Personal Statement - what to include?

[fastnfurious]

I'm writing my AMCAS PS right now and wanted to know what to include and what not to include. I know you're not supposed to make a laundry list of all your activities, but I'm finding it real hard to convey how my experiences have motivated me into becoming a doctor.

So far, I have talked about my clinical experiences in one paragraph and have related them back to my desire to be a doctor.

Can I start a new paragraph and write about how being a president of a club on campus has allowed me to grow? Do I necessarily need to tie this back to wanting to be a doctor (this is kind of difficult)?

OR

Should I keep writing about clinical experiences because I have not mentioned them all ??

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[muggle911]

I'm writing my AMCAS PS right now and wanted to know what to include and what not to include. I know you're not supposed to make a laundry list of all your activities, but I'm finding it real hard to convey how my experiences have motivated me into becoming a doctor.

So far, I have talked about my clinical experiences in one paragraph and have related them back to my desire to be a doctor.

Can I start a new paragraph and write about how being a president of a club on campus has allowed me to grow? Do I necessarily need to tie this back to wanting to be a doctor (this is kind of difficult)?

OR

Should I keep writing about clinical experiences because I have not mentioned them all ??

It all needs to tie in to why you want to be a doctor; you need to come up with a way to show that experience with the club has led to your decision to become a doctor. If it is an irrelevant club and you can't make the connection, don't put it in your PS. Instead, you can always talk about it in secondary essays or during interviews.
I would suggest keeping your PS down to 2-3, (or maybe 4) experiences and then really expand on them. Don't just keep writing about a bunch of clinical experiences, b/c your essay will seem disorganized and w/o a clear theme.

 

[Dr Roboto]

I'm finding it real hard to convey how my experiences have motivated me into becoming a doctor.

I know you're just starting but fyi that is the core of the entire application process, especially the interviews. Do some soul-searching and ask yourself honestly why you're remotely interested in medicine. If you find yourself trying too hard to explain how a certain experience motivated you, then maybe you need to go with another experience. Do the whole pre-writing thing with outlines, ideas, and themes. Don't worry. It's natural to take a long time. I spent over 2 months writing and rewriting mine.

 

[fastnfurious]

Ok, since I can't relate it back to medicine I guess I shouldn't put it. I'll just have to do some soul searching and really see what events have led me to medicine

For those who have done Personal statements, how many activities/experiences did you talk about? I can only think of 2 really good ones and a couple mediocre experiences

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Do yourself a favor and check out "Essays That Will Get You into Medical School" by Dan Kauffman. I found the example essays helpful when I was writing mine.

 

[supergirl87]

i can't believe the app cycle for class of '14 is already underway!! i feel old

So far, I have talked about my clinical experiences in one paragraph and have related them back to my desire to be a doctor.

Can I start a new paragraph and write about how being a president of a club on campus has allowed me to grow? Do I necessarily need to tie this back to wanting to be a doctor (this is kind of difficult)?

Maybe you should try a different approach. Instead of tying all your activities to your desire to become a physician, try talking about how your extracurriculars exhibit qualities you feel to be true of physicians (compassion, diligence, leadership, etc.) I was in your shoes this time last year, and my PS only started to take form when I started to use the approach I just mentioned.

Also, remember that you do NOT want to write all of your activities in the PS... just the relevant ones. In the extracurricular section of the primary app, you have space to write a paragraph or two for each of your extracurricular activities. So do not think that you need to cram ALL of your experiences into the PS. If you do, the PS may not flow...

Should I keep writing about clinical experiences because I have not mentioned them all ??

You may want to discuss one or two experiences you had in a clinical setting. I don't mean detailing what your duties were (you do that in the extracurricular section). Instead, talk about specific encounters with patients or with a physician which may have (re)affirmed that you do indeed want to go into medicine.

My only other piece of advice would be to have MANY people read your PS. Your first and second draft may sound wonderful to you, but do not be afraid to let others read it and critique it. It will help you in the long run. After undergoing many revisions, you'll be happy with your final product =)

 

[Dr Roboto]

If you're up for the challenge, you don't have to let your clinical experiences take center stage. There's certainly room to be creative, original, and memorable. My classmate wrote a very personal story of being female in her culture, how she handled expectations and gender roles, what she learned, and how she grew. I didn't ask but I'm sure she must have been complimented on her PS.

 

[werd]

yeah, you don't need to have everything tie back to why you want to be a doctor. talk about formative experiences, talk about who you are as a person and how some of your experiences either shaped or typify the person you are. avoid restating your resume. that's my advice anyway. there's a million ways to do a personal statement, but it's dry if everything keeps tying back to making you want to be a doctor. personally, i talked about running, my granddad, the town i grew up in, one of my jobs in hs, and a few other things. probably the most important thing about your statement is that it's interesting. werd.

 

[Heimerfink]

As a medical student who reads personal statements and does interviews...

I definitely read the personal statement - not really because I think it defines a person, but because we get little information. For example, I do not get to look at MCAT/GPA so all I get is activities (which are sometimes stellar) - usually pretty good - sometimes bad & I get the personal statement. You would be surprised by the variety I've read.

Honestly, the biggest thing would be to take an experience or at most two, and talk about how that has helped you grow/realize/embodied why you want to be a doctor.

The worst essays I have read have done the following:
a) went way too far into the future with their essay (like building a hospital in a 3rd world country as a goal with no substance/logistics).
b) claimed that the reason for becoming a doctor is because of how much support you get from other people when you tell them you want to be a doctor.
c) MOST COMMON: after reading the personal statement twice (which is unusual for me), i still didn't have a 1-2 sentence reason why the person wanted to be a doctor/in med school. i've seen numerous essays where the person basically describes a great experience in a medical setting - then basically summarizes it by saying "and therefore i want to be a doctor".

-MS2 - top 20 med school