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so on both sdn and reddit one piece of generic advice that you will often hear is some version of "make sure you have a strong narrative!". What does that even mean? I think that is a legitimate question and there probably is not a single answer to it. Here I will walk-through how I tackled this problem as an applicant by sitting down and doing some thought experiments based on the info I'd gathered up to that point about medical school admissions. I don't think it's the only way to go about "crafting your narrative" but it is one way and I think it worked pretty well for me.
What is "the narrative" in the context of your application? It is the thread which runs through each of the pieces of your app and ties them all together. The soft bit of your app. The narrative is not valuable in and of itself, but can reinforce, undermine, or explicate the harder bits. Ideally, you want the hard bits to be strong on their own – that is a baseline expectation for a competitive applicant – but your narrative can reinforce them and help your app reach its full potential.
How is your narrative communicated through your application materials? Through the PS, Work/Activities section, LORs, secondary essays, and the interview.
What should your narrative try to accomplish? The goal of your application is to answer two questions in the mind of the screener/reviewer/adcom: First, is there a credible reason why this person both wants and should go to medical school? Second, is there a compelling argument for offering this person an interview slot and potentially a seat at our medical school?
How do you craft your narrative? By deliberately connecting the disparate elements of your application materials through the elaboration of a few core themes central to your answer to the above two questions where each part of your application illuminates a different angle of those core themes and is not merely repetitive but internally consistent and always providing new and relevant information.
Let me give some examples from my application to help illustrate what I mean.
I applied MD/PhD so what shape my narrative ought to take was fairly straightforward, one way that dual-degree applicants are pretty lucky: It should highlight my commitment to research and why I think getting both an MD and PhD would best help me achieve my goals. My reasons for pursuing medicine in addition to the PhD boiled down to: I enjoy the service aspect of medicine and the clinical environment; I believe that having a broad education in applied biology and clinical medicine will enhance the kind of scientist I want to become.
How to reinforce these themes? Well, first my PS talked specifically about why I wanted to pursue the MD degree (since MD/PhDs also have to write a second essay on why they want to do research). It mentioned that interacting with physician scientists convinced me of the value the clinical perspective brought to certain kinds of biomedical research. Next, one of my most meaningful activities pertained to the specific instance where I worked with physician scientists on a research project; in the Most Meaningful elaboration (when you select MM you get some extra space to write about the activity) I explained that it was meaningful precisely because this is where I had the opportunity to learn about being a physician scientist IRL beyond my own daydreaming. One of my LORs was from my mentor on that project. When I was invited for interview, I always made sure to re-mention this experience when asked "Why MD/PhD?" which basically everyone and their mother will ask you on every single interview (with good reason).
This is one example. I repeated this process with all of the core qualities about myself that I wanted to highlight: potential and aptitude for leadership, aptitude for research, commitment to service. All of my most meaningful activities had an associated LOR which was sought out specifically with this goal in mind in addition to the required LORs everyone needs to have (remember that it's OK to have more letters than you will actually use for every school as the LOR requirements/limits do vary somewhat between individual schools). It is also important to remember that not every single thing you ever did in UG needs to be on your app. I used a slot for two of my hobbies -- writing and theatre -- in lieu of a few volunteer activities I did freshman year because I didnt think they would add much to my app but the hobbies helped reinforce some other things as it was connected to my main leadership experience and humanized me on paper.
My reasoning for all of this is that I wanted every statement I made on my app to have some weight behind it, whether its a specific experience or an LOR. My reasons for going into medicine are not unique or interesting (It was "I like science and I want to help people all along!! muahaha") and the reasons I like science are not either (I enjoy the creative aspect, potential for discovery, I want to always keep challenging myself intellectually because it makes work more fun and rewarding), and those are basically the reasons I gave in my essays. What I wanted to have is credibility, which I think is a lot harder to establish, and the groundwork has to be laid by you by seeking out specific experiences and cultivating relationships throughout UG + gap years (if nec.).
