What was the most interesting personal statement you've read?

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Ah yes, the "let the adcoms feed me PS ideas" thread.

Write honestly and well and your PS will do nothing but help your case. The main problem is that nobody writes honestly and fewer people write well, so I have a feeling the bar is actually pretty low on this one
 
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Lucca said:
Ah yes, the "let the adcoms feed me PS ideas" thread.

Write honestly and well and your PS will do nothing but help your case. The main problem is that nobody writes honestly and less people write well, so I have a feeling the bar is actually pretty low on this one
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I actually submitted my primary on the first day. I'm complete at all the schools I've applied to. Although I took a very unconventional approach, I'm happy with the PS I submitted. I'm just genuinely interested in hearing which PS was most memorable to them.
 
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Lucca said:
Ah yes, the "let the adcoms feed me PS ideas" thread.

Write honestly and well and your PS will do nothing but help your case. The main problem is that nobody writes honestly and fewer people write well, so I have a feeling the bar is actually pretty low on this one
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FTFY 😉
 
I feel like it's always better to play it safe with PS's. They can never really help you as much as they can hurt you.
 
pc200 said:
I actually submitted my primary on the first day. I'm complete at all the schools I've applied to. Although I took a very unconventional approach, I'm happy with the PS I submitted. I'm just genuinely interested in hearing which PS was most memorable to them.
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Ah okay, I was too quick. I'm just suspicious of things that tag all of the adcoms at once, carry on
 
I've read maybe two dozen this cycle. Almost all of them started off with a anecdote about a loved one's illness and how either a positive or negative interaction with a physician inspired the writer, usually followed by an anecdote about working with an underserved population and becoming educated about health disparities, always followed by a patient encounter that taught them that there is more to medicine than diagnosing.

Needless to say, those got pretty old pretty fast--no idea how adcoms can stomach thousands more of those!

There's nothing inherently wrong with a cookie cutter PS, but I really recommend applicants try to incorporate experiences not directly related to medicine. All of the PSs I read that didn't follow that formula were much more interesting to read and had me genuinely wanting to learn more about the individual.
 
mcatjelly said:
I've read maybe two dozen this cycle. Almost all of them started off with a anecdote about a loved one's illness and how either a positive or negative interaction with a physician inspired the writer, usually followed by an anecdote about working with an underserved population and becoming educated about health disparities, always followed by a patient encounter that taught them that there is more to medicine than diagnosing.

Needless to say, those got pretty old pretty fast--no idea how adcoms can stomach thousands more of those!

There's nothing inherently wrong with a cookie cutter PS, but I really recommend applicants try to incorporate experiences not directly related to medicine. All of the PSs I read that didn't follow that formula were much more interesting to read and had me genuinely wanting to learn more about the individual.
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A pretty effective illustration of why getting your application in early helps. If that's your personal statement - as it is for so many - be one of the first dozen before the reader's 'internal snark voice' gets to be overwhelming.
 
What I've learned from reading lots of them this year in real life and on SDN is that many people have a very tenuous relationship with grammar. Most of them sound very similar, and some of them go to very strange places in an attempt to be different. This is just my personal opinion (a non-expert who hasn't even started medical school yet) but my favorites are those that are very specific while also genuine. My favorite was about someone who wanted to practice medicine in his home state of Alaska because there are too few physicians there.
 
bananafish94 said:
What I've learned from reading lots of them this year in real life and on SDN is that many people have a very tenuous relationship with grammar. Most of them sound very similar, and some of them go to very strange places in an attempt to be different.
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Hahaha. That's a very diplomatic way of putting it. 🙂
 
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bananafish94 said:
First sentence of a personal statement I reviewed: "When I first stepped into my freshman year biology class, I realized I hated premed students." It goes rapidly downhill from there.
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Of course it goes downhill that was a great opener! Lol, would get double points from me for honesty
 
Lucca said:
Of course it goes downhill that was a great opener! Lol, would get double points from me for honesty
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I admit that it got my attention but it was not well organized and ended up sounding more petty than anything. There were all sorts of other gems in there.
 
pc200 said:
What was the most interesting personal statement you've read? And how did it impact your decision to extend the applicant an interview?
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I recall one that started with a witnessed stabbing in a prison. It is rare for a premed to volunteer in that type of environment, so it got my attention and made me want to meet her.

For general purposes, I agree with @Affiche
 
After 15+ years at this, they all gel together, so I can't think of a single one. When someone writes a good essay, I will note it, and mention it at Adcom meetings if there's any dispute about the candidate with other Adcom members. It's not a single positive...it's something like, "she worked as a volunteer at her local public school; she has a publication, she has a DO LOR, her essays were outstanding; ....."


My school doesn't screen, so I have no say on who we interview.


pc200 said:
And how did it impact your decision to extend the applicant an interview?

@Goro @gyngyn @gonnif @Catalystik @LizzyM
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Lucca said:
The main problem is that nobody writes honestly and fewer people write well
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bananafish94 said:
What I've learned from reading lots of them this year in real life and on SDN is that many people have a very tenuous relationship with grammar.
....
but my favorites are those that are very specific while also genuine.
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Affiche said:
Honestly the best essays that I've reviewed have been ones that are organized and have decent grammar. I stopped hoping for interesting and settled for "makes sense".
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Premeds take note:
  • Honesty
  • Clarity
  • Organization and logical flow
  • Decent grammar
I would point out that if your true story isn't original (hint: it probably isn't), don't prioritize making your essay original as it's likely to backfire.
 
I have a friend who came to US dead broke seeking asylum from a certain middle eastern nation, worked all through high school and college to support himself and his disabled sister. Not only did he have a 4.0 and a 39 MCAT, but he'd founded multiple charities, was president of the student government and his fraternity, and captain of our schools D3 rugby team. Oh yea, and he had a first author paper in nature.

