Most Meaningful Experience & Personal Statement

[Hopeful_Doc123]

One of my most rewarding experiences in undergrad has been volunteering at a local clinic that provides care for homeless individuals. I talk about my experiences in great length in my personal statement (mostly individual stories and what I have learned in my time there). Would it be strange not to include it as one of my most meaningful experiences in my work/activities section as well? I am worried some parts will repeat.

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[On_The_Way_Up]

To my understanding Work/Activities section is more general description of what you did. In your PS you can give actual examples/stories and actions you took at the local clinic. More of a show and not just describing what you did. As they say show, don't tell. But take what I say with a grain of salt. I will be following this thread to see what an adcom says.

 

[HomeSkool]

If it was really one of your most meaningful experiences that impacted your pathway to med school, I'd kind of expect to see it discussed in both places on your application.

 

[medDaisuki]

Same boat... I talked about it in both places.

 

[907914]

If it was really one of your most meaningful experiences that impacted your pathway to med school, I'd kind of expect to see it discussed in both places on your application.

I have my research as one of my most meaningful activities but the themes behind research didn’t really fit either of my other two MM (Military and Shadowing). So while elements of those are in my PS the research is not at all. Is that fine?

 

[HomeSkool]

I have my research as one of my most meaningful activities but the themes behind research didn’t really fit either of my other two MM (Military and Shadowing). So while elements of those are in my PS the research is not at all. Is that fine?

Yes. The clinical MM is much more important in terms of your decision to attend med school.

 

[BOAO523]

I think it's common for there to be overlap between PS and meaningful activities. I don't think this is an issue as far as adcoms are concerned but only as long as you're insightful about your experience in different ways for each section. For instance in my PS I talked about my meaningful experiences in a general/abstract way and how it helped me determine I wanted a career in medicine. But I used the primary/meaningful section to give specifics of exactly what I did and elaborate even further on what I learned.

 

[keu]

I think it's common for there to be overlap between PS and meaningful activities. I don't think this is an issue as far as adcoms are concerned but only as long as you're insightful about your experience in different ways for each section. For instance in my PS I talked about my meaningful experiences in a general/abstract way and how it helped me determine I wanted a career in medicine. But I used the primary/meaningful section to give specifics of exactly what I did and elaborate even further on what I learned.

Hey @BOAO523 , this is what I am planning on doing as well. Did it work for you?

 

[BOAO523]

Hi Keu, this worked for me bigtime. My meaningful experiences section was abridged (i think i left 2 or 3 slots blank) but there was no "fluff" and I just talked about things from a different vantage point!

 

[keu]

Hi Keu, this worked for me bigtime. My meaningful experiences section was abridged (i think i left 2 or 3 slots blank) but there was no "fluff" and I just talked about things from a different vantage point!

Great, thanks for your insight.