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I know there's no basic format for the personal statement, but can anyone give me somewhere to begin?? 😕
Personal Statement
- Thread starter MDGirl
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I would recommend that you begin by figuring out what makes you different from all of the other applicants, and write the personal statement in a context that emphasizes what makes you unique. You should try to incorporate why you want to be a doctor, what you have done to prepare yourself for medical school (extra curricular activities), and why you will be a good doctor. I hope that helps.
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<a href="http://www.essayedge.com/medical/essayadvice/samples/cgi-bin/view.cgi" target="_blank">Here</a> is a website with some sample essays.
There are many books in the library available to help you get started and polish off a good statement.
Writing the personal statement (and other associated essays like the practice vision and secondary essays) was one of the worst parts of the application process for me.
There are many books in the library available to help you get started and polish off a good statement.
Writing the personal statement (and other associated essays like the practice vision and secondary essays) was one of the worst parts of the application process for me.
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In last year's application the personal statement could not be longer than 5300 characters and the practive vision statement could not be longer than 3650 characters (and this includes spaces).
In case you are wondering the description of these thing-a-ma-bobs, here is the quotes from the AMCAS application:
PERSONAL COMMENTS
Use the space provided to add any personal comments to your application. The available space for your response is 5300 characters, or approximately one full page. You will receive an error message if you exceed the available space. For additional assistance, click "help" on the tool bar at the top of the screen.
PRACTICE VISION
Use the space provided to briefly describe how you envision your life and medical practice ten years from now. The available space for your response is 3650 characters, or approximately ? of a page. You will receive an error message if you exceed the available space. For additional assistance, click "help" on the tool bar at the top of the screen.
Good luck.
In case you are wondering the description of these thing-a-ma-bobs, here is the quotes from the AMCAS application:
PERSONAL COMMENTS
Use the space provided to add any personal comments to your application. The available space for your response is 5300 characters, or approximately one full page. You will receive an error message if you exceed the available space. For additional assistance, click "help" on the tool bar at the top of the screen.
PRACTICE VISION
Use the space provided to briefly describe how you envision your life and medical practice ten years from now. The available space for your response is 3650 characters, or approximately ? of a page. You will receive an error message if you exceed the available space. For additional assistance, click "help" on the tool bar at the top of the screen.
Good luck.
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•••quote:•••Originally posted by MDGirl:
•I know there's no basic format for the personal statement, but can anyone give me somewhere to begin?? 😕 •••••MDGirl,
Try not to overthink your personal statement too much. If you start overthinking the significance of this essay, it's going to appear feigned and most people will see right through it.
Introduce yourself. Tell the reader why you want to be a doctor. Tell the reader about someone or people that have influenced your decision to become a doctor. Tell the reader about things you are doing that demonstrate you've had an interest in medicine. Tell the reader about the GENERAL types of things you are hoping to achieve in medical school. Talk about what you hope to find in the ideal medical school (basic, broadly encompassing things here...). Lastly, tell the reader why you are different and that you're not just another dime-a-dozen premed with good MCAT scores and grades.
In my opinion, the personal statement is NOT the forum for being humorous, inventive, political, overly ambitious, and certainly not boasting. Save these attributes for the interview if they come up.
Above all, don't put in any cheesy stories (e.g., "When I was 15 years old, my dog got run over by a car and I was forced to perform CPR on the dog until we arrived at the Vet; since then, I've always wanted to save lives...").
Be yourself.
•I know there's no basic format for the personal statement, but can anyone give me somewhere to begin?? 😕 •••••MDGirl,
Try not to overthink your personal statement too much. If you start overthinking the significance of this essay, it's going to appear feigned and most people will see right through it.
Introduce yourself. Tell the reader why you want to be a doctor. Tell the reader about someone or people that have influenced your decision to become a doctor. Tell the reader about things you are doing that demonstrate you've had an interest in medicine. Tell the reader about the GENERAL types of things you are hoping to achieve in medical school. Talk about what you hope to find in the ideal medical school (basic, broadly encompassing things here...). Lastly, tell the reader why you are different and that you're not just another dime-a-dozen premed with good MCAT scores and grades.
In my opinion, the personal statement is NOT the forum for being humorous, inventive, political, overly ambitious, and certainly not boasting. Save these attributes for the interview if they come up.
Above all, don't put in any cheesy stories (e.g., "When I was 15 years old, my dog got run over by a car and I was forced to perform CPR on the dog until we arrived at the Vet; since then, I've always wanted to save lives...").
