Personal Essays

[DW Washburn]

A lot of the forums here under non-trad have older traditional students that are now wanting to switch careers. My story doesn't even compare (((i.e. out on my own at 17, worked every job under the sun to survive many which have nothing to do with medicine, dabbled in community college simply because I couldn't afford it, joined army at 23 to get GI bill (again, a non traditional), finally got to college after military service, been horribly married and divorced and wanted to be a doctor since age 16))). I have never had the ability to be a traditional student, so I don't understand how to even start explaining this to a committee or evaluator who probably did have help with college, cars, food, rent, etc. All, and I mean every last cent, I paid for myself. I feel like I can't even relate to many people who will read my essay. I don't want to come across simply as "heart-felt" or something even worse as "great struggle, you should have learned something".

I have heard that I could write a book about what its like to struggle to achieve your goals. Not everyone wants to hear a sob story, and while I try to really focus on why I would make an excellent doctor, I can't seem to explain to a seemingly uppity group of application evaluators my story without sounding pathetic or insincere.

I already have tons of "helpful" books on what colleges want, how to make your essay quirky, how to stand out and illuminate the positives, but I don't have that many stellar positives. Again, I am not choosing a second career. I never went to college out of high-school and got into a career. I couldn't afford college. This is the career I've always wanted. I just never had any way of paying for college until I turned 24 (eligible for financial aid) and when I was 26 and could get the GI bill. I'm now 34 and am planning to apply next cycle.

Any advice is definitely welcome! Thanks so much for taking the time to read!

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[gyngyn]

Speak in your own voice. Tell us why we should interview you. You would be delighted to see how few "uppity" people there are in admissions.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Your essay isn't a life history or a resume, it's a chance for you to explain why you want to be a doctor and why you would make a good one. You don't need to explain how unique you are; that will come across anyhow. You can certainly tell your story without sounding pathetic or insincere. For example, briefly mention that you joined the army to pay for college, but then elaborate on how your time in the army taught you qualities such as work ethic, teamwork and leadership. Explain how these qualities will help you to succeed in medical school and ultimately make you a better doctor. Don't emphasize the struggle you've gone through, emphasize what you have learned from it and how it will help you in the future.

Also, don't worry about being so unique that you can't possibly relate to anyone reading your essay. I'll guarantee you that somewhere in the stack of 10,000+ applications a medical school gets, there are plenty of applicants who have either worked odd jobs or joined the army or been married and divorced or paid their way through college. The adcoms reading your essay were all med school applicants at some point, so some of them will have done these things too.

 

[dsoz]

Your essay isn't a life history or a resume, it's a chance for you to explain why you want to be a doctor and why you would make a good one. You don't need to explain how unique you are; that will come across anyhow. You can certainly tell your story without sounding pathetic or insincere. For example, briefly mention that you joined the army to pay for college, but then elaborate on how your time in the army taught you qualities such as work ethic, teamwork and leadership. Explain how these qualities will help you to succeed in medical school and ultimately make you a better doctor. Don't emphasize the struggle you've gone through, emphasize what you have learned from it and how it will help you in the future.

Also, don't worry about being so unique that you can't possibly relate to anyone reading your essay. I'll guarantee you that somewhere in the stack of 10,000+ applications a medical school gets, there are plenty of applicants who have either worked odd jobs or joined the army or been married and divorced or paid their way through college. The adcoms reading your essay were all med school applicants at some point, so some of them will have done these things too.

This is true. Make your personal statement about your dream. How you are making that dream a reality. Just make sure that you have EVERYONE that you know read it and help you make it perfect. Don't try for perfection at first. When I tried to write the perfect essay at first I had a complete pile of crap that others tried to help me make pretty. But to paraphrase, you can't make diamonds by squeezing manure. About a month before I submitted my primary app, I scrapped my first essay and just sat down and wrote a whole new one. It may sound cliche but I woke up with the idea in my head and I just wrote it out in a day. I had several people read it and make minor corrections. A comma added or removed, or merge these sentences with a semicolon. Other than that it was just about the perfect length and topic. I had several people bust out in tears as they read it (ok, I lied, it was not that good!)

Anyway, make the story about you. If you are half as interesting as your original post, you should do fine. You don't need every detail in your personal statement. That is what your transcripts and work history help to tell. Also, many schools have secondary essays that you can use to expand on your story. OHSU is infamous with the beast of a secondary. Several short essays that tear your soul to pieces and hand the scraps to you on a plate as they demand that you eat every last bit... (Sorry, I am getting a little melodramatic again.)

Show those stuffy adcoms who is boss. You may find out that they are just regular people like you and me. They are looking for the best people to represent their school. It may just be you!

Good luck. Check out my MDApps under my avatar for a piece of my story. It is not as good as yours, but I was able to tell it in such a way that earned me an acceptance at three of my top five schools, and I was able to cancel multiple other interview invitations.

dsoz

 

[DW Washburn]

Wow, thank you so much for the supportive responses and how to keep focused on medicine when writing it!!! Anymore responses are definitely welcome

 

[anguisette]

I agree with the above posters. Don't assume that all the people reading your essay will be uppity. I've had a number of interviewers say something along the lines of "there aren't very many people in medicine who grew up like you and I did..." so if anything, your essay may actually help you click with some people. Don't make it a sob story, but don't be afraid to tell your story and be unapologetic about it. In fact, you shouldn't try to tailor it to "uppity" people at all because you want "the right fit" schools to be interested in you. So if you portray yourself honestly, you'll get the right schools resonating with your story.

On a similar note to Chip's response, your personal statement isn't your biography, it's about your motivation for medicine and how you determined that it's the right thing for you. Your upbringing can (and maybe should) be mentioned, but shouldn't be the focus of your personal statement imo unless it directly relates to your motivation for medicine. You'll have plenty of opportunities to tell the rest of your story in secondary essays (the diversity one or challenge one or "anything else?" one) or at the interview stage.

 

[ShyRem]

What makes any statement unique is the ability to put a piece of what makes YOU on paper. That is what makes them want to interview you. Make them want to meet you, see what makes you tick. This isn't about being cliche or like everyone else. This is about putting YOU in an essay.

Good luck to you.

 

[cabinbuilder]

What makes any statement unique is the ability to put a piece of what makes YOU on paper. That is what makes them want to interview you. Make them want to meet you, see what makes you tick. This isn't about being cliche or like everyone else. This is about putting YOU in an essay.

Good luck to you.

I agree with this post the most. Your essay is ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY. You really don't have to go into the "I wil make a great doctor, because". blah. DO NOT say this. How you overcome adversity, how you are calm under pressure, how you can multi task without being frazzled and what events happened to you along the way that molded you and made you persevere. Why you are the type to no quit under adversity, and an example of seeing things through.