Who to trust for personal statement? Conflicting advice

[ikbc2020]

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I'm in the process of drafting my personal statement for this upcoming cycle. At my college's personal statement workshop, I received the following advice:

1. The personal statement should only talk about post high school experiences. Anything from high school or childhood about wanting to be a doctor would make you look naive.
2. Use only one experience (volunteering at a hospice, being a volunteer EMT, teaching in public school) to keep the personal statement focused. It should be focused, not autobiographical.

In my current draft of my PS, I use two activities I've done in college to illustrate a couple qualities I have and reasons I want to go into medicine. Is this allowed since it draws upon two different experiences I have (my hospital volunteering and this non-clinical volunteering I do)?

I also opened my PS with an anecdote from my childhood. Right now the first ~1300 characters talk about my childhood and high school life, specifically how my interest in science developed. The rest of my PS is devoted to college experiences. However, at the workshop they said to avoid talking about childhood or high school experiences.

I'm also a little conflicted because I had a family friend who is an adcom at a T-20 read my personal statement. He didn't mention anything wrong with opening up with a story from my childhood, nor did he say I should limit it to just one story. He said my PS "paints a good picture" of who I am and my motivations? Who is right/wrong in this case? Is it bad to have childhood/two or more experiences in the PS?

 

[LizzyM]

I'm also an adcom at a T-20 and I think that the advice you have been given is rubbish! It sounds as if you have a good, perhaps even excellent, personal statement that will be wrecked if you follow the advise fo the personal statement workshop at your school.

 

[ciestar]

The PS is supposed to highlight why medicine. That can happen at any point in your life or multiple events in your life.

On your application, yes, your work and activities section should only be stuff from after high school.

Yikes. You got awful advice.

 

[lalalallala]

I wouldn't give much weight to your college's personal statement workshop advice. You need to show them why medicine and who you are. My PS certainly included my life before college and multiple activities during college that demonstrate my personality strengths and passion for medicine. I had a retired adcom family friend read my PS and he cut out all of the details and had it really factual almost like a resume. I decided not to go with his edits because at the end of the day it is my app and I needed to feel good about it. And now I've been on plenty of interviews and have actually gotten some great feedback about aspects of my PS that readers liked. Everybody has different opinions. You want some expert opinions but you also need to go with what you feel is right for you

 

[907914]

The advice of childhood is just general to avoid a PS that focuses on “I have always wanted to be a doctor and played with my dads stethoscope” and so on (because a LOT of people talk about their childhood/high school track team or whatever their entire PS) You can totally provide a background for yourself, as LizzyM has stated.

As far as “only one topic” that can be limiting in itself. The portion about “it should not be autobiographical” is sound advice (because, again, there are a LOT of people who just use the PS to list what they have accomplished...) but you can definitely tell a good story using more than one topic.

 

[907914]

I'm in the process of drafting my personal statement for this upcoming cycle. At my college's personal statement workshop, I received the following advice:

1. The personal statement should only talk about post high school experiences. Anything from high school or childhood about wanting to be a doctor would make you look naive.
2. Use only one experience (volunteering at a hospice, being a volunteer EMT, teaching in public school) to keep the personal statement focused. It should be focused, not autobiographical.

In my current draft of my PS, I use two activities I've done in college to illustrate a couple qualities I have and reasons I want to go into medicine. Is this allowed since it draws upon two different experiences I have (my hospital volunteering and this non-clinical volunteering I do)?

I also opened my PS with an anecdote from my childhood. Right now the first ~1300 characters talk about my childhood and high school life, specifically how my interest in science developed. The rest of my PS is devoted to college experiences. However, at the workshop they said to avoid talking about childhood or high school experiences.

I'm also a little conflicted because I had a family friend who is an adcom at a T-20 read my personal statement. He didn't mention anything wrong with opening up with a story from my childhood, nor did he say I should limit it to just one story. He said my PS "paints a good picture" of who I am and my motivations? Who is right/wrong in this case? Is it bad to have childhood/two or more experiences in the PS?

College PS workshops and writer’s center advice in general can be pretty terrible

I wouldn't give much weight to your college's personal statement workshop advice. You need to show them why medicine and who you are. My PS certainly included my life before college and multiple activities during college that demonstrate my personality strengths and passion for medicine. I had a retired adcom family friend read my PS and he cut out all of the details and had it really factual almost like a resume. I decided not to go with his edits because at the end of the day it is my app and I needed to feel good about it. And now I've been on plenty of interviews and have actually gotten some great feedback about aspects of my PS that readers liked. Everybody has different opinions. You want some expert opinions but you also need to go with what you feel is right for you

I was led astray on what “Show don’t tell” is supposed to mean by listening to my college writers center. Focus on advice you se from ADCOMs and on SDN.

 

[theKingLT]

At my school's pre-med PS/interview/application workshop we were told to start asking for letters of recommendation in august of the year we are applying... I think those things are designed to sabotage their own applicants