Tips Take Note
The Medical School Personal Statement is thought by many to be the single most important factor in the application process. Aside from the interview, in which you personally come in to meet and converse with the admissions officer(s), the personal statement is your opportunity to distinguish yourself from the hundreds, or even thousands, of other medical school applicants.
There is a lot of freedom in what you write. Most of the time, there are few guidelines to follow. The main idea of the medical school personal statement usually revolves around the reason why you chose to become a medical professional. While it is advisable to be creative with your writing, make sure not to go overboard with your writing styles, ideas, or themes.
In preparation for writing your medical school personal statement, take into consideration the following tips I’ve gathered from speaking to several medical school applicants:
1) Exercise your creativity. As mentioned briefly above, make sure you are creative enough to be unique in the eyes of the person or persons reading your personal statement, but do be careful of standing out too much: as in a negative way. Provide an insight into your own personality and mix it with your medical ambitions, or goals. It is important to tell the admission officer(s) who you are and why you are applying to medical school.
2) Theme. Choose a simple, but powerful and memorable theme. The theme of your medical school personal statement can help direct the flow of your personal statement. Similar to my tip on creativity, be careful with your choice of theme as well. Make it personal; which leads us to my third tip:
3) Personal story. A popular (and attractive) technique in writing medical school personal statements is something called a “personal story.” People of all ages and backgrounds always enjoy a good story. If you decide to write your entire personal statement in story form, make sure to keep in mind the plot! The plot is what your entire story revolves around. Making your story personal does not mean making it overly emotional – such as a tear-dropper or a comedy skit, so make sure it has the right balance of… you.
In addition to the above tips, keep your medical school personal statement straight to the point. Don’t beat around the bush. You want to have your statement read as fluidly and coherently as possible. Make it easy and enjoyable for the admissions officer(s) to read.
Also, if you should mention your weaknesses, do so in a fashion that ends the positively. For example, you can mention a weakness that you currently possess, but follow it up with some ways in which you are working to improve in those particular weak areas.
And as for my last word of advice, remember to put yourself in the seat of the admissions officer or officers. They are reading hundreds if not thousands of different personal statements, so it is wise to be a little different… a little more like… you.