Personal Statement Reviewing Service (2013-2014 Cycle)

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KittySquared

KittySquared

Kitty chompers
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Hello all,

Last year, Kahr started a thread on personal statement reviewing. Many of the current reviewers on the old thread are mostly inactive. I thought it would be nice to start a new thread for the applicants for this 2013-2014 cycle starting on June 3rd. I was blessed to have had quite a few people look over my personal statement when I applied, and last year, I helped a lot of people by proofreading their essays. Hopefully this act of kindness can continue for the upcoming years.

If you are a current dental student and/or are savvy with essay editing, please post here or send me a PM so I can list you here. I can remove you if you are too busy. I will continue to edit this thread as reviewers come and go.



Rules for the reviewers: Please keep the essays confidential and do not share with others. If you are backed up and can't get to some of the essays, let them know or have them ask other reviewers. Be kind to the writers.

Rules for the reviewees: The personal statement is limited to approximately one page (4,500 characters, including spaces) on the actual AADSAS application. Please be be polite and do not demand the reviewers to get back to you. This is a free service, and it is YOUR duty to write your statement and provide others with enough time to review. No one can promise an over night edit. And please courteously reply to the reviewer whether you've received the edits. When you message the reviewers, do not paste the statement directly. Ask if they're available to review your statement and see how they'd like to receive it before assuming everyone is ready. Most of us prefer if it's in a document and emailed to us. We have no way of editing it if it's just pasted into the PM.


Current Personal Statement Reviewers

doc toothache - a dentist from a time unbeknownst to man; a guru in excel sheets and eons of predent data; doc's own PS thread

Removed past reviewers due to many being away / school work. Doc toothache will always be around, however. :p
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I'm open to reading any PS, however I'm quite busy until the 15th of May. You can send me anything now, but I won't get back to you until that time. :)
 
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If you need anymore reviewers I'd be happy to help! I was a reapplicant if that brings a new perspective.

Class of 2016
 
Merrily adding you guys in. :3

SmilingCat_reasonably_small.jpg
 
Hey all I am struggling to decide what / how to say what I need to say on my personal statement. I have a great story to tell with lots of constituents to create a strong personal statement, but I'm not sure what I should include and/or how I should say it, if anyone wants to help me out please let me know. you can PM, email, or gchat me at [email protected]
 
^You really should do some brain storming. You should want to put forth what you think best represents you besides your academic record and extracurriculars. Don't get someone else to cloud your thought process and write what OTHERS will want to hear as opposed to who you truly are and how you want to convey it all.
 
yeah definitely, I have a great story, and very proud of my story I just need help deciding what to include and how I should present.
 
bimmer said:
Hey all I am struggling to decide what / how to say what I need to say on my personal statement. I have a great story to tell with lots of constituents to create a strong personal statement, but I'm not sure what I should include and/or how I should say it, if anyone wants to help me out please let me know. you can PM, email, or gchat me at [email protected]
Click to expand...

bimmer said:
yeah definitely, I have a great story, and very proud of my story I just need help deciding what to include and how I should present.
Click to expand...

That's for YOU to do. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that none of us are going to help you with that. We are offering to review your personal statement, not write it. If you need help, your school should have a writing lab, go check them out. Otherwise, like Kitty said, you need to do some brainstorming and then have us critique once you have a submission-worthy piece (meaning, you need to make sure all your grammar and spelling and punctuation issues are taken care of).

On a side not to everyone else: I said this before in another post, but I think it bears repeating and clarification....

For those of you asking us to review your statement, I think the most respectful thing is to wait until you have what you feel is your best work before asking us to critique your PS. That means, you don't send a rough draft of your piece nor do you send a bunch of random sentences and phrases and ask us to piece them together for you. It also means your offered statement needs to be AS GRAMMATICALLY ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE. For some of you, this may be difficult. I promise you that it is exponentially more difficult for me to sit through an entire reading of a piece with misplaced commas and run-on sentences and whatnot. I'm 34: when I was in school we put a premium on proper grammar. I understand that concept is probably completely foreign to those of you in your early 20's. But none of your admissions officers will be in their 20's. I can guarantee you that they will put just as strong an emphasis on technically correct grammar as I do. It is a true measure of intelligence. You only get one chance at your personal statement. Once you submit it to AADSAS, there is no changing it for the entire cycle. Take the time to do a good job.

I also stress this point because if you want us to critique the content of your personal statement, then that needs to be the only thing to focus on. Like I said before, it's almost impossible for me to read an entire page of piss-poor grammar without getting quite belligerent and wanting to throw your paper in my cat's litterbox for her to dump on it, because that's what it's worth to me. Now, if that's what's running through my mind while I'm reading your PS, do you really think I'm going to be able to concentrate on your content? Most other people are the same. Unless they're absolutely fine with your technical problems, then those issues will become a distraction to the reader. And any distraction is going to take his or her (or my) mind off of what's really important: your message.

