Every strong application is made with good MCAT scores and a strong personal statement. Any application without these two can not make it to the next round.
Writing a medical school personal statement can be an intimidating experience. Here are five tips that will help you breeze right through it.
Find your writing style
As you start writing your personal statement, you need to research various writing styles. Check out some intimidating medical school personal statement examples available online to get a better idea of the writing style that your target audience is expecting. The first place to find such sample med school statements and essays would be websites of med schools as those samples are direct examples from the admission committee. Apart from this you can also take help from renowned med school statement consultancy firms.
Make an outline of the statement
Now that you have ample examples of med school statements, it is time to make an outline for your medical school personal statement. Many applicants find it hard to start writing a statement. The best way is to plan out how you would want to tell your story. The outline made by you will help you keep all of the statements organized. Make sure it includes everything that you wish to tell to the target audience. If you want to apply for residency competitiveness, make sure you are writing it accordingly. Here is a quick guide to organise your med school statement.
Pick two or three qualities
Try to make a bullet for each skill that you will be talking about in your statement.
Pick your experience
As you list your skills, also underline the experiences that convey that skill.
Reflection on career path
Present your qualities and experiences all together, explaining how all of this made you pursue medicine further. You can also state how you would use your education once you get admission in this particular med school. Plus, make sure to mention any relevant medical certifications such as ACLS that you might have acquired over the years.
Be Unique
Always try to write as unique a statement as possible. Taking reference from sample medical school personal statements is fine but do not copy them. Only if your student is unique, you will be able to stand out of the crowd from hundreds of personal statements. All the experiences and skills that you have, no one else has had anything the same. So make sure you showcase your exclusive experiences and skills in your essay with a personal touch. Also throw some light on your strengths, failures and learnings from past experiences.
Don’t Just Tell, Show
Telling about your experiences and qualities through medical school personal statements is not enough. You need to show it all through acquired strengths, skills etc. During story telling in the essay, do not deviate from the topic remember you are writing this to show your interest for a particular medical school. Narrow down your focus and reflect specific experiences that are relatable to the med school admissions.
Be Aware of Character Limit
Depending on the medical school you are applying for, be precise about the word count or character iit that is allowed for the personal statement. For example MD-PhD programs suggest the word limit of not more than 3000 characters for personal statement and 10,000chatacters for essay. Always know in advance how much you can write in your essay and personal statement for medical school.
