I aim for a 3-5 day turnaround. Update: Overwhelmed by the number of people contacting me. As of 5/9/14 I have 60+ people wanting their PS reviewed. Please include a short few sentences about yourself in any PM requesting me to read your PS. I'm going to be placing a preference on active SDN posters. Polished drafts only. May take a while to get back to you because I recently started working overtime, which decreased my time available to edit these things. If you've already e-mailed it to me, and have made a fresh draft without hearing back from me, please re-send it.

Oso |Not Accepting new Personal Statements at this time. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers commented positively on my personal statement and essays. Social science major, so I did a lot of writing in college. Hoping to provide honest feedback on content and organization. Would prefer an actual draft and not an outline or semi-completed essay. Will edit 1-3 drafts. Preference will be given to active SDN users (200+ posts), if needed. Please PM me if interested and also provide some background information that will help contextualize your essay. Please do not PM me your actual draft. I'm hoping to return drafts within a few days. Good luck with your PS!

GoodGuyGreg|Accepting. Although I have not yet been accepted this cycle (sitting on a few waitlists), several of my interviewers stated that my personal statement was very intriguing and is probably the reason why I was given an II. Now, I didn't have an extremely interesting story, but I was able to tell my story in an interesting way. With that said, I would like to think that I can offer some valuable constructive feedback on the effectiveness of your PS. Go ahead and PM your PS and I should be able to get back to you within a few hours.

MinnieMD|Not accepting. Rising MS3. I go to a top 20 school and was an admissions tour guide for the past two years. I'm currently studying for boards so I'll have some free time to read, but not much. Please do not PM me your entire statement; instead I'll give you an email address so that I can edit via MS word. I'll fine tune grammar to a degree but I'm more interested in helping make sure the content is solid. I don't remember nor care about what my MCAT and GPA were exactly, but I got into 5 of the 10 schools I applied to (withdrew from the rest once I got accepted to my #1) so I guess I was pretty good at getting into med school. OK, kind of overwhelmed. If you've PMed me already I'll try to get back to you within the next week, but I simply can't keep up with the number of requests I've gotten. If you have already emailed me, get feedback from someone else sooner, and then want me to revise an updated draft, please let me know via email!

Rfenzo| Not Accepting for a couple weeks. Incoming medical student. Saw that things were getting busy on here, and this was a lot of help to me in the past so thought I'd pitch in. Double majored in Bio and English so do have some literary experience. Willing to edit primarily for content, but some grammar as well. Had a very successful cycle - if that is worth anything as far as personal statements are concerned - so can definitely offer help on general application points as well. Let me know!

3838| Not accepting for a few days. Incoming medical student. Several interviewers mentioned that my personal statement was well-written and interesting/emotionally moving to read. Skilled at creative writing (I write poetry in my free time). Public Health major, so I've taken multiple writing heavy courses every semester. I am often approached by friends to help them with application essays for various things. I will edit for content, mostly, but I will edit for grammar mistakes if the content seems done to me. If you wrote a really personal or sensitive personal statement and you're concerned about presenting a sensitive topic to the Adcom, please please reach out to me. I had to handle extremely sensitive subject matter in my own statement so I have experience with that. Please give me a list of your EC's and tell me a little about yourself, your priorities, your values. That will help me help you craft a better statement. And read Barron's Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School if you haven't already.

Velour Fog| Not accepting. Rising Med3. Did this a couple of years ago and have some free time to help others out. I'll read for content, as well as general syntax and language. God help you if you didn't spell-check before sending, though!

Maliro| Not Accepting new PS at this time. Incoming medical student. Had a very successful cycle. Got good reviews from my personal statement from my reviewers, and it was often brought up in interviews on being a very interesting experience. Bio major, took 2 years off to work and get another masters before applying. I have worked with a couple friends on their personal statement and they and their editors seem to find my advice beneficial. I am willing to read less polished versions, especially for people who are still struggling a bit on direction/ tone. Will also look at grammar/ general edits. Please proof read before sending :). As I have been inundated with requests, I will be taking some time off from taking new requests until the current amount becomes more manageable. Sorry!

meringue | Semi-Accepting? First-year medical student at a top five school. I had a lot of help with my PS from my friends that I though was really useful, learned a lot from applying, received a lot of help from members here, and would like to pass on this knowledge and give back. Did a lot of editing in college for school publications. Have a solid research background. Willing to edit for content and grammar (and big on structure). I'd like to work with one or two people for an extended period on their PS, and can read the rest of their application (activities) for cohesiveness if you'd like-- I hope this would work for you. If this sounds good, please include a brief introduction about yourself in your PM (and why you are pursuing medicine). I'd really like to help people with interesting stories and motivations, but just can't find the words to put it together!

Lil Mick | Only accepting personal statements from veterans, folks with substance use/legal issues to address, or MD/PhD applicants. I was accepted to several MD/PhD programs and netted >95%ile on the MCAT writing and GRE writing sections. I have 40+ creative writing pieces published to date and am active in my school's creative writing program. Depending on how many people send me personal statements, I may edit for only content or add in some grammar help, as well. Also, don't freak out and start sending me numerous messages if it takes a while to hear back from me. I am taking my comps for grad school right now and only get a chance to help with this once or twice a week. I will get back to anyone meeting the criteria stated (and answer other application questions for veterans and folks with legal issues). When you send your PS, please put in the message box PS followed by either veteran, legal issue, MD/PhD, or a combination of those depending on which of the three apply to you. Other pieces will be deleted unread.


syoung | Accepting after June 2nd. Previously read for the last 2013-2014 cycle. Non-traditional student. Editing for content and grammar. Rising 2nd year medical student. Will give an honest first impression. 2-3 day turnaround. Posters must have a 50+ posts. PM a short blurb about yourself and a one liner about your personal statement. If you send a wall of text it will be unread.

