Personal Statement Advice

[Seldon]

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How philosophical should one get on the personal statement? I'm trying to write about my shift from wanting an PhD to an MD, but there was no crystalizing moment for me. Instead, it was a year of discontent, followed by a slow gathering of information, and then a calculated decision. I'm not interested in talking about ECs or the specifics of my research because they really had nothing to do with my decision.

Another question, how narrative should the ps be? In my current draft, I've painstakingly assembled a setting, describing every detail. I'm trying to use the space as a metaphor for my development. What does everyone think?

 

[stickgirl390]

Narrative can work, but it can also drag on. It soaks up space that could be used to talk about your experiences. In my personal statement, I only had room for about 3 sentences of narrative.

I like to use this simile when writing: your narrative should be like a women's skirt, long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep in interesting.

 

[Seldon]

Narrative can work, but it can also drag on. It soaks up space that could be used to talk about your experiences. In my personal statement, I only had room for about 3 sentences of narrative.

I like to use this simile when writing: your narrative should be like a women's skirt, long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep in interesting.

It's only 5300 characters though. Is it supposed to be shorter?

 

[RogueBanana]

your narrative should be like a women's skirt, long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep in interesting.

That was Winston Churchill's advice on speech writing

 

[prehealthadvisor55]

Write it the way you plan, then give it to someone (not another student) who is really busy. See how much of the narrative and story-telling they get through.

When I would get very elaborate stories, I would tend to skim. You could expect the same for most adcoms. I want to hear 1) why you want to go into medicine, 2) some experiences (2-3) that show you've done the research into making sure this is what you want to do, and 3) how & why you're ready for the next step. Use the narratives for examples in a secondary or interview.

 

[BunnyMan17]

My personal statement/situation was almost identical to what you are describing. PhD -> MD after a long drawn out decision making process covering several experiences. My statement was all narrative in the form of several "snapshots" where I would explain my thinking and a certain experience. Together they painted a picture of my path to medical school. It seemed to work as I got interviews everywhere I turned in a secondary for DO: MD was about 50%. Ended up 5/6 acceptances from the interviews I decided to attend. Several of the interviewers mentioned how much they enjoyed reading my personal statement.

PM me if you want more details/have questions

 

[ToastCrunch]

My personal statement/situation was almost identical to what you are describing. PhD -> MD after a long drawn out decision making process covering several experiences. My statement was all narrative in the form of several "snapshots" where I would explain my thinking and a certain experience. Together they painted a picture of my path to medical school...

I also wrote like this...seems to work! BTW, congrats on the successful cycle @BunnyMan17!

 

[BunnyMan17]

I also wrote like this...seems to work! BTW, congrats on the successful cycle @BunnyMan17!

Thanks @ToastCrunch and congrats to you too!

So OP there's N=2 where it worked pretty well, I suppose the key would be to keep a brisk pace and not bog the reader down with extraneous details

 

[stickgirl390]

That was Winston Churchill's advice on speech writing

I never knew where that came from, thank you!!

 

[stickgirl390]

It's only 5300 characters though. Is it supposed to be shorter?

Your statement is not shorter, I mean the narrative portion should be a short segment of the overall piece.