~^~^Official Pre-DO Personal Statement Guide and Reader List 2015-2016^~^~

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This thread is for this year's applicants (for the class of 2020) who are beginning to work on their personal statements. If you're looking for someone to read your PS, check out the list of volunteers below In the most recent post ONLY!!

If you need help getting started, check out the second post in this thread.


If you are willing to volunteer, the thread will be self regulated this year. Respond below, following the instructions at the end of this post (and in the third post), with your credentials and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). Please read the full list of rules posted below before you volunteer or contact a reader, and good luck to the 2015-2016 applicants. :cat:

Specific comments, questions, or complaints can be addressed to me via PM. If I can't answer them they will be forwarded to the rest of the Pre-Osteopathic senior moderator staff.


Official Personal Statement Guide thread and Depakote's Personal Statement Guide/Tips.
  • If you are looking for feedback on your personal statement, it is better to PM individual users here whose strengths are better suited to your needs rather than posting a response in this thread.
  • Once you contact a reader and they agree to read your personal statement, please email it to them as a Word document with your SDN username in the title. Including your SDN username makes it easier for the readers to keep track of who they've already read for and who they still need to read. DO NOT JUST PM YOUR STATEMENT TO A READER.
Rules for Readers:
  • If you would like to be added or deleted from the list, please make sure that you follow the directions below, and add or delete yourself.
  • As a volunteer, you may read as many or as few personal statements as you'd like or have time for. If you will be unavailable for a certain time or have been inundated with requests, simply take yourself off of the list using the instructions below
  • If you receive a request and are unable to fulfill it, please respond to the writer so he/she is not waiting for a response and can request help from elsewhere.
  • For your protection, we will not allow you to post your email addresses here. All email addresses will be edited out of the list and any further posts containing email addresses will be edited to remove them. Writers will contact you via PM and you can exchange email addresses privately.
  • As this is on a volunteer basis, absolutely NO solicitation of money for your services will be tolerated. Volunteers who violate this policy will be removed from the list and subject to further disciplinary action.
List Updated: 5/20/2015
This thread is brought to you by the Pre-Osteopathic Volunteer Staff.
Please remember that these people are volunteering their time. Be nice to them!

DO NOT ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS!

1) Click "quote" on the most recent post.
2) Add your SDN screen name, your credentials, and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). DO NOT post your email address.
3) Delete the quote tags at both the top and the bottom.
4) If you are unable to read any more personal statements, please come back and remove your name from the list and add your name to the "Readers not available" list.

Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • JimmyB123| accepted student, traditional background, extremely strong cycle on the DO side|Willing to edit for content only; prefer traditional-ish applicants

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
  • Vanillabeaneo | Gone fishing.
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar | swamped until at least mid-May. Sorry folks!
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first|Swamped as of now
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content, grammar, organization | Deployed
  • Higherprimate | Non-traditional, accepted student, Entrepreneur, BS Biology | Content and organization| Busy until after Memorial Weekend. Have plenty to read right now.

Members don't see this ad.
 
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This thread is brought to you by the Pre-Osteopathic Volunteer Staff.
Please remember that these people are volunteering their time. Be nice to them!

DO NOT ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS!
1) Click "quote" on the most recent post.
2) Add your SDN screen name, your credentials, and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). DO NOT post your email address.
3) Delete the quote tags at both the top and the bottom.
4) If you are unable to read any more personal statements, please come back and remove your name from the list and add your name to the "Readers not available" list.

EXAMPLES:
BobTheReader| M.A. In English, PhD in Creative Writing|Willing to edit for grammar and content

JoeTheReader|Got amazing feedback on my PS when I applied; non-trad especially willing to read non-trad PS| Willing to edit for content only.

JillTheReader|Student Adcom Member; 2nd Year Med Student|Happy to read PS and help with ideas. Will do some reading for content.

Current Readers Available:
Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.

Readers Not Available:
 
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Reactions: 1 user
This thread is brought to you by the Pre-Osteopathic Volunteer Staff.
Please remember that these people are volunteering their time. Be nice to them!

DO NOT ERASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS!
1) Click "quote" on the most recent post.
2) Add your SDN screen name, your credentials, and specific things you are willing to edit for (content only, grammar only, etc). DO NOT post your email address.
3) Delete the quote tags at both the top and the bottom.
4) If you are unable to read any more personal statements, please come back and remove your name from the list and add your name to the "Readers not available" list.

