Personal Statement Issues

[mohad]

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Since I'm applying this upcoming cycle to medial school, I figured that I should start my personal statement early so I have enough time to get it proofread and edited to a well-written final product. However, I'm having difficulty starting it. I don't really know how to do it. I've been reading threads about how to write a PS on this site, and they're really helpful, but I can't figure out a way to start it without being cliche or just really bland.

My main issue though is that I started volunteering this past November, and I only have around 70 hours of shadowing experience. Basically, my exposure to medicine is really limited, and I don't know how to explain why I want to be a physician based on these few experiences without my PS sounding like a bunch of BS. I understand that it is about quality and not quantity, but I still am a bit worried that my PS will be weak. Even if I view my exposures to medicine as very profound, I don't know how to go about selling that to the adcoms in such a way that they can somewhat disregard my late exposure to the field. I guess my question is, what is a good manner I can go about selling myself as a great potential student and doctor given this obvious flaw in my application.

I'm in my 3rd year by the way, if that helps, and I'm not going to take a year off to apply because I figure I might as well apply this yeear and see what happens.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Make a list of your reasons for pursuing medicine, what you've done to test the waters, etc. Be specific when you're brainstorming and then try connecting these points in a way that sounds cohesive and natural. You have plenty of time so just start writing. Don't worry if it sounds terrible, cliche or bland. It's your first draft, you'll probably end up going through several before you write something that you're satisfied with. Good luck .

Couldn't have said it better! 😀

 

[KLycos]

Since I'm applying this upcoming cycle to medial school, I figured that I should start my personal statement early so I have enough time to get it proofread and edited to a well-written final product. However, I'm having difficulty starting it. I don't really know how to do it. I've been reading threads about how to write a PS on this site, and they're really helpful, but I can't figure out a way to start it without being cliche or just really bland.

My main issue though is that I started volunteering this past November, and I only have around 70 hours of shadowing experience. Basically, my exposure to medicine is really limited, and I don't know how to explain why I want to be a physician based on these few experiences without my PS sounding like a bunch of BS. I understand that it is about quality and not quantity, but I still am a bit worried that my PS will be weak. Even if I view my exposures to medicine as very profound, I don't know how to go about selling that to the adcoms in such a way that they can somewhat disregard my late exposure to the field. I guess my question is, what is a good manner I can go about selling myself as a great potential student and doctor given this obvious flaw in my application.

I'm in my 3rd year by the way, if that helps, and I'm not going to take a year off to apply because I figure I might as well apply this yeear and see what happens.

Actually, the best pre med advisors will tell you that the best time to apply is when you are the strongest. Applying even when you don't feel that fully prepared in terms of your personal statement or extra curriculars is bad.

 

[SBR249]

Actually, the best pre med advisors will tell you that the best time to apply is when you are the strongest. Applying even when you don't feel that fully prepared in terms of your personal statement or extra curriculars is bad.

OP has another 6 months to go before he can even submit his AMCAS. That's plenty to round out the application.

My advice to the OP is to take your time. You don't need to have a complete draft tomorrow or next week. The writing process doesn't need to be linear either. Start writing in pieces. Jot down ideas, sentences, phrases, themes etc. Once you have sufficient momentum, then you can start piecing them together into a coherent essay.

 

[typicalindian]

Actually, the best pre med advisors will tell you that the best time to apply is when you are the strongest. Applying even when you don't feel that fully prepared in terms of your personal statement or extra curriculars is bad.

Well the worst that could happen is that he gets rejected by all the schools he applies to, which would put him in the same situation as if he didn't apply at all(assuming he doesn't care about the cost). Or am I missing something here...?

 

[sector9]

My main issue though is that I started volunteering this past November, and I only have around 70 hours of shadowing experience. Basically, my exposure to medicine is really limited, and I don't know how to explain why I want to be a physician based on these few experiences without my PS sounding like a bunch of BS.

70 hours of shadowing is more than the average premed.

Your volunteering is recent but you should still be able to come up with a few reasons why you want to be a doctor from your shadowing. If you can't think of something now, then wait until it comes closer to June.

I don't really understand the problem. You want to write your personal statement 6 months ahead of time but you don't have anything to say right now. So just wait, right? 😕 And if you still can't say something in June, then you probably shouldn't be applying to med school.

 

[mohad]

Make a list of your reasons for pursuing medicine, what you've done to test the waters, etc. Be specific when you're brainstorming and then try connecting these points in a way that sounds cohesive and natural. You have plenty of time so just start writing. Don't worry if it sounds terrible, cliche or bland. It's your first draft, you'll probably end up going through several before you write something that you're satisfied with. Good luck .

OP has another 6 months to go before he can even submit his AMCAS. That's plenty to round out the application.