Be yourself.
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•••quote:•••Originally posted by Samoa:
•I heard that AMCAS is considering deleting the Practice Vision essay this year. Apparently the schools pretty much thought it was stupid.•••••I can't believe that they even put it in there in the first place! No offense, but pre-med students have almost no concept of what medicine in general is like, are even less qualified to speculate what medicine will be like 10 years from now, and are certainly in no position to speculate on what their medical practice will be like.
As a 4th year, I've just picked my field and I'm beginning to understand health care policy. Frankly, I have no idea right now if I'm doing a fellowship or where I want to go. Geesh!
Talk about overburdening the pre-med student...
•I heard that AMCAS is considering deleting the Practice Vision essay this year. Apparently the schools pretty much thought it was stupid.•••••I can't believe that they even put it in there in the first place! No offense, but pre-med students have almost no concept of what medicine in general is like, are even less qualified to speculate what medicine will be like 10 years from now, and are certainly in no position to speculate on what their medical practice will be like.
As a 4th year, I've just picked my field and I'm beginning to understand health care policy. Frankly, I have no idea right now if I'm doing a fellowship or where I want to go. Geesh!
Talk about overburdening the pre-med student...
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•••quote:•••Originally posted by neutropeniaboy:
•I can't believe that they even put it in there in the first place! •••••I thought it was rather silly too. My practice vision statement was so vague as to be almost pointless. I basically said I might want to do this, but would be open to anything. I got in so nothing lost...
•I can't believe that they even put it in there in the first place! •••••I thought it was rather silly too. My practice vision statement was so vague as to be almost pointless. I basically said I might want to do this, but would be open to anything. I got in so nothing lost...
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I liked the practice vision. I think the main purpose was to determine your drive and persistance. How ambitious you see yourself. Also, to see your sustainability. However, they could include some of that in the essay portion. I did find myself being redundant when I wrote it.
Joe
Joe
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Some schools (UC Davis immediately comes to mind) ask the "practice vision" question on their secondaries anyway. Personally, I think this is a more appropriate place for this type of question. As far as I can tell, a lot of schools aren't giving that essay much weight if any (at least in this, its first year).
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One thing you could do with the personal statement is think about all your best qualities and achievements, and find a way to connect them all. For example, relate them all to a particular person or event in your life, or a certain personal characteristic of yours. Most premeds will probably mention similar activities and personality traits (ambition, compassion, intelligence, etc.), so if you can find a way to relate these to something unique to you, your essay will be the better for it.
And don't believe that the personal statement isn't significant. At probably 90% of my interviews, the interviewer commented on my personal statement. So they obviously take notice; it's more interesting for them to read that than the laundry list of your extracurriculars.
And don't believe that the personal statement isn't significant. At probably 90% of my interviews, the interviewer commented on my personal statement. So they obviously take notice; it's more interesting for them to read that than the laundry list of your extracurriculars.
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When writing the essay you want to make it personal by including an experience from your life. Make it an experience that lets someone get to know you as a person (not just an applicant). Then explain what you learned and how it applies to your desire to become a doctor. One of my interviewers actually said he felt like he knew me after reading my essay. 🙂
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On a whole, the best on-line site I found about Personal Statements was this one:
<a href="http://www.accepted.com/medical/" target="_blank">http://www.accepted.com/medical/</a>
They are succint in their outline of what it should entail (10 Do's/Dont's) and the examples are varied and excellent, yet not unrealistically amazing.
There may a number of us willing to PM [private message] you our personal statements. There will of course be those that feel it's too personal.
<a href="http://www.accepted.com/medical/" target="_blank">http://www.accepted.com/medical/</a>
They are succint in their outline of what it should entail (10 Do's/Dont's) and the examples are varied and excellent, yet not unrealistically amazing.
There may a number of us willing to PM [private message] you our personal statements. There will of course be those that feel it's too personal.
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•••quote:•••Originally posted by Samoa:
•I heard that AMCAS is considering deleting the Practice Vision essay this year. Apparently the schools pretty much thought it was stupid.•••••Well I know I pretty much thought it was stupid, and I practically said so in the essay...practically.
•I heard that AMCAS is considering deleting the Practice Vision essay this year. Apparently the schools pretty much thought it was stupid.•••••Well I know I pretty much thought it was stupid, and I practically said so in the essay...practically.
