your personal statement: what TO do

[asunshine]

okay, so the "what not to do on your personal statement" thread just can't agree. so it begs the question.....what should you write????


i think the best things people said were (and of course i'm no adcom member...)

*be genuine (duh)
*refrain from just putting your resume in prose form
*if you make a claim, back it up with what you already have done/are doing
*make your essay unique enough so they can say, hey, let's interview that (tree-climbing/jazz flutist/lab explosion) applicant (flopoptimist?)

add more!

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[bioboy2007]

okay, so the "what not to do on your personal statement" thread just can't agree. so it begs the question.....what should you write????


i think the best things people said were (and of course i'm no adcom member...)

*be genuine (duh)
*refrain from just putting your resume in prose form
*if you make a claim, back it up with what you already have done/are doing
*make your essay unique enough so they can say, hey, let's interview that (tree-climbing/jazz flutist/lab explosion) applicant (flopoptimist?)

add more!

Keep it real. Don't portray yourself as something you aren't.

 

[Severus]

I'm far too lazy to hash through all the search results on this topic, so....


What do you all think of professional essay editing services like EssayEdge? I've been contemplating using them this time around -- hey, I can't afford not to, right? -- but I've not found anyone who has any actual experience with the service. If I'm going to fork out $300 for editing, I darn well want them to dig up Shakespeare and have him read the bloody thing over.

 

[Duchess742]

I think one of the most important things (and this kinda goes along with the "be genuine" point) is not to focus on making yourself sound fantastic, but rather to make sure you sound like someone who'll make a good doctor. Be someone whom the person reading your essay will want to personally train and have take care of his/her grandkids someday. Just be a competent, nice person.

 

[Duchess742]

I'm far too lazy to hash through all the search results on this topic, so....


What do you all think of professional essay editing services like EssayEdge? I've been contemplating using them this time around -- hey, I can't afford not to, right? -- but I've not found anyone who has any actual experience with the service. If I'm going to fork out $300 for editing, I darn well want them to dig up Shakespeare and have him read the bloody thing over.

Sweet Jesus! $300?? I say take it to one of your profs and use the cash for a vacation. Do you even know if the editing is very good?

 

[asunshine]

oh my gosh, your profile is amazing. i used to work as a writing tutor; i'll read it if you're interested. i personally wouldn't do the $300 thing unless it was by people involved in med school admissions.

anyone else with "what TO" do suggestions?

 

[Severus]

Sweet Jesus! $300?? I say take it to one of your profs and use the cash for a vacation. Do you even know if the editing is very good?

See, that's what I'm not so sure about. I'd be angered if I payed that much money only to have them give me a shady editing job.

As for having a prof proof it, that's probably a no-go. I graduated a couple of years ago and so this is kind of a solo operation this time around. Besides, they're all hardliner chemists who'd want to change everything into third-person passive.

 

[witt105]

All you have to do is fully show the reader who you are, why you chose medice, and why they should let you into their school in about a page...
GOSH its not THAT hard... (sarcasm)

 

[asunshine]

bump

 

[mac_kin]

Like someone has already stated, what if I have always known that I want to be a doctor. I mean at an earlier age I considered many different professions and medicine was always something I might want to do. When I was younger I truly would always say that "I just want to help people" and to find something that would allow me to do that. And then I basically guided myself in the right direction towards a health profession. I took all the science courses in high school and university b/c I knew that I would enjoy them most b/c they stimulated me most. I guess once I entered university I just never saw myself doing anything other than medicine. I took courses that allowed me to obtain some hands on practical skills and exposed me to anatomy and pathology. I started volunteering because I truly wanted to see what doctors/other health practicioners do and to see if it's something I want to do. I'm never as stimulated by my non-science electives as I am by science courses. And thus I guess this is why I want to be a doctor.

So I guess my main problem is that I never had that 1 turning event (ie. trip to underdeveloped areas that made me realize what a difference a doctor can make and that I want to become one). I just always said I wanted to be doing medicine/public health and went after it.

It's kind of hard to make this into a humorous, interesting "short story" :S.

 

[uclasoccer]

how formal should it be? i'm trying to get a story across with a little bit of humor and some informal writing... if that a bad idea?

 

[kevster2001]

promise special "favors" if accepted

 

[45408]

how formal should it be? i'm trying to get a story across with a little bit of humor and some informal writing... if that a bad idea?

Don't be too formal. Make it something that's quick, easy and painless to read.

 

[ishabooboo]

how formal should it be? i'm trying to get a story across with a little bit of humor and some informal writing... if that a bad idea?

Ok, everyone I have talked to says to be casual but respectful (these are some big-shot docs that will be reading ur essay probably). Oh, and these people I talked to are some important doctors, people in med school, and a person on a med school admissions board.

In general, humor is not a good idea. BUT if done well and it IS actually funny to ANYONE who reads it, then it can pass.

 

[ishabooboo]

promise special "favors" if accepted

amen. whatever works, right?

 

[McMD]

Like someone has already stated, what if I have always known that I want to be a doctor. I mean at an earlier age I considered many different professions and medicine was always something I might want to do. When I was younger I truly would always say that "I just want to help people" and to find something that would allow me to do that. And then I basically guided myself in the right direction towards a health profession. I took all the science courses in high school and university b/c I knew that I would enjoy them most b/c they stimulated me most. I guess once I entered university I just never saw myself doing anything other than medicine. I took courses that allowed me to obtain some hands on practical skills and exposed me to anatomy and pathology. I started volunteering because I truly wanted to see what doctors/other health practicioners do and to see if it's something I want to do. I'm never as stimulated by my non-science electives as I am by science courses. And thus I guess this is why I want to be a doctor.

So I guess my main problem is that I never had that 1 turning event (ie. trip to underdeveloped areas that made me realize what a difference a doctor can make and that I want to become one). I just always said I wanted to be doing medicine/public health and went after it.

It's kind of hard to make this into a humorous, interesting "short story" :S.

so, I had the exact same situation as you did. You said you volunteered in college, did you ever meet a patient that you felt like you knew your entire life?-write about that person. Did you ever shadow a physician that you truly admired and their work completely stimulated your already passionate desire for medicine? You don't have to write about "why" you want to go into medicine, write about the people that you've met on your journey and how they've encouraged you along the way. Show that you are a compassionate person and love the patients that you've volunteered with and are eager to learn more.

 

[McMD]

***AND.....I feel this is slightly important.....start your essay with a "boom"....the AVERAGE time an adcom spends reading your essay is 45 seconds...you want the opening sentence to make them WANT to read the rest!!!!

So...this was my opening sentence...tell me if it doesn't make you want to read more!! "On January 22, 1983, when a 100,000-gallon holding tank of asphalt, boiling at approximately 450 degrees Fahrenheit, exploded like a volcano, four men were within fifty feet of the explosion."

And just a tid-bit of information to really capture your attention-notice the date above, well...I wasn't one of those "4 men"...I'm a girl and my bday is May 31, 1983...so it was before I was born-I don't have one of those life-changing stories of how I wanted to become a doctor-I've never even been a patient at a hospital before.