EXAMPLES:
BobTheReader| M.A. In English, PhD in Creative Writing|Willing to edit for grammar and content

JoeTheReader|Got amazing feedback on my PS when I applied; non-trad especially willing to read non-trad PS| Willing to edit for content only.

JillTheReader|Student Adcom Member; 2nd Year Med Student|Happy to read PS and help with ideas. Will do some reading for content.

Current Readers Available:
Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.

Readers Not Available:

studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Current Readers Available:
Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.

studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only

wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar

Readers Not Available:
 
Current Readers Available:
Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.

studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only

wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar

Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar

Readers Not Available:
 
Current Readers Available:
Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.

studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only

wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar

Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar

fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
Readers Not Available:
 
Current Readers Available:
Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.

studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only

wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar

Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar

fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization

oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization

Readers Not Available:
 
Current Readers Available:
Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.

studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only

wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar

Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar

fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization

oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization

brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar

Readers Not Available:
 
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Thanks for making this thread! I just finished my first draft. Will be messaging some of the volunteers. Thanks peeps!
 
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Current Readers Available:
Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.

studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only

wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar

Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar

fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization

oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization

Readers Not Available:
brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
 
Got hit with a ton of requests so I'll be unavailable for a bit. Should be available again in 1-2 weeks.
 
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Members don't see this ad :)
sticky the thread
 
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Current Readers Available:
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
 
fkt24[/QUOTE]

Can you please read my PS - I'm a reapplicant for TMDSAS, first time app to AACOMAS and I would love some advice on how to change it.
 
There is a thread on this but I wanted to update with some of the more recent work I have seen:
So I have read through 30 or so Personal Statements over the last month and here are my general suggestions from what I have commonly seen and the advice I keep giving:
1. Your focus should be on telling us something about yourself and then how you arrived at the decision to pursue medicine and specifically the career of a physician
  • You need to make sure you understand what a physician does. If you are so focused on service, there are social workers and volunteers for that
2. Do not elaborate about your negatives. You can talk about a challenging time in your life and how you turned yourself around. But do not beat yourself to death and give the reader a bad image of yourself.
3. Intro:
  • What I am currently seeing are many people saying: “Medicine was not decision I made in childhood, but something that gradually built on my experiences”
  • There are probably thousands that are following this format and it will not make you stand out in any way by doing this. Try to organize your experiences around a theme.
  • The theme should unify your essay while each body paragraph will make a reference back to this theme.
4. Work on transitions! Don’t put together two or three activities descriptions sandwiched between an intro and conclusion and call that a personal statement. This is what I have seen from the majority of writers
5. Remember that almost everyone will have volunteering, shadowing, tutoring, and research experiences. It is how you personalize these experiences that make your personal statement unique from another. If you proofread your essay and it seems like anyone could have written this then you need go back and work on your writing
6. When describing experiences show do not tell.
  • What not to do: “I did volunteering at X hospital in the Y Department and saw patients ranging from young to old. I enjoyed the patient interactions and felt a great deal of satisfaction when I helped someone in need.”
  • Elaborate on your experiences and at the minimum tell us what you did, why you did it, and what you learned.
  • Do not put 3-4 experiences in one paragraph. Leave that for your activities page on AMCAS.
7. Keep the conclusion short and sweet. Summarize in a sentence or two and leave the reader with something profound at the end that will continue to resonate with them after they are done reading. Don’t just end by saying “These experiences have paved the way for me to pursue a career in medicine”
8. Finally make sure you are within the character limit of 4500 characters.
 
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Just to clarify. I have seen a lot of numbers thrown out there for characters (including spaces). I have seen 5300, 4500, and, as @PlaqueBuster said, 4800 characters.

This is directly from AACOMAS 2015 instructions:

"The Personal Statement section of the application contains the essay for the application. Every applicant is required to submit a Personal Statement. Personal statements in the AACOMAS application are limited to 4,500 characters, including spaces and punctuation. "
 
Just to clarify. I have seen a lot of numbers thrown out there for characters (including spaces). I have seen 5300, 4500, and, as @PlaqueBuster said, 4800 characters.

This is directly from AACOMAS 2015 instructions:

"The Personal Statement section of the application contains the essay for the application. Every applicant is required to submit a Personal Statement. Personal statements in the AACOMAS application are limited to 4,500 characters, including spaces and punctuation. "

Sorry about that. 4,500 characters is correct and wow that is short.
 
