Personal statement question

[plant based]

Ok this might seem really dumb... but is there any way you can send your PS as a document or something? Using that little box won't let me format it into an essay. Every space is also a character, so with my formatting I did I would have to shorten it up a lot and I'm having a tough time with that.

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[HappyHobPod]

Ok this might seem really dumb... but is there any way you can send your PS as a document or something? Using that little box won't let me format it into an essay. Every space is also a character, so with my formatting I did I would have to shorten it up a lot and I'm having a tough time with that.

If your essay doesn't fit into the box, you're going to need to shorten it. You don't really have to format it because of that. If I remember correctly, I believe you just put all of your text into one giant block in word and paste it in the submission space, precisely to conserve space. If it's still too long, try editing it by reading it out loud to see how it flows, ridding it of excess information or unnecessary description. I wrote one that was hundreds of words too long and shortened it down by doing that and restructuring a lot of my sentences. But everyone has their own method of editing. If you are really having a lot of trouble with it then you should try using services such as a writing center that your school might offer to help tailor these types of documents. Or you could ask a friend you trust or maybe even hire someone to look it over. You can definitely say what you need to within the word limit. Just try not to overthink it. In the grand scheme of things, your PS is more than likely not going to be your most heavy weighted piece compared to your gpa and MCAT.

 

[bobtheweazel]

Also, don't feel like you need to use the entire character limit. I think you get around 4500 characters. Mine ended up being well written under 4000. I could've stretched it out more but I think when I tried stretching it out it didn't read as well. At under 4000 my ideas were condensed and the whole thing flowed well. Anyway, I had more interview invites and more acceptances than I knew what to do with, so not hitting that max certainly didn't hold me back at all. I think things like the personal statement and LORs are more of a formality in most situations anyway, unless you've got some poor grades or a poor MCAT that you need to creatively explain away.

 

[plant based]

Also, don't feel like you need to use the entire character limit. I think you get around 4500 characters. Mine ended up being well written under 4000. I could've stretched it out more but I think when I tried stretching it out it didn't read as well. At under 4000 my ideas were condensed and the whole thing flowed well. Anyway, I had more interview invites and more acceptances than I knew what to do with, so not hitting that max certainly didn't hold me back at all. I think things like the personal statement and LORs are more of a formality in most situations anyway, unless you've got some poor grades or a poor MCAT that you need to creatively explain away.

Thanks! A few of my grades aren't good, but my overall GPA is competitive. Do I need to explain this in the PS? I didn't really touch on it.

 

[bobtheweazel]

I explained poor grades in my PS. Let's say that you can explain away any poor grades in person if you make it to an interview. Well, you still need to make it to your interview and all they have to go on before that point is your GPA, MCAT, and personal statement. It's really your only chance to put something in the application, other than your numbers, that they will definitely read.

I had called Temple specifically because I was concerned about a few poor grades, Temple Admissions told me that if I was concerned about it at all, that I should touch on it in my personal statement.

Now, I wasn't super specific about any of it. I didn't say for instance, "this one professor was a prick and nobody liked him and he didn't cover the material that was in the test" because that's kinda just making an excuse. I approached it more from the angle of "there was a period of time where I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and I didn't see how these classes were aplicable and I didn't give it my all, but now I'm different, as evident in my recent upward trend because blah blah blah". I basically just wanted them to be aware that I'm aware that poor grades are inexcusable and that for whatever reason it won't happen again.

That being said, there are probably lots of people that don't touch on that kind of stuff in their personal statement and get plenty of interviews and acceptances. I just used the PS as my opportunity to lay everything on the table from my perspective, in a way that they couldn't see from looking at my GPA or MCAT or other experiences.

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[HappyHobPod]

Thanks! A few of my grades aren't good, but my overall GPA is competitive. Do I need to explain this in the PS? I didn't really touch on it.

It's probably better to address it briefly to show your awareness of where you were and what you might have done to improve. If you've had trouble in multiple classes (I'm thinking c's or lower) then I wouldn't be surprised if you were asked a question about it. So whether you decide to address it in your personal statement or not, definitely be able to talk about it in case it's brought up.


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[Othello]

I got a bad grade due to a medical reason (in my case depression) due you think that it would be wise to put it in my personal statement to explain my 1 bad grade (an F in a prereq, which I retook and got an A). Or would it be better not to address that?

 

[plant based]

Do you guys know if the letter has to be signed?

 

[Weirdy]

Do you guys know if the letter has to be signed?

I'd imagine they would be. When I had a prof do a rec letter for an intership, she had it on official university letterhead paper as well as a signature.

Not sure how this would differ from electronic ones like Interfolio though.

 

[plant based]

I'd imagine they would be. When I had a prof do a rec letter for an intership, she had it on official university letterhead paper as well as a signature.

Not sure how this would differ from electronic ones like Interfolio though.

Yeah the letter from my profs looks that way. the dpm that wrote me a letter doesn't have it signed so I don't know if I should send it or not :/