* * 2010 - 2011 * * Personal Statement Thread

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It is astounding how much your view can change after a visit.
My pre-interview top choices were Lecom-B and NSU. I was excited about KCOM, knew it was a good school, but was not sure about Kville.

I did a fair bit of interviewing, my first interview was at TUCOM-NV, I was fairly excited about it, being my first interview, but I was nervous due to the warehouse feel of the school. From the outside it definitely feels that way, but it is really nice on the outside. It was just not for me though. I didn't care to live in NV, and I wanted a larger institution. Not to mention, no cafeteria. I got it and turned it down.

My next interview was at DMU I believe, I loved the school. Close to home, great town, great institution. Super friendly people. I was wait-listed and pretty bummed about it. We all know that there is not a whole lot of movement on their list either.

Next I went to NSU I believe. I really really loved the school. Also a great location and absolutely beautiful. I got a great feel from the school, but there was not the click that I was looking for. I cannot explain it. I got in and turned it down as well. However, I cancelled interviews at AZCOM, Lecom-E, UNECOM, RVU, ATSU-Mesa, Tucom-NY, NYCOM, and Tucom-MI. AZCOM was the hardest interview to turn down, but I did not want to go to Arizona

Next interview was at Lecom-B. I was very excited for this interview, and for PBL. I was upset because a demonstration of a PBL learning session was not available that day, and we were not told beforehand. The school was nice, I just really wanted to see a PBL session, and asked if it would be possible to come back (on my dime of course) for a session. He acted appalled, and like this was the biggest inconvenience to him. At that point I was pretty sure I would not get in. Result: waitlist.

Next interview was at KCOM. I was apprehensive at the idea of living in Kirksville. I have friends that have gone to TSU (the undergrad there), and was not sure that such a small town would be right for me. However, I was really shocked by how much I enjoyed my stay. The students were the nicest I had met, and institution was top notch, and I was really digging the idea of going to the founding school of Osteopathic Medicine.

Some schools may have as good a reputation, but I don't think any DO school has a better nation-wide reputation as KCOM. I felt the click that I did not feel at NSU. I am taking a fiance with me as well, and the fact that they cater so much to significant others, and keeping them happy was huge to me.

You cannot underestimate whether or not you feel the click.
 
Kevon said:
It is astounding how much your view can change after a visit.
My pre-interview top choices were Lecom-B and NSU. I was excited about KCOM, knew it was a good school, but was not sure about Kville.

I did a fair bit of interviewing, my first interview was at TUCOM-NV, I was fairly excited about it, being my first interview, but I was nervous due to the warehouse feel of the school. From the outside it definitely feels that way, but it is really nice on the outside. It was just not for me though. I didn't care to live in NV, and I wanted a larger institution. Not to mention, no cafeteria. I got it and turned it down.

My next interview was at DMU I believe, I loved the school. Close to home, great town, great institution. Super friendly people. I was wait-listed and pretty bummed about it. We all know that there is not a whole lot of movement on their list either.

Next I went to NSU I believe. I really really loved the school. Also a great location and absolutely beautiful. I got a great feel from the school, but there was not the click that I was looking for. I cannot explain it. I got in and turned it down as well. However, I cancelled interviews at AZCOM, Lecom-E, UNECOM, RVU, ATSU-Mesa, Tucom-NY, NYCOM, and Tucom-MI. AZCOM was the hardest interview to turn down, but I did not want to go to Arizona

Next interview was at Lecom-B. I was very excited for this interview, and for PBL. I was upset because a demonstration of a PBL learning session was not available that day, and we were not told beforehand. The school was nice, I just really wanted to see a PBL session, and asked if it would be possible to come back (on my dime of course) for a session. He acted appalled, and like this was the biggest inconvenience to him. At that point I was pretty sure I would not get in. Result: waitlist.

Next interview was at KCOM. I was apprehensive at the idea of living in Kirksville. I have friends that have gone to TSU (the undergrad there), and was not sure that such a small town would be right for me. However, I was really shocked by how much I enjoyed my stay. The students were the nicest I had met, and institution was top notch, and I was really digging the idea of going to the founding school of Osteopathic Medicine.

Some schools may have as good a reputation, but I don't think any DO school has a better nation-wide reputation as KCOM. I felt the click that I did not feel at NSU. I am taking a fiance with me as well, and the fact that they cater so much to significant others, and keeping them happy was huge to me.

