How reliable are personal statement readers online?

[westsidestoryz]

---

Members do not see this ad.

My PS on google doc became a rainbow. It does not even look like I wrote it anymore. Many made the same valid points, which I will make to change, but in terms of deleting a chunk of my essay, im not sure how I feel about that.

In your experience, how did you take the feedback from readers on SDN and reddit?

 

[Toutie]

Your PS should be your voice. PS readers can certainly help with grammar, flow, etc. But ultimately it should be your voice.

 

[westsidestoryz]

yes, when they deleted one chunk of my essay, which I thought it was important, I had to question the validity. I have no idea if they are pre-meds, med students, or eng majors

 

[Toutie]

yes, when they deleted one chunk of my essay, which I thought it was important, I had to question the validity. I have no idea if they are pre-meds, med students, or eng majors

Exactly. Some are very good at editing and suggestions, and others are pre-meds even less qualified than you.

If you can find a graduate English major at your school it might be your best bet for help.

 

[Osminog]

People have very different preferences when it comes to style, syntax, content, etc., and their individual preferences will influence the feedback they give you. When you automatically accept and combine the proposed edits/revisions of 20 different people, each of whom has different beliefs about what a med school essay ought to look like, what you end up with is a mound of utter garbage... which is likely what you have now.

You have to use your personal judgment to make the essay say what you want it to say. Ultimately, you have to be the voice behind it.

 

[westsidestoryz]

Exactly. Some are very good at editing and suggestions, and others are pre-meds even less qualified than you.

If you can find a graduate English major at your school it might be your best bet for help.

I have been out of school for some time now, which is why I had to ask online editors. But at this point, with so many editors giving different feedback, I will never finish this essay. Its just going around in circles.

 

[Toutie]

Your PS is not the most important part of your application. It does not have to be a masterpiece...very few are. It should show why you want a career in medicine. It should be in your voice...as if you were speaking the words out loud in a conversation to someone. Unless you have absolutely no writing ability at all, most of the help you recieve should be limited to grammar and possibly flow.

 

[westsidestoryz]

Your PS is not the most important part of your application. It does not have to be a masterpiece...very few are. It should show why you want a career in medicine. It should be in your voice...as if you were speaking the words out loud in a conversation to someone. Unless you have absolutely no writing ability at all, most of the help you recieve should be limited to grammar and possibly flow.

Would you care to read my PS?

 

[Toutie]

Would you care to read my PS?

lmao...heck no. 😱 I was not an English major and my writing is horrible! Trust me, I would not be of any help.

 

[westsidestoryz]

lmao...heck no. 😱 I was not an English major and my writing is horrible! Trust me, I would not be of any help.

arghhh ok. thanks anyways!

 

[ZotZotter]

Another thing to consider is how confidently you will be able to speak about your personal statement if you feel like it has been edited/modified by tons of people. Like someone said above it should be in your own voice and it should be what you feel like sharing about yourself....then only will you be able to discuss it confidently, say, in an interview (and at least in my experience, interviews consistently asked me a few questions about my PS)

 

[westsidestoryz]

Another thing to consider is how confidently you will be able to speak about your personal statement if you feel like it has been edited/modified by tons of people. Like someone said above it should be in your own voice and it should be what you feel like sharing about yourself....then only will you be able to discuss it confidently, say, in an interview (and at least in my experience, interviews consistently asked me a few questions about my PS)

yes, besides the usual grammar and advise on transition/flows, I think most of my essay will stay the same.

 

[westsidestoryz]

I know this isn't a direct answer to your question - I am still at the brainstorming stage for my PS. But, as an English major and premed student I urge you not to go to premeds. Telling your story is really a matter of style, you can make the most boring topic engaging and make yourself come through if you can write it well.

I've read a lot of premeds at school's papers and they are pretty awful to be blunt, not because of the idea or story, but weak communication to the reader. I know a lot of people on here say it's all about you and being yourself and your voice etc etc, I think that's only a part of it -- what makes it work is it being well written and striking. Definitely find some kids who are english majors and talk through it with them rather than giving google doc access. Give them your basic points, and work with them for crafting the actual writing

Giving google doc access to premeds was not a good idea to say the least. Its a skeleton of its formal self. A mere shadow to my once glorious piece.

 

[frightenedrabbit]

Giving google doc access to premeds was not a good idea to say the least. Its a skeleton of its formal self. A mere shadow to my once glorious piece.

Haha go to edit history and bring it back to OG!

 

[westsidestoryz]

Haha go to edit history and bring it back to OG!

Will do!

What I learned today: have thick ears

 

[buckoh24]

Make sure to try and keep your voice if there are edits. Im more of a formal writer and things tend to be rigid when I type despite me having a very relaxed speaking style. Just pretend you are reading it to a family member who knows you well and will call you out and be like "you didnt write that. It doesnt sound like you at all". I SUCK at grammar and my sentences are sometimes formulated in a weird way so I think changes in that respect are usually the best. But its also YOUR story so make sure you dont lose that aspect. Very few PSs are amazing and will wow an adcom and its more likely that the essay may be negative than it is positive. Its usually neutral like 90% of the time. Shoot for the neutral/positive end and you should be fine.

