personal statement

[moosefox]

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I just don't know what to do with my personal statement. I've had opinions all across the board about it. My pre-health advisor said that as long as it doesn't hurt you, you should send it. And he thought it was pretty average. One dental student tore it apart and told me to re-word nearly everything. One dental student said it was awesome. A lady from the admissions board of a medical school said it was great. A woman from the advising office of a dental school said it was one of the best she had ever read. And now? I'm reading over it, and it still doesn't seem to say what I want it to. People generally say that it conveys my passion about what I want to do, but are they getting the right overall impression of me? Could it be better, should it describe more of what I do? I don't know how to fit it all in 🙁

So, what advice can any of you give me? What helped you with your personal statement? Is it just nerves at this point? Would anyone be willing to read it and give me their thoughts?

 

[DoctreDrey]

I just don't know what to do with my personal statement. I've had opinions all across the board about it. My pre-health advisor said that as long as it doesn't hurt you, you should send it. And he thought it was pretty average. One dental student tore it apart and told me to re-word nearly everything. One dental student said it was awesome. A lady from the admissions board of a medical school said it was great. A woman from the advising office of a dental school said it was one of the best she had ever read. And now? I'm reading over it, and it still doesn't seem to say what I want it to. People generally say that it conveys my passion about what I want to do, but are they getting the right overall impression of me? Could it be better, should it describe more of what I do? I don't know how to fit it all in 🙁

So, what advice can any of you give me? What helped you with your personal statement? Is it just nerves at this point? Would anyone be willing to read it and give me their thoughts?

i've heard rumors that personal statements can't rly make or break u, unless its RLY RLY bad or RLY RLY good. so its true?

 

[FreeFallin]

I just don't know what to do with my personal statement. I've had opinions all across the board about it. My pre-health advisor said that as long as it doesn't hurt you, you should send it. And he thought it was pretty average. One dental student tore it apart and told me to re-word nearly everything. One dental student said it was awesome. A lady from the admissions board of a medical school said it was great. A woman from the advising office of a dental school said it was one of the best she had ever read. And now? I'm reading over it, and it still doesn't seem to say what I want it to. People generally say that it conveys my passion about what I want to do, but are they getting the right overall impression of me? Could it be better, should it describe more of what I do? I don't know how to fit it all in 🙁

So, what advice can any of you give me? What helped you with your personal statement? Is it just nerves at this point? Would anyone be willing to read it and give me their thoughts?

At first, I was basically regurgitating what was already in my application (schools I went to, magna cum laude, blah blah blah...). Then, my very last paragraph began talking about my experience as an RDH. Well, there it was!!! I scratched all the regurg and went with my gut, LOL. I discussed my RDH experience, and thus my final statement was born. For me, the idea for my statement came all of a sudden and it felt natural and right. Do you have a 'natural and right' feeling about yours? Find what feels right for you and you alone. Good luck!

 

[gigawatt]

i've heard rumors that personal statements can't rly make or break u, unless its RLY RLY bad or RLY RLY good. so its true?

I think there's probably some truth to this. If you have a killer DAT combined with a strong GPA, your personal statement is probably going to have to be noticeably bad for you to screw yourself out of an interview. On the other hand, if your stats don't speak for themselves then a personal statement (in addition to extracurriculars and experience) could be your chance to pull off an interview you may not have otherwise gotten.

I'd say work on it until you have something you're reasonably satisfied with and send it in. Working on it for weeks after that to improve it marginally won't pay off in the end and will just make you a later applicant.