Should I rewrite my Personal Statement?

[jdla]

I am reapplying.

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[shemarty]

Yes, you want to show them what's different about you this time around.

 

[jdla]

Or should I deduct and add new experiences?

 

[LikesJello]

I would err on the side of writing a new one entirely. If there is something you really liked from your last PS then you could try and work it in, but I would avoid revising your previous PS and turning it in.

 

[nina7123]

Hopefully you have done something since you last applied that will help out your application this time around (or else there is no point in re-applying right?). I know if I have to reapply, I will keep a lot of what I had used in my PS the first time (because it is still important) but will also talk about what I have done since my first application.

Good luck!

 

[mdessay1]

depends: did you get any interviews last round? if not, then absolutely. if yes, then you could get by without rewriting it. at the very least, freshen it up.

 

[padres0629]

I am reapplying.

Why didn't you get in the first time around? If you applied early and you believe that schools got a really solid look at you but weren't accepted anywhere, you should definitely re-write your essay.

I actually submitted the exact same personal statement two years in a row (with limited 'freshening up'). I had no issues getting secondaries, interviews the second time around, and was accepted into a medical school.

My situation was unconventional. I applied really late the first time around. Most of the schools who received my application admitted that they didn't even process my application because it was received so late in the cycle. They didn't seem to have an issue with the fact that I sent the same essay twice, since they probably didn't read it the first time around.

Between application cycles (8 months), I was working full-time, and I've been volunteering at the same places and been doing the same activities. So, my essay didn't change much. I was very confident that I said everything I wanted to say the first time I applied.

 

[jdla]

Why didn't you get in the first time around? If you applied early and you believe that schools got a really solid look at you but weren't accepted anywhere, you should definitely re-write your essay.

I actually submitted the exact same personal statement two years in a row (with limited 'freshening up'). I had no issues getting secondaries, interviews the second time around, and was accepted into a medical school.

My situation was unconventional. I applied really late the first time around. Most of the schools who received my application admitted that they didn't even process my application because it was received so late in the cycle. They didn't seem to have an issue with the fact that I sent the same essay twice, since they probably didn't read it the first time around.

Between application cycles (8 months), I was working full-time, and I've been volunteering at the same places and been doing the same activities. So, my essay didn't change much. I was very confident that I said everything I wanted to say the first time I applied.

You said you applied late the first time around. When did you apply?

 

[padres0629]

You said you applied late the first time around. When did you apply?

Really late. I sent my primary in October. My secondaries started pouring in starting December. Stupidest mistake of my life. At that point, schools were just taking my money and running with it.

My numbers are pretty solid - 34S on the MCAT, and 3.7 GPA. I'd done hundreds of hours in the clinic, and over 3000 hours doing research. The second time around, schools asked me why I didn't get in the first time, probably suspecting I had some character flaw exposed during the interview, when in fact I was never interviewed in the first place.

 

[Green Grass]

Hopefully you have done something since you last applied that will help out your application this time around (or else there is no point in re-applying right?). I know if I have to reapply, I will keep a lot of what I had used in my PS the first time (because it is still important) but will also talk about what I have done since my first application.

This is exactly what I did. I kept some of my first year PS, but updated it with some new experiences. I like my second year PS much better actually. Good luck this time around!

 

[beachblonde]

YES!

It doesn't matter why you didn't get in last go round, or what you have done in the interim. If you don't rewrite your PS, schools will notice. The first thing many schools do for reapplicants is pull their old AMCAS and compare the personal statement. If it's the same, they throw the new one in the trash. Why risk it?

 

[Maxwell Edison]

Why wouldn't you rewrite it? Unless it was considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature, there's always room for improvement.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

YES!

It doesn't matter why you didn't get in last go round, or what you have done in the interim. If you don't rewrite your PS, schools will notice. The first thing many schools do for reapplicants is pull their old AMCAS and compare the personal statement. If it's the same, they throw the new one in the trash. Why risk it?

And you know this because of all your years spent on an admissions committee?

If I'm not mistaken, the personal statement is supposed to answer the question "why medicine"? Did you answer that question the first time you wrote it? If you didn't, then yes, you have to change it. If you did, then tweak it but don't reinvent the thing. Has your reason for choosing medicine changed? If not, then keep your baseline and edit it.

 

[Kaustikos]

And you know this because of all your years spent on an admissions committee?

If I'm not mistaken, the personal statement is supposed to answer the question "why medicine"? Did you answer that question the first time you wrote it? If you didn't, then yes, you have to change it. If you did, then tweak it but don't reinvent the thing. Has your reason for choosing medicine changed? If not, then keep your baseline and edit it.

I think a lot of people still confuse their personal statement as their resume.👎

 

[beachblonde]

And you know this because of all your years spent on an admissions committee?

