How long did it take to write your PS? Advice needed!

[mandalonius]

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Hi SDNers. I'm in the middle of studying for finals right now (stupid quarter system) but I was planning on writing my PS the week after finals and submitting my application. I have some ideas already of what to write. Has someone done this before or am I just screwed. I want to submit my application by the end of June. Thanks for any comments! 🙂

 

[ms2209]

I'm putting the finishing touches on my PS, but to tell you the truth, it took a lot longer than I thought it would. I was nervous about the one page limit, because I'm notoriously wordy, but I had no idea how difficult it would be to fit it all in! However, it's good that you already have some ideas and can get them down to start with. I think it really depends on how difficult it would be for you to decide on a draft and work with something, because for me, I had to have about 30 different versions before I finally buckled down and chose one (I'm very obsessive compulsive and a perfectionist LOL!). Anyway, good luck - I'm sure if you set your mind to it, and set a limit, you can definitely get it done in time! My advice actually is, don't sit on it for too long because it can get out of hand and before you know it, you'll be wading through a million different versions... 😱

 

[lissa1217]

I am a little bit unsure about what to write too. It's so hard not to sound cheesy talking about why I have been dreaming of one day embarking on the journey towards a career in medicine. 😍 Seriously...I also don't want to sound like I am just trying to persuade them into thinking that I am fabulous. Please, those of you that have submitted your amcas and successfully wrote personal statements that you are very happy with give some hints!!!! 😳

 

[curlycity]

Hey, I went through this last year, and am glad there are no more PSs in my career. I suggest the OP start writing drafts now whenever the mood strikes - spit out a paragraph or two of the things that are in your mind, save it as a Word doc you can come back to. Give it time to marinate, and when you have that week to write it you won't be faced with an empty page. That shouldn't take away from your studying, and you'll be glad you did it. Writer's block sucks. And, don't delete sentences/paragraphs forever when you're drafting - move them to another document. That way if you change your mind you can retrieve them.

Hope these little tricks help. Anyone who wants to read my PS, PM me and I'll PM it to you.

 

[ms2209]

I am a little bit unsure about what to write too. It's so hard not to sound cheesy talking about why I have been dreaming of one day embarking on the journey towards a career in medicine. 😍 Seriously...I also don't want to sound like I am just trying to persuade them into thinking that I am fabulous. Please, those of you that have submitted your amcas and successfully wrote personal statements that you are very happy with give some hints!!!! 😳

I have not submitted my AMCAS yet, but from the feedback I've gotten thus far, I think my PS is pretty much done and ended up better than I thought. I completely hear you on the cheesy factor and the anxiety over whether what you're writing actually sounds good, but I would say just try to brainstorm some interesting aspects of jobs you've had, etc. to talk about and work from there. Definitely jot ideas down on paper and then try to narrow it down into a "theme" for your paper. Also, my personal advice is don't freak out too much over it...in my case, I had to just tell myself to stop making a million drafts and just stick with one. If you spend too much time worrying over it, I feel like you just get worn out and your essay could lose something. Also, another thing to keep in mind is that although you may be a perfectionist and never be satisfied, others reading your essay will give you more objective feedback, and usually you are your own worst critic!

 

[curlycity]

Also, my personal advice is don't freak out too much over it...in my case, I had to just tell myself to stop making a million drafts and just stick with one. If you spend too much time worrying over it, I feel like you just get worn out and your essay could lose something. Also, another thing to keep in mind is that although you may be a perfectionist and never be satisfied, others reading your essay will give you more objective feedback, and usually you are your own worst critic!

Right on. After a certain point, you have to just hit "send" and trust in spellcheck, that high MCAT, and your alumni connections!

😀

Really - it's like raising a teenager, someday for better or worse you have to just let it go ...

 

[docjolly]

Hey all,

is the actual length of the PS one page? I think the character limit is 5200 (I could be wrong..) does that equate to one page typed? Also, would that 5200 character limit result in a single page typed single spaced or double spaced?

Sorry for all the qs, but I just wanted to make sure I understand..

 

[curlycity]

I don't know about the page equivalency, but in Microsoft Word you can look under File - Properties - Statistics to get your current character count.

 

[docjolly]

I don't know about the page equivalency, but in Microsoft Word you can look under File - Properties - Statistics to get your current character count.

👍

Thanks for the help, curlycity 🙂

 

[ms2209]

Hey all,

is the actual length of the PS one page? I think the character limit is 5200 (I could be wrong..) does that equate to one page typed? Also, would that 5200 character limit result in a single page typed single spaced or double spaced?

Sorry for all the qs, but I just wanted to make sure I understand..

It's 5300 characters, which is roughly one page and about 1/4 of the second page (I'm not sure if it's even 1/4, could be slightly less). However, this includes spaces, etc...

 

[docjolly]

It's 5300 characters, which is roughly one page and about 1/4 of the second page (I'm not sure if it's even 1/4, could be slightly less). However, this includes spaces, etc...

I thank you too, ms2209..

5300 characters? If that's equivalent to a page and a fourth, then I'm not sure what to do..I'm horrendously wordy (but not boring) when I write..how does one say so much with so little space? I'm going to have to do at least 10-15 revisions just to reduce the size of my PS..

 

[mandalonius]

Thanks for the replies! Yea I usually max out on all of my essays. But I heard that most of the successful PS don't max out on the character count. Is that true?

 

[Premedtomed]

Hi SDNers. I'm in the middle of studying for finals right now (stupid quarter system) but I was planning on writing my PS the week after finals and submitting my application. I have some ideas already of what to write. Has someone done this before or am I just screwed. I want to submit my application by the end of June. Thanks for any comments! 🙂

Hey chill remember any feedback is good. Making changes is good.
It took me about twenty days or more to write it . I started after May 11. I could have gotten done with it earlier. I have rewritten/edited it about 5 times now. One of the premed review committee member is looking at it right now. Hopefully, she will tell me that I have done a good job.
BTW I got all of the help from fellow SDNers 😀

 

[redgrover]

But I heard that most of the successful PS don't max out on the character count. Is that true?

I doubt it. Or if you mean, don't go to exactly 5,300 characters, well then yes, of course most of the most successful PSs aren't going to max out.

Don't worry about the word count until you're done with your essay. Keep it in mind, but don't stress over it too much.

If you need to cut down on your length, consider axing the things that speak less about you or that are more generic/universally shared. Keep what makes you "you."

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Spend a goodly ammount of time on your PS, its a very important part of your application along with your MCAT and GPA.