Pass down the personal statements

[LadyJubilee8_18]

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This is about the time when bright-eyed and bushy-tailed premeds are trying to develop their personal statements. I know I spent hours on end just trying to figure out what I should write about and trying to get people to review my writing. To make it easier on those currently grappling with AMCAS, I think it would be helpful for SDNers who have been accepted in this past round (or any round) to post their personal statements here (if they are comfortable doing so) along with the school where they've been accepted. This will give the people in the upcoming cycles plenty examples of how to go about their PS. Who thinks this is a good idea?

 

[Pkboi24]

Seems like we want it but they don't want to give it up.

 

[DNM503]

This is about the time when bright-eyed and bushy-tailed premeds are trying to develop their personal statements. I know I spent hours on end just trying to figure out what I should write about and trying to get people to review my writing. To make it easier on those currently grappling with AMCAS, I think it would be helpful for SDNers who have been accepted in this past round (or any round) to post their personal statements here (if they are comfortable doing so) along with the school where they've been accepted. This will give the people in the upcoming cycles plenty examples of how to go about their PS. Who thinks this is a good idea?

LadyJubilee--Did you happen to interview at Penn and realize you forgot to do your UCSF secondary in time while you were there? (I clicked your MySpace thing and you looked familiar)

 

[clindor]

there's always the issue of plagiarism...

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

LadyJubilee--Did you happen to interview at Penn and realize you forgot to do your UCSF secondary in time while you were there? (I clicked your MySpace thing and you looked familiar)

Yes! you were at my interview day?

 

[MollyMalone]

I'm not comfortable posting it, but I would probably be willing to PM it to select people that have good reputations here and that I know aren't just trolling. Of course, one of the reasons I'm willing to do that is because the specifics of my PS would be totally useless to 99.9% of applicants so I feel the risk of plagiarism would be vanishingly small. It might be useful just to see the approach, structure, and style, though.

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

there's always the issue of plagiarism...

Oh yeah, I didn't think about that 🙁 Do the schools use turnitin.com? Because if they do, anything on the internet (including these forums) would show up and the applicant who plagiarized would be screwed.

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm not comfortable posting it, but I would probably be willing to PM it to select people that have good reputations here and that I know aren't just trolling. Of course, one of the reasons I'm willing to do that is because the specifics of my PS would be totally useless to 99.9% of applicants so I feel the risk of plagiarism would be vanishingly small. It might be useful just to see the approach, structure, and style, though.

I agree. PM me if you want mine, and I'll consider it on a case-by-case basis. I don't think it is a very good idea to post your PS period, but if you decide you want to do it, please at least remove all identifying info from your PS before you post it.

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

I agree. PM me if you want mine, and I'll consider it on a case-by-case basis. I don't think it is a very good idea to post your PS period, but if you decide you want to do it, please at least remove all identifying info from your PS before you post it.

Is the problem that you don't want your PS attached to your screen name? If a more anonymous approach would make people more comfortable, you can pm me your PS and I'll just post all of them. This way people don't know what PS belongs to which SDNer

 

[QofQuimica]

Is the problem that you don't want your PS attached to your screen name? If a more anonymous approach would make people more comfortable, you can pm me your PS and I'll just post all of them. This way people don't know what PS belongs to which SDNer

If you're asking me specifically, the "problem" is that I don't want the personal info in my PS posted all over SDN. I doubt my PS would be anonymous anyway; people already know a lot about me and would easily figure out that it was mine. This is the same reason why I don't have an mdapplicants profile. There's just no way for mine to be anonymous unless I falsify the information.

We've noticed, incidentally, that you have not chosen to lead by example, LJ. What gives??? 😉

 

[-Goose-]

EDIT: after some thought (and 2 PMs from people with 1+ posts)... I will be glad to edit anyone's essay, but I don't think I should share mine... opening lines would be too easily ripped off.

 

[badlydrawnvik]

I'm all about helping applicants, but something about posting personal statements doesn't seem right. I think if people have these to rely on, they'll start basing their own statements on others while their own statements should probably be unique. Not having example statements made me think harder. What about a list of topics?

 

[abby66]

bump

 

[DrBowtie]

Even as an applicant, I'm against it. Doesn't seem right.

 

[dbhvt]

Even as an applicant, I'm against it. Doesn't seem right.

why didn't you vote?

 

[DrBowtie]

why didn't you vote?

Just did. 🙂

 

[somewhere2010]

i'm all about giving out advice on approaches and general structure, and even editing people's essays, but i worked daaaaaaamn hard on my own essay and don't want to be giving it out to be borrowed from...

 

[MollyMalone]

There are commercially available books that are collections of successful personal statements out there. There are paid essay-editing services. There are college writing centers. There are pre-med advisors and helpful professors who read PS's.