Z K | Not Accepting; Working my PS now but will be back. Non-traditional 2015 applicant. Editing for content and grammar. Graduated summa cum laude, BS Biological Science.

PurkinjeFibers | Not Accepting; Working on PSs now | Graduated with a BA in English & Molecular and Cellular Bio from a top 20 school, magna cum laude, good MCAT, willing to help as much as I can! | Editing for grammar, content and flow of writing.

Orthos | Accepting | Attending physician with NO direct ties to academia (so please do not ask if I can influence any specific adcoms). | Editing for content primarily, grammar/punctuation secondary. Please no first/rough drafts, make at least some effort at a reasonably polished PS. No e-mail exchange; cut-and-paste content into PM. Provide additional background details if you feel they are important, but don't know how to work them into your PS. Please be aware that my responses may take a while, as I am fairly busy, but I will try to help everyone that I can.

areserine|Accepting | Graduated 2013, currently taking a gap year. I'm applying this cycle too, but have already submitted (and can prove if you have concerns about me "stealing" your ps). Have written lots of fellowship/ grant personal statements are received very positive feedback on all, including med school personal statement. Can probably send things back very quickly (min-hours, depending how bored I am at work). You can PM me directly with your ps, no need to ask first, but include info about yourself and what the thesis/ goal of your statement is (so I can make sure you are actually getting that point across). Will edit mostly for content, but will also flag (but not re-write) areas that need grammatical improvement.

vrog33 |Accepting | I am a non-traditional applicant for the 2014-2015 cycle. I have received numerous compliments on my personal statement. I will edit for style, grammar, content and flow. Willing to help all! I'll give you my honest first impression..

secondroundpremed |Not accepting |

BrainOnFire | Accepting 2015 re-app who was then accepted for 2014. Non-trad PhD, lecturer, and freelance writer; I've done quite a bit of reading and editing in my time. I will make general comments and check your grammar, but only if you have a fully-formed statement in .doc/.docx form since I use track changes. I'll also want your CV/resume. I'm on vacation, but anything given to me by 6/15 is guaranteed.

GonePostalMD| Accepting | MD Resident. Will read for content, not grammar. Please only somewhat put together drafts, with major editing already done. PMs only.

Snowman.33 | Semi-Accepting (STARTING APRIL 1st) 2014 grad, MD reapp for this year (accepted two places so far woooooooo), MD class of 2019. Last year PS was very average, and spent a lot of time in the last six months grueling over quality PSs. Turns out hard work pays, readers on here have praised my current PS (and ADCOMS apparently). Will edit for everything. Polished drafts only please. (I will be blunt.) PM me with a request with some of your basic info/background/stats so I have a slight grasp of your app. Please no new members who create SDN accounts just to get readers please.

surely | Semi-Accepting? | Incoming non-trad MD student. I had an absurdly successful cycle - Still can't believe it. Are you a non-trad? Or maybe a disadvantaged applicant? Or do you like Doctor Who? PM me your personal statement and/or disadvantaged applicant statement plus any questions you have. Don't be shy - I love giving advice! Update 6/21: Wow, I turned off submissions for almost two months, and yet I'm still getting inundated with requests from people who want to know if I'll make an exception for them! So here's what I've decided: If you include in your PM your complete, polished personal statement along with your cGPA, sGPA, MCAT, and at least 10 schools you plan on applying to, I will do my best to review your PS. Unfortunately, life being what it is, I can't promise anything - Wish I could be more helpful. Be warned, though: If, instead of sending me your PS, you message me "Will you please review my PS?", I'm just going to respond with the lyrics to Rick Astley's timeless classic.

stickshifthonda| NOT Accepting at this time MD and DO applicant, C/O 2013. Graduate of a top research institution known for high caliber pre-meds and sciences, have a BA in a social science major w/ lots of writing courses. Will edit for whatever- from experience I mostly look at grammar, flow, and overall cohesiveness of the statement. I am an honest reader! Please PM me with a bit about yourself and I'll give you my email to send a .docx file to! Please have something worth reading- I'm filling secondaries at this time and would like to read well put together stuff.

misseskwee | No longer accepting | Incoming medical student at DO school. I have experience in freelance writing, and I always help friends with their papers and whatnot. Willing to read and edit for content/grammar/structure/flow. I'll give you my overall impression. Just wanna help in any way that I can, since I'm a bit bored until school starts in early August. Also include a bit about yourself so I can get a grasp of who you are as well

hoihaie | Accepting (until July 2015)|
Incoming MS1 (C/O 2019) at MD school. I used to grade papers for graduate & undergraduate courses as a grad student. Also have experience in editing college essays for underserved high school students as well as PS for friends and a number of people on SDN. Will edit for content/structure/flow, but not grammar or spelling (unless it is absolutely glaring). I will be blunt. PM me your PS (only put together drafts, please). Turn around time varies depending on work, but I'll do my best to get it back to you ASAP.
 
Can anyone help me read my personal statement? I really need some help at this time. Recently i was rejected by my dream school:arghh:. And so i plan to apply a couple more! I will appreciate your comments!!
 
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