Personal Statements ACK!

[KrisE24]

Happy Thursday Everyone!

So tormenting myself over dreaded personal statement (applying for ec2008)...I'm applying to mostly DO schools, and I was wondering, should I mention my expereince shadowing a DO in my personal statement, or should it be more vague? I hear from people that the personal statment should be more about our "experience" in life, what pointed us down the medical path, etc...and that "why you want to be a doctor" and "why DO" comes up in secondary apps. True or False? Advice/thoughts/comments welcome

Thanks!

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[scpod]

Happy Thursday Everyone!

So tormenting myself over dreaded personal statement (applying for ec2008)...I'm applying to mostly DO schools, and I was wondering, should I mention my expereince shadowing a DO in my personal statement, or should it be more vague? I hear from people that the personal statment should be more about our "experience" in life, what pointed us down the medical path, etc...and that "why you want to be a doctor" and "why DO" comes up in secondary apps. True or False? Advice/thoughts/comments welcome

Thanks!

You'll hear a lot of ideas about this, but 90% of the people writing a personal statement write the same old, dull, repetitive "Why I want to be a doctor" or "Why I want to be a DO" essays. If you want yours to stand out, you need to do something different.

Take it from someone who's read 30 college freshman "My favorite place" or "How I spent my summer" essays in one day-- they get really boring after a while. The few who stand out are really memorable. So does reading the same old personal statement with the names places changed make you want to puke after a while. This is not a "Why do you want to be a DO" essay; it's a personal statement. So...make a personal statement.

Tell a story that describes your character, personality or integrity. Make it interesting and upbeat. Everyone loves a good story, but a stale biography doesn't attract a lot of attention. Don't just tell the story of your life. No matter what the circumstances are, it's not original. They have heard it all before. However, if you can pick out a dramatic moment from your life that captures your essence, is compelling, interesting and memorable-- then, by all means tell us about it.

You will have plenty of time to write the "Why do I want to be a DO" essays because practically every secondary you fill out asks that same question. One of the most asked questions on SDN is:

"My secondary says to answer why I want to be a DO, but I already said that in my personal statement. Can I just cut and paste it?"

No! You can't! They've already read the PS; they want something new. Start off on the right foot by being more original with your PS.

Good Luck!!!

 

[NPEMTIV]

Happy Thursday Everyone!

So tormenting myself over dreaded personal statement (applying for ec2008)...I'm applying to mostly DO schools, and I was wondering, should I mention my expereince shadowing a DO in my personal statement, or should it be more vague? I hear from people that the personal statment should be more about our "experience" in life, what pointed us down the medical path, etc...and that "why you want to be a doctor" and "why DO" comes up in secondary apps. True or False? Advice/thoughts/comments welcome

Thanks!

I understand how you feel about the personal statement. I spent over two years writing and rewriting mine. That's probably extreme for most people, but I have heard that it can make or break an applicant. I would agree that why DO should stay in the secondary especially since you're not strictly applying to DO schools. The personal statement should encompass any information about yourself that you think the committee should know that isn't covered in the AMCAS or AACOMAS application. If you want to read mine I have posted it on my website at http://www.emsrescue.org. Just make sure your personal statement is genuine and personal. If its not the person reading it will probably be able to catch it and that could negatively hurt your odds. I picked up a book that was called something like Essays That Worked? I think was the title. It had about 100 personal statements from students and I think it helped me see what direction the statement should go towards. Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[DragonWell]

Just echoing what scpod said, this is one of my favorite posts on writing a good PS.

 

[Talula21]

If it makes sense to mention it, by all means you should. There is a huge difference between..."John Doe, D.O. helped solidified my passion for medicine because..." and "...shadowing John Doe, D.O. introduced me to aspects of medicine that I had not previously encountered...." One is specific to what John Doe, D.O did - the other is specific to you. Remember they don't care what Dr. Doe did - he is already a physician. They want to know why YOU want to be a physician. If he showed you something interesting talk about why/how it impacted you personally.

Good luck!!

 

[KrisE24]

ALl of this is great feeback! Thanks so much! I've recently decided to throw out the PS that I've been working on the last year and start from scratch. The old one basically elaborated my resume (boring, dull, typical). I'm going to try to work with a single experience I had in college (outside of school) and tie that in to my personal goals, character, etc etc. Lots of work to do... Keep it coming!!

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

ALl of this is great feeback! Thanks so much! I've recently decided to throw out the PS that I've been working on the last year and start from scratch. The old one basically elaborated my resume (boring, dull, typical). I'm going to try to work with a single experience I had in college (outside of school) and tie that in to my personal goals, character, etc etc. Lots of work to do... Keep it coming!!

Sounds like a good move. It's your chance to show what you're made of. Grades, MCAT, and extracurriculars are several components, but you have to provide the complete picture and the personal statement allows you to do so. Best of luck.

 

[medmom]

Along with what others have already said, I don't want to post my whole ps on here but here is the first paragraph.
As I sat in the cold, white room at Delta County Family Planning, my palms were sweating and I had a ball in my throat. The short, plump nurse said, “It’s positive,” without even turning around to look at me. My mind swarmed with “What?” “Me?” “What will I do?” I gripped the blue plastic chair as the unfriendly nurse probed me with questions like, “What are you going to do now?” As she explained that I could “…probably still finish high school if I went to the school for unwed mothers,” I saw my hopes, my dreams being wiped away. So this is what I had become, another one of “those” girls, another statistic All I heard for the next nine months was “…just finish high school, and then go from there.” Only my high school English teacher, who told me to “…screw them all,” believed in me.

 

[KrisE24]

So in a personal statement, what exactly is too personal...? Sometimes a defining moment is also a traumatic experience etc...is this acceptable or too private? Where do we draw the line? What are the boudnaries..?

Thanks again for the feedback!