There are a ton of ways to get help on the PS, and I don't think that reading someone else's statement to get a general idea of how some successful applicants have chosen to structure their essays is a bad thing or in a significantly different category than any of the other options.

 

[dbhvt]

Just did. 🙂

By the way, I've been meaning to tell you something. I like cultivating an air of mild antagonsim with you. It's nothing personal and purely for aesthetic purposes. I just thought I should let you in on it. What do you think? I think it works best if you are cheerfully pleasant back. The smiley faces are a good touch. Are you on board?

 

[Sondra]

I really enjoyed reading other people's statements. I have posted mine on my blog (website in signature). You can get to my PS via a link on the right side of the page. I also have a lot of other essays that I have written on my blog. I just feel that it gives people a point of reference. I have also been very forthcoming with personal identifcation on this site, as my user name is also my first name. I don't beleive that anyone would be able to plagerize becuase my PS is specific to my situation. I know this isn't the case for everyone, and I am just trying to say that I don't mind posting my PS for these reasons.

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

If you're asking me specifically, the "problem" is that I don't want the personal info in my PS posted all over SDN. I doubt my PS would be anonymous anyway; people already know a lot about me and would easily figure out that it was mine. This is the same reason why I don't have an mdapplicants profile. There's just no way for mine to be anonymous unless I falsify the information.

We've noticed, incidentally, that you have not chosen to lead by example, LJ. What gives??? 😉

I meant to direct this to everyone who thought it was a bad idea. I don't want to post mine unless others are going to do the same. I thought I'd test the water before starting to post.

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

molly, i used one of those books, and they showed PS's that were 2 pages long! By the time i figure out amcas only allowed one page, i had a great 2 pager and had to start from scratch. I'd worry about using those books.

I'm not willing to post my PS, as my introduction could be too easily ripped off, but i'll be very happy to edit and make suggestions on people's PS's
if you PM it to me along with a small bio about yourself (so i know whats included and what's not) My PS turned out really well, and was brought up in a few interviews (comedy factor, i'm into being funny what can i say)
I write for a living right now, so if i have time and you're interested just send the PS along for some notes 🙂

 

[DrBowtie]

By the way, I've been meaning to tell you something. I like cultivating an air of mild antagonsim with you. It's nothing personal and purely for aesthetic purposes. I just thought I should let you in on it. What do you think? I think it works best if you are cheerfully pleasant back. The smiley faces are a good touch. Are you on board?

If it's therapeutic for you, then yes. 😉 😎

Edit: Forgot smiley for you

 

[MollyMalone]

molly, i used one of those books, and they showed PS's that were 2 pages long! By the time i figure out amcas only allowed one page, i had a great 2 pager and had to start from scratch. I'd worry about using those books.

Oh, gosh, I didn't mean to sound like I was endorsing them wholesale! I was just pointing out that they are available and that this isn't different in theory.

 

[dbhvt]

If it's therapeutic for you, then yes.

much better with the smilies!

 

[QofQuimica]

much better with the smilies!

You are a total freak. I admire that in a man. 👍

 

[masterMood]

here's my supplemental that I thought about submitting to Tufts, feel free to use it:

I chose Walt Whitman for my medical school essay because my mom said that if I wasn’t going to take this seriously and do a real med. school essay I might as well get a job at McDonald’s and ask, “if you would like fries with that.” Anyways, Walt Whitman was an awful child molester who was born in ancient Hong Kong. He is over 3,000 years old and remembers the names of all the forgotten Gods.
Walt Whitman is 90 stories tall, and his adventures are legendary. With his blue Ox, Emily Dickenson, Walt Whitman traveled across young America and helped the nation grow into the angry powerhouse it is today. He dropped his mighty axe, forming the Grand Canyon; the apple cores he would spit from his mighty mouth planted apple trees all across the country; and the stomp of his mighty boot caused the stock market to crash. He and his friend, Huck Finn, traveled down the Mississippi river and freed the slaves. Walt Whitman believed that the only good China man was a dead China man, so he went to Tiananmen Square and gave them all candy. Except instead of candy he killed them.
Walt Whitman might seem like a real cool guy but in reality he’s a whiny baby. His journal, which he doesn’t think anyone know about is full of whiny poetry. His ‘Current Mood’ is always “Apathetic” and his music is always some obscure rock band that no one has ever heard of. Some people who pretended to be his friend so they could get access to his “friends only” posts grabbed some of the poetry and made a book from them, and called it “Ode to North Dakota.” When they found out other kids would actually read it, they changed the name to “Leaves of Grass” and it sold like cake. Walt Whitman to this day doesn’t know they’re selling his poems and making a fortune off of him. They still don’t invite him to any parties though, because no one likes him.
Walt Whitman died a lonely man in Walt Disney Land. He was on the gondola ride, and he fell out because he wasn’t fastened properly to the restraint. Thanks to him, now no one can ride it anymore. All of this happened because he didn’t go to med. school. Thanks a lot Walt Whitman.

