Procrastination...Personal Statement is killing me!

[Flopotomist]

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Grr.. I am venting here - I STILL haven't hit that damn SUBMIT button yet. It taunts me. I can't get my personal statement quite right. I have showed it to a number of people (6) and that is making it worse. Half think I should start with a thesis-like paragraph, half think I should start with a vignette/story. YIKES, people, a bit of consensus here would help!! AAAAH damn procrastination.

 

[LJDHC05]

First time around, I wrote atleast 3 drafts of about 4 different ideas...and I hated all of mine because none of them sounded like they were me.

Second time around, I had 2 glasses of scotch and brain stormed about who I was and why I had to do this stupid process all over again. I just wrote who I was from the heart and why I want to go to med school this time around. It came out the right way and sounded like me and I polished it up and it was ready to go. PAID for tonight, just waiting for my stupid transcript to clear now so that the thing can be processed.

You'll know when you're ready to submit though, just dont drink and write cause it leads to poor grammar (trust me on that one). Good luck

 

[speranza]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I wrote one decent PS, then decided I hated it about a week ago and am writing a new one now. But the words just aren't coming...I've been trying to finish the damn thing for like four days now. 🙁

 

[LJDHC05]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I wrote one decent PS, then decided I hated it about a week ago and am writing a new one now. But the words just aren't coming...I've been trying to finish the damn thing for like four days now. 🙁

Again...I love scotch, scotchie, scotch, scotch... helps with the PS brainstorming 👍

 

[doubtflyer]

Grr.. I am venting here - I STILL haven't hit that damn SUBMIT button yet. It taunts me. I can't get my personal statement quite right. I have showed it to a number of people (6) and that is making it worse. Half think I should start with a thesis-like paragraph, half think I should start with a vignette/story. YIKES, people, a bit of consensus here would help!! AAAAH damn procrastination.

hey flopotomist,
i'm also applying this year, and it's the endless tweaking of the essay that's keeping me from submitting too...gah. from what i've gathered, though, you do NOT want to start with a "thesis-like paragraph"!! if you've already written your essay starting with a story/image with concrete details, i think your best bet is to stick with it. logically, it's important to grab the attention of the adcom member with limited time and thousands of applications to read. that's just my two cents...

 

[crazy_cavalier]

You need to realize that perfection has an asymptotic relationship - you can spend forever trying to make your essay just perfect, but you'll never quite reach it.

That said, do not agonize *too much* over the essay. Yes, it is very important, but the simple truth is that after so much time and after giving it your all, it's simply time to submit it and move on. And once you do happen to submit, do not think back on it and don't get caught up in regret.

As for your dilemma about how to structure it, can't you do a thesis type statement AND a story both at once? This seems possible and it would be good 😀

Anyway, there's no dire / urgent push for you to submit just yet, so take it easy and submit once you feel comfortable. If you are still uncomfortable, that's okay; there's no pressure at this point in the game. You can still submit AMCAS in july and be quite early in the application game. Remember that SDN'ers are very hard-core and people here literally fill out the whole application on or before June 1!!! This is not normal behaviour. So don't get intimidated when you read how everyone here is submitting, or about to submit, and how early we are, or is it too late, etc. It's just rubbish 😀

Good luck with the PS! 🙂

 

[FlippinOut]

I don't suppose you kept in touch with your English prof(s). I am using my freshman English prof, because he understands the goal (to convey who you are as a person, and at the same time, sell yourself) of the statement, and he's terrific at editing, and adding that je ne sais quoi

 

[Flopotomist]

You need to realize that perfection has an asymptotic relationship - you can spend forever trying to make your essay just perfect, but you'll never quite reach it.

That said, do not agonize *too much* over the essay. Yes, it is very important, but the simple truth is that after so much time and after giving it your all, it's simply time to submit it and move on. And once you do happen to submit, do not think back on it and don't get caught up in regret.

As for your dilemma about how to structure it, can't you do a thesis type statement AND a story both at once? This seems possible and it would be good 😀

Anyway, there's no dire / urgent push for you to submit just yet, so take it easy and submit once you feel comfortable. If you are still uncomfortable, that's okay; there's no pressure at this point in the game. You can still submit AMCAS in july and be quite early in the application game. Remember that SDN'ers are very hard-core and people here literally fill out the whole application on or before June 1!!! This is not normal behaviour. So don't get intimidated when you read how everyone here is submitting, or about to submit, and how early we are, or is it too late, etc. It's just rubbish 😀

Good luck with the PS! 🙂

I think I am going to start with the vignette.. makes for a more interesting read. I have too many chefs in the kitchen helping me edit it (two English PhDs, 3 physicians, one significant other).