 

[Fidelio17]

For what it's worth: I had 3 physicians (one resident, one fellow, one attending), 4 professors (2 chem, 2 bio, all phds), the college career center director (phd), my high school English teacher, my sister & at least 5 undergrad students (people who known me well / I respect) read mine. (I may have gone a little overboard.)

No two people had the same opinion on what should be changed.

Given that, I decided to, erm, disregard most suggestions. There were a few fantastic suggestions among the bunch (which I took), but I decided not to change anything that threatened the integrity of my voice and my narrative. Language reveals a lot about who you are, so your personal statement should be an authentic representation of you. A polished and well-proofread representation, but still yours.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

My PS on google doc became a rainbow. It does not even look like I wrote it anymore. Many made the same valid points, which I will make to change, but in terms of deleting a chunk of my essay, im not sure how I feel about that.

In your experience, how did you take the feedback from readers on SDN and reddit?

Stop sending PS out through Google Docs. PM it. Your readers can still edit that way. That is what I have each person do that sends me theirs. I don't even read theirs from Google Docs versions because so many people edit it. Plus its anonymous that way.

 

[westsidestoryz]

Stop sending PS out through Google Docs. PM it. Your readers can still edit that way. That is what I have each person do that sends me theirs. I don't even read theirs from Google Docs versions because so many people edit it. Plus its anonymous that way.

Lesson learned the hard way lol

 

[Latteandaprayer]

Sorry to revive this after a couple-day hiatus and probably after you’ve submitted, but as an English major I learned pretty quickly that the role of readers is to improve flow and excitement, not to change anything. The role of a reader should be to tell you how strong the evidence is, how well you prove your “thesis” (why you want to be a doctor), and to give tips that make the essay easier to read or just less boring.

As an English major, though, I can also say that most people will give tips based on how they would write it. I’ve read plenty of PSs and college essays, and I always find myself telling someone to delete something or to reword it, and I constantly have to step back and realize it’s someone else’s essay, and as soon as it’s touched by someone other than the essay writer, it loses a little voice.

TL;DR: I’ll happily read your PS, but keep in mind that at the end of the day your PS should make you happy. If you don’t like it, for the love of God do not submit it.

 

[Lucca]

I’ve won a few awards IRL for my writing and here’s my advice:

1. Only give your PS to people who know you really well. Doesn’t matter if they have the grammar of a first grader, what matters is that they know you. Use the Purdue OWL if you have grammar worries.

2. Kill your children. When you write something and fall in love with it it can be very difficult to change or delete it. However, sometimes even the most beautiful sentence in an essay just doesn’t belong. This is a difficult thing to parse. I like to get some distance between the draft and editing. I’ll write and then not think about it for a day and go back to it afterwards.

3. Don’t take everyone’s advice, but don’t dismiss anyone’s advice. You are the senior editor of your PS. You take in all suggestions and make executive decisions. Think about each one and whether or not it will fit with your narrative.

Ultimately, the PS is not the most important part of your app. If it is honest and written competently that will be more than enough.

 

[fatjonahhill]

Late to this thread, but haven't seen an important tip for this situation: if multiple editors bring up the same point, you should probably listen. Take other edits with a grain of salt, but if 2 or 3 unrelated readers are all saying the same thing then it's likely valid criticism.

 

[futuremdforme]

Late to this thread, but haven't seen an important tip for this situation: if multiple editors bring up the same point, you should probably listen. Take other edits with a grain of salt, but if 2 or 3 unrelated readers are all saying the same thing then it's likely valid criticism.

Agree with this. Also consider what the credentials of the person are -- and if you believe them!

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

I've been editing some PS's for folks on SDN this cycle, but I always send it back to them with the caveat that they should take all of my comments with a grain of salt (or several), and to feel free to ignore anything that doesn't work for them. I'm very well aware that I'm not an adcom, and that I don't know them personally - my hope is that they use my comments to consider pieces of their PS that may be confusing/sound awkward to the stranger on the admissions committee that will read their statement, as well as the pieces that are working really well and should be kept. I do think there is value in having a stranger review your PS - some things like anecdotes can make perfect sense to someone who knows you well even if it's poorly written, because they have the context to fill in any blanks or clarify any confusion. An adcom won't have that context and may just miss the point entirely.

If you're sending your PS to someone for edits/comments, you should never automatically accept all of their changes to your document without careful thought. When I'm editing a google doc (which is logistically so much easier than when it's sent to me in a PM) I try to add most of my feedback as comments, and do any in-line editing in "suggestion" mode. That way my words don't sneak into their writing without review. It may be worthwhile to request that your readers do this, or send them a link to a "comment only" version of the document. And be sure to keep a clean copy of your original PS to compare to if needed.