Personal Statement

[QofQuimica]

What do you non-trads think about non-traditional essays for non-traditional students for the AMCAS application? Anyone here with admissions committee perspective on this?

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[Sundarban1]

What do you non-trads think about non-traditional essays for non-traditional students for the AMCAS application? Anyone here with admissions committee perspective on this?

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[njbmd]

What do you non-trads think about non-traditional essays for non-traditional students for the AMCAS application? Anyone here with admissions committee perspective on this?

Hi there,
Your personal statement should be anything that easily allows the reader to get the best impression of you as an individual. Sure the application gives information and numbers but the PS should be something from the applicant that sets you apart from the numbers and facts.

You can use any format but make sure that you get the maximum amount of information easily conveyed. I can't tell you how annoying a poorly-written PS can be for an admissions committee member that has to read thousands of these things. I have literally read statements that were so convoluted that I couldn't make any sense of what the writer was trying to convey. Needless to say, that person didn't get invited for interview in spite of the rest of the application.

The other red flag is a personal statement that is flawless and well-written but the secondary essays are poorly written. This scenario suggests that the author of the personal statement is probably not the applicant. Some folks do try to have their personal statements written by a "ghost writer" who is not around when the secondary application questions need to be answered.

Use your personal statement to show "you" in the most positive light. You can use any writing style but make sure that you essay is easy to read and gets the message across quickly and emphatically. Allow several people who know you well to edit and comment on your personal statement. Your application is a paper representation of you. Make sure that it makes the committee "want" to meet the person behind that paper representation.

Good luck!
njbmd