Personal Statement Time...Advice?

[Dr JPH]

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The MCAT is over!

Now I'm looking for advice on my personal statement.

I know, I know...it's MY personal statement and it should come from MY head...I'm just looking for some guidelines. There is so much I could write...there is so much I WANT to write. I want people to read it and say "Wow...this guy knows what he wants and knows what he's talking about...we should invite him for an interview." (hehehe)

How long should it be?

Should I talk about Osteopathic Medicine? (I'm only aspplying to Osteopathic schools)

Should I give an explanation to my sub-par Freshman year?

How about my experiences shadowing a D.O.?

My medical experience?

My reasoning for choosing medicine?

Any thoughts??

Thanks much!

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Joshua Paul Hazelton
[email protected]
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (2002)

 

[Wasabi]

Yeah, I was wondering about the same question. But hey JPHazelton, are you planning to submit your application as soon as possible (June 1st) or are you planning to wait until you receive your MCAT results? It would be nice to send it earlier but I'm really uncertain if my scores will make the cut, you know?

Anyways, any advice/input would be nice!

Thanks!

 

[Winged Scapula]

From my recollection, the AACOMAS personal statement page is a tad stingy - only enough room for a couple of paragraphs. I'm sure more recent users of the application can correct me on this if I am off base.

All of the topics you've included are excellent fodder for discussion save one. I would be wary about discussing your freshman year unless there is a compelling reason why you did poorly - ie, something different from the rest of us who just partied too much and studied too little. It may well be that they are only focusing on your overall gpa and are more concerned with your recent performance. The conventional wisdom is not to mention weaknesses but to own up to them in a mature and adult fashion should you be asked about them. I'm sure others disagree with me, but its the best road in my opinion.

If I am correct about the lack of room allowed for a statement, you will likely not be able to discuss all of the topics you've listed. And the trick is, when you do discuss them, to make them sound fresh and interesting. I hate statements which simply state why they love medicine, want to be a doctor, etc. - I much prefer those that tell a story, and lead the reader to conclude what experiences brought this applicant to this point in time and place. Obviously difficult to do in the limited space provided by AACOMAS. There are several books which give examples of personal statements which you may find useful.

Good luck JP and hope you find this useful.

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PGY1
Penn State University
Department of Surgery

 

[Dr JPH]

Kimberli:

Thank you. Your post was very helpful. I certianly appreciate the insight of those who have come befor me!

PS: I like the signature!

Peace

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Joshua Paul Hazelton
[email protected]
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (2002)

 

[algernon]

JP-
A few words of advice (for whatever its worth) since I went through this myself less than a year ago....
First, the personal statement should be (duh) personal. That being said, I'm sure you have heard from everyone and their brother telling you to to "speak from your heart" and "explain why you really want to be a doctor". This is sort of good advice, but its extremely vague. Here's what I think: Don't mention your freshman year. AdComms have your grades - if they want to ask you about them, they will. Say things that are GOOD about you. Second, if you have a good story to tell, then tell it. But do NOT try to make up something that doesn't exist. If there is no story, then there is no story. Just write about you. Next, you said you are only applying D.O. - thats exactly what I did and let me tell you, the AdComms liked it. As a corollary to that, your personal statement for AACOMAS should NOT be the same kind of thing that someone (even you) might send to AAMCAS. You probably should say something about your motivation to enter the medical profession, but it should be supported with additional information about why you are considering osteopathy. For example, if there is some special aspect of your personality that you think would make you a good doctor, then mention it, but back it up with reasons why that personality trait would be best applied to osteopathic medicine. In other words....dont just tell them why you want to be a physician; tell them why you want to be an OSTEOPATHIC physician.

Finally, regarding the AACOM preliminary app...get it out at 12:01 AM on June 1. Don't wait a single second more than you have to. Just keep in mind a few things: If you are doing the web version (highly recommended by AACOMAS, by the way) you should know that whoever designed the thing probably had an IQ of about 80. It was ridiculously non-user-friendly. On top of that, AACOMAS got so fouled up with the whole process that if you were not one of the first few people to submit the app, processing was delayed by at least 6 weeks! I sent mine in the first week of July and didn't get any secondary apps until October!

One last thing (with regard to the personal statement)....they give you a little "window" or "box" in which you can type your statement or copy and paste from MS Word or another program. When I did this, I was continually getting error messages which warned me to limit my response to less than 300 words. In case you're wondering, thats not a lot of writing. So, I chopped up my well-crafted personal statement into something that sounded (at best) like a 12 year-old wrote it and tried again to submit it. Even at approx 260 words, I got the same message. Only after more editing did it finally go through. Why do I tell you this, you ask? Simple. If I kept getting the "USE LESS THAN 300 WORDS OR DIE!" message with much less than 300 words, it could mean only one thing: The stupid program doesn't care how many words you use - its only looking at the number of lines of text you write. Apparently, the words I was using were too big (no, it wasn't the font size). So let that be a lesson to you - don't apply to med school if you can write using big words!

Sorry for the complaining. But if they haven't fixed the problem yet, you are in for a wild ride come June 1. Good luck and let me know if I can offer any other advice.


Dave Shope
CCOM, Class of 2005

 

[nathan]

Just to add something-

I wrote a "shortened version" of my real personal statement in the AACOMAS. However, I sent my real version to all of the DO schools that I applied to. They didn't mind at all, in fact, as long as you keep the statement under a page in length (like most resumes) your interviewers will definitely read it before it's time to plague you with questions. This may seem bad, but the more they ask you about things within the personal statement (stuff that is easy to expound like why you like the DO approach, etc.), that gives them less time to hit you with harder, more obscure things such as the beloved "what would you do..." situations. Hope this helps!

