Personal Statement
Personal Statement
(If you need a reminder of what the AMCAS application essay questions ask for – and what the length limits are – click here.)
Whatever you do, don’t underestimate the importance of clear, convincing, compelling personal statement. Schools read them carefully, and are very much influenced by them. Sometimes students do get into medical school with slightly weak gpa’s or MCAT scores, but almost NOBODY gets into medical school with weak personal statement.
The trouble for most applicants is that there are no good “rules” anywhere on how to do great personal statement. And if someone tries to TELL you that there are rules (“You can’t talk about anything from childhood.” “You HAVE to tell about your volunteer work.”) they are almost always completely wrong. (Now, I realize, this actually makes your job HARDER. It would be nice if there were some rules so you would know what to put on there!)
So, if there really are no “rules,” what should you do in your personal statement?
I suggest that you construct your personal statement by searching your OWN SOUL for what are the most compelling reasons you, (not 100 other people) should be in medical school. Use that information, then, to create a FLAWLESSLY WELL-REASONED ARGUMENT in your behalf. ( I can give you practical tools for doing this if you need help. Just click on GET HELP NOW .)
I use the word “argument,” but of course I would never want you to sound ARGUMENTATIVE. (I want you to sound very warm, and personal, and human.) “Argument” just means that when someone gets done reading your personal statement, their natural reaction is to say: “Oh my gosh this makes absolutely perfect sense…..I don’t even have a question about this. It’s really clear to me that this person should be in medical school.”
(This kind of reaction can both GET YOU IN to the school of your choice, and, as well, frequently GET YOU MONEY to go there. As a matter of fact, interestingly enough, the clients I’ve had who’ve received the MOST OVERWHELMING scholarship offers from schools were people with unremarkable gpa’s and test scores but absolutely riveting personal statement.)
“The essays can make that big a difference?” “The essays can have such an impact that they can make schools willing to forgive some of my other liabilities?” Yes. Yes Yes YES. They absolutely can. There is a chance that you can accomplish your dream even if you think that you have some kind of a TERRIBLE liability that’s going to keep you out of medical school. The personal statement have that much potential power.
This concept, of using your personal essay space to create a flawlessly well-reasoned “argument” in your own behalf, is exactly the One specific principle I keep mentioning that could completely revolutionize the content of your med school application. It helps you to clarify exactly what you should be writing about in the personal statement, and what you should emphasize and what you should downplay. It helps you to explain clearly and with confidence (not arrogance) why you want to be a doctor, and it keeps you from falling back on over-used cliches such as: “I want to help people.” And, in addition, it helps with every other aspect of the application process, from letters of recommendation to interviews!
I have one client that I helped apply to medical school, and she had a 2.9 grade point average and only 10s on the MCAT. Advisors at school told her: “You might as well not even try. You don’t have a chance. You might as well go be a nurse.” Well, we put together a flawlessly well-reasoned argument in her behalf, and we were actually able to convince the committee that she was highly academically capable DESPITE that 2.9 grade point average. And you know what? She was admitted to a top 20 U.S. medical school on the first try, and today she is in her third year… and she’s in the top 5% of her class!
You may not be fighting this dramatic a liability as you apply to medical school, but I can tell you from experience that almost every applicant approaches the application process very much afraid that something about their situation is going to keep them out of med school. If it’s not grades, it may be mediocre MCAT scores. People with stellar grades and MCAT scores may lack enough volunteer work in a health care setting to demonstrate a well-thought through commitment to medicine. The list goes on and on.
After 14 years consulting one-on-one with medical school applicants, I can tell you that whatever your liability, there is hope. If you want to go to medical school and you are weak in a certain area, it is possible for you to be strengthened in that area. And it is possible for you to tell your story in such a compelling way that the committee’s natural reaction is to say: “Wow; it makes absolutely perfect sense for this person to be here.”
HOW DO I MAKE A WELL-REASONED ARGUMENT IN MY OWN BEHALF?
You can make a well-reasoned argument in your behalf by using the exact same principles that a lawyer uses when arguing a case in court. It’s by using these very old, time-tested principles that we can get a reader to say: “Wow. This makes absolutely perfect sense.” Trouble is, they don’t ever teach you that much about these principles in undergrad…..you usually don’t learn them unless you go to law school!
You might learn these time-tested principles of argument in three specific ways. You could 1) ask a logic professor at your college or university to explain the principles to you (be sure to ask him or her, if you do this, about the THREE COMPONENT PARTS OF ARGUMENT that must be in perfect balance in order for an argument to be perfectly convincing). You could 2) get a textbook on argumentation from your college bookstore, or …………. I can help you.
If you would like help from me on exactly how to construct a flawlessly logical argument in your own behalf in your medical school application, how to catch and hold the reader’s attention throughout the entire thing, and how to make them FEEL as well as THINK that you should be in medical school, click on GET HELP NOW. Best of luck to you as you create stunningly well-reasoned personal statement!
SHOULDN’T I JUST TRY TO FIGURE OUT “WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR,” AND GIVE THEM THAT?
Please don’t. It can be lethal.
It’s the quickest way for you to make yourself sound exactly like every other applicant out there, and it usually leaves out the most interesting specific things about you!
Best of luck to you as you use intelligent introspection and truth to put together your outstanding application to medical school!
Note: Because application advisors cannot control your grades, your MCAT scores, your amount and quality of volunteer experience, or how thoroughly you follow the advice offered on these pages, please understand that we cannot guarantee any individual’s acceptance to medical school.