I hope this was helpful for people as they begin to plan their apps for the 2020-2021 cycle. Also make sure you go back and read Med Ed's "You are doing it wrong" series before you write your PS / activity descriptions.
What is "the narrative" in the context of your application? It is the thread which runs through each of the pieces of your app and ties them all together. The soft bit of your app. The narrative is not valuable in and of itself, but can reinforce, undermine, or explicate the harder bits. Ideally, you want the hard bits to be strong on their own – that is a baseline expectation for a competitive applicant – but your narrative can reinforce them and help your app reach its full potential.
How is your narrative communicated through your application materials? Through the PS, Work/Activities section, LORs, secondary essays, and the interview.
What should your narrative try to accomplish? The goal of your application is to answer two questions in the mind of the screener/reviewer/adcom: First, is there a credible reason why this person both wants and should go to medical school? Second, is there a compelling argument for offering this person an interview slot and potentially a seat at our medical school?
How do you craft your narrative? By deliberately connecting the disparate elements of your application materials through the elaboration of a few core themes central to your answer to the above two questions where each part of your application illuminates a different angle of those core themes and is not merely repetitive but internally consistent and always providing new and relevant information.
Let me give some examples from my application to help illustrate what I mean.
I applied MD/PhD so what shape my narrative ought to take was fairly straightforward, one way that dual-degree applicants are pretty lucky: It should highlight my commitment to research and why I think getting both an MD and PhD would best help me achieve my goals. My reasons for pursuing medicine in addition to the PhD boiled down to: I enjoy the service aspect of medicine and the clinical environment; I believe that having a broad education in applied biology and clinical medicine will enhance the kind of scientist I want to become.
How to reinforce these themes? Well, first my PS talked specifically about why I wanted to pursue the MD degree (since MD/PhDs also have to write a second essay on why they want to do research). It mentioned that interacting with physician scientists convinced me of the value the clinical perspective brought to certain kinds of biomedical research. Next, one of my most meaningful activities pertained to the specific instance where I worked with physician scientists on a research project; in the Most Meaningful elaboration (when you select MM you get some extra space to write about the activity) I explained that it was meaningful precisely because this is where I had the opportunity to learn about being a physician scientist IRL beyond my own daydreaming. One of my LORs was from my mentor on that project. When I was invited for interview, I always made sure to re-mention this experience when asked "Why MD/PhD?" which basically everyone and their mother will ask you on every single interview (with good reason).
This is one example. I repeated this process with all of the core qualities about myself that I wanted to highlight: potential and aptitude for leadership, aptitude for research, commitment to service. All of my most meaningful activities had an associated LOR which was sought out specifically with this goal in mind in addition to the required LORs everyone needs to have (remember that it's OK to have more letters than you will actually use for every school as the LOR requirements/limits do vary somewhat between individual schools). It is also important to remember that not every single thing you ever did in UG needs to be on your app. I used a slot for two of my hobbies -- writing and theatre -- in lieu of a few volunteer activities I did freshman year because I didnt think they would add much to my app but the hobbies helped reinforce some other things as it was connected to my main leadership experience and humanized me on paper.
My reasoning for all of this is that I wanted every statement I made on my app to have some weight behind it, whether its a specific experience or an LOR. My reasons for going into medicine are not unique or interesting (It was "I like science and I want to help people all along!! muahaha") and the reasons I like science are not either (I enjoy the creative aspect, potential for discovery, I want to always keep challenging myself intellectually because it makes work more fun and rewarding), and those are basically the reasons I gave in my essays. What I wanted to have is credibility, which I think is a lot harder to establish, and the groundwork has to be laid by you by seeking out specific experiences and cultivating relationships throughout UG + gap years (if nec.).
I hope this was helpful for people as they begin to plan their apps for the 2020-2021 cycle. Also make sure you go back and read Med Ed's "You are doing it wrong" series before you write your PS / activity descriptions.