You cannot underestimate whether or not you feel the click.
Click to expand...

I know the click you're talking about. DMU was my 1st interview. CLICK!!! DMU 2014 baby! Pretty much canceled every interview afterward 🙂
 
Kevon said:
It is astounding how much your view can change after a visit.
My pre-interview top choices were Lecom-B and NSU. I was excited about KCOM, knew it was a good school, but was not sure about Kville.

I did a fair bit of interviewing, my first interview was at TUCOM-NV, I was fairly excited about it, being my first interview, but I was nervous due to the warehouse feel of the school. From the outside it definitely feels that way, but it is really nice on the outside. It was just not for me though. I didn't care to live in NV, and I wanted a larger institution. Not to mention, no cafeteria. I got it and turned it down.

My next interview was at DMU I believe, I loved the school. Close to home, great town, great institution. Super friendly people. I was wait-listed and pretty bummed about it. We all know that there is not a whole lot of movement on their list either.

Next I went to NSU I believe. I really really loved the school. Also a great location and absolutely beautiful. I got a great feel from the school, but there was not the click that I was looking for. I cannot explain it. I got in and turned it down as well. However, I cancelled interviews at AZCOM, Lecom-E, UNECOM, RVU, ATSU-Mesa, Tucom-NY, NYCOM, and Tucom-MI. AZCOM was the hardest interview to turn down, but I did not want to go to Arizona

Next interview was at Lecom-B. I was very excited for this interview, and for PBL. I was upset because a demonstration of a PBL learning session was not available that day, and we were not told beforehand. The school was nice, I just really wanted to see a PBL session, and asked if it would be possible to come back (on my dime of course) for a session. He acted appalled, and like this was the biggest inconvenience to him. At that point I was pretty sure I would not get in. Result: waitlist.

Next interview was at KCOM. I was apprehensive at the idea of living in Kirksville. I have friends that have gone to TSU (the undergrad there), and was not sure that such a small town would be right for me. However, I was really shocked by how much I enjoyed my stay. The students were the nicest I had met, and institution was top notch, and I was really digging the idea of going to the founding school of Osteopathic Medicine.

Some schools may have as good a reputation, but I don't think any DO school has a better nation-wide reputation as KCOM. I felt the click that I did not feel at NSU. I am taking a fiance with me as well, and the fact that they cater so much to significant others, and keeping them happy was huge to me.

You cannot underestimate whether or not you feel the click.
Click to expand...
👍

I don't even have to say a word after this reply!
 
Pre-interview/visiting, these are my top 3:

CCOM, NSU-COM, VCOM

But ultimately, I want to go to the one that accepts me 😆
 
VeeTeeHokies said:
WVSOM is up there for me too, it's definitely top notch for education. I want to go somewhere in a major city though and if not I want to go to a program for rural medicine, which will boil down to VCOM and WVSOM. Unfortunately WVSOM out of state tuition is through the roof...
Click to expand...

You mean $70k+ doesn't sound so awesome? But Lewisburg is beautiful and I loved it.

WVSOM, KCOM, and CCOM
 
out of the 6 schools that I applied (COMP, CCOM, AZCOM, KCOM, Nova,Tuoro-CA)
my personal top choices are
1. Western- COMP
2. CCOM
3. NSU
i personally think they are in good locations w/ great reputations
plus they didn't rqd a DO LOR.. lol
 
MSUCOM (MI resident) and CCOM are my top choices. I've visited both schools and I would be EXTATIC if I were accepted to either one!
 
Hi all!

I know there's already a PS thread, but I was wondering if somebody wouldn't mind reading my PS. I've had to cut it down a lot due to the 4500 character limit.

This is the last part of my application, so any help would be wonderful.

Thank you again, SDNers!
 
marke said:
out of the 6 schools that I applied (COMP, CCOM, AZCOM, KCOM, Nova,Tuoro-CA)
my personal top choices are
1. Western- COMP
2. CCOM
3. NSU
i personally think they are in good locations w/ great reputations
plus they didn't rqd a DO LOR.. lol
Click to expand...


i like your style i see a lot of ppl wana go to ccom must be a really good school. i had my eye on western as well.
 
The one with the best looking women.
 
From what I hear, not many people put why they want to pursue osteopathic medicine in their PS. That comes in during the secondaries and the interview. I didn't mention anything about osteopathic medicine in mine.
 
