The personal statement question

[crashblades]

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Hi,
I am wondering if the readers reading our PS will know the question?

• Be honest about how you became interested in studying dentistry. If becoming a dentist wasn't a childhood dream, that's fine, but explain how you discovered dentistry as a career possibility and what you have done to research the career.
• Have you observed or worked in dental offices? Explain what you've done to demonstrate your interest in dentistry. Talk to practicing dentists to increase your understanding of general dental practices.
• Do you have any special talents or leadership skills that could be transferable to the practice of dentistry?
• Express your commitment to helping others and mention any efforts made that enforce that commitment.
• Did you have to work to pay for your education? How has that made you a stronger applicant?
• To get where you are today, have you had to overcome hardships or obstacles? If so, how has this influenced your motivation for advanced education?

Basically what I did for my PS is that I answered all of these bullet points. I let my friends read it without knowing the question and all of them are disliking my pity story to answer the last bulletpoint.

Will the readers have these questions in the back of their mind? or should the PS be strictly "WHY I WANT TO BE A DENTIST."

 

[journeybegins]

No, in my opinion, the personal statement has no prompt but it should include "Why Dentistry" somewhere. Dentistry does not have to be talked all throughout.


Your personal statement is your story-- it's open-ended. You can write about anything. You write about what makes you YOU, and what you'd like Admissions people to know.

Not everybody writes about hardships. Some people do.

You don't have to answer the last question about obstacles, but if that's something you'd like others to know, then keep it. However, when people read something, they can also decide the authenticity of your words, if they choose to believe it, or if it's just "another story" to them.