Question about Writing a Personal Statement

[Dr Gerrard]

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To what extent am i supposed to talk about my activities in my PS? A fellow SDN member was very kind enough to give me great advice and read over my PS, and mentioned that I need to put my activities in my PS to show how my desired tie in to my activities.

Also, I outline three main reasons I want to go into medicine, do I need to somehow tie those three together with a single thesis or can I just go about writing about each one.

 

[Dr Gerrard]

i talk about one experience and why it caused me to want to do doctors without border.

i briefly mention another experience (which i plan on mentioning in detail on the AMCAS) and how it led me to eventually want to pursue an academic medicine path

and then i talk about how i am always fascinated in the medical applications of my biochemistry and genetics courses, and how medicine is appealing because of the constant opportunity for learning.

what do you guys think? should I take out the last one, since that is something everyone can say? the first experience is not going to be mentioned anywhere else, but the second activity i could use everywhere, including the AMCAS, secondaries, and the interviews, as it is my favorite part of my undergraduate experience.

 

[kingofthehill]

The only reason to mention activities in your personal statement is in the event that they influenced your decision to become a doctor. I would only choose a few because your space is limited of course, so go with those that are most significant to you in this aspect. Perhaps you could follow a narrative style.

Your friend is right, it all needs to tie in and relate.

 

[drelizabeth292]

you can pick a couple and tie them in to your childhood or desire to become a doctor. but you really dont want to make it sound like you are rehashing EVERY activity you listed on your AMCAS application.

by the way, i love reading PS and am on the PS reader list so you can PM me for more advice/rough draft help/editing/idea bouncing/etc.

 

[futuredoctor10]

Are describing a few of your extracurricular activities in your personal statement strongly advised? I know there is room to describe activities in your AMCAS application, and I thought your personal statement should be devoted to primarily why you wanted to enter medicine. Which usually is a result of clinical experiences.

 

[Rach83]

The only reason to mention activities in your personal statement is in the event that they influenced your decision to become a doctor. I would only choose a few because your space is limited of course, so go with those that are most significant to you in this aspect. Perhaps you could follow a narrative style.

Dr. Gerrard I hope you don't mind me piggy-backing on your thread but the answers to my Q might help you out....

Ok this might be a silly question. "Why did you decide to become a doctor?" is obviously different from "why are you right for a career in medicine?" Is the first question the one we HAVE to answer? Half of my essay begins with why I decided on medicine, but I'm also writing about experiences that are further showing me why I want this even though I started doing these activities after I originally chose this path.
Is this OK for me to incorporate both of those questions?