Anyone know how to write a personal statement. I've never written one before.
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Personal statement
Started by goldstar97
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Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
Search past year threads, make it vibrant and clearly understandable. Have people that do not know you/like you read it and tell you what they think. Trash it. Rinse and repeat until it is more or less acceptable.
If you are ESL, have many people proof read it for grammar and style every time you make significant changes.
If you are ESL, have many people proof read it for grammar and style every time you make significant changes.
The biggest thing people who read med school personal statements remind applicants is that the question you are trying to answer is "Why Medicine" and back that up with evidence. Apparently there is a tendency for people to completely miss that question and just rehash their activities or talk about why their gpas weren't so great at first and stuff like that.
Here's a post from pre-allo http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=895287
Here's a sticky to check out. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=897817
I was told to have a variety of people read it, including some people in medicine if you can.
Here's a post from pre-allo http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=895287
Here's a sticky to check out. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=897817
I was told to have a variety of people read it, including some people in medicine if you can.
Has anyone had any success with a "How my previous career has given me the skills to be a doctor..." type personal statement. Most university websites giving PS advice give you about 4 topics to choose from with one of them being "Why I would make a good doctor." but the SDN PS advice says you shouldn't use this topic.
I mean, obviously, you wouldn't write explicitly"I would be a good doctor because....", but could highlighting previous experience with teamwork, leadership, high pressure situations, quick decision making, etc. be a valid way to go?
I mean, obviously, you wouldn't write explicitly"I would be a good doctor because....", but could highlighting previous experience with teamwork, leadership, high pressure situations, quick decision making, etc. be a valid way to go?
I'd say if you write a PS on why you are going to be a good doctor you mght get nailed on the whole arrogance vs. humility thing.
Also, are you implying there are bad doctors?
If you got the balls to wade into that territory, go for it.
I wouldn't use the phrase "good doctor", but highlighting your characteristics that you feel are also necessary for physicians is probably a good way to go.
If you write that type of personal statement, you are answering the wrong question, IMO. Your personal statement is not about how you would make a "good doctor" but why you want to go into medicine in the first place. As far as the medical school is concerned, they can teach you to be a good doctor as long as you have the passion to learn.
I think the way to integrate the things you are talking about is to highlight how your previous experiences with X, Y, or Z make medicine more appealing to you. Perhaps you can also work in a personal narrative/anecdote at the beginning (a "hook" to get the reader interested) that demonstrates to the reader how you have experience with X, Y, or Z without actually explicitly stating it. But be careful that you can tie it into the theme of "why medicine."
That's more or less what I wrote, and I've been accepted. I sort of took the point of view that I have a rather unusual background, and I went through my work as a professional musician and then my career in government, etc., etc., and talked about how each inspired me and prepared me to become a doctor. But I agree with the post above - you can't just say why they've prepared you without also saying why you want to be a doctor.
