Writing a medical school personal statement can be stressful. Unfortunately, we can’t tell you to relax and write as though there wasn’t anything at stake – because there is. Most applicants for medical schools share similar grades and extracurricular activities; therefore the personal statement becomes one of the key deciding factors in whether or not a candidate will be accepted onto their program. Even with average grades, creating an outstanding personal statement could make all the difference in getting accepted to medical school. Pay attention to every detail, leaving nothing up for chance! Today we will present a short but efficient list of tips you should heed in order to create an eye-catching medical school personal statement.
Tailoring Your Statements
Remember, you don’t need 8 different personal statements for medical school applications; simply one will suffice. Instead, tailor the part relevant to each educational institution separately by reading more about their mission, position, research agenda etc. before writing your personal statement – while keeping its core idea the same throughout all applications (we call this efficient!). HR specialists advise their applicants to tailor their applications.
Defining Your Identity
Imagine this – when reading your personal statement, an admission committee member must quickly grasp who you are without having known anything about you beforehand – from your past to your good and bad sides; hobbies, dreams and fears. That can be both good and bad! Bad because you only have a short essay to present yourself and convince a committee of all of your achievements; good because this allows you to craft an individual story that encapsulates who you are and portrays it accurately. Do not lie – that would be foolish and immoral! Instead, aim for your statement to lead a committee member straight to an affirmative decision: She/he is a dreamer/goal-setter/traveler/very ethical/very ambitious etc – no room for doubt here. Pick one characteristic you wish to highlight and ensure each abstract of your personal statement emphasizes it.
Employ the Structure of a 5-Paragraph Essay
Yes, be creative but don’t try reinvent the wheel. A personal statement for medical school does not need a different essay format than it already exists; unless a direct requirement has been stated. Your first paragraph should contain no more than five to six catchy sentences that capture attention quickly – no need for lengthy paragraphs here; just tell your story using all five paragraphs as one piece with one idea throughout them all and finish strong with an ending line – Studyclerk can assist in accomplishing this!
Steer Clear of Direct Manipulations — Ineffectiveness Noted
Students often attempt to manipulate committee members when writing personal statements for admissions committees, using dramatic stories about childhood, emotional promises to help save the world or threats like “if you don’t choose me, my life will be ruined forever” to get their way. If this has surprised you – great! If these tactics and phrases were ever included in your personal statement – reconsider it immediately as committee members have read countless letters like these that use cheap emotional triggers as part of an essay application package; even if everything else about your statement is perfect – using cheap emotional triggers may just get it past reviewers; avoid doing it if possible! Stay ethical.
Rewriting and editing will bring your statement closer to perfection. Best wishes!