Now, I will offer one exception: I'll be ok with it if you're a foreign student (meaning you're in ESL). Then if you ask, I'll check your grammar. But understand that I will ONLY check one or the other: grammar or content. I doubt anyone can do both well at the same time. I certainly can't.

Now on a side note, like Kitty said, I also ask that you send your PS in some document format. I personally like to read on paper, so that way I can print, review, scan and return. For those of you who use Dropbox, I highly suggest it. Upload your PS to your public folder and send us the link. That way you can load it once and have a couple of us acces it. For those of you who don't know what Dropbox is, you should google it. It's pretty handy. And free.

One more thing: I would advise AGAINST going down the list of volunteers Kitty has compiled and asking each one of us to read and review your statement at the same time. Getting 10 different critiques to the same piece is going to work to your detriment. You'll most likely get too much conflicting information and then end up with a bunch of phrases and fragments that you'll have to piece together again. You should ask 2 or 3 people AT MOST to review your PS. Read their critiques and suggestions, revise, then ask 2 or 3 different people. It should only take once, maybe twice. By then, you should have a concise, well polished personal statement that is ready for any admissions officer to read.

Last point: GOOD LUCK!!!!
 
ONE LAST THING!!!!

Just because you have 4500 characters to use doesn't mean you need to write as much as possible. Be concise and to the point. My PS was only 3500.
 
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Sounds good i'll come up with some proof read work and send it someones way soon, probably this weekend.
 
Thanks for starting this thread KittySquared! :thumbup:
 
tommyinVA said:
ONE LAST THING!!!!

Just because you have 4500 characters to use doesn't mean you need to write as much as possible. Be concise and to the point. My PS was only 3500.
Click to expand...

Mine was short as well. A professor of mine put it best with, "Your personal statement should be like a skirt....short enough to be interesting, but long enough to cover the subject"
 
flatcamelbak said:
Mine was short as well. A professor of mine put it best with, "Your personal statement should be like a skirt....short enough to be interesting, but long enough to cover the subject"
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Rawr rawr!! Mine was also slightly shorter compared to the maximum alotted characters.
 
I can edit some personal statements too. Was accepted this cycle.
 
tommyinVA said:
ONE LAST THING!!!!

Just because you have 4500 characters to use doesn't mean you need to write as much as possible. Be concise and to the point. My PS was only 3500.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this! :thumbup: I'm drafting mine now, and I'm currently at 2900 and really feel I only have one more paragraph or two to add. I was stressing out because I didn't have the full 4500
 
Also happy to help here! I was a post-bac/non-traditional applicant and really felt the personal statement was a key component of my application
 
Thanks for coming forth, new reviewers. I'm starting to get piled high and deep here.

sleepy+cat.jpg
 
Is there a possibility that a reviewer may perhaps "store" the personal statements and pass them onto friends/relatives who are potential dental school applicants in the future?
 
Hi
Thanks for the offer but how do we exactly send the PS directly to the person wanting to edit it?
 
2018hopeful said:
Is there a possibility that a reviewer may perhaps "store" the personal statements and pass them onto friends/relatives who are potential dental school applicants in the future?
Click to expand...
EVERYONE has a unique experience. If anyone wants to take someone else's personal statement and make it their own, then that's just very sad and pathetic. It's as though this person isn't even interesting enough to write about a story about him/herself.

tommyinVA said:
One more thing: I would advise AGAINST going down the list of volunteers Kitty has compiled and asking each one of us to read and review your statement at the same time. Getting 10 different critiques to the same piece is going to work to your detriment. You'll most likely get too much conflicting information and then end up with a bunch of phrases and fragments that you'll have to piece together again. You should ask 2 or 3 people AT MOST to review your PS. Read their critiques and suggestions, revise, then ask 2 or 3 different people. It should only take once, maybe twice. By then, you should have a concise, well polished personal statement that is ready for any admissions officer to read.

Last point: GOOD LUCK!!!!
Click to expand...
PLEASE take this VERY seriously. The more reviewers you ask to see your statement, the more it becomes a mix of what everyone else thinks is best, and the LESS IT STAYS TRUE TO YOUR TRUE SELF.



Godprovides said:
Hi
Thanks for the offer but how do we exactly send the PS directly to the person wanting to edit it?
Click to expand...
You click on the name of the reviewer and send a message, asking for email or however that person would like to receive the personal statement. Please read my initial post in its entirety if you're still confused.
 
I concur with KittySquared.

Also, just keep in mind that loads of pre-dents attempt to write some giant, fancy, awe-inspiring PS. Keep it to the point, genuine, and succinct. Try to identify what message you want to communicate to the reader. Whether it's the classic why dentistry and these are my strengths to some greatly crafted story that ties into dentistry, keep it curt and genuine. You don't want to be that guy that writes about building churches in Africa or curing AIDs (explained in the link). Don't be the guy that uses every buzz word or superfluous high school AP talk you can conjure. There is a joke PS out there by Panda Bear, MD that would be a great read: http://www.studentdoctor.net/pandabearmd/2006/05/26/my-personal-statement/
 
dmdluffy said:
I concur with KittySquared.

