how to write a great personal statement for medical school
It’s medical school application season!
There are many important parts of your application. Your top priority should be to achieve great numbers: the acceptance rate to medical school is highest for applicants who have the highest MCAT and GPA scores. That being said, your experiences and story can elevate your application. Your personal statement humanizes you, and is an opportunity to emphasize why you would make a great doctor.
Though I’ve never been on an admissions committee, I write professionally and received praise for my writing on the interview trail. When it came time to craft my personal statement for medical school, I wasn’t daunted by the task. Instead, I spent time reflecting on my journey and thinking about what elements of my story were most important to highlight. Ultimately, I got accepted to 8 schools.
The following are my tips for writing a great personal statement. Hopefully, they help you gather your thoughts and write a lucid, compelling narrative!
Reflect on why you want to be a doctor. Your personal statement should answer the question: “Why do you want to be a doctor?” Hopefully, your answer to this question is already handy. In my opinion, your personal statement should convey that you want to go to medical school primarily to work with patients, and to learn medicine. Other motivations, like “my parents are doctors,” job security, or pay, are not compelling (and will likely hurt your application). Ideally, your personal statement will clearly explain why your experiences have adequately prepared you to become a doctor and solidified your resolve to learn medicine. Introspection is a necessary first step.
Create a timeline of events. A great personal statement is well-organized. If you’re a talented writer, you might be able to get creative with how you tell your story. However, I would err on the side of caution and construct your narrative as clearly as possible. Before you start writing, create a timeline of events: when did you first become interested in medicine? What experiences helped you become well-acquainted with patient care? What other interests do you have that are relevant and make you a well-rounded candidate for medical school? Tell the story chronologically.
For example: Your family member had an illness, which ignited your passion for taking care of people. You signed up to shadow at the hospital and had your first experience in patient care. When you started college, you thoroughly enjoyed your science courses and were hungry to learn more, while your art courses made you a more creative thinker. Later, you interacted closely with patients under a doctor’s supervision. Your work in healthcare was illuminating; you recognized that x, y, and z were issues. You pursued so-and-so job after college because you were interested in the field… You get the picture!
Note that your personal statement shouldn’t read like a bone-dry resume. It should bring your experiences to life. Though your clinical experiences should take center stage (as they demonstrate that you’re prepared for the realities of practicing medicine), I encourage you to incorporate other elements into your narrative, provided that they add to your story effectively.
Choose what components of your story will be included in your essay. You likely have many accomplishments and relevant stories that you could share. Carefully choose which ones are most important to include. These are the experiences that were deeply meaningful, impacted your choices, highlight your achievements, and demonstrate why you want to go to medical school.
Think about the emotions you want to evoke. How do you want someone to feel after reading your personal statement? The person reviewing your application has likely read it all before. At best, your essay will stand out positively. In all likelihood, it will sound familiar. At worst, however, it’ll leave a bad taste in the reader’s mouth. Be very cautious of evoking negative emotions. In my opinion, your personal statement isn’t the place to be hypercritical of healthcare, vengeful (don’t tell a story about a group project gone wrong), uncertain, or overly self-deprecating.
Don’t brag, but express confidence. Perhaps you want to touch on an adversity you overcame—highlight your grit. Instead of pointing out weaknesses in the healthcare system, optimistically discuss how you can make an impact. Choose your vocabulary carefully. If you’re looking to write something unconventional, be sure that it adds to the story you’re telling. When in doubt, leave it out!
Construct a clear narrative. In my opinion, it’s tacky to write your personal statement as though it’s a creative writing assignment. I’ve seen many examples of this online. Though I’m sure it can be done tastefully, I wouldn’t recommend taking this route unless you’re confident you can do it justice. Your job is to clearly, effectively answer the question: Why do you want to be a doctor/go to medical school? Don’t obfuscate your response to that by throwing in a loosely-related childhood story. Also, avoid cliches like comparing your journey to a marathon you ran. You can make your personality and experiences shine without falling into these traps.
Be specific. Details turn a two-dimensional essay into a three-dimensional one. Talk about how specific aspects of patient care impacted you. Discuss how playing an instrument helped you evolve from a scatter-brained student to an organized, efficient one. What feelings did witnessing a loved one recover from an illness evoke in you? A caveat: don’t get lost in the weeds. Be as straightforward as possible when sharing details.
Don’t use confusing, unwieldy vocabulary. Your personal statement isn’t the place to test out vocabulary you’ve never used before. I understand the temptation to work in words that sound impressive, but if you use them incorrectly (or poorly), your writing will be less intelligible. Use language you know. If you’re unsure of how to incorporate a word, read example sentences that contain it to get a feel for its correct usage.
Edit without mercy. Don’t skim your personal statement and send it off. Read it after a few days off to get a fresh perspective. Review the grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and run it through a reputable grammar checker. Make sure you have great transition sentences between paragraphs. Is your story clear? Does your essay completely answer the question? Is the language straightforward?
Get a second opinion. Make sure to consult a great writer! Feedback is helpful for ensuring that your personal statement meets the mark. Ask your reader to share how the piece made them feel, where it falls short, and what should be corrected. Don’t be afraid to restructure your essay based on this feedback.
Be careful to ask the right person for help. The wrong advice could lead you astray!
Iterate as needed. Give yourself enough time to write, rewrite, and edit your personal statement. Remember, this essay is one of the few personal components of your application. Tell your story with heart and have confidence—hopefully, your character and preparedness will shine through.
You’ve done a great job so far. It takes a lot of effort just to get into position to apply to medical school. Treat writing your personal statement like a celebratory ritual. Here you are, dozens of courses, volunteer work, clinical experiences, and an MCAT later, preparing to highlight your achievements in what will be a great essay. You can do it—I have faith in you!
Any questions? Leave them below.