 

[dbhvt]

You are a total freak. I admire that in a man. 👍

Ahh, Q. It's too bad we're not going to end up at the same school. I think you actually get me.

 

[QofQuimica]

Ahh, Q. It's too bad we're not going to end up at the same school. I think you actually get me.

We'll just have to arrange for secret out-of-town trysts between anatomy lessons, I guess.

 

[MollyMalone]

Wow, I totally didn't see a hook-up coming out of this thread. Props to you guys! 👍

 

[QofQuimica]

Wow, I totally didn't see a hook-up coming out of this thread. Props to you guys! 👍

don't you get jealous now, MM. I saw him first.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Personal statements are supposed to be PERSONAL. Ideas like this are part of the reason that we still had to take the stupid WS section of the MCAT.

(Applicant sends in AWESOME personal statement but got a J on the WS......makes you go hmmmmmmm)

 

[PariPari]

I don't think it's such a hot idea to read lots of other ppl's, b/c then you wind up being influenced & think maybe that's what you should write about rather than write your own personal experiences/motivations.
I like reading ppl's essays & stuff, but not while mine's in progress, I've got smush for brains & am easily influenced (an advertiser's dream).
sorry 👎

but apparently this is a diff kind of personal statement 😉 😍
in that case:
I like long walks on the beach.......

 

[QofQuimica]

but apparently this is a diff kind of personal statement 😉 😍
in that case:
I like long walks on the beach.......

Not creative enough; EVERYONE likes walks on the beach, so you won't stand out....didn't you see the thread about how creative to be in one's PS??? 😉

 

[Anastasis]

Hey I just read Molly's and it totally set up this huge inspirational writing spree for me. (Don't worry, Molly. I didn't copy, I just got inspired!) So could be good to read other essays, could be bad. It's up to the person.

 

[masterMood]

Read mine and laugh dammiT!

 

[docjolly]

There are commercially available books that are collections of successful personal statements out there. There are paid essay-editing services. There are college writing centers. There are pre-med advisors and helpful professors who read PS's.

There are a ton of ways to get help on the PS, and I don't think that reading someone else's statement to get a general idea of how some successful applicants have chosen to structure their essays is a bad thing or in a significantly different category than any of the other options.

I definitely agree with this. When I found difficulty in writing my own personal statement, I went to Barnes&Noble, found a book with medical school personal statements, and read for ideas. Although I wound up not using any of the ideas that were presented, my time there was worthwhile: as it helped me to sit and analyze what exactly it was that I wanted the adcoms to know about my personal life.

Although the sentiments expressed in the OPs request are well intended, I don't feel comfortable posting my personal statement on SDN. Certainly, I would be willing to share general ideas, but the PS itself is off limits. It's a matter of personal preference. I'm certain that some SDNers would be willing to share, but I fear that I'm not one of them.

As I'm winding down with my first year, I'm still incredibly busy. However, by the summer, I should have a lot more free time. If anyone needs me to read their personal statement and give feedback this summer, I'd be more than willing to 😀

 

[2Sexy4MedSchool]

I'm all about helping applicants, but something about posting personal statements doesn't seem right. I think if people have these to rely on, they'll start basing their own statements on others while their own statements should probably be unique. Not having example statements made me think harder. What about a list of topics?

OK, so I've got three problems with this:

1) I spent a lot of time and energy on my PS, and it is very, well, for lack of a better word, "Personal". I remember getting upset when friends and family reviewed drafts and made comments/corrections; it felt like they were telling me my baby was ugly and stupid. Now multiply that by 10,000 uber-anal premeds on SDN. Ouch.

2) The essense of anyone's PS is how personal/unique they can make it, right? To me it seems like nookie: it's not what everyone does the same that makes it special but the individual touches that differ from person to person. How does seeing someone else's special trick help the next guy?

3) My situation, while not unique, is very unusual; I'm a 37-year-old non-traditional applicant who changed careers. I can't imagine how that would help 99% of SDN, let alone the rest of the internet world. I'm happy to answer anyone's questions, but there's a big difference between responding to specific questions and laying your life story out on the world wide web.

So, bottom line: Little-to-no benefit vs. lots o' costs. This seems like a bad idea to me.

PS: Dear Q -- guess who's wife is knocked up? And the best part is that it had to have happened around the time we were emailing you from the road. Should we name him/her/them "Quincy" in your honor?

 

[beefballs]

bad idea

 

[ShyRem]

Personal statements are meant to be just that - PERSONAL. Not based on someone else's work. It is a place to sell you, represent you, and bring you to life from the dull lifeless pages of numbers and meaningless jibber-jabber (and poopycock). (I love Boston Legal). If it's a place to bring YOU to life, then basing your ps on someone else's ps won't work.

