Medical School Personal Statement Guide: Avoid these mistakes
When you write your medical school personal statement, make sure you are not including these common mistakes in your own essay. It can be detrimental to your chances. It's competitive as it is, but avoiding these mistakes will allow to get the best chance of going to medical school. #1 The personal statement can make or break you.
Many students think that as long as their grades and MCAT score are good that they can breeze past the personal statement. Wrong! The admissions committee actually sit and read your personal statement and they will take note of what you write. So put some time and thought into writing them. You'll be surprised how many people just write statements that lack depth and substance. #2 Make sure your essay is unique
In other words, make your essay personal. It needs to have your unique voice. Everybody is different and everybody can write in their own different way. Don't just repeat things you have on your resume. Add breathe to it. Give it life and make it personal. Essay readers want to read personal and unique statement, not a boring list of accomplishments. They want to get to know YOU! #3 Make sure you proofread your essay
The admissions committee expect you to write with a high level. In fact, they expect that you can communicate well through your words and writing, which is why they have interviews. So, make sure you write well and that your grammar and spelling is correct. #4 Don't be overly creative with your writing
Again, you want to be able to write with an unique and personal voice. If you spend time trying to be the next DaVinci withyour essay, that's all they're going to see. Of course, it will be interesting to read, but you only have one chance to impress the admissions committee. Get to the point. Make the most with this one opportunity that you have to go onto thenext step in the application process. #5 Avoid too much detail
Writing too much detail can overwhelm the reader and make them not continue reading. Make sure you write with enough detail, but not too much. Think about, the admissions committee get so many essays every year and they have to read them as quickly as possible. If they can't see the main point of your essay and understand why you want to be a doctor because you cluttered your paper with too many adjectives, descriptions and ultimately too much detail, well your essay and application will get dismissed.
Follow these steps to writing the best medical school personal statement you can! Good luck!
Reference:Lofftus, M., Taylor, T., Hemmati, Houman. (2008). Get Into Medical School (3rd Ed). New York: Kaplan
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