Ok to recycle personal statement?

[CTG]

Hey guys. This is a just-in-case-i-have-to-reapply question. Is it alright/advisable to reuse my personal statement from last year on this year's AMCAS? When you reapply do med schools see your old applications, and if so, do they look down on reapplicants who reuse their personal statements? I'd really appreciate any sound advice or input you guys may have. Thanx!

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[ShyRem]

I completely redid my personal statement. I figured if the first one didn't work, it needed a rewrite.

 

[CTG]

I completely redid my personal statement. I figured if the first one didn't work, it needed a rewrite.

The thing is, I'm pretty sure my PS is good and that I didn't get in because of a low MCAT. Very low MCAT.

 

[busthwt]

i'm in your boat, both schools that i was on waitlist told me to change it up. Schools are going to have your old personal statment on file; so its like you have 2 personal statments going for you. If your PS is really good, just update it about the stuff that you did in the year off.

 

[savvysearch]

i'm in your boat, both schools that i was on waitlist told me to change it up. Schools are going to have your old personal statment on file; so its like you have 2 personal statments going for you. If your PS is really good, just update it about the stuff that you did in the year off.

I'm also in the same boat. I'm reapplying to dental school. I think its a very good idea to start a new one. You should try and address what's changed from the time you didn't get in to now. I'm actually working on my personal statement as I write this. It's taking me forever. I thought I could write it in a day, but I'm sitting in front of this computer screen and I have about 3 paragraphs finished.

Good luck.

 

[ShyRem]

y'know, the second PS was MUCH easier to write than the first. When do you get your best ideas? Mine usually came at night, either right before I went to sleep or if I woke up in the middle of the night - so I put a pad of paper beside the bed. A few nights later, and my PS was outlined. Wrote it, had it reviewed by about 12 people, and I was extremely pleased by it. More pleased than with the first one.

Also, with the second one, I didn't obsess about filling the whole page. I think my final PS was about 3800 characters.

 

[EvoDevo]

Best to rewrite. If you reapply to a school w/o changing your PS, it's very likely that your app's gonna be thrown into the trash. Why take that chance?

 

[C.P. Jones]

i kept the same one for the most part, and changed a little...very little, but I also applied to only 4 of the same schools, and have 4 other new schools, so I would rather have the new schools see my essay, which I do think is really good

 

[Mary2009]

I kept the same exact personal statement as I had the first time I applied. I had worked hard on it, it said exactly what I wanted to say, and I knew that I had been thrown out the first time because of a low MCAT score so I figured they probably didn't even read it too hard. The second time around I received 9 interviews and 7 waitlists, so I don't think that it was an issue.

 

[americanidiot]

Best to rewrite. If you reapply to a school w/o changing your PS, it's very likely that your app's gonna be thrown into the trash.

While I can't verify or deny this claim, I am curious how you learned that an application will be thrown out on this basis.

 

[JDWflash44]

I think it's not good to use the exact same statement, but my structure resembles my essay from last year. I've added what I've done and how it has effected me in that time period, ive had a year of clinical work, followed by research at the NIH starting a few months ago. And I reviewed it like 20 times. It's definetly a stronger essay, but just because I have a lot more to write about and more relavent experience.

Jim

 

[Smitty3L]

My state school offers a workshop for re-applicants to those who were rejected post-interview. The dean of admissions and docs on the admissions committee went over our applications with us and it was repeated over and over NOT to turn in the same application next year. They basically said you wouldn't be considered unless your application had significantly changed. I would at least update the personal statement with what you have learned since applying last year.

 

[CTG]

Thanx you guys. Everyone has been so great about answering my questions here. Good luck to all of you.

 

[Avalanche21]

i'm in your boat, both schools that i was on waitlist told me to change it up. Schools are going to have your old personal statment on file; so its like you have 2 personal statments going for you. If your PS is really good, just update it about the stuff that you did in the year off.

Do they keep it on file to see if you changed it, or do they actually read your old one along with your new one?

 

[Smitty3L]

Do they keep it on file to see if you changed it, or do they actually read your old one along with your new one?

I know that my state school does, but I'm not sure about everyone else.

 

[DD214_DOC]

I would at least update the personal statement with what you have learned since applying last year.

Then you run the risk of schools knowing you're a reapplicant when they may not otherwise know. I seriously doubt a qualified applicant is going to be trashed because he didn't rewrite an otherwise good PS.

Besides, if you update your PS with "stuff you've done", then your PS is nothing more than a list of activities and accomplishments, which makes it a crappy PS to begin with.

 

[americanidiot]

I seriously doubt a qualified applicant is going to be trashed because he didn't rewrite an otherwise good PS.

I completely agree. The intent of the PS is to present yourself as you are. If you have not personally changed within a single application cycle, then why change your personal statement? However, if you have pursued more activities, doesn't this merit a change in the ACTIVITIES section? I think people who are reapplicants are so nervous about being rejected a second time that they feel change MUST be necessary in ALL sections of the application. My advice: patch up what didn't work and leave well alone the things that did work. You run the risk of writing a WORSE PS by changing a good one. If you are interested in being accepted to medical school, change the things that really matter: your experiences, your MCAT, and your grades. Believe me, few people are rejected because of similarities between current and past PS's...doesn't everyone on this forum complain about how no one seems to be reading your application? in this situation, that works to your advantage!

 

[DD214_DOC]

Agreed. At most of my interviews, I was routinely asked questions that should have been answered in my PS. I get the impression the PS isn't taken very seriously. The triumverate of admissions seems to be GPA, MCAT, and LORs.