How to write an exceptional medical school personal statement

What is the purpose of the personal statement?

To get you an interview and also provide you and your interviewer a chance to discuss your story as to why you would make a great physician. With medical school admission being as competitive as it is, it might seem that everyone has high GPAs and MCAT scores, does research, gave presentations, volunteers in underserved areas, and plays sports. How is it that the majority of these people still cannot get medical school interviews or get into medical school in their first attempt? A lot of it boils down to the personal statement. This is YOUR opportunity to show the admission committees why you would make a great physician and why that seat in their class has your name on it.

Why is this especially important?

Medical school admission committees have to screen thousands, (and in my medical school, about 17,000) candidates for only a handful of positions, thus making admission to a United States medical school one of the most statistically difficult things to do. They spend months out of the year screening candidates in every category to decide who gets the interview and which interviewees get admission. The personal statement is your chance to stand out amongst that crowd of thousands and let your voice be heard.

Most common mistakes?

Grammar and spelling mistakes. These are easy to make and can cause even the most stellar of applicants to have a hard time getting interviews. Check, recheck, and show it to someone to recheck again.

Not having flow in your writing style. This is where sentences and paragraphs sound great on their own, however they do not connect from one to the next and do not tell a cohesive story.

Not taking it seriously. Writing a last minute personal statement while being confident in having a strong application with regards to academics and extracurriculars is a recipe for disaster. Your application as a whole needs to be your best work and an attention to detail will go the extra mile.

Discussing topics such as religion and politics. These can make great dinner conversation with your friends and family, but leave them out of the professional academic medicine game where you can risk meeting someone with views different from yours, and a bias that could carry.

Lying is a cardinal sin. Don't exaggerate your experiences to make yourself seem like you've done more than you have or have had experiences you have not. Interviewers will see right through it on interview-day and it won't be pretty.

How to stand out?

Write an essay that only you could write, shaped by experiences that affected you personally. This is your opportunity to showcase how your life experiences match the value system of what makes a great physician. Don't just write that you are a hard worker, say that you couldn't sleep at night because you wanted your project to be completed. Don't say that you are caring, describe an experience that demonstrated you going the extra mile for someone. The values are embedded in the stories and convey a more powerful message for the reader that way.

How long should it be?

Keep it one page, single spaced at about 500-700 words. Too long, your reader will have a hard time keeping their attention span. Too short, you may not have the chance to stand out and convey your best qualities.

What do I talk about?

Your personal statement can be about anything but some common things to talk about are:

How you work well with people.

How you responded to a difficult situation.

How you demonstrated leadership.

How you had a meaningful healthcare experience.

How you developed scientific curiosity in academics or research.

How your unique life experiences brought you to want to be a physician.

Any other advice?

This is your chance to stand apart from thousands of people. Take your time, do it right, show it to as many people as you can, and write from the heart. Don't lie about things that you have not done. Work hard and together let's make this happen!