High School experiences on AMCAS Personal Statement

[StressoEspresso]

So I'm in the process of writing my personal statement. One of the examples I am planning to use in my personal statement is an experience in high school anatomy and physiology class where I believe my thinking and reasoning competencies are showcased well, as well as my leadership capabilities. I go onto expand on this idea by talking about scribing and the things I've learned there. I've gotten some advice, however, that I should instead be talking about such experiences I had in my undergraduate career, rather than highschool classes. While I did do classes in undergrad that allowed me to have a similar experience, I felt that the high school class was a better representation of my journey since it was my initial "aha!" moment for choosing medicine. Do you guys have any thoughts on this? And if you think that selecting a college experience would be more impactful than a highschool experience?

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[Talldoctor96]

So I'm in the process of writing my personal statement. One of the examples I am planning to use in my personal statement is an experience in high school anatomy and physiology class where I believe my thinking and reasoning competencies are showcased well, as well as my leadership capabilities. I go onto expand on this idea by talking about scribing and the things I've learned there. I've gotten some advice, however, that I should instead be talking about such experiences I had in my undergraduate career, rather than highschool classes. While I did do classes in undergrad that allowed me to have a similar experience, I felt that the high school class was a better representation of my journey since it was my initial "aha!" moment for choosing medicine. Do you guys have any thoughts on this? And if you think that selecting a college experience would be more impactful than a highschool experience?

Include it — don’t spend more than a sentence or two, and if you need to cut something cut that.

 

[boo234]

don't spend the whole ps talking about it and make sure you really reflect on recent clinical experiences. don't want to make it sound like "I did this in hs and I didn't do anything else since then to show these qualities"

 

[GreenDuck12]

One of the examples I am planning to use in my personal statement is an experience in high school anatomy and physiology class where I believe my thinking and reasoning competencies are showcased well, as well as my leadership capabilities.

This makes me wonder why don’t you have more recent examples of leadership or reasoning... “Aha” moments are fine to include, but the development post “aha” is much more important in explaining your path to medicine and why you’ll make an excellent candidate. I find that most folks when they write their personal statement spend too much time building up to the “aha” and then try to squeeze the good part of the essay into the last paragraph. When revising, one often finds that that build up is unnecessary. Good luck!

 

[StressoEspresso]

This makes me wonder why don’t you have more recent examples of leadership or reasoning... “Aha” moments are fine to include, but the development post “aha” is much more important in explaining your path to medicine and why you’ll make an excellent candidate. I find that most folks when they write their personal statement spend too much time building up to the “aha” and then try to squeeze the good part of the essay into the last paragraph. When revising, one often finds that that build up is unnecessary. Good luck!

So I do have more recent examples, but I was thinking about this particular instance because it is perfectly in line with what my theme is. It's not the main focus of my essay and I do have a more recent example I talk about more. I was wondering more if its a strictly taboo concept to mention anything highschool related

 

[boo234]

So I do have more recent examples, but I was thinking about this particular instance because it is perfectly in line with what my theme is. It's not the main focus of my essay and I do have a more recent example I talk about more. I was wondering more if its a strictly taboo concept to mention anything highschool related

if it's truly important to your answer of why doctor, include it but u need to do a better job of writing about it if PS readers question why u wrote about it in the first place

 

[GreenDuck12]

So I do have more recent examples, but I was thinking about this particular instance because it is perfectly in line with what my theme is. It's not the main focus of my essay and I do have a more recent example I talk about more. I was wondering more if its a strictly taboo concept to mention anything highschool related

It’s not taboo per se to include experiences from high school but it also isn’t advisable unless it is a really significant moment. I don’t know your story or the role it plays in your statement but reasoning ability and leadership in high school feels dated simply because it’s so far removed from who you are now and what you’ve done recently. To your point about having recent experiences, are these experiences in your essay not sufficient as is? I ask because you have such limited space that you don’t want to repeat points over and over again. I’ve reviewed hundreds of personal statements and applications for a reputable service org that accepts 10% of applicants and I’ve rarely seen essays that use high school experiences effectively. Good examples that I have seen include overcoming *significant* challenges, illnesses, death, etc. You must assume that your reader will spend between 30 seconds and 2 minutes reading your statement before moving on to another file. At no point do you want your reader to be confused why something is in your essay / how it is relevant / be confused by your story. That’s why I put in the point above about aha moments really being the very beginning of an essay and not the end as it so often is in personal statements.

 

[aldol16]

If it's absolutely essential, include it but don't spend a ton of time on it. Remember that the best essays are the ones that are the most memorable and unique. Think of this as the criteria: could anyone else have written the essay? That is, does it sound like it's generic or is it truly unique to you? The best essays are truly unique and you can tell that the applicant has really dug deep and reflected on their life and experiences.

 

[StressoEspresso]

It’s not taboo per se to include experiences from high school but it also isn’t advisable unless it is a really significant moment. I don’t know your story or the role it plays in your statement but reasoning ability and leadership in high school feels dated simply because it’s so far removed from who you are now and what you’ve done recently. To your point about having recent experiences, are these experiences in your essay not sufficient as is? I ask because you have such limited space that you don’t want to repeat points over and over again. I’ve reviewed hundreds of personal statements and applications for a reputable service org that accepts 10% of applicants and I’ve rarely seen essays that use high school experiences effectively. Good examples that I have seen include overcoming *significant* challenges, illnesses, death, etc. You must assume that your reader will spend between 30 seconds and 2 minutes reading your statement before moving on to another file. At no point do you want your reader to be confused why something is in your essay / how it is relevant / be confused by your story. That’s why I put in the point above about aha moments really being the very beginning of an essay and not the end as it so often is in personal statements.

If it's absolutely essential, include it but don't spend a ton of time on it. Remember that the best essays are the ones that are the most memorable and unique. Think of this as the criteria: could anyone else have written the essay? That is, does it sound like it's generic or is it truly unique to you? The best essays are truly unique and you can tell that the applicant has really dug deep and reflected on their life and experiences.

I see, I think I understand. Right now it's only in my essay for 4 sentences, mainly because I'm using it to bridge into a different impactful experience I had in college. I'm also getting multiple second opinions on it's delivery so it doesn't bring the essay down. Thank you for the input!