DO and MD Personal Statement? The same...

[jules0328]

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I wanted to know if any of you guys used the same personal statement for DO and MD schools?

 

[Kazema]

I used the same basic structure and idea, but for my AACOMAS app I cut some parts out of my AMCAS one that I didn't think had as strong an impact and added a paragraph about why I thought osteopathic schools were a good fit for me.

I think in general you get rewarded for putting more effort into something. Limiting your AMCAS PS to the AACOMAS PS character limit will mean your essay is 3/5 (I think?) as long as it could be, and not tailoring your AACOMAS PS to osteopathic schools might cause your PS to have less of an impact when read by DO adcoms.

 

[annh31]

I remember the osteopathic app personal statement character limit was much, much less than the allopathic one. So, I had 2 different personal statements, with essentially the same idea. Sidenote: my school sent our personal statements with our LORs (I have NO idea why and I tried to talk them out of it) - so make sure the secretary or whomever knows which one goes to which schools if this is the case for you too.

 

[mx_599]

I wanted to know if any of you guys used the same personal statement for DO and MD schools?

yes...except the AMCAS one is a couple thousand characters longer.

 

[drgreeneatutk]

I would have liked to send essentially the same PS, to both AMCAS and AACOMAS but with miniscule character allotment they allow it's nearly impossible. Plus if you have any extra info they want you to add from previous questions it's supposed to go in the PS box also. Am I the only one who is struggling to fit a compelling, cohesive,well written PS into the small space they provide? Anyway, Mine will be similar for both but one will be 2000+ characters less in length and mention why I like Osteopathy in particular.

 

[crys20]

I also would have liked to use my AMCAS one, but the character limit is just so small for AACOMAS! Also I think you do need to mention why osteopathic medicine at some level even though I struggled with this sounding generic as I am one of those 'really just want to be a doctor and really want to do primary care probably' people, although I am in no way unwilling and am actually sort of excited to learn osteo stuff incl OMT, you know?

 

[mx_599]

I would have liked to send essentially the same PS, to both AMCAS and AACOMAS but with miniscule character allotment they allow it's nearly impossible. Plus if you have any extra info they want you to add from previous questions it's supposed to go in the PS box also. Am I the only one who is struggling to fit a compelling, cohesive,well written PS into the small space they provide? Anyway, Mine will be similar for both but one will be 2000+ characters less in length and mention why I like Osteopathy in particular.

I wouldn't worry too much about stating your devotion to DO. This will come out more than you want in the secondaries. I would focus your PS more on "why a physician?" There will be a plethora of Osteopathic essays after for the secondaries...don't use up your good ideas on the PS!!

Did you all see the post of common secondary questions I put up?? Let me know and I can post them again. 🙂

 

[jules0328]

Thanks, guys your input is much appreciated.

 

[dr.z]

I used the same except I trimmed it because AMCAS has more space. I also changed the focus little bit to why osteopathic profession.

 

[ShyRem]

I used the same one, just trimmed the AMCAS one a bit (it was only 3400 characters or so, so trimming it wasn't a big deal) for AACOMAS.

 

[illusionld]

I just spent 7 hours straight brainstorming for my personal statement. I should have started a long, long time ago. Now it's time to write it =)

 

[Kent]

I didn't apply to MD schools only DO. But I have friends that applied to both. They used the same personal statement without any problems. One friend got accepted at multiple schools (DO and MD) using the same statement. The MD application allows your statement to be slightly longer. He cropped the same statement down to fit the DO requirement. Good luck.

I just posted my personal statement on my blog if anyone is interested in some ideas. It got me interviews at every school I applied to. Go to www.medical-school-diary.blogspot.com

 

[Jason_AZCOM]

I wanted to know if any of you guys used the same personal statement for DO and MD schools?

First off, if you are applying to both, you should really ask yourself why you are applying to each one.

The personal statement should reflect those reasons (i.e. be unique for D.O. programs).

If you are using the same one for both programs, or even every school, it will be quite apparent that you do not really care where you might be going and do not have any good reason for applying there.

 

[1hotaartichoke]

First off, if you are applying to both, you should really ask yourself why you are applying to each one.

The personal statement should reflect those reasons (i.e. be unique for D.O. programs).

If you are using the same one for both programs, or even every school, it will be quite apparent that you do not really care where you might be going and do not have any good reason for applying there.

i applied to both, and used the same statement for both. just b/c a personal statement isn't specialized for the DO or MD school, doesn't mean that a person doesn't have their own reasons for applying outside of the respective philosiphies (i.e. location, price...etc.) its a bit hasty for you to assume that the person doesn't really care or doesn't have a good reason.

 

[mx_599]

First off, if you are applying to both, you should really ask yourself why you are applying to each one.

The personal statement should reflect those reasons (i.e. be unique for D.O. programs).

If you are using the same one for both programs, or even every school, it will be quite apparent that you do not really care where you might be going and do not have any good reason for applying there.

to original poster, i disagree with this post. only for the simple reason that some just want to be physicians. also differences in tuition costs of instate allo schools vs osteo could be another reason some apply to both.

like jason_azcom said, you should have reasons that show in various essays. like I said before, the AMCAS/AACOMAS can be nearly identical and then you can express the unique reasons for DO in secondaries. 🙂

 

[americanidiot]

First off, if you are applying to both, you should really ask yourself why you are applying to each one.

The personal statement should reflect those reasons (i.e. be unique for D.O. programs).

If you are using the same one for both programs, or even every school, it will be quite apparent that you do not really care where you might be going and do not have any good reason for applying there.

What's wrong with not caring where you are going if you just want to become a doctor one way or another. Since when was that not a "good reason for applying"? Besides, the only reason any of the Osteopaths that I know personally (my dermatologist for example) applied to D.O. programs was as a back-up for M.D. For people in the position of my dermatologist, who just want to be doctors, why should they revamp an essay for a particular program if they know that the same essay will work well for both?