Help - Personal Statement!?!?!

[sharpieLIFE]

Hey Everyone,
I'm stuck in a bit of a dilemma with my personal statement.
In my PS I'm trying to answer the question why do I want to become a doctorand why I want to go to a particular program.

Do you/have you (during these types of PS's) discussed the school's mission and values?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[geh926]

Ahhhh, struggling as well. I mentioned some things off the school's website in mine since I don't have my med school ps done yet. Anybody have an idea on an ideal length though?

My prompt states: why are you applying to X program? and how do you expect it to help you in the future?

Only have 300 words/2000 characters/1 pg double spaced. Not sure whether to be concise or keep going.

 

[survivordo]

They read 100's (1000's?) of these things. Keep it concise, 500-750 words max. Part of writing a good PS is being able to quickly grab their attention and then succinctly and eloquently tell them what you want them to know.

Survivor DO

 

[RegisBioMedMS]

I'm an admissions counselor for a record enhancer post-bacc and read a lot of essays. I also am a pre-health advisor, so I revise a lot of essays. Here's my perspective:


Take some time with your statement. It shows if you don't bother to proofread.

Answer the obvious questions in our heads, please. Why do you need us? If your MCAT is lower, tell why... if your GPA isn't amazing, what happened and how will you fix it in the future? Find balance here. Don't pretend you are perfect and nothing is wrong, but also don't make your essay a dirty laundry list; we want the good stuff too. Show me clearly how you have self-selected our specific program as perfect to help you achieve your goals and hopefully I'll agree.

Avoid platitudes that say nothing ala "I want to help people". Show don't tell, give examples, but be succinct and respect my limited time. Be positive about yourself, but be responsible. Don't ever whine or blame others for your shortcomings. Never leave me hanging! Nothing annoys me more than an essay that starts with Grandpa having a heart attack over breakfast and then never lets the reader know if he made it or not. Poor Grandpa, hanging out there in the unresolved ether... very troublesome.

I need three things to reccommend we accept you: 1) proof that you can cut our program academically 2) the idea that you are a congenial enough person that we'll enjoy having you around and 3) some evidence that you won't give up or become completely delusional when things get tough (which they will). You make my job a lot easier if you give those points to me in an interesting way that is easy to digest.

Finally, don't exaggerate or misrepresent yourself. Be your true voice in your essay, don't try to be what you think I want. Read the essay out loud to your best friend and if they start to crack up, you're missing the mark. Edit until you can read it aloud smoothly and naturally and it sounds like the very best of you. Some of the worst essays I've ever read were written by students trying very hard to sound "funny" "charming" or "smart".

Good luck!