I'm thinking of submitting my neurology personal statement to prelim medicine programs. The personal statement talks about why I want to be a neurologist, but doesn't have any mention of internal medicine. Do you think this is going to be a problem?
personal statement
- Thread starter oruen11
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I changed my personal statement for my prelim applications. But that was 7 years ago.
Why would someone want to read a personal statement aimed at a different field? Sure, they know you want to go into neurology, but why not keep them interested by talking about getting a good foundation in internal medicine? There certainly are people who didn't change theirs, but with prelim contracts getting harder and harder to secure, you should try to give yourself every advantage.
Why would someone want to read a personal statement aimed at a different field? Sure, they know you want to go into neurology, but why not keep them interested by talking about getting a good foundation in internal medicine? There certainly are people who didn't change theirs, but with prelim contracts getting harder and harder to secure, you should try to give yourself every advantage.
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I'm an M4 in the process of applying too, so take it for what it's worth. I thought about not changing my personal statement for prelim spots, but after talking to some people at my school, they recommended some small tweaking to reflect how you think that the broad training provided by a prelim year in medicine will supplement and support your goals to be a neurologist.
I say keep the body and just add a few sentences or so. It shouldn't be too much trouble.
I say keep the body and just add a few sentences or so. It shouldn't be too much trouble.
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I agree. I just used one personal statement for my application, with a small paragraph about the importance of a solid foundation in internal medicine. If I'd had more time I probably would have written a separate one for prelim programs (but if I'd had even more time, I'd have written a separate application for everywhere I applied. At some point it becomes logistically impossible to do all of this).
BTW - I used a 'service' to help me write my LOR's, and hadn't completely decided between IM and Neuro, so I received an LOR for both. They were almost exactly the same. The only thing that changes is why you decided to go into the field, what draws you to the field, and where you see yourself in 10 years. Your other basic information is still going to be the same.
I think you'd gain a few points for writing a prelim essay and a separate neuro essay, but it's not going to make or break you by any means.
BTW - I used a 'service' to help me write my LOR's, and hadn't completely decided between IM and Neuro, so I received an LOR for both. They were almost exactly the same. The only thing that changes is why you decided to go into the field, what draws you to the field, and where you see yourself in 10 years. Your other basic information is still going to be the same.
I think you'd gain a few points for writing a prelim essay and a separate neuro essay, but it's not going to make or break you by any means.