My advice to the OP is to take your time. You don't need to have a complete draft tomorrow or next week. The writing process doesn't need to be linear either. Start writing in pieces. Jot down ideas, sentences, phrases, themes etc. Once you have sufficient momentum, then you can start piecing them together into a coherent essay.

Thanks for the advice guys. That helps out a bunch actually.

As far as cost is concerned, I really don't want to waste money on applying and not getting accepted and having to reapply again, but I have a strong GPA and MCAT score, so I know where my weakness is, my ECs. As a Texas resident, I would love to go to Baylor, UTH, or UTSW because they're good schools and cheaper than other institutions out of state. I don't like the idea of taking a year off to build ECs when I may not even go to a school out of state unless they offer a decent financial package. My reasoning may be dumb, but even if I do have a decent shot at top programs if I spend time working on ECs, I don't want to go to them unless I have a lot of money. With that being said, I still will apply to those schools and just see what happens as well.

 

[candav]

Thanks for the advice guys. That helps out a bunch actually.

As far as cost is concerned, I really don't want to waste money on applying and not getting accepted and having to reapply again, but I have a strong GPA and MCAT score, so I know where my weakness is, my ECs. As a Texas resident, I would love to go to Baylor, UTH, or UTSW because they're good schools and cheaper than other institutions out of state. I don't like the idea of taking a year off to build ECs when I may not even go to a school out of state unless they offer a decent financial package. My reasoning may be dumb, but even if I do have a decent shot at top programs if I spend time working on ECs, I don't want to go to them unless I have a lot of money. With that being said, I still will apply to those schools and just see what happens as well.

You have until June to do as much as you possibly can -- use this time to begin new activities and pursue existing activities at a deeper level. If you feel you lack non-academic experiences, perhaps now is not the best time to begin writing your PS. In my experience, my own view of medicine is constantly evolving, and not necessarily due solely to clinical experiences. Over half of my PS focused on a particularly meaningful research experience that I didn't even realize was meaningful until I reflected on it much later.

My advice: concentrate on your ECs for now, and spend much time reflecting on your activities. What did you learn? What surprised you, motivated you? How did it affect your perspective on medicine? The PS is self-reflective by definition, so I think starting to reflect early on is already half the work in terms of penning your first draft. Don't worry about actually writing the PS until closer to June -- you'll have plenty of time. Good luck!

 

[rrxcrunner]

While we're on the topic of personal statements... I just began mine recently as well. The draft I have now does not really emphasize why I want to be a doctor, I find that hard to describe without clichés. Instead I tried to focus on the few things that may set me aside from other applicants.

Specifically I wrote a lot about my athletic involvement and the opportunities it has provided since receiving my scholarship allowed me to go to my school. I tried to stress some of the qualities that I have learned and included a paragraph about my volunteering in the ER, but I did not even mention research which I think is my strongest ec.

Essentially, rather than stating why I want to be a doctor I wrote my statement trying to convince the reader why I would be a good doctor. Is this a bad way to go about it, or should I lessen my emphasis on my athletics even though it really is my main time consumer?

Any advice is appreciated, Thanks

 

[candav]

Completely agree with this 🙂. There were certain activities that I didn't think were very meaningful at the time but then came to appreciate when I sat down and started reflecting on it.

Looking forward to the day when we disagree on something. 😛

While we're on the topic of personal statements... I just began mine recently as well. The draft I have now does not really emphasize why I want to be a doctor, I find that hard to describe without clichés. Instead I tried to focus on the few things that may set me aside from other applicants.

Specifically I wrote a lot about my athletic involvement and the opportunities it has provided since receiving my scholarship allowed me to go to my school. I tried to stress some of the qualities that I have learned and included a paragraph about my volunteering in the ER, but I did not even mention research which I think is my strongest ec.

Essentially, rather than stating why I want to be a doctor I wrote my statement trying to convince the reader why I would be a good doctor. Is this a bad way to go about it, or should I lessen my emphasis on my athletics even though it really is my main time consumer?

Any advice is appreciated, Thanks

ETA: I think Panda has already said everything I wrote here. It's late and I ended up blabbing on and on, so feel free to skip!

Personally, I think your approach would be better suited to the experiences section. You'll have tons of space there to discuss your activities and what you learned from them. For me, the PS was a place to write about my thoughts and feelings towards medicine, things that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else on the application. To give a brief outline, I wrote about my thoughts regarding research and why I decided to go with medicine, then segued into a section on my thoughts regarding global health and community health. In writing the PS, I was very influenced by a series of news articles I had read a few weeks earlier, and structured my PS in a similar way: very descriptive, describing specific conversations to the point of using quotations, etc.

Of course, there are probably a million ways to go about writing a PS, so your approach could be very valid. I did mine this way because this is the kind of PS I think I'd most enjoy reading.