It was a mind bogglingly good PS because me managed to cover many of those things while not sounding cocky/douchey.
 
Goro said:
After 15+ years at this, they all gel together, so I can't think of a single one. When someone writes a good essay, I will note it, and mention it at Adcom meetings if there's any dispute about the candidate with other Adcom members. It's not a single positive...it's something like, "she worked as a volunteer at her local public school; she has a publication, she has a DO LOR, her essays were outstanding; ....."


My school doesn't screen, so I have no say on who we interview.
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If I was reading an essay, then this person has already been granted an interview. I'll say I usually never remember the good or average essays, but the bad ones are burned into your memory just from the pure awfulness of them.
 
Really bad essays are, thankfully rare for me, but I've rejected people stupid enough to write "and that's why I wish to attend XCOM". (But I work at YCOM).


<L> said:
If I was reading an essay, then this person has already been granted an interview. I'll say I usually never remember the good or average essays, but the bad ones are burned into your memory just from the pure awfulness of them.
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Last year... Orphanage in West Africa to illegal immigrant/servant in SE United States to bell boy to hotel desk clerk to hotel night manager to undergrad to medical school. Story about passing a billboard for a hospital every night on his way to the hotel they worked at, worked into the life long service oriented individual, at first forced as a child, but now their entire ethos.
 
I have read a lot of PS's here on SDN. Some random thoughts:

1. Grammar. Often, I read sentences that would have been fine as separated sentences, but are overcomplicated to the point where the actual meaning gets distorted or even occasionally reversed. Write with good grammar.

2. Construction. People should also consider, while not grammatical errors, how they set up things like opposing construction, or other rhetorical devices, which can really send the wrong message if used without much thought.
  • Ex. "While I spoke to and met with with many diverse patients, what I loved was getting the chance to give back to my community." - It doesn't sound too bad, but why was it necessary to oppose speaking with patients and giving back to your community? Now you are subtly saying that you didn't love talking with patients?! If you have a good reason to say something like this, then fine, but all too often I see it slip by, obviously unintentional.
3. Sincerity. Seeing sincere, honest writing is like a light in the tunnel. Seeing what appears to be dishonest writing is instantly sour. I find that personally, my insincerity detector is often set off by key words/phrases ("realized," "suddenly," "it was in that moment"). Did you really realize that medicine was more than just drugs and treatments in the moment that you met that pediatric patient that you connected with so well? Or did you realize that you had a story (true or not) that demonstrated a theme that you wanted to get across in your PS so you basically lied and said that you actually realized that epiphany right there, in that moment.
 
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Goro said:
After 15+ years at this, they all gel together, so I can't think of a single one. When someone writes a good essay, I will note it, and mention it at Adcom meetings if there's any dispute about the candidate with other Adcom members. It's not a single positive...it's something like, "she worked as a volunteer at her local public school; she has a publication, she has a DO LOR, her essays were outstanding; ....."


My school doesn't screen, so I have no say on who we interview.
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Your school doesn't screen for interviews? Meaning you interview everyone who does a secondary? That is crazy!
 
I find the discussion of "honesty" in writing pretty interesting. The most powerful essays I've read had pretty basic premises: high school teacher had HIV, parent died of cancer, inspired by pediatrician, watched someone die, etc. What made them so compelling was not necessarily that they were well written (a few of them had grammar errors). Instead, the way each person reacted and reflected on their experiences felt so believable. You can imagine an actual person behind each essay, one who is mature, intelligent, and has thought long and hard about this career.

So many people are afraid of coming across as sobby or emotional in their writing. And truly, if the reason for choosing medicine was that a family pet died... there is a reason to be careful. But if your mother passed away from cancer, don't tell me you enjoyed talking to the physicians and looking at the diagrams on the wall! I prefer the 'cliche' "Nothing felt worse than losing her" to that. It just feels more real.

Point is, the reaction has to match the gravity of the situation. If you're going to compare medicine to rock climbing (which is becoming more common), tell me how you ascended a 500 foot cliff, and how a single small mistake could be the difference between life and death, not how beating your friend at the local rock gym made you feel like a superstar! Anyway, those are just my thoughts. Rant over.
 
itmeowsback said:
I find the discussion of "honesty" in writing pretty interesting. The most powerful essays I've read had pretty basic premises: high school teacher had HIV, parent died of cancer, inspired by pediatrician, watched someone die, etc. What made them so compelling was not necessarily that they were well written (a few of them had grammar errors). Instead, the way each person reacted and reflected on their experiences felt so believable. You can imagine an actual person behind each essay, one who is mature, intelligent, and has thought long and hard about this career.

So many people are afraid of coming across as sobby or emotional in their writing. And truly, if the reason for choosing medicine was that a family pet died... there is a reason to be careful. But if your mother passed away from cancer, don't tell me you enjoyed talking to the physicians and looking at the diagrams on the wall! I prefer the 'cliche' "Nothing felt worse than losing her" to that. It just feels more real.

Point is, the reaction has to match the gravity of the situation. If you're going to compare medicine to rock climbing (which is becoming more common), tell me how you ascended a 500 foot cliff, and how a single small mistake could be the difference between life and death, not how beating your friend at the local rock gym made you feel like a superstar! Anyway, those are just my thoughts. Rant over.
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Well said -- IMO, nothing destroys perceived honesty of an essay like trying to cram in a 'five dollar word' where you wouldn't expect one. Gut-level emotions don't generally trigger cerebral perceptions.

Raw emotion -> simple word.
Reflecting back on an experience? -> Find the most descriptive word.
 
I wrote about how to build a house. My friend wrote about a bunny.
 
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