- Joined
- Mar 27, 2001
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I write this partly so I don't have to repeat myself too often when commenting on essays. As usual this is a work in progress, so check back for more insight I get from reading all your PS's. Hopefully others can put in their 2 cents also, since I can only give my take on things.
Note: I'm not gonna cover tips that I've read elsewhere at least twice. I'll assume you've read it too.
From what I've read so far, many people seem to be listing reasons why they wanna be a doc or what they like about medicine, and then saying "I've done blah, so this shows I like working with people," or whatever.
This does not make for a compelling read. Sure, you say you've done X and Y and you might even go into some detail about it. But you must also interpret that experience, i.e. say what it meant to you, what was your reaction to the kid puking on you, what did you get out of serving breakfast to old people in nursing homes. You get the idea.
I cannot emphasize how important this is. This is what makes an essay personal. Ask yourself for every sentence you write: could any other pre-med have written this?
Write about what's important to you, not what you THINK medical schools wanna hear. Otherwise you'll sound exactly like every other applicant. If sports or art or family is really important to you, go for it. You'll find ways of weaving in what that has to do with who you are who wants to be a physician.
Try to find a unifying theme around your experiences. This will make your essay more organized and less disjointed and more cohesive overall. I think this might require some thinking about what your experiences have in common. Maybe you'll find your approach to everything is a certain way, or something like that.
Note: I'm not gonna cover tips that I've read elsewhere at least twice. I'll assume you've read it too.
From what I've read so far, many people seem to be listing reasons why they wanna be a doc or what they like about medicine, and then saying "I've done blah, so this shows I like working with people," or whatever.
This does not make for a compelling read. Sure, you say you've done X and Y and you might even go into some detail about it. But you must also interpret that experience, i.e. say what it meant to you, what was your reaction to the kid puking on you, what did you get out of serving breakfast to old people in nursing homes. You get the idea.
I cannot emphasize how important this is. This is what makes an essay personal. Ask yourself for every sentence you write: could any other pre-med have written this?
Write about what's important to you, not what you THINK medical schools wanna hear. Otherwise you'll sound exactly like every other applicant. If sports or art or family is really important to you, go for it. You'll find ways of weaving in what that has to do with who you are who wants to be a physician.
Try to find a unifying theme around your experiences. This will make your essay more organized and less disjointed and more cohesive overall. I think this might require some thinking about what your experiences have in common. Maybe you'll find your approach to everything is a certain way, or something like that.
