AMCAS personal statement???

[scoobie]

Well, this will be my 3rd and LAST time applying for admission to an allopathic med school. (I'm looking into osteopathic schools and MIGHT consider law school...did a minor in pol-sci ). I applied 2 times before and got some interviews, but got waitlisted and rejected.

My MCAT (10p 10b 7v 0w) score will "expire" after this year (took it in 2001) and I absolutely refuse to take that dreadful test again. My GPA isn't terrible but can be better (3.4 w/b.s. in chem from Emory). So I'm assuming that my mcat/gpa isn't all too bad. I just got accepted into the SMP prog. at Georgetown and I'm really hoping that'll strengthen my credentials and improve my chances.

Anyhow, my main concern has to do with my personal statement... In my previous interviews, ALL my interviewers mentioned how creative and well written my personal statement was. Some went so far as to say that my essay was what caught their attention. I've been debating if I should leave it unchanged, revise it, or write a new one. The only problem is, if I use this essay again, it will be the third time (used on AMCAS 2002 and 2003) and I'm worried that the people reviewing my app will recognize it from the previous year(s). What should I do? I'm not a strong writer (normally) and nothing has changed in respect to my motivation and credentials/experience, but I don't know if reusing my essay for the third time would be good...

ANY help/information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Scoobie

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[meanderson]

hey....what is your state of residence?

 

[scoobie]

My legal residence is Texas (parents still live there). I have already used my essay twice on tmdsas (2002,2003) as well. I meet the requirements to declare Georgia, but haven't legally changed it yet...

 

[Cydney Foote]

Hi Scoobie,

You're in a rough position -- I really feel for you.

It's true that the personal statement is usually the best way to catch the adcom's attention and got you the interviews. Unfortunately it's also likely that, if it was so creative, it will be memorable (especially the third time).

My thought is that, good as it was, it wasn't quite enough to gain acceptance in the past two years. If this was my last shot at med school, then I would pull out all the stops and rewrite it. This time around, I would focus on the things that I could change: a brilliant new personal statement, great secondary answers, and killer interviewing techniques.

I don't know what you wrote about before, but in 5300 characters I'm sure you couldn't have said all there was to say about your life. There must be other stories from your life that are untapped. Good luck to you finding these, and in getting accepted this year!

 

[UCLAMAN]

update it...if it was awesome before, you have the opportunity to make it more awesome. a lot of schools will compare essays from previous years if you are a reapplicant. an unchanged essay doesn't look very good...especially if it is the 3rd time!

as great as it was i'm sure you can make it greater...you just have to put your mind to it.

 

[Mike59]

Under no circumstance should you re-use an essay that was part of a rejected application. Has it occurred to you that most applicants who are accepted write relatively tame essays (but still effective) and still get in? Maybe your essay was "too creative" for most schools, but caught the eye of a couple. An essay can be simple, intelligent and creative all at the same time without being too outrageous (which is something you may want to look at in your previous essay).

The essay should reflect your motivation to enter medicine based on your experiences. Haven't you had any recent experiences/motivational changes AT ALL?? in the last 2 years that you can add to the content (2 years is a long time! There's gotta be something!? )

If not, I think your problem is a combination of the 7 verbal and a lack of meaningful experiences. An essay might make you stand out, but your complete package is lacking somewhere if you were rejected twice.

 

[scoobie]

Thank you all for your help.