Reapplicant using same personal statement

[green plastic]

Would it be a very bad idea for me to use the same exact personal statement from last year? I didn't send in any of my secondaries last year because my mcat score was too low (which I have brought up this year). I don't think any adcoms have read my PS, although they've probably kept my amcas on file.

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[UCLAMAN]

DO NOT send the exact same personal statement. Some schools will compare what you wrote the year before.

Do a search...there have been many threads on this topic.

 

[Karina]

DON'T DO IT! I am sure a lot of things have changed since last year...talk about that...talk about how u brought ur MCAT up..I dunno..u don't wanna seem lazy...or not willing to write a few new paragraphs about urself
Good Luck!
Karina

 

[WatchingWaiting]

If you didn't actually apply last year, then you don't really know if your personal statement would have helped or harmed you. Do have some friends and an advisor critique it, and, if you've done anything interesting in the last year, update it, but you don't have to do a re-write. That option is more for people who get rejected the first time and need to come off as "new and improved."

 

[coredump]

You know, I was wondering about this same thing. If the only thing that kept you from entering medical school was your MCAT/GPA, then why does your PS need to change significantly?The PS is for you to mention your motives for entering medical school, backed up by personal experiences; stuff that doesn't normally change within a year. Sure, you could throw in some, "Because of my persistent nature, I remain undeterred in my pursuit, despite having performed below my expectations on the MCAT...blah blah blah". But, I imagine a significant portion of it will be VERY similar to the previous PS; at most, maybe worded differently. It would be different if you lacked clinical exposure, volunteered somwhere and had a few realizations along the way - then I can see your PS needing to updated. But for numbers...?? At most, it shows determination - but that's a given since you're applying to medical school, not cosmetology (Seinfeld: not that there's anything wrong with that. )

I'm curious, cause I'm in the same boat. I have borderline numbers and am really wondering if I should apply this year. If it means having to conjure up a new PS and find new LORs next year, I would rather sit out until I can work on my numbers. Besides realizing I need to retake the MCAT, I really don't imagine myself having new epiphanies that I can talk about by next June.

For the posters above, did you guys have low numbers, or was it a more subjective weakness in your applications?

 

[vinoyp]

Hi,

If you're applying to a completely different set of schools this time around, do you need to rewrite the PS? This will be the first time those schools see your app.

--Vinoy

 

[jennie 21]

Vinoy,
If you are applying to a completely new set of schools, I don't think you need to re-write the personal statement, except to update it with anything new that's happened within the past year.

 

[green plastic]

I think I have come to the conclusion that I am only going to tweek a couple sentences in my personal statement from last year and that's all. Although I have done some new extracurriculars in the past year, my most significant ones are still the ones i talk about in my PS. Besides, I need to save some info for the question on secondaries which asks, "what have you done in the past year to improve your application?" Really my main weakness last year was the verbal section of the mcat, and I brought that up, so I don't see why my PS would have to change significantly.

 

[HouseHead]

Is it the best it can be? Hopefully there is some added perspective from the trials of your last app cycle that can help tighten it up even more.