Crafting Your Personal Statement
March 11, 2018 - Travis
The personal statement is the bane of many a pre-med’s existence. For an applicant who might fall within the lower percentiles of a school’s GPA and MCAT, a strong personal statement can springboard you into the competitive echelon of candidates. For otherwise strong applicants, a lackluster personal statement can sink your chances at many schools. For many, navigating such a high-stakes 5,300 character essay can be an arduous process. After reviewing countless personal statements, I felt that it was appropriate to address some common issues to ease the pain of crafting an essay that many view as equivalent in weight to your GPA and MCAT.
FIND YOUR CENTRAL THEME
Starting your first draft of a personal statement can be a daunting experience. Often times, you don’t know where to begin. A common method of writing is to create an outline by listing the key points that you want to touch upon. Alternatively, many people believe in free-writing, a stream-of-consciousness, and making massive edits later. I believe that both of these methods have their merits, but there is a task that must be completed prior. You need to create a central theme for your personal statement. Contrary to what some people may believe, this is not the same thing as having a thesis statement. A central theme is something that speaks to why you want to become a physician and connects various experiences in your academic career that have solidified that decision. A central theme shows that you are organized and goal-driven. But most importantly, it prevents your personal statement from becoming a disorganized cacophony of pre-med neuroticism.
Unfortunately, for many people, finding a central theme may be more difficult than writing a personal statement itself. We all know that student who has an extremely compelling reason, perhaps via a personal hardship, for becoming a doctor. Not everyone needs a compelling reason for wanting to be a doctor. What everyone should do, however, is be able to articulate an experience in their life that they thought was pivotal in their path toward medicine. I like to use a couple possible examples from other students who I have helped find their central theme.
Example 1
A student grew up in a region of the country where the obesity epidemic hit hard. Motivated by the health issues of those around them, they began exercising regularly, leading to their eventual certification as a personal trainer. In school, they learned about epidemiology and the far reach of the obesity epidemic. Through their volunteering at rural free clinics, they realized just how necessary it was to have physicians who could advocate for the health of their patients. Motivated by these experiences, they knew that becoming a physician in this rural community can help them use their knowledge of diet and exercise to increase their reach to help those suffering from obesity.
This student was initially struggling with finding a central theme, however, it was under their nose the entire time. They were attempting to string together unrelated experiences to explain their interest in medicine when in fact it was much more simplistic. In this case, all they had to do was reflect on what motivated them to become a physician. They were able to see these connections between the rampant obesity in their region, their personal training experience, and their work in rural clinics.
Example 2
A student was born and raised in a desolate part of India where homelessness was widespread. During this time, members of their family fell ill as a direct result of the unsanitary conditions in which they lived. After moving to a major city in America, they noticed that the homelessness epidemic was present here too. They decided that they wanted to become an MD/MPH and focus on increasing health care access for the homeless community. They began volunteering at a free clinic, joining a volunteer street medicine team that went to homeless camps, and even conducted public health research on the homelessness epidemic.
This student was able to take an experience from their childhood and use that as motivation to pursue medicine. They were able to get involved in extracurriculars that directly related to their interest, rather than just attempting to check the necessary boxes. If you are struggling with coming up with a central theme, I encourage you to reflect on your experiences, interests, and motivations. If you try hard enough, you will find something.
DON’T TURN YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT INTO YOUR CV
One of the biggest mistakes that can be made is when people try to include every one of their 15 activities on their personal statement. While your personal statement may read chronologically, you do not need to give your academic life story. Think back to your central theme – what do you think is relevant? You may decide that only three of your activities directly relate to your central theme and that is absolutely okay. You do not want to inundate your reviewer with information that is easily accessible on your application. Similarly, you don’t want to use all of your good experiences for one essay. In the same vein, you should avoid talking about your success (or lack thereof) as a student. Your reviewers are capable of determining your academic performance based on your GPA information in your application.
“I LOVE SCIENCE AND I WANT TO HELP PEOPLE”
Everyone should be familiar with this cliche phrase. Still, it makes an appearance on nearly every personal statement that I have edited. It may not be worded exactly like this, but some iteration of this sentiment remains pervasive amongst pre-med writing. First, we know you like science. If you didn’t like science, it would be very peculiar that you would be applying to medical school. Second, your reviewer should be able to elucidate the fact that you want to help people through your demonstrated altruism. You should always be showing, not telling. Furthermore, what about loving science and wanting to help people is specific to the field of medicine? Overall, avoid any version of this quote like the plague.
THIS IS NOT A CREATIVE WRITING CLASS ASSIGNMENT
Don’t get me wrong; anecdotes have their place in the personal statement. They are just grossly overused by pre-meds. In my opinion, there is only one place where an anecdote is appropriate and that is in your opening paragraph when used as a hook. Typically, a great anecdote can catch your reviewer’s attention and allow you to connect your personal experience with your central theme. The caveat here is when you attempt to turn that anecdote into a piece ripped straight from the pages of your forthcoming memoir. Avoid quoting people; this is rarely done well and has the potential to come off as corny. Remember, the personal statement is essentially a professional writing piece, not a creative writing piece. Unless you were an accomplished author in your previous career, keep your personal statement free of verbosity and flowery language for the sake of trying to impress the admissions committee.
STILL STUCK?
There is no single correct way to construct your personal statement. However, I have found that using a specific template has been effective. In my personal experience, I wrote my personal statement using this aforementioned outline and have received positive feedback from nearly every interviewer that I encountered. I will share it here as a means to stimulate writing, but I am by no means infallible when it comes to this subject. If using this outline is effective for you, then that is great. If you feel like you can better explain your motivations for becoming a physician through other means, then I encourage you to entertain those options.
Start with a personal anecdote that initially piqued your interest in becoming a physician.
Explain how this experience led you to pursue medicine.
Showcase things that you have done that support your interest in medicine – remember not to waste your character count on extraneous activities that don’t relate to your central theme.
Explain how these experiences have solidified your interest in medicine – okay, so you volunteered at a free clinic, but how did that experience specifically confirm that you were on the right career path?
Explain how being a physician will allow you to address whatever issue your is relevant to your central theme.
Finally, it is imperative that you seek qualified people to review and provide feedback. Conversely, there is such a thing as having too many people edit your writing. Take feedback into consideration, but you are not required to make all of the changes that people suggest. In the end, you are the expert of your own experience.
What are you waiting for? Start writing!