Personal Statement and Brevity

[futuredoc331]

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I know it is recommended to tell a story with your personal statement, but I really cannot see myself writing like that. I've read several examples, and quite frankly, they bore me. Instead of dramatizing my life experiences I'd rather just say what they are and how they've affected me.

Is that really a bad way to go?

 

[JeBrAs]

I wrote about significant experiences in my life and how they impacted my journey to medicine. These things happened in a chronological order in my PS which told my story. You don't need drama to be able to tell a good story filled with excellent experiences. So how do you take your resume and put it in essay format and then turn it into something that is interesting to read? Lots of drafts and peer review (unless you are naturally a good writer unlike me). The theme of the PS is your journey to medicine/becoming a doctor. In the PS you don't need to openly state that you want to be a doctor/always wanted to be a doctor, if you can show that in what you learned/realized in your experiences and it is a much better read if you can. If you can find a theme to tie everything together that is great. Your PS needs to pretty much be able to be skim read and allow the reader to pick out some interesting things that clue them into understanding why you want to be a physician. So to answer you question, I would say that you need to be able to write about both about your experiences and tell your story (hybrid).

 

[futuredoc331]

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to write out a few drafts and see how things start to look. All of the essays I've read so far would make my experience sound like

"It was six thirty in the morning and we had been up all night. The excitement filled the room as we all awaited her arrival. All of a sudden the contractions became stronger than they'd been all night. When the nurse called for the doctor we knew it was time. Our daughter would be born any minute now."

That actually doesn't sound horrible, but I don't really think it's me. I'm more of the straight forward "One of the most meaningful moments of my life so far has been the birth of my daughter......."

I would say that you need to be able to write about both about your experiences and tell your story (hybrid).

 

[MedNation907]

I see what you're saying, I would honestly say the latter ex. is perfectly okay. It doesn't have to read like drama's top seller.
However, I would recommend keeping a cohesive theme.

 

[allantois]

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to write out a few drafts and see how things start to look. All of the essays I've read so far would make my experience sound like

"It was six thirty in the morning and we had been up all night. The excitement filled the room as we all awaited her arrival. All of a sudden the contractions became stronger than they'd been all night. When the nurse called for the doctor we knew it was time. Our daughter would be born any minute now."

That actually doesn't sound horrible, but I don't really think it's me. I'm more of the straight forward "One of the most meaningful moments of my life so far has been the birth of my daughter......."

I would by a fiction book from you.

 

[futuredoc331]

I would by a fiction book from you.

Tell me that's not what all of these sound like.

http://www.accepted.com/medical/sampleessays.aspx

 

[PlaqueBuster]

Your PS should tell a story but that doesnt mean your writing style should be like the examples in that link. A story is an account of past events in someone's life or in the evolution of something. As long as your writing is sophisticated, has a theme, and is focused you should be fine.

 

[PlasticBag]

Interpretation and reflection are much more important than description of events. I would definitely exclude things like "the room was hot and filled with heavy air" or "the ambulance sirens buzzing in our ears", etc. that are way overused in sample essays. The setting scene is simply not as important as what you got out of the experience.
I would rather read something like: "the moment my daughter was born, i knew xyz/that my life would be changed forever/etc". Something short and powerful. And then elaborate.
Describing your contractions is dangerously close to describing dilation and other details 😉