Prior military and the personal statement

[SgtDoc]

For those of you who are prior military, how much did you focus on this in your personal statement? I don't want it to sound like that's all I am, but at the same time it helped me realize that I want to go into medicine.

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[DogFaceMedic]

For those of you who are prior military, how much did you focus on this in your personal statement? I don't want it to sound like that's all I am, but at the same time it helped me realize that I want to go into medicine.

Tell them just what you said: it helped you realize you want to go into medicine. You do not have a lot of room in the essay, so don't make it the focus, just a part of the complete package of maturity and self-discipline. You can use your personal experiences sections to add more details. And, be sure it is literate and have others read it. How it sounds to you is not how it may sound to others.

Good luck.

 

[177584]

For those of you who are prior military, how much did you focus on this in your personal statement? I don't want it to sound like that's all I am, but at the same time it helped me realize that I want to go into medicine.

I basically spelled that out in my personal statement. I was prior enlisted army medic. I thought I learned the discipline I needed to succeed and also found what I really loved. At any rate I polished that AMCAS thing up with 8 visits to the writing center on campus during which we tore the essay apart and made it conform to the character limit, it was great. I thought the military experience worked well as a base to prove drive and desire. But as you say don't let it sound like that's all you have going for you.

Sidenote:
Personal statement did not get most schools to overlook 1 year of poor performance. (Followed up after my enlistment by a double major biology chemistry with 3.7 gpa for four years, but was lowered to a 3.4 cum.) Nobody even interviewed me but USUHS...that's where I got in and am now.

 

[elderjack21]

People equate military service with dedication, sacrifice, drive, etc. So it is a good thing for your application if you have the complete package (decent GPA, decent MCAT, medical experience of some sort).

I mentioned briefly an experience in combat right at the beginning of my statement as it was something that solidified my desire to practice medicine. Then I moved on to other topics and spoke to my military service mostly in my ECs on the application. I wouldn't make the military the focus of your personal statement. And if you plan on going to USUHS, they will give you a whole other essay to write for them about why you want to be a military doc as well.