Professional Essay Reviews

[luv2sd]

I've looked around http://www.essayedge.com/ and http://www.accepted.com/medical/default.aspx so far

It seems like they can really make your essays shine. But wouldn't medical schools notice that you've used these professional essay review services to write and revise your essays? If anyone has used any professional essay review services in the past, I would really appreciate if you could provide some information and feedbacks on whether they were really effective or not.


This one person from accepted.com writes

I would like to thank you for your help. Currently, I have been invited to fourteen interviews from schools which include UCLA, UCSD, UCI, Baylor, Vanderbilt, University of Pittsburgh, University of Texas Southwestern, Tulane, and George Washington Schools of Medicine. Throughout these interviews, I was complimented on my personal statement and supplementary essays, which you so patiently helped me edit. I have also been accepted to two of the above schools. Considering it's only October 22, I couldn't be happier with my progress.

what do you guys think about this testimonial? I think it's like dramed up lol.

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[leahmaria]

I had an english prof at my school help me with my personal statement (and she would have helped me with the secondaries, had i asked) and i think that my personal statement is a lot better because of her help. idk how much these are influential in interview/admissions decisions, but i'm pretty thankful to her

 

[geogil]

I've looked around http://www.essayedge.com/ and http://www.accepted.com/medical/default.aspx so far

It seems like they can really make your essays shine. But wouldn't medical schools notice that you've used these professional essay review services to write and revise your essays? If anyone has used any professional essay review services in the past, I would really appreciate if you could provide some information and feedbacks on whether they were really effective or not.


This one person from accepted.com writes



what do you guys think about this testimonial? I think it's like dramed up lol.

HOw are the adcoms going to know if you had it edited? Unless you have a rockbottom MCAT verbal, all they're going to think is that you write well, regardless of whether or not it's true.

 

[leahmaria]

i would also argue that many (if not most) people get some editing and feedback on their essays, even if it isn't a paid for service

 

[luv2sd]

You guys have good points. I guess getting some professional editing and help would do more good than harm 😉

 

[breck]

I've looked around http://www.essayedge.com/ and http://www.accepted.com/medical/default.aspx so far

It seems like they can really make your essays shine. But wouldn't medical schools notice that you've used these professional essay review services to write and revise your essays? If anyone has used any professional essay review services in the past, I would really appreciate if you could provide some information and feedbacks on whether they were really effective or not.


This one person from accepted.com writes



what do you guys think about this testimonial? I think it's like dramed up lol.

Well I wouldn't get too excited about testimonials. The one you listed is probably true but they don't list the testimonials that say "Thanks for nothing people my essay was better before you did the edit". The person that wrote that, if it's legit, probably had many other things going for them as well.

The other question you posed about adcoms discovering/suspecting that you used an essay service is tough. If you have a crappy verbal and writing score and all of your post secondary descriptions are poorly written but your personal statement is stellar it may raise some questions. I'm not sure what the rule of thumb is on when to use an essay service. I also can't help but think who cares if you do, or if they find out? Is it wrong to take an MCAT prep course?? No. Is it wrong to have English professors or other people with experience in essay writing help you?? No. So why should anyone care if you use an essay service??

It seems like the real question is will it be worth your money to do so. I would say it depends on a few different things. First, who do you have at your disposal to help you with writing essays. Second, what kind of deadlines are you looking at. If you are looking to submit an AMCAS application for this cycle time is a crucial factor and an essay service will work on your time schedule, which most people who are just lending you a helping hand can't and won't do. Third, are you a good writer? I think a lot of people underestimate their writing abilities b/c of how competitive the process is. These are usually the people who are unhappy with essay services. They have their confidence shaken because of the competition and wind up getting an essay back that they feel has little to no improvement. The final thing that you don't have control over, if you need to write it now, is what you have to write about. Editors can only work with what you give them. So if you are planning ahead for the next application cycle do some brainstorming about what you would like to write about. If you think you are coming up short on material you may want to seek out some activities that will give you future writing material. If it's only money that is holding you back a couple hundred bucks is a drop in the bucket relative to the money you will invest in pursuing entrance to medical school and then attending med-school. Good luck with the writing.

 

[luv2sd]

Thank you for the insight breck.

I was thinking that using those kinds of services are "bad" becuase you pay them with money per hour or whatever. But I guess it would be the same if you gave it to your professor to review since you are paying the school as well.

 

[gotmeds?]

If you're still in school, I'd advise going to their writing center. It's free (well, aside from tution) and they can be very helpful. Just make sure you get someone who has experience with medical school personal statements.

 

[49912]

.

