Personal Statement For Reapplicants

[sstache1]

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Hey people. Good luck to all in the 2005 application cycle. Unfortunately, for this cycle I am a reapplicant. The fact that I didn't get in my last time around sucks, but I feel confident that I have improved upon the things that held me back last time and that I will have success this time around. However, the one thing holding back my application at this point is my damn personal statement. I put so much time and effort into my last one to say exactly what I wanted to say, and now I can't use it. I know i want to try to incorporate some of my anecdotes fro the last statement in the new one, but I also feel I need to address the fact that I am reapplying. So, I was wondering if any of my fellow reapplicant out there would like to share their new personal statement writing experience or some advice. I'm sure there are other out there in the same boat as me so hopefully we can get some ideas flying around.

 

[2tall]

My first personal statement was written for the entering class of '03. It seems like such a loooong time ago. For me it's very difficult re-reading that statement. At that time, I didn't let anyone else review it before I submitted it. HUGE MISTAKE! I focused too much on the details of my experiences, therefore my statement did not reflect how those experiences shaped who I am or who I was then. I also wrote about my career goals in detail/what I specifically hoped to accomplish. Perhaps nothing is wrong with doing this. However, I feel this was something I should have been saved for secondary essays. I feel I've grown a lot in the past couple of years. I believe I was a little naive about what the application process entailed, but I feel fortunate to learn a lot from it. lol@me. I can say that now...but when that last rejection rolled in. Anyway, I digress. This time around I wanted the application committees that be to really have a feel for who I am. So in my current personal statment I share the insights I learned from my experiences. It's drastically different from my first one...Much more "personal." How appropriate. At my school there's a Writing Center, so I got my own personal writing consultant. Aren't I special! She was great. She really helped me hone in on what I wanted to say. My advice: I you really like your first one AND it distinguishes you as you, AND it captures your motivation toward medicine...keep most of it, BUT try to find those areas of your life that you've grown or things you've gained more insight into w/i this past year. Ask yourself: Am I the same person I was when I applied last year? Has my interest in medicine remained the same? If the answer is yes...then make something up! 😀

 

[sstache1]

2tall,

Thanks for the insight. I share a lot of you ideas on changing the statement based on how life has changed since last application. I guess I'm just going to have to hunker down and hammer out some ideas based on how I feel my life, esp toward medicine, had changed. Good luck to you this time around.

 

[Ypo.]

Hi, I, too am a reapplicant. What I did was talk to the assistant deans from several medical schools that are withine my range and where I want to go for advice on my PS. If you haven't already done so, do that.
You don't have to completely rewrite your PS. Some things, such as reasons/motivation for attending medical school, don't change year to year, and should not be left out or made to sound different. I kept the best stuff in my PS, added some experiences and personal insights to demonstrate how I've grown and prepared for being a doctor, and mentioned some of the new activities I'd done. I didn't call attention to the fact that I wasn't accepted the first time-I don't think its a good idea or that you need to do that. Some schools, such as Wayne State, specifically ask you to write an essay explaining why you think you were not accepted the first time and what you have done to correct that. Also, the topic of why you were not accepted and how you dealt with that will definitely come up during the interviews, so just have a good response then.
Hope that was somewhat helpful.

 

[Tkehinde]

Anyone know if it's okay to state in your personal statement that that you're interested in primary care? Is this a turn off for most schools?

 

[Ypo.]

I think its a great thing for many schools, based on what admissions advisors have told me. If you are planning on applying to a research-oriented medical school-it may not help you or hurt you. But if you really want to be an FP, you are probably applying to schools oriented towards this, anyways. I really don't think it would hurt, but the best thing to do is call the admissions advisors at the schools you are applying to and ask. You'll feel more confident going on advice from the schools than from advice on SDN.

 

[Monkeyguts]

If you have the experience to back up your interest on the application and/or mention this experience along with your stated interest it would probably be all right.

Anyone know if it's okay to state in your personal statement that that you're interested in primary care? Is this a turn off for most schools?