Personal Statement Help

Started by CyborgNinjaX
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
I would say that there is not set way to start it off there may be foraml rules but what i thought about was i want to make it memorable so do what you have to make yourself stand out
 
My personal statement is theme based, with each paragraph continuing the theme.
 
There really is no right or wrong way to start a personal statement. Like rex said you want to make it memorable. Hook them in with something right away that gets their attention and makes them want to read the rest. None of this "I've wanted to be a dentist since I was five years old" business...

Best of luck. 😉
 
I don't remember how I started my personal statement was something like, when choosing a profession, I thought Blank?, and Blank? and Bland? And dentistry was the answer.
 
My opinion is that a personal statement is a personal statement. Meaning, they want to get to know you. So why couldn't you start off with that question? If you phrase it well enough, and it captivates the reader's interest in who you are as a person and why it is that you want to go into dentistry and the life experiences that you've had and maybe how it pertains to dentistry or whatever, then that's great. Just remember that if you don't capture your reader from the get go, you're not gonna get a good "review" on it.
 
My advice to you is... (I was a writting major my first year in my undergrad)... I know a tad bit about writting...

I would stay away from the following:
1) do not tell them you've always wanted to become a dentist... they already know this (its why your applying 🙂 )
2) do NOT say things that you feel are what they want to hear (basically, don't assume the readers wants to read something about you).
3) talk about how hard you had to study to keep your grades up and do well on the dat
4) do not talk about accomplishments (don't boast, they can already see those in your application)



Instead, talk more about the following:
1) what kind of person are you? (do you learn from mistakes and try to improve youself based on your life experiences)
2) talk about your life experiences and how each one tought you a new lesson and you hope to combine all your skillsets together and become a great dentist.
3) show them your a social person.
4) HONEST!!!!, you have to be very honest.


The hardest part of the personal essay is the opening paragraph, if it sucks, your whole paper will suck. If you like, I would have no problem proof reading your paper and giving you my comments.... just PM me if interested
 
Is there a specific topic you have to write about??? Because, UC's(undergrad) have personal statement with different topics every year, is it the same way for dental schools? or do you just have to write about yourself?
 
simple! think of all the things that will set you apart from the other 15,000 applicants 😀. You need a big cup of coffee for this one.
 

Attachments

  • roflcoaster.gif
    roflcoaster.gif
    8.4 KB · Views: 141
Find something that you are passionate about, and relate it to dentistry.
 
tell it as a story...write about how your dream to become a dentist evolved, and present it in an interesting way

and maybe find some unique theme about youself and tie it in throughout the paper
 
Personal statements are probably the most time consuming thing on the application. A google search will pull up loads of advice on how to do one. I agree with the previous advice of do not lie, as well as write it so that you feel a little vulnerable emotionally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.