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Hallelujah for this thread. Are there any optional essays for AACOMAS? Or just PS in the primary application?
 
Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar [Swamped right now]
 
Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
 
Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content and grammar
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first| Out of country May 7-27

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
 
Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content, grammar, organization | Deploying in May 2015
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first| Out of country May 7-27

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
 
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Reactions: 1 user
Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content, grammar, organization | Deploying in May 2015
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first| Out of country May 7-27
  • JimmyB123| accepted student, traditional background, extremely strong cycle on the DO side|Willing to edit for content only; prefer traditional-ish applicants

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
  • Vanillabeaneo | Gone fishing.
 
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Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content, grammar, organization | Deploying in May 2015
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first|Out of country May 7-27
  • JimmyB123| accepted student, traditional background, extremely strong cycle on the DO side|Willing to edit for content only; prefer traditional-ish applicants

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
  • Vanillabeaneo | Gone fishing.
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar | swamped until at least mid-May. Sorry folks!
 
Since this is under the Pre-DO forums, I wanted to mention a trend I have seen in a majority of Pre-DO personal statements. I apologize if PlaqueBuster already mentioned this as I might have just overlooked it.

If you are applying to DO schools, you need to incorporate osteopathic medicine into your personal statement. I am not naive enough to believe that students don't use the same personal statement for AMCAS and AACOMAS. However, many ADCOMs will want to see your desire to pursue osteopathic medicine during your pre-medical careers. I'll give you a hint: physicians with an MD degree typically don't refer to themselves as "allopaths" or "allopathic physicians". You don't see that in the names of medical schools that award the MD degree nor do you see medical students at an MD institution referred to as "allopathic medical students".

Do not let the theme of your personal statement be centered around an "allopathic versus osteopathic approach to treating patients". You'd be surprised the number of ADCOMs/Professors/Administrators at osteopathic medical schools that hold an MD degree. Be honest but let that theme shine through, like PlaqueBuster has mentioned.
 
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Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content, grammar, organization | Deploying in May 2015
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • JimmyB123| accepted student, traditional background, extremely strong cycle on the DO side|Willing to edit for content only; prefer traditional-ish applicants

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
  • Vanillabeaneo | Gone fishing.
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar | swamped until at least mid-May. Sorry folks!
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first|Swamped as of now
 
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There is a thread on this but I wanted to update with some of the more recent work I have seen:
So I have read through 30 or so Personal Statements over the last month and here are my general suggestions from what I have commonly seen and the advice I keep giving:
1. Your focus should be on telling us something about yourself and then how you arrived at the decision to pursue medicine and specifically the career of a physician
  • You need to make sure you understand what a physician does. If you are so focused on service, there are social workers and volunteers for that
2. Do not elaborate about your negatives. You can talk about a challenging time in your life and how you turned yourself around. But do not beat yourself to death and give the reader a bad image of yourself.
3. Intro:
  • What I am currently seeing are many people saying: “Medicine was not decision I made in childhood, but something that gradually built on my experiences”
  • There are probably thousands that are following this format and it will not make you stand out in any way by doing this. Try to organize your experiences around a theme.
  • The theme should unify your essay while each body paragraph will make a reference back to this theme.
4. Work on transitions! Don’t put together two or three activities descriptions sandwiched between an intro and conclusion and call that a personal statement. This is what I have seen from the majority of writers
5. Remember that almost everyone will have volunteering, shadowing, tutoring, and research experiences. It is how you personalize these experiences that make your personal statement unique from another. If you proofread your essay and it seems like anyone could have written this then you need go back and work on your writing
6. When describing experiences show do not tell.
  • What not to do: “I did volunteering at X hospital in the Y Department and saw patients ranging from young to old. I enjoyed the patient interactions and felt a great deal of satisfaction when I helped someone in need.”
  • Elaborate on your experiences and at the minimum tell us what you did, why you did it, and what you learned.
  • Do not put 3-4 experiences in one paragraph. Leave that for your activities page on AMCAS.
7. Keep the conclusion short and sweet. Summarize in a sentence or two and leave the reader with something profound at the end that will continue to resonate with them after they are done reading. Don’t just end by saying “These experiences have paved the way for me to pursue a career in medicine”
8. Finally make sure you are within the character limit of 4500 characters.

Also for the personal statement do we need to's say why we chose osteopathic medicine or do we keep that for the secondaries.?
 
