God in personal statement

[lakersbaby]

what is the consensus about mentioning God or your faith in your personal statement. is it not a good idea?

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[g3pro]

Some say bad, some say good.

What would God say?

 

[LizzyM]

what is the consensus about mentioning God or your faith in your personal statement. is it not a good idea?

It can be done well, or it can be done badly.

Don't...
write that you've being called by God (if God had wanted you to get into medical school you'd have a higher MCAT score).

tell the adcom that you've been saved.

focus most of your PS on how your your religious ECs (Vacation Bible Camp leader, Sunday Sch tutoring young teens in Hebrew, etc) have been the most meaningful experiences of your life

Do
use the values you've developed through your religious faith to convey "why medicine"

use a quote from a sacred text or spiritual source (scripture, Maimonides, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, etc) as a jumping off point for your PS, if it fits the theme.

 

[GoodDoctor]

I'd be careful. Faith talk can come off as preachy, condescending, or brain-washed to the non-saved, no matter how well you think you're making your case. Generalities, truisms, pontificating aren't good in a PS. Describe how something you did helped you to learn a lesson that will make you a GoodDoctor. 🙂

So, don't say "My faith in the almighty drives me to save the world." Say something like, "When my time at St. Mark's Shelter ended, I knew helping Johnny to rebuild his confidence was just as rewarding as acing my biochem final." 🙂 (you get the idea)

In my case, it sounds much better to say "I spent two years on an foreign mission for my church" than to say "I served an LDS Mission for two years." To those outisde of the culture, the first one conjures up images of Mother Teresa; the second one sounds like a crazy cult. The only thing the ADCOM needs/wants to hear about is that I loved spending 6 hrs/wk for those two years visiting old folks, volunteering in various community groups, etc. I'll not tell them anything about bringing Heavenly Father's message to his children (yeck, see how it can sound?).

 

[lakersbaby]

yeah thanks for the advice guys

 

[notdeadyet]

what is the consensus about mentioning God or your faith in your personal statement. is it not a good idea?

Your faith in god is not impressive. If your faith inspires you to do good works, it is the good works that are impressive. Focus on this, the works.

Credit to your faith is implied. If you mention the great charity work you did with your church group, those with faith will understand the beliefs that drive you. Those without faith will be moved by the works you do, without the feeling of irritation of being hit over the head with your religious beliefs.

 

[SBBunny]

What about going to med school despite one's faith (a Catholic priest told me, in confession, to reconsider med school... That only made me more determined).

 

[LizzyM]

In my case, it sounds much better to say "I spent two years on an foreign mission for my church" than to say "I served an LDS Mission for two years."

Anyone who sees lots of applications from Utah knows that the first is synonymous with the second. No one else does 2 year foreign missions. Most adcoms are familiar with LDS Missions (an exception may be some non-Western states with few OOS applicants).

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

what is the consensus about mentioning God or your faith in your personal statement. is it not a good idea?

I would guess that if you did something like this, then your interview may involve some very challenging scenarios in which you must choose between your faith and the patient...just a guess though. The mind of a pre-med can dream up all kinds of horrible scenarios!

EDIT: The more I think about this, the more I think it would depend upon the emphasis you place on it in the PS.

 

[jackieMD2007]

What about going to med school despite one's faith (a Catholic priest told me, in confession, to reconsider med school... That only made me more determined).

Ah, the things we do to spite Catholic priests. 😀

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

Ah, the things we do to spite Catholic priests. 😀

Hmmmhhh - what on earth could you be talking about here? 😕

 

[71263]

I wrote about faith in my PS. Have it proofread by a few close friends, and people who have good writing style. They can tell you best how your message comes off.