MD/PhD Personal Statement

[Flick]

Hi Everyone,
Like many of you, I am knee deep in secondaries right now and was wondering if some of the senior members might have some quick advice regarding the MD/PhD essay.

I know how important this essay is, which is why I am trying to get it "just right." My question really revolves around how much detail to go into. I am finding it difficult to mesh why I want the MD/PhD, why I want to do the MD/PhD at X school, my career goals, and my research experience into ~1.5 pages. I don't want to go too detailed and bore the readers to death, but at the same time don't want to skimp and make it look like I didn't really do any substantive work.

Any suggestions?

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[Vader]

I would focus on your goals and motivations for doing the MD/PhD, the highlights of your research experience, and your ultimate career goals. It is best to find a way to weave the piece together via a common theme and make it flow. This will take numerous revisions (like the AMCAS personal statement). Try to get your research advisor(s) and other people to read and help you revise.

For the description of your research projects, it is best to give a general overview of what you did, your reasons for doing it, what it taught you, and future directions. If you go into too much detail, you will bore the reader and not have enough space for everything.

Think of this as just the beginning--writing is a vital skill in science and involves the ability to condense your thoughts in a logiclal and flowing manner.

Hope this helps.

 

[CaNEM]

I'm sure many of us, including me, would not mind looking over MD/PhD statements if you guys were looking for another opinion.