NYCOM...when the time comes of course! Hopefully being a Florida resident won't hurt my chances.
 
Hey guys,


When I had put my personal statement into AACOMAS, I went over the desired character limit and started eliminating spaces only after periods and in between commas.

My essay looks kind of crowded and I was just wondering if it is still okay to submit my essay looking like that? Did anyone else get rid of most of their spaces too?

Any help, or input, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
There should definitely be a space after commas and periods.It would be pretty annoying to read an essay that looks like this.I hope this is what you didn't do.
 
I definitely agree w/ the above. I would highly, highly recommend finding ways to cut your essay down. With the huge amount of apps they get, the cynical me would guess the adcoms would have no problem tossing yours out.
 
I agree with the PPs. It would definitely be annoying to read with no spaces after punctuation.

I'd find another way to cut it down. If I was an adcom and had to read it, I wouldn't care how spectacular the PS was if it lacked spaces and was a pain to read.
 
Thank you all so much for your comments. I have found a way to shorten it without getting rid of the spaces. I appreciate your help!
 
I do not want to use up all my juice on the AACOMAS personal statement. I want to save something for the secondary. Anyways, my statement talks of one particular experience I had while working as an ER tech. That said, how long should it be? I really do not want to write too much. I think it's possible that I can say what I need to say in 1000 words.
Any ideas? advice? opinions?
I'm not going into any of my beliefs of OMM (which I have a strong interest in) because it doesn't fit the theme of this piece of writing. However, I do want people to know that I am strongly interested in osteopathic medicine.
Chime in folks...
 
andrewmalanga said:
I do not want to use up all my juice on the AACOMAS personal statement. I want to save something for the secondary. Anyways, my statement talks of one particular experience I had while working as an ER tech. That said, how long should it be? I really do not want to write too much. I think it's possible that I can say what I need to say in 1000 words.
Any ideas? advice? opinions?
I'm not going into any of my beliefs of OMM (which I have a strong interest in) because it doesn't fit the theme of this piece of writing. However, I do want people to know that I am strongly interested in osteopathic medicine.
Chime in folks...
Click to expand...

Surely you have more than one experience. The AACOMAS allows for 4500 CHARACTERS. NOT Words. If your words average 4.5 letters per, you'll make this.

DON'T turn into a PS with 1,000 characters. It will be underdeveloped and ADCOMS will think you didn't take it seriously.

It's good to have something new and original for secondaries. But don't save your best pitcher for Game 7, if you have to win game 6.
 
The AACOMAS PS has a character limit (4500 if I remember correctly, including spaces). I'd make the theme about your ER tech experience, but also refer to things like leadership, and how you became a stronger individual from the experience itself. If you can't, you might want to pick a different theme.

I've read a few PS 's, and I think the best ones are the ones that always link back to the topic. Like... there was this one about this person playing tennis, and how he was the leader of his tennis team. Then he went onto talking about leadership in clubs, in the community, and talked about how leadership has brought him to medicine. It was very good. 👍

From what I've heard, you should save your osteopathic "juices" for the secondaries..unless you have a really good osteopathic experience or something.
 
Going along with the personal statement, is it similar to AMCAS where you should focus on why you want to be a doctor and the events that led you to that decision?
 
mccabe3 said:
Going along with the personal statement, is it similar to AMCAS where you should focus on why you want to be a doctor and the events that led you to that decision?
Click to expand...


That's what I did. In fact, I just took my AMCAS PS and removed a paragraph so that it would fit in the AACOMAS space (you get less characters for the PS on the AACOMAS app). I had nothing in my PS specific to ostepathic medicine. I figured I'd address that on the secondaries although the DO school that accepted me ended up not having any secondary essays this year.
 
FuturePittMed said:
That's what I did. In fact, I just took my AMCAS PS and removed a paragraph so that it would fit in the AACOMAS space (you get less characters for the PS on the AACOMAS app). I had nothing in my PS specific to ostepathic medicine. I figured I'd address that on the secondaries although the DO school that accepted me ended up not having any secondary essays this year.
Click to expand...

This. Leave the why DO for the secondaries. Virtually every school will send you them and a large majority ask "why DO and why X school"
 
NSU is my top choice by far. After applying, I didn't have enough money to apply to anymore DO schools (Only 3, NSU, UNE, and LECOM-B) so I hope NSU likes me.
 
