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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/order/default.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
Additionally if you want readers for your PS please visit this thread:
The Official Personal Statement Reader List 2015-2016
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".
-Brandon
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/order/default.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
Additionally if you want readers for your PS please visit this thread:
The Official Personal Statement Reader List 2015-2016
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".
-Brandon
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