"Essays that will get you into medical school"

[Buttermellow]

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So I bought this book of essay tips, with lots of examples of good essays, as well as the essayists feedback on it after they had been accepted.

Their "4 steps to success" are as follows:

--Assess your reading audience and determine what they're looking for
--Avoid topics and ideas they've seen too many times
--Gather your material and identify your theme
--Write your first draft, and then revise and edit it until it's perfect

So I guess what I'm wondering is, what is the audience looking for? Obviously that we have a strong desire to become a doctor. But it also says not to use topics that they've seen too many times. I wanted to reflect on my volunteering/shadowing/clinical experiences, but haven't they "seen it too many times"? Should I include that, but not make it the focus? What do they want to see???

 

[IlDestriero]

Explain why you want to be a physician, how your life experiences lead you to the decision, and maybe where you see yourself 20 years from now. Write honestly and clearly, edit, revise, review, edit again. The end.
For secondary essays. Answer the question.

 

[Buttermellow]

Explain why you want to be a physician, how your life experiences lead you to the decision, and maybe where you see yourself 20 years from now. Write honestly and clearly, edit, revise, review, edit again. The end.
For secondary essays. Answer the question.

Good advice. But is it unique enough? Not that my essay has to be crazy weird or anything, but a lot of the example essays talked about aspects other than just that. For example, one person's essay started out by talking about how he played african drums in his church, and how that was something he was passionate about, and eventually he related that to his decision to become a doctor.

Haha, I see your status as an attending now. I guess it worked for you 🙂 I'll heed your advice.

 

[Narmerguy]

So I bought this book of essay tips, with lots of examples of good essays, as well as the essayists feedback on it after they had been accepted.

Their "4 steps to success" are as follows:

--Assess your reading audience and determine what they're looking for
--Avoid topics and ideas they've seen too many times
--Gather your material and identify your theme
--Write your first draft, and then revise and edit it until it's perfect

So I guess what I'm wondering is, what is the audience looking for? Obviously that we have a strong desire to become a doctor. But it also says not to use topics that they've seen too many times. I wanted to reflect on my volunteering/shadowing/clinical experiences, but haven't they "seen it too many times"? Should I include that, but not make it the focus? What do they want to see???

You can pretty much forget being unique at this point unless you've really done something extraordinary (which is pretty hard to do). They've seen everything again and again and then a few times more.

What you should devote your efforts to is telling your story in a compelling way. Two people can both have the same volunteering experiences but tell it in different ways--when they say find out what the audience is looking for, take that volunteering experience and explain it in a way that would be compelling for the people you're submitting to. I generally think it'd difficult to determine what the audience is "looking for" because different schools may have different interests and priorities (unless you're talking only specifically about your personal statement).

So what are they looking for? Haha, if we all knew we'd all write that and then they'd have to look for something else...but that's the answer isn't it? You want to write something else different. There's so many different ways to be effective at this. Best advice I can give is figure out what isn't unique, and then try to weave a more interesting story.

 

[LizzyM]

The average adcom member on my committee read 100 essays this year. Best way to avoid topics they've seen too many times. Apply early and have the good luck to be one of the first applications in their queue.

In fact, this is an easily overlooked reason why applying early is a very, very good idea.

 

[VikingLegacy]

.

 

[Buttermellow]

In fact, this is an easily overlooked reason why applying early is a very, very good idea.

I never thought of this aspect of applying early, but it is a great idea. Thanks!

 

[Forthegood]

The PS is the story behind the events. They have all your ECs, grades, interests, and just about everything else about you in front of them. What they don't have is a story to connect the dots.

So your job is to connect the events in a way that shows why you want to be a doc. What events in your life have compelled you to push to this point?

The best personal statements I have read answer the question "why medicine", mentioning their experiences and explaining what about them made their interest in medicine grow.