How to make your PS stand out...when you don't have a "story" to tell.

[Kef318]

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I will be applying next summer and have begun working on my PS. I'm a typical student, from an average family, no financial hardships to overcome and no "story" to tell.

I began college as a nursing student and realized within the first semester that it wasn't for me; it was shortly after that I decided on dentistry. I've shadowed, volunteered, etc. and am convinced that this is the right career path for me.

I'm struggling with how to "stand out." Any tips, suggestions, advice?

Thanks!

 

[Illfavor]

I will be applying next summer and have begun working on my PS. I'm a typical student, from an average family, no financial hardships to overcome and no "story" to tell.

I began college as a nursing student and realized within the first semester that it wasn't for me; it was shortly after that I decided on dentistry. I've shadowed, volunteered, etc. and am convinced that this is the right career path for me.

I'm struggling with how to "stand out." Any tips, suggestions, advice?

Thanks!

I didn't think my story was all that interesting when I told it. I am a career-changer, but I just said what I had to say. I listed my motivations, and how my upbringing informed my decisions. I made it personal, but not overly so. I laid out my worldview in a sense...I told them what was important to me in this world, how my prior career had not satisfied that, and how dentistry was an opportunity to change myself, and "the world". As it turns out, it went pretty well. I was told by multiple interviewers it was one of the best they'd ever read. I didn't feel it was all that special, but I think it's important that you really say what matters to you. When you get into the interview, it will be clear if you actually believe it. I mentioned my family in mine, and we spent one of my interviews talking entirely about them and how they've shaped my life. PM me if you'd like to see mine and get an idea of the "template". My pre-health committee also did great work in preparing us for our personal statements. As you're doing, we started about 8 months early.

 

[nahehes49]

I started a month before so a bit of a procrastinator here but I'll be starting dental school in the fall. I was accepted to three so I'm guessing those three liked me ps. Who knows.

I looked at my extracurricular activities and my shadowing/volunteer experiences and picked the ones that were most important to me. Then connected them to dentistry.

I also hate writing personal statements. I feel awkward writing them or I always feel like the 'next' idea I have will be better. So I ended up writing my PS in a letter format. I addressed it to dentistry and explained why we would be perfect together. Pm me and I can send you a copy. I think the hardest part is brainstorming all your past experiences and putting them together. Reading other people's ps definitely helped me.

 

[CleverThought]

I will be applying next summer and have begun working on my PS. I'm a typical student, from an average family, no financial hardships to overcome and no "story" to tell.

I began college as a nursing student and realized within the first semester that it wasn't for me; it was shortly after that I decided on dentistry. I've shadowed, volunteered, etc. and am convinced that this is the right career path for me.

I'm struggling with how to "stand out." Any tips, suggestions, advice?

Thanks!

You sound exactly like me! I did two years of nursing school before I had a change of heart!

Sincerely write about why you decided to become a dentist, what drew you to that profession that perhaps nursing couldn't do for you. Be prepared for it to take a couple drafts to get it right and locate a trusted professor who can help you write it.

The best advice I got what to have those who truly know you read the personal statement and have them tell you if they get a sense of who you actually are by reading it. I remember my first draft being horribly generic and lacked personality. It look a couple times before I got it right.

I think I've not been inspired to write a blog post about PS this afternoon. Once I'm done with my calc final, of course!

 

[tandem7]

Charlie Rose was a speaker at my college graduation. The gist of his speech was that "everyone has a story to tell", even if you think they are boring and average at first. That advice has resonated with me my whole life, and I guarantee you have a story to tell that makes you unique and different from anyone else.

 

[Kef318]

I like the idea of mentioning my family, what shaped me, what's important to me, etc. When asked "why dentistry", is it appropriate to say that I feel it provides more of a balanced life? Since I am a woman, I'd like to someday be a wife and mother--med school and all that it entailed seems to be too much of a sacrifice. I don't want to come across as thinking that being a dentist is "easier'.

 

[sgv]

dental schools require you to shadow a dentist...so you should have a story...you may have to exaggerate an experience but who doesn't exaggerate a good story into a great story

 

[YYC]

There are the average applicants who "TELL" their experiences/stories and why they like/choose dentistry and yada yada yada in their personal statements. But there is also a group of applicants who "SHOW" their experiences/stories and why they like/choose dentistry in their writings. It's up to you to choose which group you want to be in. But just remember to keep this in mind when you are writing: "Don't just tell. Show."

 

[Troyvdg]

There are the average applicants who "TELL" their experiences/stories and why they like/choose dentistry and yada yada yada in their personal statements. But there is also a group of applicants who "SHOW" their experiences/stories and why they like/choose dentistry in their writings. It's up to you to choose which group you want to be in. But just remember to keep this in mind when you are writing: "Don't just tell. Show."

This is the best piece of advice, and I believe it played a tremendous role in getting me noticed amongst the many applications. If you don't have a unique story, tell it in a unique way. Grab the readers attention and hold it. Don't tell the reader "this is why I'm passionate about dentistry"..show them!

 

[shootingstar7]

I didn't think my story was all that interesting when I told it. I am a career-changer, but I just said what I had to say. I listed my motivations, and how my upbringing informed my decisions. I made it personal, but not overly so. I laid out my worldview in a sense...I told them what was important to me in this world, how my prior career had not satisfied that, and how dentistry was an opportunity to change myself, and "the world". As it turns out, it went pretty well. I was told by multiple interviewers it was one of the best they'd ever read. I didn't feel it was all that special, but I think it's important that you really say what matters to you. When you get into the interview, it will be clear if you actually believe it. I mentioned my family in mine, and we spent one of my interviews talking entirely about them and how they've shaped my life. PM me if you'd like to see mine and get an idea of the "template". My pre-health committee also did great work in preparing us for our personal statements. As you're doing, we started about 8 months early.

