Name dropping in PS

[nick_carraway]

Hi all,

I've read some personal statements in TPR's book on med school essays that mention the names of researchers and mentors with whom the applicants have worked.

Is it better to leave the names of influential faculty in the EC section of the AMCAS or to drop them into the PS?

Thanks in advance!

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[Critical Mass]

Names are important in the EC section. There is also nothing wrong with putting them in the essay as well. Just don't let the name-dropping get in the way of conveying your message.

 

[JackofAllTrades]

Make sure you integrate it into your storyline. "Working in XXX's lab gave taught me XYZ. She was a great mentor because $&*(#"

 

[Critical Mass]

Make sure you integrate it into your storyline. "Working in XXX's lab gave taught me XYZ. She was a great mentor because $&*(#"

Trudat.

 

[etf]

well, if you can write: "working with my dad, the dean of xyz school of medicine" i think it'd be ok...

 

[foofish]

Make sure you integrate it into your storyline. "Working in XXX's lab gave taught me XYZ. She was a great mentor because $&*(#"

I definitely agree with the first portion, but I would ease up on the second bit...the PS is about *you*, your goals, and your qualities, and not about waxing poetic your (famous) mentor. Falling into the trap of talking about other people and situations external to yourself is a common, and major, mistake people make in the PS (or so said the premed advisors at my school during a PS workshop). Just be careful to hit the right balance.

That said, I did lightly name drop in one secondary essay, but it was in a "Why are you interested in ____ SOM?" essay...and it definitely came up in the interview. A close family member was referred to this guy as a patient and study candidate, and I mentioned his name just in terms of that he and his research was my first real exposure to the school, etc., which was the truth.

 

[nick_carraway]

That said, I did lightly name drop in one secondary essay, but it was in a "Why are you interested in ____ SOM?" essay...and it definitely came up in the interview.

So if I drop a name, I should be prepared to talk about him a lot? Was it a bad thing that it came up in the interview?

 

[BigRedPremed]

Hi all,

I've read some personal statements in TPR's book on med school essays that mention the names of researchers and mentors with whom the applicants have worked.

Is it better to leave the names of influential faculty in the EC section of the AMCAS or to drop them into the PS?

Thanks in advance!

I find that book terribly depressing. Just about every one of the PS' original authors got into Harvard Med (was that a requirement for their PS being included in the book )

 

[nick_carraway]

I find that book terribly depressing. Just about every one of the PS' original authors got into Harvard Med (was that a requirement for their PS being included in the book )

Oh geez the Barron's PS book is even worse. At least with TPR's book, you knew all the stats of the applicants. For Barron's, it just told you which school they got into and not much else.

In the TPR, there were some ppl with tons of rejections under their belt despite relatively good stats so they seem more human... well not really.

It's certainly less sobering than reading SDN, anyway!