The Medical School Personal Statement: What Makes a Good One?

medical school admissions

One of the hardest parts of applying to medical school for many students is crafting a solid personal statement.

Your personal statement is the crown jewel of your application—believe it or not. That’s because it’s the piece of the application over which you have the most control. This is your chance to tell the admissions committee everything they won’t see in your GPA, your MCAT score, your list of activities, or even your letters of recommendation

The best personal statements sew all of those other things together, connecting the dots to yield a clearer picture of who you are.

So what makes a good personal statement for medical school?

There are as many good personal statements as there are good people, so contrary to popular belief, there’s no formula. But most effective personal statements do have a couple of things in common.

First, they articulate your vision for who you are—they tell the admissions committee who you were, who you are, and who you want to be. Take the reader through your evolution: how did you become the person you are today? More importantly, why do you want to be person you want to be tomorrow? Remember, the best writing doesn’t tell you anything; it shows you through vivid, clear examples and stories.

Second, good personal statements explain why becoming a doctor is part of that vision. How did you decide you wanted to be a doctor? Was it a personal experience with a caring doctor, or perhaps something you’ve wanted to do from a young age? Why are you going down this path is a question any good personal statement should answer clearly.

Third, good personal statements explain how your preparation fits within the context of your vision. Remember, don’t just list your activities, pick a couple of the most important, and show how they’ve helped demonstrate your preparation and capacity to become the future you.

Writing a good personal statement is hard work. It can take several drafts before you even start to be remotely comfortable with you statement. That’s okay! Just keep working at it.

When you feel like it’s ready for the outside world, share it with several trusted mentors—they can help you to find your voice, and articulate yourself based on what they know of you.

Be willing to make edits based on what they tell you—their perspective can be particularly valuable given that, like admissions committee members, they’re likely older and more experienced and can give you feedback from that perspective.

 Lastly, make sure to edit for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Few things are more off-putting than a statement that looks like it was sloppily put together.

 

Good luck! 

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