personal statement, how do I write it well?

[joonkimdds]

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I need basic ideas of what to write in personal statement.

is there any rule concerning word count(with or without spaces), margin, font size and style, number of pages?

I searched this forum and read that some people wrote about their academic challenge to come up with an excuse of why I have C...etc.
I actually have C in my English class and I want to write about it but I also read that I shouldn't write anything negative about myself. Saying that I got C is negative in my opinion so I don't know how to talk about it.

and besides academic challenge and the reason I want to become a dentist, what else should I focus on writing?

Can anyone who wrote personal statement before and got accepted read my rough draft and help me?

 

[Mamona]

I would write more about of who you are. I did I little highlights of my life mainly, nothing negative. Explain the reason for a C will probably take too much space and it put a bad red flag in your essay. I got a bad grade in my transcripts, but I never mentioned it in my essays or my interview and it never came across....they knew about it because it was in my application coursework, but the rest of my application had more weight than a C. So do not try to remind them about it

 

[dentstd]

I need basic ideas of what to write in personal statement.

is there any rule concerning word count(with or without spaces), margin, font size and style, number of pages?

I searched this forum and read that some people wrote about their academic challenge to come up with an excuse of why I have C...etc.
I actually have C in my English class and I want to write about it but I also read that I shouldn't write anything negative about myself. Saying that I got C is negative in my opinion so I don't know how to talk about it.

and besides academic challenge and the reason I want to become a dentist, what else should I focus on writing?

Can anyone who wrote personal statement before and got accepted read my rough draft and help me?

Your task is easy. Convince the reader why they want you in their school. You can write about anything you want, as long as you achieve that goal. You're the salesperson. Give them your pitch.

If it makes you feel any better, the vast majority of applicants do a piss poor job on the PS. This includes at least 95% of matriculating students. So the standard's low...

 

[DrReo]

I wrote about research, volunteering, teaching and interweaved them into how I wanted to be a dentist

 

[DrReo]

Your task is easy. Convince the reader why they want you in their school. You can write about anything you want, as long as you achieve that goal. You're the salesperson. Give them your pitch.

If it makes you feel any better, the vast majority of applicants do a piss poor job on the PS. This includes at least 95% of matriculating students. So the standard's low...

Hence the cheat sheet in the signature

 

[Jake8]

One of my professors told me the key to this is to take time for self reflection. Basically he told me to find a place where I could relax and meditate on why I wanted to be a dentist and how it was more than a whim but a passion and unique journey. He told me to have an adult beverage or three sit by the river and just let my mind fly. Once you have come to terms with yourself about your goals and aspirations then they are much easier to put on paper.

Your PS is your chance to tell them more than just whats on the aadsas application. Everyone has decent grades and DAT scores so what sets you apart and makes you an ideal dental student. Who are you other than someone who goes to class and takes tests. They really don't care that you have wanted to be a dentist all your life and that you dad is your hero, and that you one day want 2.5 kids a white picket fence and a golden retriever. Be yourself, honest, and a byproduct of both of those - unique.

I also subscribe to the idea of not hashing on negative aspects. If they want to know about a certain grade they can ask you at your interview or in the secondary application.

 

[joonkimdds]

If I say I am an immigrant who got C in English class but then volunteered at library, had an access to many books, and got B+ in upper Eng class, will it still count negatively or will they think this is another successful case?

 

[adizzle87]

If I say I am an immigrant who got C in English class but then volunteered at library, had an access to many books, and got B+ in upper Eng class, will it still count negatively or will they think this is another successful case?

You are still talking about the negative. In my opinion you should swerve away from the more technical "I got a C in English" and talk more about the abstract, about how immigrating to this country and being able to learn English has profoundly [fill in the blank]....I think that route would serve you much better.

Even if you got an A in English, I really think they hold immigrants to the same standard as those whose English is a native language, at least when you talk in terms of grades. In terms of personal development, the sky is the limit in my opinion, you talk a lot about what learning English and e.g. living in this country has done to change your perspective of life or something.

 

[TeamGuo]

If I say I am an immigrant who got C in English class but then volunteered at library, had an access to many books, and got B+ in upper Eng class, will it still count negatively or will they think this is another successful case?

that's pretty lame. They might not even care about your C in English, focus on your career goals and what you have done so far to help you get admitted to dental school. You are thinking at a micro scale... think big!

 

[needa20]

using AADSAS there is such as limited space for your personal statement (that was my hardest part) I would not talk or defend your C. put that in another part of your app if you feel that it is needed.

Do a search, there are links to a few samples, here is one:
http://www.predental.com/essay.htm

everyones will be much different. just write a draft, and ask others here to critique it. thats what i did and everyone here was very helpful

 

[kamandsam]

using AADSAS there is such as limited space for your personal statement (that was my hardest part) I would not talk or defend your C. put that in another part of your app if you feel that it is needed.

Do a search, there are links to a few samples, here is one:
http://www.predental.com/essay.htm

everyones will be much different. just write a draft, and ask others here to critique it. thats what i did and everyone here was very helpful

Any idea how many words are permitted on aadsas?

 

[who knows...]

I quickly skimmed through this but here's what I did...

I also came to North America from another country...and I definitely talked about that...I talked about how that experience shaped me, the things it builds in you that prepares you to be a top dentist...knowing different cultures, being open to new ideas and beliefs, etc...there's SO much you can write about...I had a whole paragraph about that experience on its own because my family moved a lot (three times!)

I basically tried to "self reflect" as was stated above...I found it VERY hard to do so at times so I sat with my mom and dad and told them what they love about me...I told them to talk to me about the days when I was going through high school...I even found myself getting teary at times...but then I was in the mood to get down to writing it :')

Saying that, I also got to "self reflect" during my interview...my interviewer was AMAZING and I loved it...we both got teary at the end and I thought I blew my interview (because seriously, who almost cries in their interview???) but I was relieved to get the acceptance

 

[who knows...]

Oh and as I typed it in Microsoft Word, I was so worried about all that tangent stuff...but when you type it in AADSAS...it all doesn't really matter...because there's just a box and you type in it!

Make yourself an account on AADSAS and check it out

 

[needa20]

1 page 4500 characters, including spaces

which is not much, it was very hard for me to limit it to that