Pharmcas Personal Letter

[Goldie23]

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Hey everybody! Just needing some advice on the personal letter for pharmcas. I don't really know where to start or what all to include in this. I want to make an impression, but don't want to write a book. Help!

 

[xtsukiyox]

Do you mean the personal statement? IIRC, you have 4500 characters. More details have been posted in different threads in the past - the search function will prove useful here.

You really want to answer the basic question, "why pharmacy?" You also want your essay to clearly state (in not so many words): "I will succeed in pharma school."

I found it helpful to google personal statements for ideas, although I only found general help for grad students. I wouldn't suggest lowering your bar to the level of the "examples" available out there...

 

[kcwang]

Not trying to post advertisement here, but If you absolutely have no idea how to start, I would suggest this book to you.

Graduate Admissions Essays: Write Your Way into the Graduate School of Your Choice By Donald Asher

I used it, and it helped me a lot.

 

[Twentytwelve2]

If you are stuck on where to begin, start in the beginning! What first made you decide to go into pharmacy? What was the path to this decision? Make sure this part is brief, about 3-4 sentences. Then, talk about your educational background and how it helped affirm your decision. Do you like chemistry? Biology? Then talk about what is it about pharmacy that you like. Affirm this with examples from volunteering or shadowing a pharmacist. End it with a note as to what you want to do with your degree. Do you want to work with patients? Research? Back this up using previous statements (use what you like about pharmacy and reflect it in your goals). IE you enjoyed interacting with patients so you want to go into community pharmacy.

There are several ways to write your personal statement, but this is just an example of what I wrote about. You dont have to follow any framework of ideas. Write what you feel is important, but is not generic.

Hope this helps.

 

[owlegrad]

Not trying to post advertisement here, but If you absolutely have no idea how to start, I would suggest this book to you.

Graduate Admissions Essays: Write Your Way into the Graduate School of Your Choice By Donald Asher

I used it, and it helped me a lot.

No worries, sincerely trying to help out other members by telling them about a resource you find helpful (that you do not gain from yourself) is not considered advertising. 😉