Also, just keep in mind that loads of pre-dents attempt to write some giant, fancy, awe-inspiring PS. Keep it to the point, genuine, and succinct. Try to identify what message you want to communicate to the reader.
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+1

Conveying your ideas well through writing is a great opportunity to show these schools your abilities to communicate effectively. Layout your thoughts/topics and make them flow!
This is YOUR statement so talk about YOU, not about what dentistry is. These dentists already know, they don't need a refresher. You'll have much more success explaining what it means to you than giving them the Webster definition.
Lastly be proud and confident of your accomplishments/abilities but be modest! No one wants to read a pompous statement!
 
Sanedor said:
No one wants to read a pompous statement!
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Lol. Don't say stuff in the ballpark of "I'm going to bring modern dentistry and humanity to Madagascar" or something. Please don't do this. Nobody can promise this and it just sounds like doodoo. And yes, there are people who really do toot their horns like this in a dental school personal statement.
 
this is awesome :thumbup:
although i'm applying the next cycle, its never too early get thinking about it, right? I wanna get a head start on it :idea:

good luck to ya'll in this cycle :luck:
 
I am open to reviewing a PS for anybody during this upcoming cycle (for the entering class of 2014).

If you are interested in any background information:

-Completed a thesis-based masters program
-Have average stats for the schools I was accepted to
-I was an undergraduate application reviewer for three years


Send me a PM before you send your personal statement; just want to make sure I am the best person for the job.

Best of luck on this upcoming cycle!

:luck:
 
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Your personal statement shouldn't be a reiteration of your application. Your application will ask you about research experiences, work and volunteer experiences in detail. You have more than plenty of space to discuss your extracurriculars on your application. Your application should demonstrate your desire to pursue dentistry, your encounters with dentists and patients when you are shadowing/assisting. It should convey what you've learned about dentistry and how it makes you feel and what you feel you can bring to the admissions committee and present yourself as a hard working, mature and sincere applicant, truly dedicated to dentistry.

Please be humble and do not act arrogant and say that you are qualified, deserving, and call yourself an "exceptional applicant." There are applicants from various ivies, scoring in the 99%ile on the DATs and having had top notch publications. Do not talk as though you are the best thing to have ever happened to the person who is reading your essay.
 
KittySquared said:
Please be humble and do not act arrogant and say that you are qualified, deserving, and call yourself an "exceptional applicant." There are applicants from various ivies, scoring in the 99%ile on the DATs and having had top notch publications. Do not talk as though you are the best thing to have ever happened to the person who is reading your essay.
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+1

Additionally, don't fill your PS with dental jargon that you overheard while shadowing. No one has any interest in reading a statement full of words like "occlusion" and "prophylaxis" and "bone and tissue allografts." It's boring. And you will probably sound like an idiot.

Remember, these statements will be read by people who have most likely been practicing dentists and have been in the industry for a decade or more. You're not going to impress any of them with your jargon.
 
anyone free to review a personal statement ?
 
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I need a reviewer to look at my personal statement any takers?
 
My inbox exploded last night with PMs. I guess 'tis the season lol.

Thank you all the volunteers.
 
I'm pretty backed up with statements as well! Sorry y'all but I will get them all finished by the end of this week!
 
azimmer said:
I'm pretty backed up with statements as well! Sorry y'all but I will get them all finished by the end of this week!
Click to expand...

I just caught up... If anyone needs help, let me know. I can get it back within 24 hours usually.
 
Just a note for anyone just finding this sticky. DO NOT just copy and paste your statement into a PM without so much as a hello, my name is ____ or a thank you (let alone any other details about your ambitions) and expect anything back. I frankly can't think of anything more rude. We are volunteering our time, we are not your professors or mentors. We don't owe you anything.

I cannot speak for any of the other reviewers but I will promptly delete any messages of the sort. The OP has VERY CLEARLY stated how you should attempt to contact reviewers in order to have your statements reviewed. If you don't have the time for some brief reading, then neither do I.

Thankfully this hasn't been the majority, but to the minority.....check yourself

*rant mode off*
 
Sanedor said:
Just a note for anyone just finding this sticky. DO NOT just copy and paste your statement into a PM without so much as a hello, my name is ____ or a thank you (let alone any other details about your ambitions) and expect anything back. I frankly can't think of anything more rude. We are volunteering our time, we are not your professors or mentors. We don't owe you anything.

I cannot speak for any of the other reviewers but I will promptly delete any messages of the sort. The OP has VERY CLEARLY stated how you should attempt to contact reviewers in order to have your statements reviewed. If you don't have the time for some brief reading, then neither do I.

Thankfully this hasn't been the majority, but to the minority.....check yourself
*rant mode off*
Click to expand...

before you wreck yourself:mad:

Please be polite. I don't have a problem taking this thread off if more people act like demanding jerks to the reviewers.
 
Jbyun, your inbox is full and can't accept any more PMs. Clean it out brah.
 
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