 

[Foreigner]

I am applying this year, so I am not sure I qualify to give advice. Personally, I started mine with a story, and finished it with a story. I think it helps set a mood for the reader, and it tends to be less boring.

As soon as I finished it, and I people that read it for me generally "approved" it, I started thinking of ways to make it better, and even of completely other topics I could write about.

My point is - we've all had so many experiences in our lives thus far (I assume you're at least in your early 20s), and all of those have affected us and shaped us into who we are. So, you can always think of some other moment that influenced you to pursue medicine... It's hard to know when it's done. But you have to set a limit somewhere.

Good luck! And I'll agree with others - scotch helps.... although my preference is vodka 🙂

 

[Centinel]

You can do both with an intro paragraph. Begin the paragraph with a vignette. Lead into the point of the vignette (within the same paragraph). Conclude with your thesis, which should follow naturally from the point of the vignette.

 

[Flopotomist]

My point is - we've all had so many experiences in our lives thus far (I assume you're at least in your early 20s), and all of those have affected us and shaped us into who we are. So, you can always think of some other moment that influenced you to pursue medicine...

I am actually 31, so have even MORE stuff than somebody in their 20's. I am thinking I will open with a patient I took care of on the ambulance, segue into the challenges I faced as an Arabic interpreter in the Army, and end with the work I do now as a clinical research coordinator. I will try to keep it all tied together by focusing on the aspect of striving to continue learning, and using the knowledge I gained to educate others. Hmm.. lets see if it actually works.

 

[ernieraisin]

cant tell you how many personal statements i went through before i realized that i could revise this thing FOREVER. just like you flop, i too am in my 30s. i will be 31 in about a month so i felt like i had a whole lot to say. if you guys can afford to spend abit more, may i suggest essayedge.com? i submitted my statement to them and had it returned to me in 2 days. i thought they did a great job. and i am happy to say that i submitted my AMCAS and was verified and processed last thursday!!!

 

[Crete]

Grr.. I am venting here - I STILL haven't hit that damn SUBMIT button yet. It taunts me. I can't get my personal statement quite right. I have showed it to a number of people (6) and that is making it worse. Half think I should start with a thesis-like paragraph, half think I should start with a vignette/story. YIKES, people, a bit of consensus here would help!! AAAAH damn procrastination.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=186950&page=3

If it's evenly split, follow your gut. Just make sure that the people who say vignette/story aren't telling you in a nice way that your PS is boring. As long as it isn't (throughout, not just the beginning), submit! Good luck and PM with any questions.

EDIT: Since it's evenly split, I doubt the vignette/story people are telling you it's boring, just double check. (I didn't mean to confuse you more!)

 

[ahd929]

I have showed it to a number of people (6) and that is making it worse. Half think I should start with a thesis-like paragraph, half think I should start with a vignette/story. YIKES, people, a bit of consensus here would help!!

there's your problem. some people told me, "you should show your ps to everybody you know: family, friends, teachers, gardeners, maids, etc." but that's a terrible idea. everyone will have a different perspective, and you'll get such wildly varying advice that your ps will either be a mess (i.e. lacking consistent tone) or you'll just pick and choose the advice and write the ps you wanted to write in the first place. what i did was choose 3 people i trusted: my wife, an old friend from college who is a writer, and my old professor/mentor from college. that's it. then i took most of their advice. i spent a week writing the rough draft and another 2 weeks revising it. i clicked "submit" on june 1st, 9 a.m.

 

[Its_MurDAH]

there's your problem. some people told me, "you should show your ps to everybody you know: family, friends, teachers, gardeners, maids, etc." but that's a terrible idea. everyone will have a different perspective, and you'll get such wildly varying advice that your ps will either be a mess (i.e. lacking consistent tone) or you'll just pick and choose the advice and write the ps you wanted to write in the first place. what i did was choose 3 people i trusted: my wife, an old friend from college who is a writer, and my old professor/mentor from college. that's it. then i took most of their advice. i spent a week writing the rough draft and another 2 weeks revising it. i clicked "submit" on june 1st, 9 a.m.

To get the best results i would say that instead of showing it to people you know show it to someone that you barely know...perhaps an acquaintance or an english teacher that you have never gotten to know. The problem with showing ur PS to people that know you is that they can either be biased because they know you or their judgment about the PS can be clouded because they dont want to truly critique/embarass/hurt you. Showing it to someone that doesn't know you too well will most closely simulate the experience of having your PS read by someone in the Adcom - for them it will be like a window into your world and your motivation and experiences without having any prior knowledge about you. Additionally, along with your PS you can even give the person that is going to read your PS a copy of ur Ec's etc. Just an idea. However there is always goign to be that brilliant writer guy/girl or a professor that you know that will genuinely help you out to the best of his/her abilities. But for people that don't have that, i think its a good alternative.