application essays

When you write an application essay or statement of purpose, you’re trying to accomplish two equally vital goals at once. First, you need to prove your worthiness for acceptance at your target school. Second, you also need to show the adcom that you have the desirable character traits that your...

Your personal statement and essays are essential elements of your application and allow the adcom great insights into who you really are aside from your stats. However, no matter how extensive your experience or how accomplished you may be, all that can be lost if presented in plodding prose...

How can you write a stand-out personal statement? [Show summery] Dr. Mary Mahoney, Associate Professor of English at Elmira College and Accepted consultant, draws from her expertise in the medical humanities to deliver advice for writing a compelling personal statement. Listen to the show! A...

Are you applying this cycle or just trying to navigate all of the myths and confusion as a pre-med? We got you! Medical school acceptance isn't just about GPA and MCAT scores! Branding, personal statement, experiences, recommendation letters, school list, secondaries, and interviews are all...

When you write an application essay or statement of purpose, you’re trying to accomplish several goals at once: (a) You need to prove your worthiness to be accepted to your target school, while (b) also showing the adcom that you have desirable character traits that your program values. But how...

While every U.S. medical school offers you an education that will prepare you for a career as a successful physician, the social mission of each school can defer greatly and you should be aware of these nuances as you apply. The successful applicant will have the basic qualifications a...

“Doctors save lives, but they can sometimes be insufferable know-it-alls who bully nurses and do not listen to patients.” – NY Times, GARDINER HARRIS, JULY 10, 2011 Why do medical schools value teamwork? When the Institute of Medicine published “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System”...

Accepted Founder Linda Abraham Talks Med School Admissions [Show Summary] Are you planning to apply to medical school this year? Worried about the personal statement, most meaningful experiences, activity descriptions, and secondary essays? They can be challenging! Let’s learn about the who...

You’re applying to six different schools and each one requires 2-7 essays/personal statements which equals…a whole lot of writing. PROBLEM: How can you draft so many essays and still maintain a fresh and original voice in each? SOLUTION: Adapt one essay from one application to another essay on...

What is the diversity question in a school application, and more importantly, why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? Many applications now include a question – sometimes optional – that encourages applicants with minority backgrounds, unusual education...

“Tone” is often one of the aspects of writing that applicants find most difficult to pin down. And yet, when you’re writing, it is also one of the most important to control so that you maintain an appropriate tone for your purpose. One way to think about “tone” is to understand it as conveying...

You can argue about the devil, but certainly the substance, distinctiveness, and success of your essays depends on the details. Bringing Out Your Uniqueness in the Details Many applicants tend to bury their uniqueness and success under vague assertions. You don’t want to hide your achievements...

Teamwork, and its close cousin, leadership, are highly prized by graduate programs and universities. Haven’t worked in teams on any regular basis? Don’t worry! There are more ways than you may realize to prove your chops in this area. Consider the following 4 options: Remember: No Man is an...

How many times have you wandered through a bookstore, opening up a book to read the first few lines only to quickly close it again? How often have you read one of those free samples on your Kindle, only to decide after a paragraph that you’re glad you didn’t buy it? Similarly, how many times...

Schools are looking for applicants who can show that they have strong leadership qualities and experiences and can demonstrate that they will actively contribute to their student/alumni communities, not to mention to the greater community and society. Yet grandiose, declarative statements and...

You want your medical school application to make it to the top of the accepted pile. Your medical school personal statement and secondary essays are one way to make your application really stand out. How do you choose which of your lifetime of experiences to include in your application? Let’s...

I am a nontraditional applicant that will be beginning the application process in the fall. As an undergrad pre-med student I was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes. My grades took a slight hit after my diagnosis due to working full time and taking classes while trying to get my life back to normal...

Hey All, I'm a second-year undergraduate. I'm looking into doing MD/PhD, so research is a big part of my life right now (and hopefully will continue to be). Anyways, I've been writing much more than I used to. Lots of personal statements/questions for scholarship apps and internships and even...

Although you may think that your grades, test scores, resume and application essay carry the most weight, the actual application form is important too. The boxes should contain valuable information that helps convince the admissions readers you will thrive at their school and add to their...

In the top ten ranking for research, WUSOM provides exciting opportunities for medical students to participate in research at the basic science or clinical levels. They are looking for students with strong ties to their communities—with excellent communication skills, a dedication to service...

Once you BEGIN writing, your brain will begin to generate ideas that will inspire you to CONTINUE writing. Sometimes the hardest part of writing a personal statement or application essay for college or grad school is finding the discipline to sit down and focus. Often, once you accomplish that...