So, what do you want? Do you want to show who YOU are, or do you want to be someone else?

 

[jbrice1639]

I'm in. I think this is a good idea, although not necessarily in the format of posting my statement to a thread. I am on the list to edit statements for people, and I would have no problem sharing mine or at least portions of mine, if I thought that it would help me help someone else with their writing. At the same time, I think it's a bad idea to just post them and let people pick and choose the phrases they want to rip off from various people.

[edit]

to add to my post, i think that people should be using past statements to try to better style of their writing, not the content of other statements. if someone wanted to copy my content, they'd probably have a hard time talking about it in an interview. but, if the flow of ideas or the tone or sentence structure could help someone else write about themselves in a more effective way, i think that would be very useful and not a compromise of my own work or efforts.

 

[CostalShowers]

Posting personal statements is a bad idea. Part of becoming a physician is being about to think for yourself, make decisions, and even be a bit creative when you have to. This is one of those times, it is part of the process.

Besides, personal statements are just one small piece of the whole process. If anybody ever gets in (or gets an interview) soley base on their personal statement, then it is perhaps a very very very small sliver of the applicant pool. Chances are, as an applicant, you won't be one of these.

 

[happydays]

writing one's own PS is a right of passage that all applicants must undertake.

Like someone said, if you really needed inspiration, you should check your local library.

With that said, here's a sample of my writing style:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=3567295&postcount=31

 

[CatsandCradles]

This is about the time when bright-eyed and bushy-tailed premeds are trying to develop their personal statements. I know I spent hours on end just trying to figure out what I should write about and trying to get people to review my writing. To make it easier on those currently grappling with AMCAS, I think it would be helpful for SDNers who have been accepted in this past round (or any round) to post their personal statements here (if they are comfortable doing so) along with the school where they've been accepted. This will give the people in the upcoming cycles plenty examples of how to go about their PS. Who thinks this is a good idea?

I was just about to post the personal statement I used for some of the osteopathic schools I got into. But now I'm turning into a scaredy cat because I'm afraid doing this will come back one day and bite me in the tail!

 

[QofQuimica]

PS: Dear Q -- guess who's wife is knocked up? And the best part is that it had to have happened around the time we were emailing you from the road. Should we name him/her/them "Quincy" in your honor?

OMFG!!! I have to say that this is the first time I've been blamed for a pregnancy that occurred in another state to a woman that I've never even laid eyes on!!! 😛 But major congrats to you, and please tell Mrs. 2Sexy the same. If you want to pick names that I like, some of my favorites are Xavier or Preston for a boy, and Rhiannon or Esmeralda for a girl. Now you know why I am never going to have any children.

 

[stiffany]

Hi guys. I don't think this has been mentioned before: SDN actually has what I think is a fabulous discussion of how to write a personal statement including real life examples of complete (albeit anonymous) personal statements....These really helped me draft mine anyway and didn't lead to anyone feeling uncomfortable. If you go to the home SDN page (not just the forums), you'll see a link called "Essay Workshop". Check it out.

 

[jon0013]

Hi guys. I don't think this has been mentioned before: SDN actually has what I think is a fabulous discussion of how to write a personal statement including real life examples of complete (albeit anonymous) personal statements....These really helped me draft mine anyway and didn't lead to anyone feeling uncomfortable. If you go to the home SDN page (not just the forums), you'll see a link called "Essay Workshop". Check it out.

if you cant write your own personal statement saying why you want to go to med school i dont think this is the right profession for you...people make the PS to be a huge deal but it really isnt....be truthful and tell the adcom what steered u towards medical school..everyones is different...

i wrote my first draft in 4 hours...i had no idea how the format was supposed to be so i consulted the guide on the main page of SDN...my first draft was close to 3 pages...the hard part was just cutting down....

honeestly, just sit down and write about what comes to ur mind..no one knows urself better than urself...

in the scheme of everything i dont think the PS is more important than grades and extracurriculars or ur interview..its just one component..

 

[gujuDoc]

I think its a horrible idea to post a PS even if you've already been accepted. Why????? I know people who personally tried to copy another person's personal statement. I wouldn't ever risk doing that. I'm apt to looking at people's personal statements to help them revise it. But I would never encourage them to give it away to another person unless the person they are showing it to is a very good friend that they trust with their whole life.

Oh and those books like Barron's aren't helpful but getting revising help from people who know you well or people you trust on SDN will help.

 

[gdbaby]

I am happy to send mine to people who PM me. It is too specific for people to copy and even if they did copy it--that is a serious personal flaw on their part which will come out to adcoms some other way.

 

[reylting]

It sounds good in theory but I am hesitant to post my personal statment. I have given it to a few selected people but that is because I know that these are individuals of integrity. I am torn between being helpful and being taken advantage of.