 

[63768]

people on SDN are always willing to read a PS for you. we may not be professionals but how do you know they're more qualified than we are?

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

They'll kno when you come in for an interview and you're as illiterate and unable to communicate as a rock.

 

[luv2sd]

ok so what's the first step of the whole medical school application process? register on www.amcas.org right? Can I also find out what are the prompts for personal statements? Do they change after each cycle?

 

[Mr. Tee]

people on SDN are always willing to read a PS for you. we may not be professionals but how do you know they're more qualified than we are?

Agreed. I could probably do better than these "companies."

 

[luv2sd]

Agreed. I could probably do better than these "companies."

Awesome! I'll remember to ask you for some advice when it's time for me to apply 😀

 

[Rebecatfl]

Hello!

I was just wondering if I could send u my ps for your review?

thanx,

Rebecatfl

 

[49912]

.

 

[etf]

"professional" editing is a waste of time and money - you're better off dealing with people you trust. i'd trust the people on sdn a lot more than some random person on essayedge - for one thing, i could look up their prior posts to see if they knew how to write.

incidentally, the thing i dread most about reapplying is having to rewrite my personal statement. this thing was my magnum opus - and i even got praise at one of my interviews. sigh, back to the drawing board...

 

[luv2sd]

"professional" editing is a waste of time and money - you're better off dealing with people you trust. i'd trust the people on sdn a lot more than some random person on essayedge - for one thing, i could look up their prior posts to see if they knew how to write.

incidentally, the thing i dread most about reapplying is having to rewrite my personal statement. this thing was my magnum opus - and i even got praise at one of my interviews. sigh, back to the drawing board...

why did you have to rewrite your personal statement? couldn't you just copy and paste what you wrote in the previous cycle?

 

[etf]

it seems to be the consensus opinion on sdn that one should rewrite the personal statement for reapplication. i was also told the same by a dean of a med school during an exit interview.

 

[NervousNed]

Guys,

I used an editing service, and it helped me. They caught clumsy grammatical errors here and there, sometimes worded things a little more concisely. They showed clearly where they wanted to make some changes, where they thought things were redundant, and what they liked and disliked...made really worthwhile comments on my introduction.

The deal is, when you PAY someone to look over your essay, they are obligated to scrutinize it very closely, but when a friend reads it, yes they will look and provide good feedback, but they may not pay as close as attention as an editing service, because, afterall, its just a friendly glance, not like its their job (like it is the editing services).

Anyway i think its worth the money, if you dont like what changes they made, fine leave em out, but they are bound to catch one or two things that you will agree with. And that, in itself, in a wild and wacky process, in which no one can determine for sure what will get you in or not, is worth it.

 

[alsdof]

I would say it depends on a few different things. First, who do you have at your disposal to help you with writing essays.

 

[NeuroNYC]

ok so what's the first step of the whole medical school application process? register on www.amcas.org right? Can I also find out what are the prompts for personal statements? Do they change after each cycle?

Yes, that would be one way to start. There is no "prompt" for the PS but many people feel that it should address the age old question - 'Why do you want to be a doctor?' or something similar.

Editing services can be very dangerous. I had one school come right out and tell me at an information session that they try to figure out which people do this so that they can be rejected. They will compare the writing style of the PS to the style of writing in secondaries to your VR score. This particular school did MMI interviews, and the MMI featured an essay station which was also used for comparison with the PS.
I would suggest getting a professor, advisor, or your school's pre-health office to help with this sort of thing.

 

[zacharyw]

Yes, that would be one way to start. There is no "prompt" for the PS but many people feel that it should address the age old question - 'Why do you want to be a doctor?' or something similar.

Editing services can be very dangerous. I had one school come right out and tell me at an information session that they try to figure out which people do this so that they can be rejected. They will compare the writing style of the PS to the style of writing in secondaries to your VR score. This particular school did MMI interviews, and the MMI featured an essay station which was also used for comparison with the PS.
I would suggest getting a professor, advisor, or your school's pre-health office to help with this sort of thing.

That's silly of the school. The quality of writing I can churn out in 30 min, 3 days, and 3 months are vastly different. In 30 min, my writing will simply be a transcript of what I was thinking with little regards for grammar, tone and syntax, 3 days and I will fix up the grammar, and 3 months and I will find the best possible themes, ideas, sentence structures, word choices, etc after receiving feedback from everyone I know.

And being able to read quickly and grasp the main points (essentially VR) has nothing to do with writing skills. My VR was 90th+ percentile and I would never say that is true about my writing.

This is a 7 year old thread. Geez.