Sample Personal Statements

[dentalWorks]

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Hey guys,

I remember some years back, 1992Corola (forgot his exact SDN name) made a website with a number of successful personal statements from our SDN members (mine was there too)

I can't find the site, anyone know where they are at?

Thanks in advance

 

[lr2014]

There was a site I googled that had some essays but a week ago when I tried to enter it just sent me to an ads page, looks like the domain is not being paid. I can't remember the address though.

 

[dentalWorks]

There was a site I googled that had some essays but a week ago when I tried to enter it just sent me to an ads page, looks like the domain is not being paid. I can't remember the address though.

yeh this is 1992Corolla's
http://www.dmdstudent.com/2007/04/16/aadsas-personal-essay-for-dental-school/

It had some REALLY nice PSs' (about 10 of them). Man I wish someone has a copy of them

 

[UCSFx2017]

http://www.studential.com/personalstatements/getpscourse.asp?type=14

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Category:Dentistry_Personal_Statements

http://www.essayforum.com/graduate-...ction-dental-school-personal-statement-39753/

http://p r e d d s . n e t / w h i c h r o o m s -personal-statement/

^^^Take out the spaces.

 

[dentalWorks]

http://www.studential.com/personalstatements/getpscourse.asp?type=14

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Category:Dentistry_Personal_Statements

http://www.essayforum.com/graduate-...ction-dental-school-personal-statement-39753/

http://p r e d d s . n e t / w h i c h r o o m s -personal-statement/

^^^Take out the spaces.

Thank you so very much 🙂

 

[free99]

The few essays I read from the first few couple links are super generic, starting with "I've always wanted to be a dentist..." or "The reason I want to be a dentist is because..." What a turn off. My personal statement is admittedly under revision and not the best it could be, but there's no way I'd ever start an essay like that. It felt like work to continue reading.

One other thing I noticed is that nearly all of those essays contain something about manual dexterity and/or working with hands, is that cliche? That's part of the reason I've chosen to pursue dentistry, but I'm worried mentioning it makes me just another one in the pack who did. Thoughts, anyone?

 

[UCSFx2017]

The few essays I read from the first few couple links are super generic, starting with "I've always wanted to be a dentist..." or "The reason I want to be a dentist is because..." What a turn off. My personal statement is admittedly under revision and not the best it could be, but there's no way I'd ever start an essay like that. It felt like work to continue reading.

One other thing I noticed is that nearly all of those essays contain something about manual dexterity and/or working with hands, is that cliche? That's part of the reason I've chosen to pursue dentistry, but I'm worried mentioning it makes me just another one in the pack who did. Thoughts, anyone?

Here's a personal statement that I really like. It's from a medical student.

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=19291

I think predents exaggerate the importance of the personal statement. It's important but not as much as some would expect.

Dr. Wofsy is in charge of the admissions at UCSF's medical school.

Dr. Wofsy's comments on the personal statement:
"People agonize over the personal statement more than they're worth. Very few people will get into medical [or dental] school because of what they wrote in the personal statement. Some people will get out of medical [or dental] school because of what they wrote in the personal statement. So be careful with the personal statement. And remember that it is more likely to hurt than help. Write a good personal statement that shows that you can string thoughts in a logical way and you can write clearly and that you can talk about something that is relevant to this experience of applying to medical school, whether it's some activity you've been involved in or why you want to be a doctor [or dentist], or who knows what. It's not that important. What's important is that it's clear. So I tell people not to take risks for the personal statement. It's not what's going to get you in. And we follow that approach in our evaluation, that is, it's not a major determining factor. We know that a lot of different things go into the writing of the personal statement. Some people are the child of an admissions dean and they show their draft to their father and their father says 'No, no, no. Let's do it this way.' And some people have no such help. So we try to recognize that those statements are coming from many different environments and that they probably how we should decide in the end."

Listen to the entire conversation on episode 407 of Radio Rounds at https://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/ra...ds/id428372384

 

[free99]

Here's a personal statement that I really like. It's from a medical student.

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=19291

Yeah I've read that one, it's phenomenal. In fact, that whole profile is phenomenal. I just started reading the last PS you linked and this one is far more readable, albeit a little melodramatic.

 

[IsaacYankem]

That statement is great

 

[flatcamelbak]

That statement is great

I agree.

The dental admissions PS is different in that you can't write about your connection to disease, trauma, etc. as easily as med school.

We all know someone that has had a disease addressed by an MD/DO, but the personal link between dentistry and applicants seems much more contrived (albeit not always). Starting an essay with "I have always been intrigued by oral microbiota" or "I have always found teeth interesting" just makes me cringe. If you have a personal connection to the profession that's great, but don't make one up to look like you're all-in.

 

[UCSFx2017]

I agree.

The dental admissions PS is different in that you can't write about your connection to disease, trauma, etc. as easily as med school.

We all know someone that has had a disease addressed by an MD/DO, but the personal link between dentistry and applicants seems much more contrived (albeit not always). Starting an essay with "I have always been intrigued by oral microbiota" or "I have always found teeth interesting" just makes me cringe. If you have a personal connection to the profession that's great, but don't make one up to look like you're all-in.

True. But I think the personal statement works a lot better if you can fit in an emotional/personal experience with dentistry that sparked your interest. I couldn't think of an experience for longest time but after a few weeks of ruminating I had a eureka moment and remembered something significant from my childhood. Unfortunately, it's going to be really hard for some people because they never had an experience like that. I think it's also best to never explain your motivation in one succinct, boring sentence in either your personal statement or interviews. Make it into a story. I think the personal statement is something that you can look back on for encouragement as a dentist after a tiring day and become energized from reading it.

 

[518590]

Here's a personal statement that I really like. It's from a medical student.

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=19291

I think predents exaggerate the importance of the personal statement. It's important but not as much as some would expect.

Dr. Wofsy is in charge of the admissions at UCSF's medical school.

Dr. Wofsy's comments on the personal statement:
"People agonize over the personal statement more than they're worth. Very few people will get into medical [or dental] school because of what they wrote in the personal statement. Some people will get out of medical [or dental] school because of what they wrote in the personal statement. So be careful with the personal statement. And remember that it is more likely to hurt than help. Write a good personal statement that shows that you can string thoughts in a logical way and you can write clearly and that you can talk about something that is relevant to this experience of applying to medical school, whether it's some activity you've been involved in or why you want to be a doctor [or dentist], or who knows what. It's not that important. What's important is that it's clear. So I tell people not to take risks for the personal statement. It's not what's going to get you in. And we follow that approach in our evaluation, that is, it's not a major determining factor. We know that a lot of different things go into the writing of the personal statement. Some people are the child of an admissions dean and they show their draft to their father and their father says 'No, no, no. Let's do it this way.' And some people have no such help. So we try to recognize that those statements are coming from many different environments and that they probably how we should decide in the end."

Listen to the entire conversation on episode 407 of Radio Rounds at https://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/ra...ds/id428372384

This quotation is probably the best advice there could be in this whole website regarding personal statement.

 

[shiftparadigm]

This quotation is probably the best advice there could be in this whole website regarding personal statement.

Ditto. I had been stressing out over my personal statement for the longest time until I took a step back and realized there's probably very little I could write to make a huge difference since I'm not a fantastic writer or have had any super "unique" experiences. I'm glad this quote kind of just reaffirms that.

 

[imrandom]

LUL ZUZU and BSMUTH