extremely frustrated with PS

[dochoov]

After working hard and coming so far, I'm unable to follow through with my application. I cannot write a satisfactory personal statement. Everything I write is wrong, cliche, too general, negative, boring, etc.. I don't understand why I can't simply say that I want to be a doctor because it would allow me to study something I'm genuinely interested in and then use that to help others. That's the truth. WTF am I supposed to do? Why do I have to write an entertaining essay? I'm not going to be writing essays to entertain people as a doctor, or do I have the wrong idea about medicine? Is medical school full of hoops like this? I feel so mad and disillusioned with medicine right now, mostly because if this is what I have to do to practice it, I don't know if I can do it. I know it sounds rediculous that I'm saying this because I can't write that damn personal statement, but I'm seriously suffering here.

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[FlowLimited]

First of all, don't scrap your entire application and your dream of becoming a doctor just because you're having trouble writing an "entertaining" personal statement. A great PS might give you extra points, but an average one isn't going to break your application.

Just write what you want to write. The point is to let your feelings for why you want to be a doctor be known. If the reasons aren't thrilling, who cares?

 

[variablistic]

After working hard and coming so far, I'm unable to follow through with my application. I cannot write a satisfactory personal statement. Everything I write is wrong, cliche, too general, negative, boring, etc.. I don't understand why I can't simply say that I want to be a doctor because it would allow me to study something I'm genuinely interested in and then use that to help others. That's the truth. WTF am I supposed to do? Why do I have to write an entertaining essay? I'm not going to be writing essays to entertain people as a doctor, or do I have the wrong idea about medicine? Is medical school full of hoops like this? I feel so mad and disillusioned with medicine right now, mostly because if this is what I have to do to practice it, I don't know if I can do it. I know it sounds rediculous that I'm saying this because I can't write that damn personal statement, but I'm seriously suffering here.

Yeah, there's a few hoops... I just finished my rough draft, and it's cliche, but at least it's less cliche than my one from last year. Like the above poster said, a great one will take you places, an average one won't really hurt you since everyone's is pretty average.

 

[AppTrail]

After working hard and coming so far, I'm unable to follow through with my application. I cannot write a satisfactory personal statement. Everything I write is wrong, cliche, too general, negative, boring, etc.. I don't understand why I can't simply say that I want to be a doctor because it would allow me to study something I'm genuinely interested in and then use that to help others. That's the truth. WTF am I supposed to do? Why do I have to write an entertaining essay? I'm not going to be writing essays to entertain people as a doctor, or do I have the wrong idea about medicine? Is medical school full of hoops like this? I feel so mad and disillusioned with medicine right now, mostly because if this is what I have to do to practice it, I don't know if I can do it. I know it sounds rediculous that I'm saying this because I can't write that damn personal statement, but I'm seriously suffering here.

Look, the PS isn't that big of a deal. out of thousands of Personal statements that have been written and read, a lot of them are going to sound the same, and the admissions know that. so basically they just want to see that you can write and your PS is not bad. so just write something decent, and your scores/interview will be what really matters

 

[goosie]

I agree with the previous poster- my boss (who is on a residency selection committee) told me that over the last 15 years or so he can only remember a few PS's.

He told me the most important thing is to write a PS that is "safe" if you can't write one that would be memorable. (and honestly, unless you've cured cancer or have a writing style that could get you published- you're not going to write a memorable one.)

of course, I still tore my hair out through the whole process!

 

[chickenlittle84]

I agree with what everyone has said, and I apologize if my comments on your PS contributed to the frustration in any way! I meant to be constructive...I don't think the issue is one of having an average personal statement versus great one in terms of writing, I think the issue is whether you are doing yourself justice. You write well, I just got the sense that you were not giving yourself enough credit for all that you have done, and all that you have accomplished...

I have been working on my PS for the last two months, and it has been incredibly frustrating, and it has brought me to tears more than once. I JUST finished after like 5 rewrites and much feedback from a lot of different people...so don't feel like you are the only one that has found this aspect of the application difficult! I think it is hard for everyone and you just have to put your heart into it and do the best that you can do!

 

[TheRealMD]

I would have thought that the only time a personal statement even matters is during an interview when they use it to ask some specific questions. Other than that, if it's not horrible, it doesn't matter because they aren't going to remember it when they initially read it.

 

[etf]

it's just another barrier to entry to arguably the most prestigious profession throughout human history.

 

[Depakote]

I can't say my PS is better than anyone elses' but I can try to give you a little advice that will hopfeully make it a little easier to write:

1.) try to think of a theme that you can use to tie everything together... the theme doesn't have to be related to medicine, but as long as you can parallel your message to the theme and use it to tie everything together, you can make it work. (just make sure it works)

2.) try to have a good hook. a vivid story, a moving experience... something that inspired you, put that in your intro. describe it in detail. draw your reader in and expand from there. the clutch is, it has to be relevant, don't pull something out of left-field and try to tack it on to the rest of your PS.

3.) be inspired. when you're getting ready to write, do it in a condusive atmosphere that makes you want to be a doctor... watch a scrubs marathon, listen to that song from Grey's anatomy until you're ready to vomit. Personally, I found that a beer got the creative juices flowing.

4.) no matter how stupid the idea, give it a shot. see how it looks on paper before you toss it. the theme I wound up using started out sounding pretty bad, but the more I used it, the more I loved it and I even had one of my interviewers comment that he liked it.