Personal Statement for Reapplicant.

[Filibuster]

First of all let me start out by stating that I know if I looked hard enough I could find plenty of info on this, but it's late and I'm very tired.

I'll ask the question first so I don't bore everyone to death... Do I need to a completey rewrite my PS, or can I use the old one with a few minor updates?

Here's my story...
Last year I only applied to my three state schools. I got two interviews and two waitlists. Yes, I know, three schools that was stupid, and I paid for it. I was fortunate enough to have one school tell me why I wasn't accepted, and in detail. It came down to the fact that I didn't have enough volunteer/clinical/community service experience. This came across to the committee as if I was not dedicated to becoming a doctor. Well, I've since done as much as I could to improve upon this weakneses. Including many more hours in the E.R. volunteering weekly in a retirement park, shadowing a DO for and extended period of time (once per week for about 4 hours for several months) and participating in several fund raising events. Without a doubt, the shadowing was the most beneficial experience. I learned more in the first 8 hours of this experience than I did in the first 100 at the E.R.

I'm also going to change a few LOR's. My GPA is a 3.6 and MCAT was a 30. Which brings me to my second question. Where should I apply. I'm going M.D. D.O, and Caribbean. BTW I do not believe in 'Safety Schools', especially with my grades. The online sources are a pain to use because you can't search directly on OOS acceptances, which is quite important.

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[RxnMan]

Just scroll down and you'll see lots of posts like this or this or this for PSs. By the way, try the Non-Trad forum next time. It gets more traffic than Re-App, we're all really intelligent, and we're more willing to help people out.

OOS acceptance rates are low (<1%) at state-supported schools (UMich, all of the UCs,) but it gets better with private schools. I'd focus on your state school and then apply broadly to private institutions. Only go DO if you really feel that it may be a fit for you, and not as a back-up to MD schools. Try also looking at OldPreMeds, as there are a good number of folks on that forum who are in the Caribbean, and they can tell you about how it is there.

 

[littlebox5]

for the personal statement, is it okay to put in the word "God" ??

 

[RxnMan]

for the personal statement, is it okay to put in the word "God" ??

Why wouldn't it be? Would it be wrong for someone to write about Bhudda or Mother Earth or whatever? Just like your feelings, nobody can dictate what you believe. In addition, nobody can discriminate you for your beliefs (Thank you, Puritans).

 

[MasonPrehealth]

I'm sure if you're centered on one word, "God" or "G-d" is acceptable though I'd check if you're applying to Einstein/Yeshiva...

 

[njbmd]

I'll ask the question first so I don't bore everyone to death... Do I need to a completey rewrite my PS, or can I use the old one with a few minor updates?

Here's my story...
Last year I only applied to my three state schools. I got two interviews and two waitlists.

Hi there,
The bottom line: You applied with your present personal statement and you did not get in. Your application did NOT work last year so why not totally upgrade for this year? Upgrade everything that you can upgrade so that you DO get in somewhere. Why spend the thousands on application fees and then use something that you know did not work for you in the past?

Your personal statement is one aspect of your application that you can re-do very easily. Re-do it and re-work it. Sure you can re-use your personal statement with minor upgrades but why would you do this if it didn't work the first time?

Good luck!
njbmd

 

[cbtk18]

I am really struggling with this PS, don't even know where to begin. I would really appreciate anyone who would send me their essay's in order to get inspired. Desperately need to get my app out asap.

 

[HailMary]

I am really struggling with this PS, don't even know where to begin. I would really appreciate anyone who would send me their essay's in order to get inspired. Desperately need to get my app out asap.

Read Barron's "Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School". It has lots of exercises to get you started and then a bunch of examples of really great PSs. Just don't get too intimidated by all the people whose essays are featured. Remember, they're already in med school so we don't have to compete with them

 

[musiclink213]

Just scroll down and you'll see lots of posts like this or this or this for PSs. By the way, try the Non-Trad forum next time. It gets more traffic than Re-App, we're all really intelligent, and we're more willing to help people out.

.

I;m just curious, at what point is a person considered a non-trad? If you are a reapplicant, are you automatically a nontrad because you didn;t go straight from college, say? If you take a year or 2 off does that make you a non trad? Do you have to be over the average age of matriculants to be a non trad? I always wondered what the definition of a non trad is.

 

[RxnMan]

I;m just curious, at what point is a person considered a non-trad? If you are a reapplicant, are you automatically a nontrad because you didn;t go straight from college, say? If you take a year or 2 off does that make you a non trad? Do you have to be over the average age of matriculants to be a non trad? I always wondered what the definition of a non trad is.

There's a whole thread on this. Search around in this forum for it. Some people say that 30+ makes you non-trad, while others say it's anyone who's taken time off (to work, vacation, etc,) or had another career before going to medical school. The most liberal definition is anyone who is not Bio/Chem major and 22 yrs old.

 

[cbtk18]

I'm having trouble with my my PS.

Is it bad to imply that you are a reapplicant in the essay or should I try and stay away from that as much as possible? I want to include something like "Even though it has been frustrating these last couple of years, I am thankful for the time it has given me to mature and realize that I indded want to..."

It just seems like that will be a constant reminder of inadequecy. (ya see, I can't spell!)

 

[acrobat]

write about helping people maybe............