How much is too much??

[eric275]

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I've reviewed quite a bit of information on writting personal statements and have tried several different approaches in writting a couple practice personal statements. My delemia is this, I am an older student (30) and am trying to decide on how much of my awards, schools in the military, and personal achievements should be mentioned in my statement? I do feel that many of them will demonstrate good qualities as a future dentist and that they may help me to stand out in a pool of applicants, so are worth mentioning.

At the same time I don't want to come off as bragging or arrogant to someone reading my statement so am kind of confused on what to mention and what not to?

One approach I thought of was to mention that I had attended "X" amount of schools or recieved "X" amount of awards but kind of mention them as part of a bigger picture and not get into specifics. That way in my interview if they wanted to hear specifically what "X" was, then they could ask.

I really need some advice here please, thanks.

 

[trypmo]

I've reviewed quite a bit of information on writting personal statements and have tried several different approaches in writting a couple practice personal statements. My delemia is this, I am an older student (30) and am trying to decide on how much of my awards, schools in the military, and personal achievements should be mentioned in my statement? I do feel that many of them will demonstrate good qualities as a future dentist and that they may help me to stand out in a pool of applicants, so are worth mentioning.

At the same time I don't want to come off as bragging or arrogant to someone reading my statement so am kind of confused on what to mention and what not to?

One approach I thought of was to mention that I had attended "X" amount of schools or recieved "X" amount of awards but kind of mention them as part of a bigger picture and not get into specifics. That way in my interview if they wanted to hear specifically what "X" was, then they could ask.

I really need some advice here please, thanks.

Looks like you and I are in a similar situation. I'm applying this year too, and am non-traditional, and the guys at my Health Professions office have advised me to choose wisely where to put what indications of achievements, employment, etc., just due to the sheer volume of things to list (compared to a typical traditional applicant). My strategy is going to be to include any awards, honors, jobs, and all that stuff in appropriate text boxes in the app, and leave out of the personal statement all but the most relevant to my situation. For example, I had a fellowship thingy that got me into research right away as a grad student, so I'm mentioning that in my PS, but I'm leaving out stuff like national merit scholar. I'd say include stuff that helps your statement solidify as a cohesive unit, and leave the rest for places where you can list things.

But I'd also like to hear from other folks, esp. those who've already gotten into dent school, about what they think of this situation as well.

JMHO, HTH

 

[eric275]

C'mon all, 44 views and not one tidbit of advice for myself and trypmo. If you post some good advice trypmo said he will personally drive to your house and give you a back-rub to help make up for the pain of typing!!! 😀 JK

But seriously could someone post some useful information on the question at hand, we would really appriciate it.

 

[marshall]

I would stick with only mentioning awards/honors as a secondary thing like you mentioned... "My XXX fellowship allowed me to pursue research that I otherwise would have been unable to conduct and that led me into..." Simply stating that you got some recognition is superfluous and will already be on the applciation elsewhere. Your PS is your only voice to the admissions people and should be used wisely...

Cheers,
Marshall

 

[sxr71]

My personal philsophy on application essays is that you should try as much as possible to avoid repeating what is found in other parts of your application. Many people may not agree with this philosophy and perhaps some with experience evaluating applications might want to chime in.

I believe that the personal statement is a place to let the applications committee get to know you as a person. This is a good place to explain what personal factors made you choose dentistry. If it so happens that one of your achievements was an important factor in making your decision to pursue dentistry, then include it. On the other hand you should avoid looking for a reason to include things in your personal statement. I believe that the personal statement should "flow" in a very natural way, free of the feeling of forced thought or forced inclusion. It is far more important that your personal statement is interesting than it is for it to be all-inclusive. It is an opportunity for you to express yourself as a person. You can talk about personal interests, hobbies or experiences that helped you consider and reinforced your desire to pursue dentistry.

I know this sounds like stuff you've probably heard before and it may seem vague to you, but such is the nature of the personal statement - it really is a personal statement. Only you can decide what exactly goes into it.

This is my opinion on this topic, perhaps others can tell you what they think.

 

[combinator]

There was actually a guy that I knew who somehow found a way to compare dentistry to cycling. I don't think he posts here anymore though. Be creative 😀

 

[HBomb]

sxr71, Wow. Well put.

eric275, since you're asking, as sxr71 wrote, in a PS, adcoms are looking to get to know you as a person: what drives you; what makes you happy, what you've overcome to get here, what you plan to do once you get there, etc. In regards to "mention them (awards) as part of a bigger picture and not get into specifics", I think I'd actually stay away from generalities. Specifics are what you want, at least that's my opinion. So if an award helps drive your point home, then I'd be very choosy and select one very good example and explain why in detail.

 

[ecdoesit]

Like most of you have said,
rather than stating your accomplishments, tell adcom why/how does that particular activity make you feel and what have you learn. What kinda quality would you like to present to adcom. I would pick 2-3 quality that you value most. And explain to adcom what have you done to show these qualities. Of cos, the key is to make it interesting/attractive as well so that adcom wants to see you.

And please avoid weaknesses, unless your readers believe your strong countering reasons.

 

[ecdoesit]

btw, I hope you do appreciate these people posting.
Demanding for an answer in 3 hrs may not give time for reader to think and act.
Patience is one of the important must have in dental school application process.

 

[eric275]

btw, I hope you do appreciate these people posting.
Demanding for an answer in 3 hrs may not give time for reader to think and act.
Patience is one of the important must have in dental school application process.

Actually I don't recall demanding anything. My post was intended to be pretty light hearted, but if it came across as to strong I appologize to anyone who was offended.

I honestly do appriciate all of the posts and people's thoughts.
Thanks

 

[wimmcs]

I highly agree with everyone's post, however, I would like to add that while typing your PS, try to "paint a picture" of the kind of person you are. It's a vague statement, I'm sorry, so think about it. Good luck!

Like most of you have said,
rather than stating your accomplishments, tell adcom why/how does that particular activity make you feel and what have you learn. What kinda quality would you like to present to adcom. I would pick 2-3 quality that you value most. And explain to adcom what have you done to show these qualities. Of cos, the key is to make it interesting/attractive as well so that adcom wants to see you.

And please avoid weaknesses, unless your readers believe your strong countering reasons.

 

[Calculus1]

This is for TRYPMO esp. (because we both have to go through TMDSAS)I would talk about what lead me to dentistry and why it is the perfect match for both my personality and physical attributes(keen eye for detail, good hands, etc). Talking about your research fellowship... Boring. Keep it short sweet and about dentistry and why it will mesh well with you. I'm guessing that the Texas schools liked my essay because I got in to all of them.

 

[trypmo]

Thanks, Calc! 👍

 

[sirvandy]

Eric,
I wouldn't explicity repeat anything in your essay that is already accounted for in your post-secondary experiences section. Focus your essay on a narrative perspective of your motivations.

 

[eric275]

Thanks again all for the advice. I finally got my essay completed, edited and am pleased with the final product. I am having one last person, writting instructor that I'm pretty close with, read through it for any nit-picky type errors and then will submit it on my application. I'm glad to have it completed!!