Personal Statement...Please help!

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Homer Simpson

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I am applying to medical schools in the upcoming application cycle, and I have begun thinking about the personal statement. I am so nervous and am suffering from a bad case of writer's block combined with procrastination.

I borrowed Barron's Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School and haven't yet gotten a chance to do their writing exercises, but I did read a few of the included sample essays and am quite at a loss. A lot of the applicants talked about multiple activities/experiences in the personal statement, to the point of it reading slightly like a resume in complete sentences. I felt like some of the writers did not (or were unable due to the length restrictions to) go into much detail about any specific experience, and I was left asking, "and then what?" I always thought it was better to concentrate on one or at most two activities that are most meaningful and just mention the rest in the work/activities section of the application.

In my case, I have some volunteering, research, and teaching experiences, unfortunately nothing extraordinary or spectacular, but all of which have played a role in my choosing to enter the medical field. However, I think that if I talked about all of that my essay will end up being disjointed and unfocused. What would you recommend I do? Please help! Thank you in advance.

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Remember that when you mention something in your PS or in your work/activities section, you have opened the door to talk about the experience during your interview. If some of those essays left you thinking -"and then what?" - the interviewer probably felt the same way.

I don't think that I repeated any of my work/activities in my PS. I felt like I covered all of my activities by using the maximum space allowed in that section. I felt like most admissions/interviewers would thoroughly review my file. I never repeated myself. I didn't talk about grades/mcat or my work/activities in the PS because I felt it only needed to be in my application once.
 
I haven't read the book you mentioned, but I'm inclined to agree with you. I talked to a few people on the admissions committee of a school nearby here recently, and the biggest complaint that they had was that statements were too generic, and that there were too many gramatical and spelling errors. They read literally thousands of statements, so I'm sure they all start to blend together. Write something that stands out from the crowd, and write something that really speaks from your personal experience. They can read the list of activities you've done and see a lot of your experiences by looking at the list included with your app. If you do want to mention them, maybe include a bunch of things in a brief summary in a paragraph at the end of your statement while focusing the body on a specific aspect.

What I've been doing (I'm in the same phase you are of applying) is to just sit down once a week or so and just start writing possible ideas for statements. Once in a while I'll get to dead ends right away, while sometimes I'll write something that I find is actually pretty interesting. Its a great way to get ideas flowing and to get a general outline that you like. The editing can all come later. Just be sure to have other people read it to give you some feedback, and make sure you don't misspell or misuse any words as that will reflect very poorly on an otherwise great letter.
 
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Homer Simpson said:
I am applying to medical schools in the upcoming application cycle, and I have begun thinking about the personal statement. I am so nervous and am suffering from a bad case of writer's block combined with procrastination.

I borrowed Barron's Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School and haven't yet gotten a chance to do their writing exercises, but I did read a few of the included sample essays and am quite at a loss. A lot of the applicants talked about multiple activities/experiences in the personal statement, to the point of it reading slightly like a resume in complete sentences. I felt like some of the writers did not (or were unable due to the length restrictions to) go into much detail about any specific experience, and I was left asking, "and then what?" I always thought it was better to concentrate on one or at most two activities that are most meaningful and just mention the rest in the work/activities section of the application.

In my case, I have some volunteering, research, and teaching experiences, unfortunately nothing extraordinary or spectacular, but all of which have played a role in my choosing to enter the medical field. However, I think that if I talked about all of that my essay will end up being disjointed and unfocused. What would you recommend I do? Please help! Thank you in advance.

Hi there,

It's wonderful that you purchased a book that will give you guidance concerning writing your personal statement. However, as I'm sure you already know, there is a CAVEAT, with respect to using books of this sort: that you may inadvertedly plagiarize/"borrow ideas" from the stories that are already written. This can very easily happen, as you begin writing your own personal statement. Please be very, very careful concerning this.

In terms of what you should write about, how about you focus on one or two of the activities that you think made the most significant contributions to your decision on becoming a physician? It's not necessarily the type of activity that you were involved with, in so much as the quality of service that you performed. And again, remember that you are telling a story. Don't be afraid to be creative (within reason, of course ;) ) .

I strongly recommend that you at least start with something, and just begin wriiting. Even if it may not work out, at least you will have some idea as to what portrait you may/may not want to portray to an admissions committee.

Additionally, please remember that most personal statements are not written over night. My own personal statement when through at least 3 different stories, with each having 7-8 drafts, before I finally chose 1 story and 1 draft.

Good luck! :)

dj
 
Maybe this is just me, but I think your personal statement should be about you, and not specifically an experience you had (unless it says something about you.) Now, you've probably heard this before, but have you actually THOUGHT about it.

If I were on an admissions committe, I would want to read something which said something about you.

To be honest, when I write my personal statement, I intend to write something similar to a journal entry or some self-inspired article on something significant (ie: what medicine means to you; why you chose your major etc.)

I know a lot of people will say to write about some significant activity or experience, but if I were you, I would consider writing something about your viewpoint or perspective on a part of your life, especially if it corresponds to medicine. It is unorthodox, but assuming that it is within reason (ie: don't write about your staunch opinion on abortion or your love of communism), I'm sure you'll be fine.

Anyway, best of luck.
-Dr. P.
 
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