This is a great comment. I told my "story", and although I had a good one and it got me into dental school, I wish I had just been more down to earth in my ps. Just being yourself lays the groundwork for being able to talk about yourself in your interviews. I wanted to be in medicine because I wanted to be in a highly paid profession without being in a cut throat profession like business or law. Also, medical professions are great because you can help people and not be forced to sacrifice your ethical beliefs to make money. I wanted specifically to be a dentist because I didn't want to spend my life at the hospital like my dad who is a surgeon. I didn't say these things in my ps though because I didn't think they were the "right" reasons. I thought I had to sound like Mother Theresa in my ps to get info dental school.

 

[kevin512]

make it up or go hitch-hiking.

 

[mts2801]

I just connected the extracurricular experiences that were important to me to the field of dentistry (I picked a couple themes for my statement and brainstormed from there).

My best advice would be to start early! After you say what you want to, there's still a lot of work that has to go into it so that it's actually well written and compelling. The more times you look it over, the more that you catch. Personally, I hate the PS that just talk about this one ~life changing~ moment that you saw in a dental office that made you realize you want to be a dentist. Unless you're an exceptional writer (which given the arrogance of some pre-dents, lots of students probably think you are-- leave that distinction up to your adviser), it'll be difficult for that story to sound anything but exaggerated and corny; there's a reason why you were shadowing in the first place, don't pretend that this one cool moment at the office defined everything for you. Unless that's actually the case, but then you better make sure that your story is exceptionally well-written, compelling, and genuine.

 

[Glimmer1991]

I like mts's advice. Be genuine. Don't make something bigger than it actually is. We didn't all have some "AHA!!!" lightbulb moment where we chose dentistry. A lot of us reached that decision over time, after a lot of careful consideration about our lifelong goals. It isn't anything to be ashamed of!

Just talk about what matters to you for lifelong fulfillment, and tie that back in with dentistry. Talk about your extracurricular activities, and explain how participating in those have helped you to hone skills that will make you a fantastic dentist.

By and large, a personal statement isn't going to help you much unless it is AWESOME. However, t can hurt you if it is AWFUL. Make sure it is good enough, but don't worry if it isn't the most earth-shattering piece ever. Present yourself professionally and be genuine. Your PS doesn't have to be the most compelling part of your application, so long as you have something else that makes you stand out. You can't be perfect in every regard.

The hardest part of a personal statement is just *starting* it. Begin early. Give it to some good writers you know and have them give you feedback. Yes, it sucks to have to write multiple drafts of a paper (this is something I usually don't do), but it pays off in the end. This is also why it helps to start early. 🙂 Have people who know you well read over it ask them if it conveys who you are as a person.

 

[WGG]

This is the best piece of advice, and I believe it played a tremendous role in getting me noticed amongst the many applications. If you don't have a unique story, tell it in a unique way. Grab the readers attention and hold it. Don't tell the reader "this is why I'm passionate about dentistry"..show them!

There are the average applicants who "TELL" their experiences/stories and why they like/choose dentistry and yada yada yada in their personal statements. But there is also a group of applicants who "SHOW" their experiences/stories and why they like/choose dentistry in their writings. It's up to you to choose which group you want to be in. But just remember to keep this in mind when you are writing: "Don't just tell. Show."

Hi YYC,

This is a really interesting comment, and I feel like it's an extremely important one. I'm in the process of writing my personal statement and am certainly "telling" my story rather than "showing" them. What exactly do you mean by "showing" it? Can you provide some simple examples? Thanks so much!

--Rowan

 

[FlossFloss]

I have below average gpa, and just ok DAT. My PS is in my opinion very straight forward..I have done proofreading and it seems to be completed, but I'm not quite sure anymore. Unlike the advice from many of the people here, mine is a bit straight forward, about overcoming a financial difficulty that struck randomly, and how I became a better person through it. and there isn't that much "showing" if at all. I just said that I was so excited and wished I were the one doing the procedures when I watched. With average and below average stats...am I doomed if I just say it as it is?

 

[sgv]

I have below average gpa, and just ok DAT. My PS is in my opinion very straight forward..I have done proofreading and it seems to be completed, but I'm not quite sure anymore. Unlike the advice from many of the people here, mine is a bit straight forward, about overcoming a financial difficulty that struck randomly, and how I became a better person through it. and there isn't that much "showing" if at all. I just said that I was so excited and wished I were the one doing the procedures when I watched. With average and below average stats...am I doomed if I just say it as it is?

If by straightforward you mean your sentence structures are simple statements then there's a good chance it's boring. Either that or you have a perfectly fine personal statement and you're just getting application jitters. A cookie cutter approach to a personal statement is to start with a brief story related to dentistry that had you hooked on dentistry. Spend the body of the paragraph elaborating on two or three qualities of a good dentist and then write about experiences that gave you, or at least revealed to you, those qualities of a dentist. Wrap it up by referencing the first story.

 

[kaov]

I also have the same concerns as the OP. Does anyone know where I can find some sample PS to read through?

 

[#kalel]

Put your exaggeration cap on. An eloquent prose and a wad of exaggeration can turn even a one-day shadowing or volunteering experience into a life-changing, toe-curling, dragon-slaying adventure.

 

[KermitMorgenstein]

Put your exaggeration cap on. An eloquent prose and a wad of exaggeration can turn even a one-day shadowing or volunteering experience into a life-changing, toe-curling, dragon-slaying adventure.

You should have this guy help you out!


meow

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

Don't write things like, "It was an eye-opening experience…" Write about the experience itself and allow the reader to conclude those things.

 

[*Garam Masala*]

how do you manage to do it all in 4500 characters? Im struggling to cut down from 4950. take out commas? Quotations?