If I'm not mistaken, the personal statement is supposed to answer the question "why medicine"? Did you answer that question the first time you wrote it? If you didn't, then yes, you have to change it. If you did, then tweak it but don't reinvent the thing. Has your reason for choosing medicine changed? If not, then keep your baseline and edit it.

I know this because I have had conversations with the deans at several medical schools, all of whom have said they disregard re-applicants who don't bother to rewrite their PS.

I'm not saying you have to change the thing so it's unrecognizable, but at least change the first paragraph. A year has passed, surely there's something else to add to it.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

I know this because I have had conversations with the deans at several medical schools, all of whom have said they disregard re-applicants who don't bother to rewrite their PS.

I'm not saying you have to change the thing so it's unrecognizable, but at least change the first paragraph. A year has passed, surely there's something else to add to it.

The first paragraph should answer the question why medicine. If that's changed in a year, then you might very well look fickle. I don't know what you all are proposing, frankly. Should the poster edit his personal statement, yes. Should he change it? No, not if he sufficiently answered the question why medicine and was rejected for reasons other than his personal statement. Don't "fix" what isn't broke!

 

[fastdude400]

I know this because I have had conversations with the deans at several medical schools, all of whom have said they disregard re-applicants who don't bother to rewrite their PS.

I'm not saying you have to change the thing so it's unrecognizable, but at least change the first paragraph. A year has passed, surely there's something else to add to it.

The Dean at one of the schools I interviewed at said the exact same thing, that they compare the re-applicants old PS to the new, and if its identical, they trash the application.

Might not be like that at all schools, but it is at.....well, at least one.

 

[beachblonde]

The first paragraph should answer the question why medicine. If that's changed in a year, then you might very well look fickle. I don't know what you all are proposing, frankly. Should the poster edit his personal statement, yes. Should he change it? No, not if he sufficiently answered the question why medicine and was rejected for reasons other than his personal statement. Don't "fix" what isn't broke!

I guess we're approaching this differently. I've never heard before that the first paragraph should address "why medicine," rather, I subscribe to the philosophy that it should be attention grabbing and draw in the reader. The essay as a whole should address the reasons that individual has chosen to pursue medicine, and what makes them qualified to do so.

You can keep the spirit of the essay the same, and address the same points (your motivation for entering medicine probably hasn't changed dramatically in 12 months). However, it's a rookie mistake to think that if you have an essay written already, then it's sufficient to use. I've edited a good number of essays in my life, and there's always room for improvement (even professional writers don't just publish a book in its original form, they edit and edit and edit again).

 

[MedStudentWanna]

I guess we're approaching this differently. I've never heard before that the first paragraph should address "why medicine," rather, I subscribe to the philosophy that it should be attention grabbing and draw in the reader. The essay as a whole should address the reasons that individual has chosen to pursue medicine, and what makes them qualified to do so.

You can keep the spirit of the essay the same, and address the same points (your motivation for entering medicine probably hasn't changed dramatically in 12 months). However, it's a rookie mistake to think that if you have an essay written already, then it's sufficient to use. I've edited a good number of essays in my life, and there's always room for improvement (even professional writers don't just publish a book in its original form, they edit and edit and edit again).

If you reread my post, I said absolutely you should edit it. Edit it and edit it some more. Of course there's room for improvement. But that wasn't the question. The question was "should I CHANGE my personal statement" and my answer was and still is NO! You shouldn't change it. You should edit it. Perhaps it's semantics, but those two words mean different things.

 

[xiaoyi666]

YES!

It doesn't matter why you didn't get in last go round, or what you have done in the interim. If you don't rewrite your PS, schools will notice. The first thing many schools do for reapplicants is pull their old AMCAS and compare the personal statement. If it's the same, they throw the new one in the trash. Why risk it?

Weird, when I call adcom ab mine, I was told that I could use the same one since my motivation for studying medicine hasn't changed. But I should edit it to include things I've done since last application cycle. Writing a new one was unnecessary.

 

[jdla]

I will create a new first paragraph. Some of the other paragraphs will remain the same.

I will delete and add new experiences.

Will that be fine?

 

[LikeClockWork]

I will create a new first paragraph. Some of the other paragraphs will remain the same.

I will delete and add new experiences.

Will that be fine?

That's pretty much what I did. My PS was 4 paragraphs, so I dropped one and replaced it with one that covered the past year. I also worked over the other paragraphs some too. Not looking at it for a year made me see a few things differently. Change a word here, rearrange a sentence, rephrase an idea, that kind of stuff.

I had interviews last cycle and at one I got a specific complement on my PS, so I decided to try not to mess with the magic that much. If I hadn't received any interviews I probably would've reworked everything from the ground up.

 

[MadEvans]

I will create a new first paragraph. Some of the other paragraphs will remain the same.

I will delete and add new experiences.

Will that be fine?

According the everyone's advice from above, it seems like a good idea to at least reword the paragraphs you want to keep the same.