Should my most meaningful experiences be different from the experiences I write about in my PS?

[cold_urticaria]

I have a handful of different leadership and volunteering experiences in my app that I could definitely qualify as being a "most meaningful experience." In my PS I wrote about two (significant) clinical experiences and one (very significant) non-clinical leadership experience. In my W&A, should I choose other experiences to mark as most meaningful so I can talk more about them too? Would it look "bad" if I selected the same experiences and doubled down on them in both my PS and W&A?

Here are my options and what I have planned at the moment:

• Public Health Nonprofit Job (3000+ hours) --> In PS + MME in W&A (strong desire to be kept in both)
• Club A Leadership Positions (2000+ hours) --> MME in W&A (but could swap for health fairs)
• Club A Health Fairs (200+ hours) --> In PS
• Research, 4 posters no pubs (1000 hours) --> MME in W&A (but could swap for scribing)
• Scribing (150 hours) --> In PS

My concern (which could be wrong) is that by not picking the same activities in my PS as MMEs, it would underplay the impact that I truthfully said they had in my PS, however I also have worries about doubling down on the same activities (especially since something with as many hours as my research experience would then fly under the radar).

I can reply with more context to the options if that would help with some advice, thank you!

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[LindaAccepted]

You certainly don't want all the MMEs to mirror your personal statement. Details/context count here, and it is possible to use an experience in more than one place, but then you really must approach it from a different angle.

Realize that one of the purposes of the application is for the admissions committee to get to know you. If you repeatedly use the same experiences you come across as a "one (or three) trick pony." You want to convey that you are a multi-dimensional human being who has had different experiences that led you to choose medicine and that will make you a contributing, fun colleague in a med school community.

So can I imagine scenarios where it would work? yes. Do I advise you to use your PS experiences in MMEs as a rule, no.

Does that help?

 

[AJS59]

Your personal statement should answer the question of why you want to be a physician. Pick the activities, experiences, and memories that most inform your reason for this and tie into the narrative of the communities you wish to serve. Your MMEs, on the other hand, need not be directly tied to your future career goals at all; as long as you're able to convey how those experiences shaped who you are today.

 

[medapp22]

Like others have said, I would focus on using the space you have to really show admissions who you are in and out of the classroom. For example one of my activities (not a most meaningful) was about cooking and how it has taught me to be more open minded and has been a gateway for me to share my cultural background and learn about others.

 

[cold_urticaria]

You certainly don't want all the MMEs to mirror your personal statement. Details/context count here, and it is possible to use an experience in more than one place, but then you really must approach it from a different angle.

Realize that one of the purposes of the application is for the admissions committee to get to know you. If you repeatedly use the same experiences you come across as a "one (or three) trick pony." You want to convey that you are a multi-dimensional human being who has had different experiences that led you to choose medicine and that will make you a contributing, fun colleague in a med school community.

So can I imagine scenarios where it would work? yes. Do I advise you to use your PS experiences in MMEs as a rule, no.

Does that help?

Absolutely this was super helpful for me, thank you! I have a much better idea of how I want to diversify my activities between my PS and W&A now.

 

[cold_urticaria]

Your MMEs, on the other hand, need not be directly tied to your future career goals at all; as long as you're able to convey how those experiences shaped who you are today.

This is a super helpful insight, thank you so much for the advice! It brings a lot of ease to my mindset haha

 

[cold_urticaria]

Like others have said, I would focus on using the space you have to really show admissions who you are in and out of the classroom. For example one of my activities (not a most meaningful) was about cooking and how it has taught me to be more open minded and has been a gateway for me to share my cultural background and learn about others.

Thanks for the example! I think the mindset of just showing myself as a well-rounded and not tunnel-visioned-for-medicine person definitely helps.

 

[LunaOri]

It’s okay to overlap a bit between your PS and your MME—it’s pretty common for your MME to have been important on your journey to medicine—but choose different aspects of the experiences to talk about, and don’t repeat the same anecdotes.