Personal Statement?

[NCM9489]

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hi everyone, I start applying to Vet schools next semester and I'm starting on my personal statement. If anyone would be willing to send me theirs that would be awesome. I'm not sure exactly what I should include. Any tips would be helpful.

my e-mail is [email protected]

Thanks🙂

 

[aspiringDVM]

As a first-time poster on this board, and since the main application season has ended, you're probably not going to have much luck getting people to send you their statements. I copied and pasted the prompt for VMCAS though:

Your personal statement should be written clearly and succinctly - 5000 characters (including spaces) have been allotted for your statement.

Discuss briefly the development of your interest in veterinary medicine. Discuss those activities and unique experiences that have contributed to your preparation for a professional program. Discuss your understanding of the veterinary medical profession, and discuss your career goals and objectives.

Hope that helps a bit 🙂

 

[nyanko]

I'll forward you the email I got from a prince in Zimbabwe requesting that I give my bank account information so that he can deposit 300 million dollars in it and I can keep 10%. Share the wealth, you know...

 

[HopefulAg]

Not going to send you my personal statement, however if you want to PM me yours then I could try to help you out a bit.

 

[BlacKAT33]

i never understood these posts. This is my first year applying and Ive seen at least 5+ people on SDN ask for other people's personal statements. It's like, have you never had to write an essay for school before? I'm sure everyone did when they first applied to college. And secondly, its a PERSONAL statement. 1) some personal details may not want to be shared with anyone who is not close or not on the adcoms 2) how will reading someone elses benefit you except for the layout and grammar?
You can get all the gist of personal statements by googling online, asking your close friends, and looking in a grammar book.

I don't want to sound bitter, I just dont undestand. I help my friends out all the time with their essays and I'd be happy to edit/give tips to anyone. But for people to ask for a sample of someone before they even TRY to write their own?

don't worry OP, i'm not hitting on you specifically, i just reached my breaking point in this topic 😀 i understand starting the personal statement is a daunting task!

 

[jpeterman13]

I'll forward you the email I got from a prince in Zimbabwe requesting that I give my bank account information so that he can deposit 300 million dollars in it and I can keep 10%. Share the wealth, you know...

OP, people don't send out statements unless it is a swap. "I'll read yours and you'll read mine". and seeing as how it is 2 months after apps were due, noone needs theirs to be edited. You'll have better luck in the summer when everyone is working on theirs.

 

[scb44f]

It's like, have you never had to write an essay for school before? I'm sure everyone did when they first applied to college. And secondly, its a PERSONAL statement. 1) some personal details may not want to be shared with anyone who is not close or not on the adcoms 2) how will reading someone elses benefit you except for the layout and grammar?
You can get all the gist of personal statements by googling online, asking your close friends, and looking in a grammar book.

I disagree with the first part (writing essays when applying to schools). I didn't at all. Then again, I only applied to the one school I knew I wanted to attend.

I do agree with the second part though. People may not want to share that kind of essay, but at the same time, OP, you shouldn't be worried about gathering advice from friends/family/professors. One of my friends applied to med school this year, wrote the typical 2 million drafts, and had multiple people including me, his parents, an english teacher from his high school that he was close with, and a doctor he was doing research with to read/critique it. It may help to first sit down with someone who knows you really well, and just write down experiences and such that would be good for a PS.

 

[Armymutt25A]

The main benefit I can see from looking at other personal statements is to analyze them and look for trends. Obviously, you would only want to consider successful applicants. I've seen a bunch that begin with a story. I wrote in that style on my first application and it was unsuccessful. My writing style has changed dramatically; perhaps to the point of being too succinct. While it is appreciated in my current field, I'm not sure how well it would be received in academia.

 

[luplodw]

I thought it was helpful looking at other people's personal statements, but I never asked anyone to show me theirs. I just get kind of nervous sending it to someone who hasn't written theirs yet because I don't want them to steal things that I've said. Butttt somewhere on SDN you can find some that people posted a link too. Also if you google, you can find some examples too. Although I looked at about 8 personal statements, mine was totally different. I liked to look at some examples so I could be sure I was unique.

 

[Smileystar5]

There is a huge wealth of information about applying to Med school in books. If you go to any bookstore or amazon, you'll be able to find books that have sample essays for med school. While it's not vet school, those essays have the same intent and style.

 

[rileyroo]

if i remember correctly, some successful applicants posted their personal statements in this thread:

successful applicants c/o 2013

hope that helps.

 

[PicklePie]

I just get kind of nervous sending it to someone who hasn't written theirs yet because I don't want them to steal things that I've said.

I get the mental image of someone stitching together Frankenstein's monster from dismembered paragraphs, harvesting all the good bits from old essays.

 

[cwazy cat lady]

I get the mental image of someone stitching together Frankenstein's monster from dismembered paragraphs, harvesting all the good bits from old essays.

That could be a work of art worthy of an acceptance itself. 😉

 

[argvet]

Hey everyone. I just joined SDN, but have been on here quite a bit. I am a non trad student and will be applying the coming cycle. I have been working on my ps for some time now and have several different starts, but am really having a hard time putting everything that I would like to down on paper. Any advice from successful applicants out there??? Also, could anyone let me know what the current character limit is? Thanks so much and congrats to all who have received acceptances thus far!

 

[cowgirla]

I second what the others said, google is a great resource for finding examples of personal statements.

My best advice: Pick a few key points from your "path to veterinary school." Expand on those. Stay away from bulleted points, listing activities, etc, and focus more on reasoning/emotions/feelings/type stuff. You don't need to list every veterinary experience you've had. Focus on a few brief moments/days/whatever that meant the most to you as an overview of why you are doing this.

I have sent out my PS for others to see, but honestly, would not send it to someone who has no "face in the community" or to someone who hadnt even started their own PS yet.

 

[argvet]

Thanks for the advice Cowgirla. I have been through a couple books so far about personal statements, also seen a few through google. Just wondering what advice people on SDN had who have actually been through the process. I have been trying to write a ps for a while now and am just struggling to get everything I want to into it. Do you remember what the character limit is? I saw a post on here that said about 6500, but then I saw one that said 5000. Do you recall what the limit was for this past cycle? I keep hearing conflicting things.

 

[GSDgirl]

Do you remember what the character limit is? I saw a post on here that said about 6500, but then I saw one that said 5000. Do you recall what the limit was for this past cycle? I keep hearing conflicting things.

It was 5000 this cycle. 🙂

 

[sumstorm]

do a search for personal statements on this board and you will find a lot of great suggestions.

I posted mine for comments, but took it down after a month. I wasn't worried about anyone duplicatin it while I was applying, but I didn't feel comfortable leaving it out there for random inspection.

I actually enjoy reading personal statements and read quite a few before I wrote mine....I felt that in lookign at others, I found voices and tones that I liked (and that fit in the alloted space) which let me frame my writing and modulate my own tone. I have, this past year, read at least 50 statements and based on what I read the PS can make a real difference in how an applicant is percieved and may be one of the more difficult aspects of applying.

My technique for writing my PS was to jot down phrases that I liked (whenever they came to mind) and points I felt were important to include. I put all those in single sentences, then stitched it together with a story that I traced throughout the essay. I then distributed it far and wide, and considered each suggestion. It was really important that I put it out to other folks who work with animal workers who understood that I needed to convey far more than "I love animals.' I think my cohort of animal trainers did more to improve my PS and other essays than I could have ever managed through academia or family.

Books with PS's for med school and law school can also help you find a style that you like and think would suit you and your story.