DANCING personal statement

[deleted920504]

So I've been working on my personal statement, and one thing that I think makes me interesting is that I've been dancing (mostly ballet) for 10 years. It's the first thing I've been truly passionate about, and the joy that I feel when I'm dancing is something I just can't contain.

I think in many ways, I love dance for the same reasons I love medicine. It's hard and painful, but so rewarding because all of your work goes towards being an agent of life and happiness to others. In my junior year of college, I founded a dance club and collaborated with other dance groups to put together performances for children's hospitals and nursing homes. I've always felt like my joy in dance could never be fulfilled unless it was used for something good, something outside of myself, and this was a small way to satiate that huger to share the joy.

I'm trying to incorporate these general ideas into my personal statement. However, I'm not even sure is this is unique or special enough to be included in my personal statement (I also have almost 2 years of multiple research experiences, a published paper, volunteer hours, and work with native kids in Alaskan villages to write about). But this is really what I'm passionate about, and I think that will show.

Can I do this? Any ideas on how to approach it?

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[gp2]

I wrote about my Fine Arts background in my personal statement so I definitely understand how it feels to want to incorporate a creative passion. I think if it is important to you that you should definitely include dance. I would recommend being very explicit about the ways that dance has prepared you for medicine whether like you said for hard work or dedication or being passionate. Especially since you do have a lot of other experiences that are more "premed" you can use dance as a way of showing how you can see greater connections between things and that you have a broader perspective due to dance. Good luck! 🙂

 

[deleted922750]

Send what you have then I'll give you feedback on it, if you feel comfortable.

 

[Shinken]

solosierra, as someone who's read numerous PSs for medical school and residency applications, I would strongly encourage you to write about your dance passion and how it relates to your passion for medicine.

We're all tired of reading the same old "I did research and volunteered in an animal shelter and brought water to a village in Tanzania and when my grandma was diagnosed with cancer I knew I wanted to help people" crap.

When I come across a PS that has a different angle, it catches my attention. When I see the same stereotypical topics, I move on.

Trust me, the vast majority of medical school applicants have some sort of scholarly background (papers published, etc.), research experience, tons of volunteer hours, and experiences abroad. You won't be unique if you speak about those, you'll be one more in the bunch.