So, I was thinking. . .

[JulianCrane]

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Since I have a lot of time on my hands this summer, and since I'm not taking the MCAT and applying until next year, I might start working on my personal statement now so I have one that I can rework and rework until I submit the finished product. Good idea?

 

[lola]

it's a little early, but if you're anxious to start you might as well if you know what you're going to write about. otherwise, find something interesting to talk about by getting some good ec's. in all honesty, i think i spent maybe a total of 10-15 hours on my personal statement.

 

[silvercholla]

Put it like this I'm not apllying for at least two to three years and I have already had therse guys reading it. So I say go for it!!!!

 

[Diogenes]

Don't be such an eager beaver.

 

[JulianCrane]

OK, well, I guess I write it over winter break. I mean, what else am I gonna do, right? I was just saying that I could write it now because I don't have that much to do this summer. Oh well. . .

 

[lola]

what else are you going to do over your summer??? wanna take the mcat for me? i have LOADS of things i'd love to be doing right now instead of studying.

i think waiting until winter is a better idea... maybe you can start to formulate it in your head for a while before that while watching jenny jones if you're looking for something to do. i formulated mine in in my head one friday night, and cranked it out the next day. i actually enjoyed writing the first draft. it went through several revisions after that, but once you know what you're going to write about it is much easier. then all you have to do is focus and perfect it.

 

[moo]

What else do you have to do??? How bout volunteering or working? Make money for yourself. Beef up your resume so you can have more stuff to put in your PS next year. Starting now is a waste of time b/c a year from now you could feel so different

 

[Bikini Princess]

It may be tough to choose a unifing theme yet. Your time might be better spent finding some quality clinical experiences. Certainly though, it's a good idea to be thinking about why you want to go into medicine, and possibly putting these reasons to writing.

 

[jot]

my idea for my ps came literally 2 weeks before the end of the spring semester this year (junior year applying now) - and my impetus for medschool completely changed that year as well, rethought, and still changing. i guess i would toss around ideas in the back of your head - maybe write them down - but the danger of writing something too early is getting married to what you originally wrote - its hard to scrap it and let go to do something completely different.
-jot

 

[CD]

Am I the only one who KNOWS what their PS will contain? The choice is obvious for me and has been for several years. It's not going to change in the next year or two and is unlikely to change in even 10 years! I've already begun to formulate the general outline of what I want it to say. The earlier you start the more likely you are to find the "core" of who you are and where your motivation is coming from. There certainly isn't any harm in starting your PS now...if you decide to change it later you always can. My motto is "don't procrastinate"

 

[Trek]

The problem is if you really work on it, you're going to be tired of just looking at it VERY soon. Trust anyone that worked on a PS in earnest. Save all that creative energy for the months or so before you turn it in- it's too early right now. --Trek

 

[freakazoid]

Like the others, I'd say beef up your clinical and non-clinical volunteer experiences (better w/ leadership), and hopefully those experiences might help you find your motivation. What I would really do, though, in your situation--aside from volunteer stuff--is read. Read everything and anything, stuff that you like and stuff that you don't like. It prepares you for the verbal MCAT, but it also gives you exposure to a variety of writing styles, which will help you in the long run on your ps. Not to mention broaden your horizons and such.

 

[SilverAngel1110]

I would agree with almost everyone here and say wait a while. Start brainstorming if you feel like it, but don't actually sit down to write it because if another idea comes along you want to be completely open to it... I wrote the first draft of my personal statement about 2 months before my AMCAS went in, and I thought it was golden... So when those who read my ps thought I needed to re-work it, it was REALLY REALLY hard to let go of my original idea. And honestly, my finalized idea really only hit me after a conversation with my mom literally a week before I submitted. So I would suggest spending the summer getting some good clinical and/or research experiences, and maybe writing down ideas for your ps, and then when you have a bunch, bounce them off some people. That way, you don't spend all the energy writing something that might not be as great as you thought, as in my case. And one final word of warning, you will get sick of the thing. I wrote somewhere around 25 drafts of mine, but number 25 said so much more about me than did the first. So good luck!!!

 

[Mr.D]

Things change over time so what you might feel about medicine right now might not be what you feel later. Enjoy your summer. Take care of it when you cross that bridge.

 

[freakazoid]

Knowing what you want in life early on, I've discovered, is a luxury. Try to research the schools you want to get into and figure out their requirements, and make sure you have them (and if you have AP credit or any other *special* kind of circumstance, make sure you figure those out beforehand). Check out their recommendations, and stuff like that. For example, if you really wanted to go in to Univ of Wash (like the dream of your life type of deal), you gotta start doing some underpriviledged post-secondary experiences . . . or better yet, move to one of the five states that they would like you to be at (or else, you have pretty much a zero chance of getting in). That's just an extreme example, but better to figure some stuff out while you have time in your college career to do something about it instead of all at the last minute like me (being somewhat screwed over w/ AP credit) . . .

 

[Bikini Princess]

Originally posted by freakazoid
Knowing what you want in life early on, I've discovered, is a luxury.

Getting what you want early on is a better luxury.

 

[Adcadet]

I gotta disagree with most people here. Yes, do some good ECs, watch Jenni Jones or whatever. But get a good start on you PS, and figure out what the essay questions are like for most of the schools you think you might apply to. They don't seem to change very much year to year. And if you have some great experiences in the next year, you can always work that into your PS/secondary essays, or even trash your essay(s) if they are really outdated. My PS for my app is the same basic story that I used two years ago - I just altered the research of mine I've talked about a bit. If I were you I'd find all the secondary essays and write responses for them as well as your PS with the understanding that things may change.