So... Which Is It?

[HCHopeful]

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I've been writing my personal statement for nearly a month now. Trying to find useful information, I've found there are a few conflicting pieces of advice floating around. So, I would like to get a consensus to see what is best.

For instance, from Johns Hopkins' website: "Do not repeat information that is found elsewhere in your application."

On the other hand, I have had many posters on SDN tell me to relate my experience to extracurricular activities I have been apart of over the past three years.

I am on the side of not including extracurricular activities in my personal statement. To me, those belong in the work/activities section and can be explained thoroughly enough through that medium.

To be clear, I have two life experiences that I will be using to illustrate my desire that will not show up elsewhere on my application.

Which side are you on? Did you/will you include these activities in your personal statement?

EDIT: I'm not actually meaning one way is right and one way is wrong. I'm just trying to get a feel of how others approached this.

 

[mimelim]

When we say, "Do not repeat information that is found elsewhere in your application." We mean, do not rewrite your activities section. Your personal statement should absolutely touch on things that are described in full elsewhere in your application if they are relevant to the prompt. You have a limited number of words to work with in your essays, but you have to have experience to back what you say. Referencing things that we will know about by reading the rest of your application is a smart way of doing this.

This is not a 'sides' issue. This is a 'you not understanding what they are talking about' issue.

 

[toastytoastie]

I definitely referenced stuff I listed on my application, but used my PS as a space to elaborate on anecdotes/stories from those experiences (e.g. a specific patient I interacted with in a volunteering context, a situation in which I problem solved in my research) not detailed in my AMCAS. I suppose you have to decide what "extracurricular" means to you--to me, it meant my student-run volunteering organization and some research related things, in addition to the more canonical EC's like music groups or athletic teams. I also included personal details and unique life experiences about myself that the AMCAS doesn't solicit.

Unless your non-medical EC's were super important to you, and can be concretely tied into the "Why Medicine" narrative, I would personally leave them out. But that's just my opinion.

 

[TheRhymenocerous]

The point is that they don't want a long-form resume. You just need to discuss an aspect of whatever activity you're talking about that you don't mention in the rest of the application, so pretty much any specific experience would fit that bill.

 

[HCHopeful]

When we say, "Do not repeat information that is found elsewhere in your application." We mean, do not rewrite your activities section. Your personal statement should absolutely touch on things that are described in full elsewhere in your application if they are relevant to the prompt. You have a limited number of words to work with in your essays, but you have to have experience to back what you say. Referencing things that we will know about by reading the rest of your application is a smart way of doing this.

This is not a 'sides' issue. This is a 'you not understanding what they are talking about' issue.

Thanks.

 

[NickNaylor]

I definitely referenced stuff I listed on my application, but used my PS as a space to elaborate on anecdotes/stories from those experiences (e.g. a specific patient I interacted with in a volunteering context, a situation in which I problem solved in my research) not detailed in my AMCAS. I suppose you have to decide what "extracurricular" means to you--to me, it meant my student-run volunteering organization and some research related things, in addition to the more canonical EC's like music groups or athletic teams. I also included personal details and unique life experiences about myself that the AMCAS doesn't solicit.

Unless your non-medical EC's were super important to you, and can be concretely tied into the "Why Medicine" narrative, I would personally leave them out. But that's just my opinion.

I agree with this approach. The PS is the place to do two things which make clear your interest in medicine and why you want to become a physician: 1) to elaborate on ECs, particularly those that were important to your decision to pursue medicine, in ways that may not be appreciable in your activities section; and 2) to discuss personal/life experiences that will not otherwise be visible on your app.

I approach the PS somewhat like a research paper (though it should not be written as blandly as a research paper): you have a thesis (i.e., you have an interest in medicine and want to become a physician) which you then support with evidence (life experiences, academic experiences, ECs, etc.). Ideally your app as a whole will make clear that you have the qualities important to becoming a physician, but if that's not the case the PS is the place to make that explicit. This is just my own approach, though, and there are many ways to do it. But that should generally be the goal.

 

[Flintwire]

Your personal statement is a chance for you to spin a tale about who you are and why you want to be a doctor that will make the admissions committee members sit up in their seats and take notice of you. It's a chance to humanize your application, to interject emotions into your MCAT and GPA scores.

If your EC activities are important to that story, then of course include them. What they don't want is for you to just rattle off the same bland laundry list of accomplishments that you've detailed elsewhere. Work them into the story, show how they influenced your choices and supported your decisions.

Edit: Just to clarify ... by "spin a tale" I don't mean lie (obviously). I mean to present your story in an engaging, coherent way.

 

[HCHopeful]

Alright, so including extracurriculars is definitely a good approach. Now I can see that; however, is it an absolutely necessary approach? If I leave them out, will it seem as if I'm lacking?

 

[NickNaylor]

Alright, so including extracurriculars is definitely a good approach. Now I can see that; however, is it an absolutely necessary approach? If I leave them out, will it seem as if I'm lacking?

Nothing is "necessary." The goal is to talk about why you want to be a physician and how you got to that decision. If you can do that without discussing your ECs, great (though that would be a somewhat unusual approach). There is no set-in-stone formula although most ECs end up being fairly formulaic.

 

[caffeinemia]

I have tried to develop a guide people for personal statements:

Gonsies! (Editted)

There are also examples statements. Enjoy.

 

[ndafife]

Alright, so including extracurriculars is definitely a good approach. Now I can see that; however, is it an absolutely necessary approach? If I leave them out, will it seem as if I'm lacking?

A good rule of thumb for a personal statement is "Show, don't tell" - Ex: don't say you are a leader, give an example of your leadership to show that you are a leader.

If you feel you can "show" who you are without using any references to extracurriculars, go right ahead

 

[NickNaylor]

A good rule of thumb for a personal statement is "Show, don't tell" - Ex: don't say you are a leader, give an example of your leadership to show that you are a leader.

If you feel you can "show" who you are without using any references to extracurriculars, go right ahead

Exactly.

 

[Goro]

Caff, what on earth did you do to land on probationary status???

I have tried to develop a guide people for personal statements:

Gonsies! (Editted)

There are also examples statements. Enjoy.

 

[caffeinemia]

Caff, what on earth did you do to land on probationary status???

will pm you, since i don't want probationary to be probation offender and reincarceration