Non-Trad Personal Statement Advice

[MichAAGC]

While I understand that the PS's advantage is its personal touch, I'm looking for some advice in how best to approach it. I'm a relatively non-traditional applicant for this coming cycle, and I am fortunate to be able to draw from varied experiences.

However, because of this, I am struggling to condense these experiences into a cohesive reason behind my motivations. Some of these experiences have changed me greatly, but not all are clinical in nature and only served to help me expand my perspective. Others are intensely personal and I am afraid to overshare. Your thoughts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrFortiusNatando]

While I understand that the PS's advantage is its personal touch, I'm looking for some advice in how best to approach it. I'm a relatively non-traditional applicant for this coming cycle, and I am fortunate to be able to draw from varied experiences.

However, because of this, I am struggling to condense these experiences into a cohesive reason behind my motivations. Some of these experiences have changed me greatly, but not all are clinical in nature and only served to help me expand my perspective. Others are intensely personal and I am afraid to overshare. Your thoughts?

As a non-traditional applicant, you have a maturity that others still in college likely will not have. So listen to that inner voice that is afraid to overshare. Anything that you feel is "intensely personal" probably does not belong in a PS. You might be able to allude to those experiences in secondaries or in interviews, but I recommend you do some practice interviews to make sure that you can explain your circumstances in a coherent and positive manner.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Moving to nontrad where most of us have experience in that.

 

[907914]

While I understand that the PS's advantage is its personal touch, I'm looking for some advice in how best to approach it. I'm a relatively non-traditional applicant for this coming cycle, and I am fortunate to be able to draw from varied experiences.

However, because of this, I am struggling to condense these experiences into a cohesive reason behind my motivations. Some of these experiences have changed me greatly, but not all are clinical in nature and only served to help me expand my perspective. Others are intensely personal and I am afraid to overshare. Your thoughts?

I found myself in a similar situation as you on draft 1. Trying to find a way to weave a cohesive story of the “spark” to now. Why medicine and what I have done since....Now, my PS is narrowed down literally to 2 activities, one that inspired the other. This is an entire PS about the experience that drew me in to healthcare and the event within it that steered me towards physician.


I have found, at least for me, when you have a wealth of experiences to choose from (vastly more than the average premed and not necessarily in a coherent string of premed-ness) it has been easiest to have the PS be “Why medicine,” and let my W/A section speak for itself as far as the “Why me” aspect is concerned.

 

[Nurse2MD2018]

As a non-trad one of the best advice I received while writing my personal statement was “your PS is not a resume!”
Why you may have a great deal of experience to pull from hone in on experiences that truly propelled you into this field and it’s not restricted to just clinical experience.. Also identify a theme early on and stick with it. Your intro should pull you reader in and state clearly your “why.” This is not a suspense novel the reader should know from your intro why you want to pursue medicine and what type of MD you aim to be. Usually starting with a narrative makes this much easier to accomplish but try to refrain from the cliche “when I was 5 I had he flu and went to the doc office” type narratives. Your body should elaborate on your why and this is where you can tie in how other experiences throughout your journey helped cement your decision to pursue medicine. I would say stick to 2-4 examples to prevent this from being a run down of your activities/experience section. Your final paragraph should not introduce any new ideas, but should serve as a way for you to state your why again and tie in the narrative from your intro.
If you need expamles check out the link below, Standford Diversity and Inclusion office has a really great guide not sure if it’s still floating around online. http://www.healthdiversity.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/SNMAPersonalStatementsvol2_2_.pdf

 

[TeddyBears]

Found this blog helpful for me while I was trying to understand how best to organize my experiences for PS so I thought I would just share: Writing Excellent Intros for Med School Personal Statements

 

[NTF]

From an earlier post of mine about personal statements:

[I found this in the SDN article about Interview pitfalls

"'Trying too hard to "stand out" or "be distinctive.'
Applicants are always concerned about standing out from the crowd. "What can I say that will make me different than everyone else?" "What can I do that will be unique?" First of all, you cannot change who you are on your medical school interview day. Most interviews are somewhat biographical so your experiences are what they are. I find that when applicants try too hard to be "different," they often undermine their own success. Medical schools are not evaluating you on your distinctiveness, per se; they are trying to assess your motivation for a career in medicine, intelligence, communication skills and level of compassion, among other qualities. Sure, candidates who have accomplished something truly unusual are evaluated differently, but these candidates are the exception. Ironically, applicants who exude confidence, enthusiasm and authenticity and who are "comfortable in their own skin" are often the individuals who stand out. So, be yourself. A seasoned interviewer can sniff out insincerity. Trying to be someone or something that you are not will inevitably negatively impact your performance and your interviewer's evaluation."

I think a lot of what's said here can be applied with PS's. I do think people obsess to much on trying to impress rather than express. I think authenticity and sincerity can often be more key than trying to knock their socks off. I always approached PS's not with the goal of having the reader think "WOW!" but "You know, I'd really like to meet this guy." - That being said my PS was still uber cringe-worthy.]

 

[TeddyBears]

From an earlier post of mine about personal statements:

[I found this in the SDN article about Interview pitfalls

"'Trying too hard to "stand out" or "be distinctive.'
Applicants are always concerned about standing out from the crowd. "What can I say that will make me different than everyone else?" "What can I do that will be unique?" First of all, you cannot change who you are on your medical school interview day. Most interviews are somewhat biographical so your experiences are what they are. I find that when applicants try too hard to be "different," they often undermine their own success. Medical schools are not evaluating you on your distinctiveness, per se; they are trying to assess your motivation for a career in medicine, intelligence, communication skills and level of compassion, among other qualities. Sure, candidates who have accomplished something truly unusual are evaluated differently, but these candidates are the exception. Ironically, applicants who exude confidence, enthusiasm and authenticity and who are "comfortable in their own skin" are often the individuals who stand out. So, be yourself. A seasoned interviewer can sniff out insincerity. Trying to be someone or something that you are not will inevitably negatively impact your performance and your interviewer's evaluation."

I think a lot of what's said here can be applied with PS's. I do think people obsess to much on trying to impress rather than express. I think authenticity and sincerity can often be more key than trying to knock their socks off. I always approached PS's not with the goal of having the reader think "WOW!" but "You know, I'd really like to meet this guy." - That being said my PS was still uber cringe-worthy.]

That being said my PS was still uber cringe-worthy - I know it is impossible for it not to read like that, especially with the perspective of time and experience. lol

 

[Dr. Souk]

I have my PS framed and in a prominent place just to shame myself lol