Personal statement!?

[sbesbesbe]

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hey there SDN,

I have a question regarding personal statement.
first of all, to all of you guys who got accepted to dental school, congratulations!
Hope to be in ur shoes next year🙂

anyways, I'm applying next year and I want to start on my personal statement but I have no idea what the format is...
for those of you with experience,
1) how do I write a personal statement?
2) how long should it be?
3) I require one personal statement for ALL of the schools I am applying right?
(ex. a specific question to answer for school X?)

ANY advice on how I should approach in writing a good personal statement will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

[tracy123]

Pm me and I will give the 1st paragraph of my paper so u can see the format!! Good Luck

 

[tracy123]

It just needs to be unique mine was only 1 page.

 

[Bifenthrin]

There is a 4,500 character LIMIT to the personal statement, including spaces and punctuation. Can't exceed that.

 

[UCSFx2017]

The PS is for all schools. Some schools have secondaries which may include more essays.
For your PS start with a hook. End the PS with a reference back to the hook. It helps them remember you. Your writing should show not tell. It's better to describe one or two strong events very vividly than to have multiple events only become referenced. Remember to focus on what the dentist does and not on what ancillary benefits comes with being a dentist. Start thinking about a unique, possibly emotional, event that made you want to become a dentist.

 

[qnzbabi91]

My PS began with an funny story as to why I want to be a dentist. It was about seeing my grandfather's teeth besides him in a glass cup when I was ~4. I developed a phobia and couldn't see my grandparents for 2 years.

Then, I intertwined the story of my life (growing up, accomplishments, research, etc) into it. And, finally I ended it by finishing off the story I began in the beginning.

I got a lot of compliments on it. It was not your typical PS, but it was me 😀 .

I forgot to mention, I wrote it in three hours.

 

[KittySquared]

I spent a few weeks writing the most trite piece of writing I've ever done in my whole life. I'm a very graphic and sarcastic writer. I had to tune down my humor and presented a corpse of a piece of writing that was my personal statement.

 

[NDPitch]

Mine started with a horror story of childhood dental treatment/trauma that I went through, which lead to a fear of dentists growing up. I tied that into how I actually came around to seeing the amazing aspects of dentistry and why I want to do it in a career. And as UCSF said, I started with a hook, and ended with a reference to the hook.

 

[cwoodds]

Mine started with a horror story of childhood dental treatment/trauma that I went through, which lead to a fear of dentists growing up. I tied that into how I actually came around to seeing the amazing aspects of dentistry and why I want to do it in a career. And as UCSF said, I started with a hook, and ended with a reference to the hook.

Interesting...you just described my personal statement perfectly!