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Hi all! If you sent me your PS for feedback, send me a friendly reminder if I haven't gotten back to you yet. I am trying to get through all of them and will try to catch up by this weekend.
 
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Can we just not use spaces between sentences to deal with the character limit? :) also for space between paragraphs, we just hit enter once right? but that also counts as a character... sigh
 
Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content, grammar, organization | Deploying in May 2015
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • JimmyB123| accepted student, traditional background, extremely strong cycle on the DO side|Willing to edit for content only; prefer traditional-ish applicants
  • Higherprimate | Non-traditional, accepted student, Entrepreneur, BS Biology | Content and organization

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
  • Vanillabeaneo | Gone fishing.
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar | swamped until at least mid-May. Sorry folks!
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first|Swamped as of now
 
What's the general consensus on contractions in the personal statement? IMO not only does it sound too formal but the character limit is shot without contractions
 
My personal statement is not specific and talks about my motivation to become a doctor. The AACOMAS prompt is "write a brief statement expressing your motivation or desire to become a DO".

Any suggestions on how I can tailor my PS to fit the prompt? Would I have to write a completely new PS?
 
I'm not sure where else to post this question without starting a new thread, however any tips on how to shorten the personal statement? I'm currently hovering around 6000 characters (with spaces) and still have to add a conclusion. How am I going to get this down to 4500 characters and 5000 characters for my texas ISS DO school, without removing important information. This is my first draft by the way.
 
I'm not sure where else to post this question without starting a new thread, however any tips on how to shorten the personal statement? I'm currently hovering around 6000 characters (with spaces) and still have to add a conclusion. How am I going to get this down to 4500 characters and 5000 characters for my texas ISS DO school, without removing important information. This is my first draft by the way.
I am also interested in the same issue. I am 200 characters over, and STRUGGLING cut off the information. Any advise would be appreciated!
 
I'm not sure where else to post this question without starting a new thread, however any tips on how to shorten the personal statement? I'm currently hovering around 6000 characters (with spaces) and still have to add a conclusion. How am I going to get this down to 4500 characters and 5000 characters for my texas ISS DO school, without removing important information. This is my first draft by the way.
I am also interested in the same issue. I am 200 characters over, and STRUGGLING cut off the information. Any advise would be appreciated!
i had the same question. check this thread
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/help-with-character-limit-in-aacomas.1135498/#post-16468517
 
Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • JimmyB123| accepted student, traditional background, extremely strong cycle on the DO side|Willing to edit for content only; prefer traditional-ish applicants
  • Higherprimate | Non-traditional, accepted student, Entrepreneur, BS Biology | Content and organization

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
  • Vanillabeaneo | Gone fishing.
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar | swamped until at least mid-May. Sorry folks!
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first|Swamped as of now
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content, grammar, organization | Deployed
 
Current Readers Available:
  • studyfordo | Successfully applied and was accepted to two types of grad programs with a unique background | able to provide critique on overall content only
  • fkt24| Received good feedback and advice on my personal statement, accepted student | content and organization
  • oceanman | Writing tutor; have read and reviewed many PS | overall content and organization
  • JimmyB123| accepted student, traditional background, extremely strong cycle on the DO side|Willing to edit for content only; prefer traditional-ish applicants

Readers Not Available:
  • brakk026 | 2nd year med student, SDN author and editorial board member | content and grammar
  • Alteredscale| Good feedback regarding my PS, unique experiences far outside of medicine|Willing to provide feedback to overall content.
  • Vanillabeaneo | Gone fishing.
  • Amarillo | Non-trad BS in Biology / Public Health; previously provided feedback to multiple accepted friends & colleagues; technical writing required in job & creative writing as hobby | content & grammar | swamped until at least mid-May. Sorry folks!
  • Plaquebuster| DO-PhD accepted student; love to read PS and give advice | content, organization and grammar; cut and paste into PM; no need to ask me first|Swamped as of now
  • wxman393| Military, faculty member, non-trad background. BS in Meteorology, Master of Public Health (MPH/Disaster Management), PhD Public Health/Epidemiology | content, grammar, organization | Deployed
  • Higherprimate | Non-traditional, accepted student, Entrepreneur, BS Biology | Content and organization| Busy until after Memorial Weekend. Have plenty to read right now.

 
Anyone willing to take a look at my personal statement?
I PM'd the people on the current readers available list, but haven't heard back yet. So thought I'd ask here. Thanks.
 
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