2007-2008 Personal Statement Question Thread

[Jpc984]

However, the DMU secondary and Nova secondary do not have a prompt.

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[youngtraumadoc]

just remember its not as simple as yes or no. All other things being equal, would you still stand a good shot of acceptance if you didnt add something to about osteopathic medicine to it? Of course you would. But your chances would be that much better if you did add something.

Good luck!

Its okay to leave osteopathy out of of your PS since you will be writing about it in your secondaries. The purpose of the personal statement is several-writing ability, thinking/thought proscess, why medicine -it serves to finish creating a complete picture of you as an applicant. Therefore, the PS + the rest of your app. should portray an applicant who wants to pursue osteopathic med and not allopathic.

 

[dr.kicia]

Hi,

If I chose not to mention DO at all in my personal statment in my primary application, would that be OK? Would essay readers be looking for that to be particularly mentioned? How would it harm me if I didn't?

i just mentioned that osteopathic medicine is how i always felt about medicine at heart and that i am fascinated with OMM...but it was like 2 sentences out of my whole long PS. You can concentrate more on it on your secondaries. I also didn't mention my volunteering, shadowing on my primary PS because there is a space to talk about it under each experiance you list and as i found out later most secondary essays ask about your clinical experiances. I think PS is more to just sell yourself, tell your story and things that you will not have a chance to say anywhere else in your application.

 

[dr.kicia]

However, the DMU secondary and Nova secondary do not have a prompt.

you can also add NYCOM and WVSOM to the list since they send out secs only to those who are invited for an interview.

 

[gilbertjgreen]

Alright, so now I'm getting confused. . . Is the primary app essay the "big one," or is the secondary app the "big one"? Is it more ambiguous than that? I've been working on a generic "why DO/medicine/now" essay for the last couple of months, and I'm not sure where to apply it.

 

[Jpc984]

you can also add NYCOM and WVSOM to the list since they send out secs only to those who are invited for an interview.

Thanks! I did not apply to those two schools.

 

[umean2tellme]

Hey all. I am a nurse and i have a lot of experience in nursing homes and skilled rehabilitation facilities, so i've worked a lot with the elderly. Would it be accurate to say that the elderly are underserved or would it make more sense to just say how the care, or lack thereof, of the elderly really strengthened my desire to be a DO?

Also, anyone read any good, short, books on how to write an effective personal statement or maybe any really information sites that worked for you?


good luck to everyone

 

[Phenol312]

Could someone critique mine? ... i think i can still edit it and i wouldn't mind having a bit of feedback.

Those who are up for it have license to be brutally honest.

 

[ocwaveoc]

Sure, PM me with it pasted on the PM.
I'll give you a feed back. I'm waiting for someone for the next hour or so. I have time.

 

[Fate408]

I can take a look at it too...PM me

 

[Phenol312]

again...thank you so much for taking the time to help me out.

 

[Jpc984]

i can too.

 

[Phenol312]

OCWAVEOC and fate... I sent you the AMCAS version of my PS and not the AACOMAS but they're 90% similar. my apologies, but i could still use the feedback

 

[Phenol312]

thanks for the feedback folks ... the MDapp is at the right in case you were wondering. I've managed to swing something with my local hospital where i get to shadow a pathologist and will have opportunities for other volunteering but i think it might be a bit late for this cycle. I've pretty much lost hope for this cycle and have already started looking at how i can polish up for next year.

 

[pamolive]

l'll take a look at it. You can pm it to me if you want. It might be too late for this cycle, but I'd still submit to a few schools if I were you. Have you thought about possibly doing a post bac program? I'm in PCOM's BIOmed program right now, and it is really great. We basically do the whole MS-1 curriculum minus omm labs. I'd look into it if I were you. It would really strengthen up your app. Also, in the meantime just shadow as many physicians as you can, and volunteer at some clinics or retirement homes. Do as much as you can. With your MCAT I'm sure you'll get in somewhere for the next cycle. Good luck!

 

[ocwaveoc]

I'm assuming that you've already applied to DO schools since you mentioned that your PS you PM'd me is not the one on AACOMAS. You have sufficient stat for DO schools. I'm not sure if DO route is what you are looking for and vice versa. If MD is pretty much what you are looking for, it seems that your late application compounded with slightly lower avg GPA for MD school matriculants is what is holding you back. Your MCAT looks good. So, I wouldn't retake it. If I were in your situation,
1) Raise GPA-take some more science courses in the spring, summer and fall (this should raise your GPA to 3.5 or so)
2) Volunteer/shadow a physician once a week
3) Apply next cycle early....have all LORs ready to go
4) If your LORs weren't strong, try to get strong ones...of course, this means you need to develope relationships with the professors (and have him/her like you) and be in the top 5% of the class.

These are just what I'd do. They may/maynot work for you. But, it's just my opinion.

BUT, it's still only November. I'd start worrying if nothing happened by April/May. But, in the mean time, I'd prepare for the worst situation by starting on the above issues.

 

[Phenol312]

I'm assuming that you've already applied to DO schools since you mentioned that your PS you PM'd me is not the one on AACOMAS. You have sufficient stat for DO schools. I'm not sure if DO route is what you are looking for and vice versa. If MD is pretty much what you are looking for, it seems that your late application compounded with slightly lower avg GPA for MD school matriculants is what is holding you back. Your MCAT looks good. So, I wouldn't retake it. If I were in your situation,
1) Raise GPA-take some more science courses in the spring, summer and fall (this should raise your GPA to 3.5 or so)
2) Volunteer/shadow a physician once a week
3) Apply next cycle early....have all LORs ready to go
4) If your LORs weren't strong, try to get strong ones...of course, this means you need to develope relationships with the professors (and have him/her like you) and be in the top 5% of the class.

These are just what I'd do. They may/maynot work for you. But, it's just my opinion.

BUT, it's still only November. I'd start worrying if nothing happened by April/May. But, in the mean time, I'd prepare for the worst situation by starting on the above issues.

The AMCAS and AACOMAS statements are very similar i just had to cut out a few words to make the AACOMAS length limit.

MD schools were all finished by aug 30th...I guess this was late. I got held up by my pre-health committee letter. I already something set up for shadowing and i plan on getting a letter the physicians i will be seeing a lot of at the hospital...

again i cant thank everyone enough for your input. Hopefully I'll get it right for the 2009 cycle

 

[mshheaddoc]

bump

 

[Waterlilies]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum, as well as applying to medical school. I'm considering applying to MD/DO schools for c/o 2009. I had an early start on my personal statement, and would greatly appreciate it if any one has the time to give me feedbacks. Writing is not my best area , so please let me know if you can help. Thanks in advance!

 

[EEL08]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum, as well as applying to medical school. I'm considering applying to MD/DO schools for c/o 2009. I had an early start on my personal statement, and would greatly appreciate it if any one has the time to give me feedbacks. Writing is not my best area , so please let me know if you can help. Thanks in advance!

If you want to you can PM me what you've written so far and I can take a look at it some time tomorrow.

 

[Jpc984]

you can pm it to me too.

 

[libo1369]

I am outof a job for the next week so send it my way I will gladly check content though me grammar aint so good.