Do NOT waste your money on DLA Editors and Proofers! They are a huge scam company.

[Happy Bird]

Hi Everyone,

For those applying to residency or fellowship, do NOT subscribe to DLA Proofers or Editors. You will end up wasting hundreds of dollars for no real good outcome. Read below to find out why. Feel free to message me with any personal questions. If you truly want input and feedback regarding your personal statement, go to a mentor WITHIN your field or specialty of choice. Below I have described my very bad experience with these editors:



So I sought ought these editors to review a personal statement for a fellowship program. My first editor made a lot of suggestions to make my personal statement "emotional and flowery." This editor thought that my initial personal statement, which discussed my research interests in detail, did not quite "cut it" for fellowship programs. I changed my personal statement around 180 degrees according to this editor's suggestions, which were honestly vague, and consisted mainly of saying, "show this, don't tell it." Yea, not helpful. I tried to incorporate this editor's changes and send it back for review, but this editor would NOT give me any other advice than the following, "you still have not incorporated a lot of my changes, but to get more specific feedback you will have to pay for a second edit." Stupidly, I paid for a second edit, and got a much better editor who was really able to work with me and give me helpful and very specific suggestions.

At the end, however, I was left with a very sappy personal statement, that almost read like an emotional novel. I had my research mentor look at it, who almost vomited because the statement was so flowery, like a trashy beach novel. I agree with my mentor 100% when looking back on things. I went back to my original research-focused personal statement, doing basically everything that these editors had told me not to do. What was the result? I got 25 interviews, and many at top tier programs that I could not even imagine would consider me.

Moral of the story? While these editors may be excellent at English, remember one thing. They cannot see from the perspective of people in your own field. Remember, if you are a doctor, lawyer, engineer or other professional applying for a job or fellowship, remember that these editors cannot see from the eyes of other people in that profession.

The first editor ripped me off by saying I didn't incorporate enough of the initial suggestions, because I had actually done that (and the second editor agreed with me on this point).

I would advise you all, that, instead of using this service, go to your mentor or someone else in your field who actually knows what admissions committees are looking for, and ask them to edit your statement. I wasted several hundred dollars on this.

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[DermViser]

We got the message in your same response in the other threads "Personal statement editing services" and "Personal Statement Advice".

 

[Wordead]

Dont be personal, dont make a statement - keys to a good personal statement.

 

[DLA Editors & Proofers]

This is the reply we sent to our client regarding this feedback:

Thank you for expressing your concerns to us. We are certainly disappointed to hear of the experience you had with us but are also thrilled that you received so many invitations to interview. Ultimately that is what is important!

One of the improvements we have made recently is to adjust our personal statement services so that now they can be ordered with more than one round.

We are particularly concerned that you understood we wanted you to make your personal statement "emotional and flowery." We have many years of experience reviewing personal statements and know for certain that is not the way to achieve a successful one. We apologize for any misunderstanding there was about this.

With regard to our knowledge of your field, we have not only reviewed thousands of personal statements but also interviewed program directors and admission committee members in a variety of fields. We know from this experience what it takes to make a successful personal statement, and it is for this reason that clients following our advice are regularly accepted into the top programs in their fields. This includes fellowships in hematology oncology, for which you were applying. Every year our clients applying for this fellowship receive multiple interview offers.

We apologize again for any misunderstandings there may have been but are also happy to hear of your interviews. We wish you every success in securing a position!

 

[Sephirakra]

This is the reply we sent to our client regarding this feedback:

Thank you for expressing your concerns to us. We are certainly disappointed to hear of the experience you had with us but are also thrilled that you received so many invitations to interview. Ultimately that is what is important!

One of the improvements we have made recently is to adjust our personal statement services so that now they can be ordered with more than one round.

We are particularly concerned that you understood we wanted you to make your personal statement "emotional and flowery." We have many years of experience reviewing personal statements and know for certain that is not the way to achieve a successful one. We apologize for any misunderstanding there was about this.

With regard to our knowledge of your field, we have not only reviewed thousands of personal statements but also interviewed program directors and admission committee members in a variety of fields. We know from this experience what it takes to make a successful personal statement, and it is for this reason that clients following our advice are regularly accepted into the top programs in their fields. This includes fellowships in hematology oncology, for which you were applying. Every year our clients applying for this fellowship receive multiple interview offers.

We apologize again for any misunderstandings there may have been but are also happy to hear of your interviews. We wish you every success in securing a position!

Ah, nothing like a reply to a 4.5-year-old thread. It's the level of attention to detail that should serve as a ringing endorsement.

 

[DLA Editors & Proofers]

Ah, nothing like a reply to a 4.5-year-old thread. It's the level of attention to detail that should serve as a ringing endorsement.

It is pretty rare, isn't it? We do not regularly search the Internet for comments people post about our company and our services. We decided long ago to focus instead on ensuring we provide high-quality work on each and every one of our clients' documents, treating our clients 'goals as if they were our own and celebrating along with them each time we are able to help turn those goals into achievements.

Recently, a client referred to this post, and we thought, though almost half a decade had passed, as you pointed out, that it would be helpful to others, who, like our client, may come across the post in the future, to go ahead and post a reply. We take pride in all of our work, in which, as in all work, because we are human, we inevitably make mistakes. When we do make mistakes, we take them as an invaluable opportunity to learn and improve ourselves for the future, and so therefore greatly appreciate our clients who take the time to share their feedback with us.

 

[Sephirakra]

It is pretty rare, isn't it? We do not regularly search the Internet for comments people post about our company and our services. We decided long ago to focus instead on ensuring we provide high-quality work on each and every one of our clients' documents, treating our clients 'goals as if they were our own and celebrating along with them each time we are able to help turn those goals into achievements.

Recently, a client referred to this post, and we thought, though almost half a decade had passed, as you pointed out, that it would be helpful to others, who, like our client, may come across the post in the future, to go ahead and post a reply. We take pride in all of our work, in which, as in all work, because we are human, we inevitably make mistakes. When we do make mistakes, we take them as an invaluable opportunity to learn and improve ourselves for the future, and so therefore greatly appreciate our clients who take the time to share their feedback with us.

Your statements, though accurate, are an affront, not solely to my eyes, but rather to the sensibilities, be they as they are, of any person, living or deceased, who has ever read a sentence, intentionally or otherwise, in the English language.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

I hope you don't recommend jam-packing sentences with an excessive number of nested clauses. If readability suffers, so does the reader.