Scrap my PS?

[misty818]

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Hey all,

It's 2:50 AM and I just had a mini panic attack about my personal statement.

As a piece of writing, it is something I am proud of and have put a lot of thought into, but am concerned that there isn't enough (direct) application to why, specifically, I want to be a dentist, what has lead me to the field of dentistry, what I have done to demonstrate my interest in dentistry, etc.

I definitely do speak about positive qualities I see in myself (that would also be beneficial to a dental career) and how I have matured, but should I state things more bluntly?

Right now it's at about 85% "showing, not telling", rather than spelling out why I want this career. Are adcoms going to think "ok, this girls seems cool/passionate/nice, but why isn't there more dentistry stuff in here?"

Basically, it is more like a really good (I think at least 😉) college admissions essay than a personal statement.

Sorry this is so long, but thanks guys!!

 

[AnaCho]

i'm on the same boat..
struggling with what else to say on my ps...

and what worries me about is that time is kind of running out because a lot of people already turned in their application...
sigh

 

[RazorbackDDS]

Personally, I wouldn't scrap it. A personal statement is your chance to convey your personality. You want it to show everything that your scores don't (your scores alone should say "I am smart enough to make it in dental school"). You don't want a personal statement to read "I would be a good dentist because I am...", you want to talk about yourself and casually mention how these aspects would make you the best dentist ever. So it should be "I am .... and that's why I would be a good dentist." I think admissions want to know what you're all about and then decide if you would be a good fit at their school and as a representative of the profession. In my personal statement I talked about how I 1) like being challenged academically 2) like working with people 3) like working with the disadvantaged and people from different cultural backgrounds. I then tied these qualities to the job description of dentistry and it worked out well for me. Include a funny part and a serious part (both about how you matured as a person) and you should be set. Good luck!

 

[misty818]

Thank you Razorback!