-Nathan (UHS-COM '05)

 

[algernon]

Another idea...

Although some people may strongly disagree with this, I would argue that your AACOMAS personal statement is almost trivial. You SHOULD write something about your goals, but if you are waiting for an opportunity to craft a "heartbreaking work of staggering genius" so to speak, wait until the secondary apps come in. The questions on those apps are a LOT less vague and much more direct. In fact, many specifically say, "Explain your interest in osteopathic medicine" or "Describe your strengths and weaknesses". Some even ask why you are applying to their school. Honestly, my AACOMAS essay sucked. I had to chop it up so much, it didn't even come close to saying what I had originally intended to say. My secondary apps, however, were definitely Pulitzer Prize material (just kidding)!

I know a lot of people say that some schools dont give out secondary apps to everyone, but the fact of the matter is that they kinda do. As long as your GPA is above a 3.0 (sometimes 2.5) and your MCAT is above 20, you can still be considered remotely competitive (you won't get in, but you're not considered a total *****). If that is the case, schools have nothing to lose by sending you an application except the price of postage. On top of that, most will ask for at least $50 for a fee. Some schools were even higher - $75 or $100.

Like I said, I'm sure some will disagree, but thats my two cents.

Dave Shope
CCOM, Class of 2005

 

[healthydawg]

i gave some decent advice on this a while back (if i do say so myself). those interested can search for it by my name.

while dave and i do disagree on the value of the primary, we most DEFINITELY agree on the ridiculous AACOMAS on-line application. i can't begin to tell you how frustrating a process that was. like dave mentioned, i think the only people who made it through relatively unscathed were the ones who transmitted at 12:01 the first day. none of the other students i talked to got through unharmed. i waited for MONTHS without even a single word out of AACOMAS. of course i called and they were oh so very helpful.

one of the guys i met on an interview was all fouled up because the program cut off part of his address. it also cut off part of his application (as it did mine). of course, he had no way to check because the online app status thingy didn't work... so all of the notices they sent him asking him to fix his application went to the wrong place! the poor guy didn't get the stuff straightened out until october. god, i hope he got in.

after p*ssing blood for months, what did we get at the end? an offer for one free application... yay. hopefully they have this crap fixed this year. thank heaven i'm through it...

anyway, i digress. i didn't mean to make this into the AACOMAS b*tch session. look up one of my previous posts if you're interested in my strategy to the app. it worked for me, maybe it will work for you too. good luck, i hope you make it.

 

[kidterrific]

Here's a little personal statement idea that I almost did.... I was going to write two sentences only.
"I have a secret. I'll tell you during the interview."

It was my thought that they would be overcome with curiosity that they would have to call me in for an interview. I figured that during my interview I would pretend to change my mind and tell them that I'll reveal my secret during orientation. Now that you're all done laughing (no - I didn't do it), you can take what I have to say seriously:

Possibly the best advice that I have gotten regarding the personal statement is this: They know everything about you. If you volunteered, they already know about it. If you did bad freshman year, they read about it in the application. Your personal statement should tell them something that they don't already know from your application. In other words, don't just start with the same old crap: "I was in student council, yadda yadda yadda." Restating your app is boring, and by the time they read your statement, they have already seen it all. If they question bad grades, they aren't going to read your personal statement and go: "We figured him all wrong! He did bad because he wasn't accustomed to college life! Poor kid!" No. They are going to ask you about bad grades during the interview, where they can see your reaction. Besides, there's already fifty million applications saying: "My dedication towards medicine didn't start until after my fourth D."

Here's your chance to tell them something they don't know about you. If you really want to talk about your volunteering, don't just say that you did it, but tell them how it made you feel. Tell them the story about the 90 year old lady that threw up on you (doesn't that happen to all volunteers?). Be original.

When I wrote my statement, I wrote about helping my dying uncle. I wrote about how one of my classes brought in a dying cancer patient and how it made me almost want to quit medicine. I talked about how I pulled myself out of that mindset when I was rewarded with the feeling of having helped someone. Unless you're Edgar Allen Poe, lying will come off as insincere. Don't do it. Just be honest with your feelings and put them down.

AACOMAS sucks. Be sure to know that their space is smaller than Michael Jackson's nose. You won't fit much there, so be sure to make a powerful statement. Remember that the statement is a small piece of the pie (but sometimes people happen to like that small piece). If you have any questions, or want to run a draft by me, feel free to email me. I'm brutally honest with the suggestions, so don't email me if you don't like constructive criticism. I'm here to help!

One more thing regarding the application process. The online thing was pure unadulterated Bullsheet. I can't stress enough the merit of constantly keeping tabs on your application. Only by calling them did I learn that they never had my MCAT scores, and that I almost missed an entire application cycle. Not only that, but they lost my online application (even though I filled it out the morning it was released online). Even MORE messed up was the fact that even though they knew about my problem, they didn't move fast enough to rectify the situation.

I got to the point where I was calling them DAILY for three weeks until I got my stuff in order. I had rattled their cage so much, that I they knew me by name and voice as soon as I called! I got a personal email and phone call by the president of AACOMAS apologizing and guaranteeing me a complete application. Believe me - the web process sucks, and THE SQUEAKY WHEEL DOES INDEED GET THE GREASE. If you guys find yourselves getting screwed by AACOMAS, they are completely helpful if you call the right people. I have the direct number to the president and one of the managers. If you guys are getting the runaround, I'll drop you the digits.

PS - In reply to someone's reference above, I read A.H.W.O.S.G. - Funny book, until the Real World crap.

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KidT
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by kidterrific (edited April 24, 2001).]