Personal Statement! Help!!!

[Ind201]

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Hey
I'm new here. I think its wonderful that people are helping each other out. Learned a lot from here! and gave me a little hope that i may be able to get in too! 😳

I'm really stuck on my personal statement for the aadsas application. That is the only thing holding up my application. Does anyone have ANY ideas at all? I would really really REALLY appreciate it! What did u guys (who have got accepted) write? and what do u think they're looking for?
And would it be too late if I applied in about mid-aug, coz ppl have already started getting interview calls and secondary apps!

Any help would be really appreciated.
Thanks Guys! 🙂

 

[vankras]

You're not too late. Late, but not too late. I know people who applied now and got in.

About your essay, it's a pretty long process, so spend a lot of hours doing it and be patient, it usually forms itself if you spend the time.

1. Make an outline. (for example)

community service:
a. volunteer at school
b. work for church
c. dental clinic

dental experience:

school experience

what makes you unique

etc, etc etc

just take any category you can think of and write out a bunch of paragraphs. In those paragraphs you will find some ideas of what make you unique, interesting, and fun, and smart, and what will make them want you. Just write out as much as you can about any possible subject and then start to narrow it down and narrow it down. Show it to other people and see what they like. Maybe they will ask to know more about a certain topic. This is the sort of process that takes a long time but eventually creates a masterpiece.

And get help from people (adults) who have been through this before or who work in an admissions office.

Good luck.

 

[AFVET]

Hey
I'm new here. I think its wonderful that people are helping each other out. Learned a lot from here! and gave me a little hope that i may be able to get in too! 😳

I'm really stuck on my personal statement for the aadsas application. That is the only thing holding up my application. Does anyone have ANY ideas at all? I would really really REALLY appreciate it! What did u guys (who have got accepted) write? and what do u think they're looking for?
And would it be too late if I applied in about mid-aug, coz ppl have already started getting interview calls and secondary apps!

Any help would be really appreciated.
Thanks Guys! 🙂

Well I havn't been accepted yet so you may take or leave my advice. The instructions for the essay are to give your reasons for wanting to be a dentist. It may sound crazy but, what I did is I actually think about the reasons I want to be a dentist. I then thought about all my experiences and personality traits that would support those reasons. I think many times when writing an essay like this the temptation is to try and figure out the reasons you think the Adcomm wants to hear rather than truly analyze your own desires. I could be wrong but I think sincerity is much more important than some majical right answer. As far as timing of applying, I have been told it is "the sooner the better" rather than how late is too late.

 

[Sprgrover]

To the OP: Vankras posted some good advice. The personal statement is very challenging as 1) there is no format or outline to follow, and most importantly 2) you are writing about yourself, which is more challenging than a lot of people realize. My advice is to produce a rough draft, let it sit for a few hours, return to it and make corrections. Have someone else read it and take their advice into consideration. Then, when you feel you have done your best, hand it into essayedge.com, or any essay editing service for that matter, and let them polish it for you. I used essayedge and I was thrilled with the results, that is why I am mentioning them here. You don't have time on your side, but you do need to spend some time with your draft - especially if you intend to submit to essayedge for some professional help. The further along your statement is the more they can help you and the better the final outcome will be. If you would like to learn more about essay editing services, then do a quick search in the forums. Doing so will yield many threads relating to the topic.

 

[Ind201]

hey guys

thanks a lot for the advice..will definitely get started on it.
i checked out essayedge.com and it seems really expensive. but will think about it too..
thanks for the advice!

 

[jheidenr]

Here are some links that I found helpful in writing my statement:

http://career.berkeley.edu/Grad/GradStatement.stm
http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/articles/med/medicalschoolessaysecrets.html

Be careful not to repeat everything in your essay that goes into the personal information sections on the AADSAS application. Rather than listing your attributes that qualify you for dentistry, demonstrate then by sharing experiences and how they have changed you.

A couple things to beware of:

Avoid clich?s
Don?t spend lots of time talking about childhood experiences.
Avoid too much flowery verbage.

Good luck and get your application in soon because it can take AADSAS a while to process it and send it out to the dental schools.

 

[Ind201]

hey thanks a ton for those links...

will definitely help a lot 😳

i read among the other threads and NYU and BU are "easier" to get interviews at...is that true? coz my first choice is probably BU...i have a 3.4 gpa and planning to take DAT around sept 1...
what do u think are the possibilties?
and i havent done any research....do u think that'll hamper my chances?? coz i really wasnt into research!

thanks!