1: any school that would accept me
2: LECOM-Erie, I like their curriculum, environment at the school, cost and location (only 3 hrs from home)
 
I would not hold anything back in the personal statement because some secondaries have little or nothing to them. Also because I had an interview three weeks ago and it was a group interview so I really did not get to talk much about myself and why I wanted to go to DO school. So I would go out guns blazing on the PS.

As for how I wrote it, I started with my AMCAS and then shorted it and tailored it to DO.
 
I was wondering if someone would not mind reading my personal statement and give me some feedback. Please PM me - I would really appreciate it!
 
strive01 said:
I was wondering if someone would not mind reading my personal statement and give me some feedback. Please PM me - I would really appreciate it!
Click to expand...

pm me your PS, I'll give you some feedback (won't be grammer, but more about the essay and flow and stuff).
 
strive01 said:
I was wondering if someone would not mind reading my personal statement and give me some feedback. Please PM me - I would really appreciate it!
Click to expand...

I can make u a deal... We'll swap and read each others, if that works for you? Just PM me.
 
Hi everyone. Just wondering if anyone else wrote anything about the how they as a person fit the Osteopathic philosophy in their PS. I'm trying to slim my PS down, and I have some great examples of experiences and how it shaped my decision to become a physician. But not once did I write anything about a Osteopathic in my PS. Is this a bad thing? Just want to know what everyone else did. Thanks.
 
Sooo I'm starting up some personal statement brainstorming for SMP apps and AMCAS/AACOMAS. My question is, can the statements be very similar/almost the same for both SMP and med apps?
 
llee8820 said:
Hi everyone. Just wondering if anyone else wrote anything about the how they as a person fit the Osteopathic philosophy in their PS. I'm trying to slim my PS down, and I have some great examples of experiences and how it shaped my decision to become a physician. But not once did I write anything about a Osteopathic in my PS. Is this a bad thing? Just want to know what everyone else did. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I used the same statement for both AMCAS and AACOMAS. Therefore I didn't add anything about osteopathy. I only talked about how I fit osteopathy in the secondaries. You can also use roughly the same statement from you AMCAS for your AACOMAS but then just tweak it a bit including osteopathy in there.

DrPrincipessa said:
Sooo I'm starting up some personal statement brainstorming for SMP apps and AMCAS/AACOMAS. My question is, can the statements be very similar/almost the same for both SMP and med apps?
Click to expand...

When I did my SMP personal statement, the beginning half of mine was the same as AMCAS/AACOMAS. The second half was different - I talked about how the SMP would help me achieve my goals later, and why I would be a good candidate for the SMP. I already had my personal statement for TMDSAS from the year before so it only took me about a week to tweak it and turn in my SMP statement.
 
I have been writing my pesonal statement for osteopathic medical school. I feel as though it is not good enough and I don't want it to be looked over. Does anyone has a sample essay or can direct me where I can find a sample? I am very discouraged right now. My sister was actually suppose to let me see her example when she got in but she lied and said no.🙁
 
Go to a bookstore and flip through Princeton Review's "Medical School Essays" if you'd like to see some sample essays. They're not specifically for osteopathic schools, but you can get a decent idea of what a PS looks like (some are stronger than others).

Once you've written yours, there are also people on this site who will read and give you constructive feedback on your PS (use the search function, there is a thread somewhere for this...).

Good luck.
 
BlaqandAznLuv said:
I have been writing my pesonal statement for osteopathic medical school. I feel as though it is not good enough and I don't want it to be looked over. Does anyone has a sample essay or can direct me where I can find a sample? I am very discouraged right now. My sister was actually suppose to let me see her example when she got in but she lied and said no.🙁
Click to expand...
I actually didn't mention osteopathic medicine in my personal statement for osteopathic schools. Most of the secondaries I received asked me why osteopathic medicine though.
 
If you are comfortable doing so, I'd also consider utilizing the personal statement readers here on SDN.
 
I'll read it and offer my input/suggestions if you're interested.

Just PM me, and I'll give you an email address.
 
Wow, your sister sounds like a DB. Send me a PM and I'll help edit your PS.
 
Hey guys,

I am applying for 2012 entry. Can anyone peer review my personal statement?

PS. If you're an English major, PLEAAAASSE at least skim over my essay. thanks 🙂
 
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