A question for past and present reapplicants

[Persistence101]

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Did you rewrite your entire personal statement or did you just add stuff to it? What is more preferred by adcoms? I'd really hate to rewrite my personal statement because it took me so long to write my first one. 🙁 But I'll do it if necessary. I just don't know what to focus on. If we originally wrote about our motivations for medicine then how can we change our statements? Isn't writing about our motivations the gist of the personal statement?

To those who rewrote their personal statment, did you write about an entirely different topic than your original statement? Please help...I don't know how to go about this "personal statement" situation. thanks

 

[Nefertari]

I'll probably just edit and make it more focused. Last year, I sweated over a month on it, so I can't bear to think @ scrapping it & rewriting if I have to reapply. Revisions will definitely strengthen it.

Also, I realize that the way I wrote it last year made it "fit" w/ certain schools, and this time, I'm going to try to edit it so that it has a broader reach, then gear it to the individual schools w/ 2ndary essays. Maybe when the adcoms read it, they probably thought, "Oh, she sounds like she really wants to go to / would really belong @ . . . ." Just conjecture.

 

[DarkChild]

it depends on how many schools saw it the first time.
my first time around, i applied to four schools. i basically took the same general idea, reworked it a little and then sent it off to 13 new schools.
i'm pretty sure it made little to no difference - think about how many applications these guys look through. and while i know we all like to think of our essays as unique, admissions folk have probably seen it all before.
with that being said, i still think the most important thing to do is to apply across the board, to a large number of schools and apply EARLY (like apps complete in august/early september).
i'm willing to bet that if someone did just that even if they used the same letters from last time and the same essays etc - they would get in. (provided they arent a total tool on interviews)

 

[UCLAMAN]

I always advise people to completely rewrite it. Adcoms or their sub-committees that review your file will pull up your previous cycle's application and make comparisons. It doesn't reflect too highly on you if you just recycle the previous year's essay.

While minor editing is okay and better than nothing, I'd say rewrite the whole essay. Schools also definitely want to see that reapplicants have made some strides to become a better candidate for medical school. The personal statement is the best place to do that.

I'd say a reapplicant has to change the focus of the personal statement from the previous one. Reapplication is a strength IMO. It shows persistence and dedication to the profession. Focus on the fact that you are a reapplicant. This can't be done by changing a couple of sentences IMO. The whole essay must be written to reflect this. You can still use some of the same ideas that you used in your previous ps. You just have to change the angles and spin on things since your focus is a little different.

If you'd like to see what I mean pm me for a copy of my personal statements. I was able to use some of the same experiences and ideas on my second one but it was a completely different essay.

 

[Cydney Foote]

I absolutely recommend rewriting it. There are few things you have control over -- you can retake the MCAT or get new letters of recommendation, but the best and most substantial way to improve your application is to rewrite the essay. Schools do review your past applications -- you could just not apply to those schools again, but if you were waitlisted at any you DEFINITELY want to reapply. If they see you haven't even made the effort to write a new statement, they're likely to put this down to apathy on your part.

Your personal statement can take many forms -- it doesn't have to be the basic (and sometimes boring) why I want to be a doctor. There are many different stories you can tell. Have a look at some of these sample essays. And while admissions committee members have seen an awful lot of essays, they're still human and they still like to hear a good story. I assure you that they look very differently on applicants whose essays they want to read, as opposed to those they have to read.

In case you're interested, we're having a live online chat on "AMCAS Magic" next Tuesday at 6pm PST, with several editors who can answer questions about writing your personal statement and secondaries.

Good luck!

 

[laney]

I think that you need to stress those things that you have done to strengthen your application. They don't want to see the same applicant all over again, because it didn't get you in the first time. The fact that you are reapplying again definitely gives you points for persistence and dedication though. Good luck!