There are no clear guidelines given by AADSAS concerning the personal statement, and that, as you might have learned, can complicate things. There are several threads dedicated to the topic of personal essays and how to go about constructing them, and I'll let you run a search to dig some of them up. Beyond constructing a solid introduction and conclusion which codifies your desire and decision to go into dentistry, I would recommend that you include answers to such questions as: 1) why dentistry? 2) what are some motivating factors for your decision? 3) what experiences (shadowing, volunteering, etc.) do you have and how have those influenced you? 4) what can you offer both the school and the profession (do you have experience working abroad, in underserved areas, government welfare agencies, and so on) and where do you envision your career going (returning to canada, practicing here or there, etc.) 5) who are some role models that you have and how do you plan to incorportate the ideals associated with them (or any other for that matter) into your practice? E.g. volunteer at a local high school to teach A&P, work at a non-profit clinic on the side, get involved with public health, and so on. The essay is the one place in the application in which you, the applicant as a person, has an opportunity to shine through and voice your own subjectivity amongst the statistics and transcripts that otherwise blanket the application. I believe that dental schools are not only interested in creating good dentists but also having compasionate students that are willing to contribute to the school's community as well. When crafting your response keep in mind that you are addressing several schools so keep references to preferences general while trying to say the most in the least amount of space. Numbers aside, this is where the essay comes in and that is why it is important and the most daunting, in my opinion, of the application. Best of luck! 👍
