My personal statement reads like a novel

[student113]

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Do you guys think it's okay that most of my P.S. is literally a long story of the windy road that led me to medicine, instead of focused on things I'm doing in the present? There's just no room to do both 🙁

Besides, it should explain how we got here right? The stories in my past really do answer this question, and I figure I'll write about my present activities more in secondaries anyway.

Does that sound okay?

 

[bobsmith]

Yeah, your story/reason for going into medicine is what it is -- just tell it. In fact, it'll probably a welcome change for admissions people who read the usual "and then I volunteered at this hospital and found that I really liked helping people..."

That being said, definitely get other people to read it to make sure the 'long windy story' you describe isn't too long and windy

 

[red10]

if you feel like your essay shows what you've done to make medicine a reality and it maybe leads up to the present then I think you'd be ok (although i've never read it so i can't say for certain of course). I mean you don't want to write about how you broke your arm in 3rd grade and wanted to be a doctor and completely fail to mention how you shadowed and volunteered etc to make sure medicine was your calling.
But your activities section of AMCAS tells what you're doing now hopefully so if you don't mention everything you're doing this semester, its still cool.

 

[Naijaba]

I agree that your personal statement must be true, even if it is wordy. I started mine at the age of 7, chronicled my adventures with computers throughout middle school, junior high, high school, and college without even mentioning medicine. I finally concluded by wrapping it all together on why I decided to be a doctor during the end of my sophomore year in college.

EDIT: A large part of my PS was community service throughout my life, so don't think it was completely computer-oriented.

 

[student113]

Haha Naijaba, your Edit made me laugh for some reason.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Now I just have to cut 3000 characters...feels like butchering my baby.

 

[bannie22]

a novel sounds interesting. i would love to read it

 

[BlueElmo]

Is it a fun novel?

 

[jla314]

Haha Naijaba, your Edit made me laugh for some reason.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Now I just have to cut 3000 characters...feels like butchering my baby.

yeah i think the problem with writing a PS in the form of lots of little stories (i.e. the story of your long windy road) in the space of so few characters is that it may come across as disjointed - there is no space to develop any part of your past or anything you may have learned from your experiences. i've learned from my premed advisors that it is better to focus on demonstrating what you have learned and gained from your experiences rather than on a narrative list of your experiences that lacks reflection. (after all, your activities section already demonstrates to a large extent a narrative of the type of 'experiences' you've had - the PS is place where you can explore an area of importance in depth and explain why it is meaningful or significant to you).

if i were you i'd try to pick some elements that are thematic and go together rather than listing off the various other things you've considered before going into medicine. or list a handful (two or three at most) of milestones so you have a chance to give them the reflective exploration they deserve.

IMHO a PS is not a chronological autobiography. it probably shouldn't read like one; rather, it should demonstrate that you are a mature, responsible, thoughtful individual who can demonstrate all of these qualities in a well synthesized, coherent, reflective and thematically relevant essay.

 

[Rach83]

I also wrote a life "story" leading to medicine that started in childhood. Of course I had to skip through time quite a bit b/c of the character limit but I think I managed to keep it flowing nicely. I'm pretty sure my essay has gotten me most of my interviews. My interviewers have all said something nice about my essay (that it was "interesting" or that it made them want to meet me). Go for it!

 

[flip26]

Do you guys think it's okay that most of my P.S. is literally a long story of the windy road that led me to medicine, instead of focused on things I'm doing in the present? There's just no room to do both 🙁

Besides, it should explain how we got here right? The stories in my past really do answer this question, and I figure I'll write about my present activities more in secondaries anyway.

Does that sound okay?

Don't listen to naysayers. You are going about this the correct way.

The PS is not the place where applicants restate what is contained in the "experience" section. The PS, correctly done, will give a reader insight into your motivation, and your preparation, for becoming a physician.

 

[student113]

Awesome, thanks guys.

It's sad though that I have to cut another 2,000 characters, which probably can't be done with just tightening things and might be a structural change 🙁

Haha maybe I can naively hope that they decided to increase the number of allowed characters for next year.

 

[Sluggie]

Everyone likes to hear a story. Maybe it's the inner kid in all of us. But, this "story" should be unique. Imagine being on adcom and reading thousands of variants of "I wanted to be a doctor since I saw my uncle sick as a child and realized how much his doctors help him.... As I seek professional training, I hope to extend this same care to my patients"

Really, be unique. Just don't go too over the top like this guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecce_Homo_(Nietzsche)

 

[azrael87]

If it's true and expresses your desire to become a doctor, then a story format is a great way to make a personal statement. Adcoms read a ton of these thing so the more interesting and natural it reads, the better.

I couldn't do that with much relevance since I didn't even realize I was interested/would be good at medicine until I began college. I did more of a critical analysis of all my major reasons for wanting to be a doctor in a sort of persuasive/informative speech style. That fit my personality better, and a story probably fits yours. Showing a bit of your personality is part of the point of the P.S.

 

[Bacchus]

Don't try to mold your personal statement to a preconceived format. I just read mine, after about a year of not looking at it, and I wrote about no current happenings at the time of application. I figured my primary and secondary applications would cover those aspects.

Its interesting to reread. I had no idea of the overall theme of my essay until just now. Like you, I told a story. My story focuses on how I could be a part of and lead the healthcare team as a physician, highlighting my natural qualities. Also, I only use two examples in my entire essay to convey that message.