Essays?

[mercaptovizadeh]

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I am wondering about MD/PhD essays and the AMCAS personal comments section.

If we are MD/PhD applicants, what sort of essay should we write for the AMCAS personal comments. Should it be the "why I want to be a doctor" or largely an essay devoted to research, and what specifically should we discuss, our goals or what our research has been like?

Also, if the MD/PhD essay is general, should we comment only on our research or also on our career goals?

Finally, on research-specific essay, how specific? Describe particular experiments, techniques, etc. or just try to give a big picture and its relevance? Also, how do you integrate different research experiences?

Finally, what if a large portion of research is not in the field in which we aim to conduct graduate research. How do we explain on what basis we wish to pursue a particular field?

Thanks.

 

[clinick]

I had all the same questions, and I'll tell you what my pre-med advisor told me:
-Your AMCAS is for medical school. At a lot of schools, the MD portion of your application is separated from the PhD portion. So, if you are going to write an essay like, "why I want to enter medicine" keep your personal statement towards the MD side.
-On your AMCAS you'll be able to put 15 experiences (maybe you already know this) - I put my reserach stuff there.
-When you get your secondaries from schools you'll have ample opportunity and space to write about your research. I gave them something equivalent to what I'd put on a poster's introduction, ~ 1 page typed. I didn't put anything about techniques, the people reading your applications know what kind of stuff you would use for your research, plus it makes for boring reading.
-I've heard that lots of people go into new subjects. People can have more than one interest 🙂
-At the end of the day, your total application (AMCAS + secondary) should make a convincing argument for why you should have both degrees as opposed to just one or the other.