Personal Statement (PS)

[hle007]

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I am impressed that there is not a thread addressing the personal statement. I supposed everyone got their applications out already??

I think I am making it harder than what it is... I am dreading. Any advice?

What if I go over 1.5 page... do they stop reading after 1.5 page?

 

[4thMolar]

I think there are plenty of threads addressing the PS, just search for it. The PS has a 4500 character limit, so you won't be able to upload it if it is beyond that. Write about why you want to be a dentist, what makes you unique, etc. This is an opportunity for you to set yourself apart from other applicants and is essentially a way for adcoms to get to know you before interviewing you.

 

[FreeFallin]

I am impressed that there is not a thread addressing the personal statement. I supposed everyone got their applications out already??

I think I am making it harder than what it is... I am dreading. Any advice?

What if I go over 1.5 page... do they stop reading after 1.5 page?

For AADSAS, the limit is 4500 characters including spaces. You just won't be able to put anymore than that in the space allowed.

I worked on my PS for over 2 weeks. You just have to figure out exactly what you want to say...it's different for everyone. Some just regurgitate their applications, some talk about a hardship, some talk about work. Took me a while to figure out what I wanted to say. Then, all of a sudden it clicked. I knew exactly what I wanted to say. Good luck.

 

[hle007]

I started the essay in May. I am still working on the essay.

My problem is not knowing what I should include in the essay. The fact that it could possibly be the essay that will give me an interview... makes it harder for me to write. I just finished another draft though. Will read it again tomorrow and then submit it to my boss for help. 🙂

 

[FreeFallin]

I started the essay in May. I am still working on the essay.

My problem is not knowing what I should include in the essay. The fact that it could possibly be the essay that will give me an interview... makes it harder for me to write. I just finished another draft though. Will read it again tomorrow and then submit it to my boss for help. 🙂

Yeah, I had several drafts...very rough drafts. I made outlines of things I wanted to include, then I completed the paragraphs. Making everything flow naturally is crucial.

 

[lmaozedong1]

IMHO people put WAY too much work into their PS's. I mean, you want it to sound good and all, but some people blow it way out of proportion.

 

[quillow]

I started the essay in May. I am still working on the essay.

My problem is not knowing what I should include in the essay. The fact that it could possibly be the essay that will give me an interview... makes it harder for me to write. I just finished another draft though. Will read it again tomorrow and then submit it to my boss for help. 🙂

I had the same problem with my personal statement! I also started working on it (on and off) in May. Finally got it done this weekend though. I thought it was the hardest part of my application. Grades and DAT scores aren't the entire picture. The personal statement is a way to communicate the things that you can't really say through the rest of your application. Good luck with your statement!

 

[ItalianPrincess]

I started the essay in May. I am still working on the essay.

My problem is not knowing what I should include in the essay. The fact that it could possibly be the essay that will give me an interview... makes it harder for me to write. I just finished another draft though. Will read it again tomorrow and then submit it to my boss for help. 🙂

dont put so much pressure on it, i think when you think of the PS as 'the essay that will give you an interview' instead of your way to show the adcomms you it will become much harder to write

writing my personal statement was my favorite part of doing my application 🙂 it just hit me one day what to say and i sat and wrote it, after i had what i wanted on paper i edited it quite a few times and showed it to my pre health advisor to get everyone's opinion on it
good luck!

 

[alanan84]

I started the essay in May. I am still working on the essay.

My problem is not knowing what I should include in the essay. The fact that it could possibly be the essay that will give me an interview... makes it harder for me to write. I just finished another draft though. Will read it again tomorrow and then submit it to my boss for help. 🙂

You're kidding right? You have really let minute details in your PS turn you from a early applicant to a late submitter? That is ridiculous (or OCD).

One piece of advice. Submit now.

 

[mflinchb]

I had to do my personal statement during the spring of my sophomore year for a course I took and after completing an SMDEP program I got their opinion on it. I ended up changing a lot of it to what was suggested to me by the SMDEP program and having read over it a few times I thought it sounded boring. After revising I was really happy with it and I STRONGLY suggest having others look over it. I had 4 people look over mine, but it was completed around March. Since yours isn't done yet you might want to have fewer so you can actually submit soon.

Good Luck!