Also: I think the focus on athletics is great if that is what is most meaningful to you. At one of my interviews, the dean told us that athletics, and specifically sports injuries, are a common theme in PS's.

 

[mauberley]

the personal statement should answer 'why medicine.'

This, this, a thousand times this.

 

[FightinUruKai]

hey, mohad, Why DO you want to be a doctor?
(see the edit)

 

[gettheleadout]

hey, mohad, Why DO you want to be a doctor?
(see the edit)

Not a bad strategy actually, haha. 👍

 

[mohad]

hey, mohad, Why DO you want to be a doctor?
(see the edit)

Hahaha this is clever. I think my issue was that I was trying to do things mentally. When I wrote down things on a piece of paper that I could talk about/wanted to talk about, it was easier for me to see how I could combine them into a PS. I'll try and not force myself to write anything prematurely, but I will try and jot ideas down as they come to me and use my scratch paper as reference.

 

[boko]

Im also applying this coming cycle and have already written my personal statement...just have to write a conclusion. I kind of feel like i put too many cliches but then again im going to have others read over it and see what they think before i just get rid of it and start over.

 

[music2doc]

To expand on what's been said:

Why do you want to be a doctor?

What experiences have confirmed that desire?

What have patients said/done that made you passionate about _________________?


Ask your friends who've been accepted this cycle. Some may be willing to email you their PS, which can be helpful to get some ideas of how successful applicants have approached this writing exercise. (Of course, it is imperative you do not copy their work in any way. Be careful of that.)

 

[music2doc]

Im also applying this coming cycle and have already written my personal statement...just have to write a conclusion. I kind of feel like i put too many cliches but then again im going to have others read over it and see what they think before i just get rid of it and start over.

It's great you've started so early. As for cliches, just make sure they're not fluff. My PS had several common themes (e.g., prevention, a medical specialty of interest, my approach to patient care with backing experience, underserved populations). These themes were also strongly backed by my ECs, which is something I suspect many applicants fail to do. If you say "I want to work with underserved populations in an inner city ER" but have never worked in an ER or with underserved populations, every adcom member worth his volunteer "pay check" (a pat on the back) is going to scream "B*** S***!" and refuse to interview (or accept) you. Regardless, keep in mind there is no one way to approach the PS. When I wrote mine, some SDN members couldn't believe I did not use the word "physician" once in my PS and only used the word "doctor" once, referring to someone else. I never said anything along the lines of "I want to be a doctor" in my PS. I said things that implied it. There is absolutely no way you could think I wanted to be anything else because my app practically exudes "Doctor" but it never outright says anything about becoming a doctor -- at least not in those words. Nevertheless, I applied on the late side of on time and already have 8 interview invites (4 attended, 2 withdrawn, 2 scheduled) and 3 acceptances of my 4 interviews (1 silent hold that is very likely to become an acceptance). In other words, doing the unthinkable and not actually stating "I want to be a doctor" at the end may not actually be the kiss of death some on SDN believe it to be.

 

[boko]

It's great you've started so early. As for cliches, just make sure they're not fluff. My PS had several common themes (e.g., prevention, a medical specialty of interest, my approach to patient care with backing experience, underserved populations). These themes were also strongly backed by my ECs, which is something I suspect many applicants fail to do. If you say "I want to work with underserved populations in an inner city ER" but have never worked in an ER or with underserved populations, every adcom member worth his volunteer "pay check" (a pat on the back) is going to scream "B*** S***!" and refuse to interview (or accept) you. Regardless, keep in mind there is no one way to approach the PS. When I wrote mine, some SDN members couldn't believe I did not use the word "physician" once in my PS and only used the word "doctor" once, referring to someone else. I never said anything along the lines of "I want to be a doctor" in my PS. I said things that implied it. There is absolutely no way you could think I wanted to be anything else because my app practically exudes "Doctor" but it never outright says anything about becoming a doctor -- at least not in those words. Nevertheless, I applied on the late side of on time and already have 8 interview invites (4 attended, 2 withdrawn, 2 scheduled) and 3 acceptances of my 4 interviews (1 silent hold that is very likely to become an acceptance). In other words, doing the unthinkable and not actually stating "I want to be a doctor" at the end may not actually be the kiss of death some on SDN believe it to be.

thanks. very encouraging!

 

[Tsiana]

The personal statement itself is actually quite short so I personally started by thinking of what is the thesis of my essay, and in one sentence try to encapsulate why it is I think I want to be a doctor. In terms of thinking of "quality and not quantity," I've always simplified it to thinking about how many powerful anecdotes I have. It will be the quality of the anecdotes that drive the fluff out of your thesis, since adcoms have seen every good reason under the sun that applicants list for wanting to go into medicine.