Confusion over PS

[von Matterhorn]

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I keep reading on here that you should say something different in your PS than what is on the rest of your application. This is posing a bit of a problem for me.

I had long had the idea of structuring my PS around a central theme from a few experiences I had in work/life. Because of their magnitude, I felt it prudent to list them as my 3 most exceptional experiences on my activities section.

So, I've already written a total of 6 thousand characters on those 3 experiences in the activities section. It seems a bit redundant to talk about them again in my PS, but they are really my driving forces behind wanting to get into medicine. I guess I just don't understand how your 3 biggest experiences aren't supposed to wind up in your PS. Isn't it entirely possible the two go hand in hand? Any advice?

Thanks

 

[pietachok]

The discussion of the experiences in your PS should be far more personal, reflective, insightful than the content in the activities section. You need to use the PS to stand out as a full person & sell yourself. It is a relatively common mistake I see in PS's that an applicant spends a lot of time selling the activities/qualifications (much like a resume) rather than selling his/her self. For instance, details of the medical practice where you shadowed belong in the activities, but emotional response to the experience & how it changed you belong in the PS. There are other mistakes/pitfalls, but this is what comes to my mind regarding the relationship between those two parts of the application.

I would recommend having someone read your PS.

 

[von Matterhorn]

Having someone read your PS is somewhat difficult. Nearly everyone I've shown it to on here has either not responded (other pre-meds who I suspect are just looking for ideas) or are too busy to accept more essays. I had one guy respond and he tore it apart, but looking back my first few revisions were indeed crap. Everyone I've shown it to (friends/family) just sing praises of it, but I know it's not perfect by a long shot and could use a critical eye.

I've tried just explaining the activity in the activity section, and keeping the emotional/impactful part to the PS, but they specifically ask you about the emotional/impactful stuff when you list something as a most important experience. It's getting to the point where I'm thinking about just picking some other activities that aren't as important so that I can save this stuff for the PS because I feel like it belongs there more,

 

[von Matterhorn]

Yeah, I agree on the friends/family being biased, I know they are and that's the frustrating part of it. I'm not in school anymore so I don't really have that resource

 

[thlaxer]

I've tried just explaining the activity in the activity section, and keeping the emotional/impactful part to the PS, but they specifically ask you about the emotional/impactful stuff when you list something as a most important experience. It's getting to the point where I'm thinking about just picking some other activities that aren't as important so that I can save this stuff for the PS because I feel like it belongs there more,

I mentioned a few of my more relevant ECs (volunteering, shadowing, etc.) in my PS. I don't think anyone is suggesting that you not mention your ECs at all. The goal of the PS afterall is to provide a narrative that explains "why medicine," and it's hard to do that convincingly without providing sufficient support from your clinically-related ECs. So a bit of crossover is okay. I think that the key is to focus on different aspects of the activity and talk about different stories and lessons learned. It's only redundant imo if you're talking about the same patients or similar patient experiences/lessons in both your Activities Section and PS. Also, your activities section needs to include some of that "emotional/impactful" stuff as well, it shouldn't read like a laundry list of what you did.

Also, I do think that it can be a smart idea to not mark down your volunteering and shadowing experiences as "most meaningful" since you do have a lot of space to talk about their impact in your PS (and in your Activities section if they're occupying multiple slots). This will free up the "most meaningful" designation for other less clinically-relevant but still meaningful activities that showcase good qualities you want to emphasize. An interviewer I spoke with said that it's refreshing to see people who don't have research, volunteering and shadowing marked down as their three "most meaningful." He thought it was hard to believe that someone would think their 20-30 hours of shadowing was more meaningful to them personally than some of the activities they've been doing for years. Just my thoughts.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

Yeah, I agree on the friends/family being biased, I know they are and that's the frustrating part of it. I'm not in school anymore so I don't really have that resource

I went to my UGs writing center a few days ago to have my PS read and I've been out of school for a couple of years. I would think most schools allow alumni to use that service. If it ends up being available to you, I would definitely recommend it. I got a lot of good feedback from an unbiased reader.

 

[DOCTAfoHIRE]

I mentioned two jobs in both the PS and the activities section. The PS described specific experiences and examples of situations that inspired me to pursue medicine. The activities section was more systematic and was mostly a list of my duties. I think a certain level of redundancy is reasonable and expected. Just make sure you rephrase. If a certain part of your job/activity involved doing X, and doing X was part of your inspiration/motivation, I think its unreasonable to assume that X wont be listed in both places.