PS - Personal or Technical?

[RunShare]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm getting conflicting ideas of what the focus of a PS should be. What do you guys think?

Should you tell a story and include specific examples of your medical experiences? Focus on the overall story, not on the experiences.
-OR-
Should the story be minimized in favor of a "statements and supporting ideas" approach? Focus on the experiences; more technical language is involved.

Now obviously, you have to find the appropriate balance in any scenario, but in which direction would/did you lean?

 

[146233]

I'd recommend the personal aspect. This is your opportunity to humanize yourself as a person, not numbers. Medical experiences are great if they add to your story. Sell yourself, not the stuff you've done. Good luck!

 

[RunShare]

Thanks for the quick response!

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Personal.

I told my story of how I became interested in medicine, how I tested that, and how I'm sure this is what I want to do. I also framed all of this with a particular example of a patient I worked with in a clinical study, because I felt describing that interaction helped illuminate the more "human" aspect of me and my application.

 

[RunShare]

I did exactly that - more or less the same outline you just described. But my reviewers are saying it's not technical enough and that I need more medically-related stuff. I included two clinical examples. Sigh... I like my essay where it is, but I don't want adcoms to think I'm "fluffy", ya know? Oh well.

Thanks for the responses!

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm getting conflicting ideas of what the focus of a PS should be. What do you guys think?

Should you tell a story and include specific examples of your medical experiences? Focus on the overall story, not on the experiences.
-OR-
Should the story be minimized in favor of a "statements and supporting ideas" approach? Focus on the experiences; more technical language is involved.

Now obviously, you have to find the appropriate balance in any scenario, but in which direction would/did you lean?

Personal. There's a reason why it's called a *personal* statement and not a technical statement, right? 🙂 But definitely do give some details about your medical experiences to support/give credence to your desire for medicine. When you get to your interviews, you can explain further about the technical details. to you.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

I did exactly that - more or less the same outline you just described. But my reviewers are saying it's not technical enough and that I need more medically-related stuff. I included two clinical examples. Sigh... I like my essay where it is, but I don't want adcoms to think I'm "fluffy", ya know? Oh well.

Thanks for the responses!

Ha! One of my reviewers suggested I make mine more "fluffy." I disregarded and left it as is. We'll see how that goes!

 

[Jolie South]

I feel like "technical" experiences can be mentioned in AMCAS under your shadowing/medical volunteering ECs. If interviewers want to touch on them more later, they will ask about them.

Plus, I'm sure everyone has similar clinical experiences. Talk about what is unique to you.

 

[Phoenix.]

Ha! One of my reviewers suggested I make mine more "fluffy." I disregarded and left it as is. We'll see how that goes!

I wrote mine JUST like yours. And my pre-med advisor wanted me to put in more "cheese." I did, and then everyone else that read it said that the stuff I'd added made it seem insincere. I took that "cheese" out, and got rave reviews. Just be yourself. And follow Captain Fantastic's excellent outline if it works for you.