Did you know that more than 50% of the students fail to make their way into their favourite medical schools just because of poor personal statements? The importance that the admission panel gives to the medical school personal statements is huge.
With a good document alone, you might not win admission but with a bad one, you can have it undermine all your hopes.
In this blog, we are specifically talking about medical school personal statement and everything it entails such as:
- Medical School Personal Statement Prompt
- Medical school personal statement Examples Student Doctor
- Cliches to do away with
- A checklist to validate your write-up against
What is Medical School? How to Get Admission to One?
Medical school is an institution where students go, usually after completing their secondary school, to pursue higher education in the domain of medicine and to obtain professional training and qualification for becoming physicians. To get into medical school, you need to pick up the right track even before starting medical school. Here are some pieces of advice.
- Pick up a senior secondary program that is acceptable for medical school.
- Develop your knowledge regarding medical school during your senior secondary program.
- Build your interest, skills, and strengths in various areas beyond academics, for instance, leadership qualities, communication skills etc.
- Start preparation for the entrance exam (MCAT).
- Write a good medical school personal statement.
What is Medical School Personal Statement?
A medical school personal statement is a self-manifestation of a student where they talk extensively about their future plans as medical professionals and what relevant skills or strengths they have to start formation in a medical school. The document also sheds light on the student’s motivation for choosing a particular medical school.
How Important is Personal Statement for Medical School?
A well-curated medical school personal statement helps medical school applicants in multiple ways.
- It helps them convince the admission panel about their goals and interests
- It enables them to justify their choice of the particular medical school
- It equips them to demonstrate their skills and strengths with examples
- It helps them show how they are different from other applicants.
Why Do You Need a Proven and Tested Strategy for Writing a Perfect Medical School Personal Statement?
Freewriting won’t work in the case of medical school personal statements.
You need to have an effective and proven strategy to depend on before starting to write your document. Because a well-written personal statement is your ultimate chance to get into your favourite medical school.
You most probably won’t get another chance.
Winning Strategy for Medical School Personal Statement
Here is the winning strategy to help you write your medical school personal statement in the most effective and convincing way.
- Note down all your proudest strengths and qualities
- Identify the times when you demonstrated these strengths and qualities
- Illustrate your experiences in the form of a story
- Talk about the most touching experience that led you to choose the medical profession
- Emphasize how passionate you are about your career choice
Note Down All Your Proudest Strengths and Qualities
The admission panel is curious to know about your qualities and strengths beyond your academic excellence. Knowing about these qualities will let them know how much value you could add as a person to their institute. Some qualities you can consider talking about in this context include:
- Kindness
- Optimism
- Curiosity to learn new things
Identify the Times When You Demonstrated These Strengths and Qualities
The admission panel expects you to give solidifying evidence when you talk about your qualities and strengths. So, instead of simply listing them, be ready to narrate an incident where you could show these, for instance, an incident where your kindness was recognized and appreciated.
Illustrate Your Experiences in The Form of a Story
A storytelling approach is a highly recommended use when you talk about a particular experience in your personal statement.
There are two benefits to this.
Firstly, it will help you keep your audience engaged.
Secondly, it will help you add your personal touch to your statement.
Talk About the Most Touching Experience That Led You To Choose The Medical Profession
- Tell what that experience was
- Describe what your feeling was during that experience
- Explain what your major takeaways were from that experience
- Tell how that experience impacted you and influenced the way you perceive the world
- Establish how that experience shaped your motivation to take up medicine as your career choice
Emphasize How Passionate You Are About Your Career Choice
Finally, it is important to show the depth of your passion for a career in the medical field. How are you going to establish that? This is where you should go to your experiences and strengths, how they shaped you and reemphasize those points to articulate the depth of your passion.
Medical School Personal Statement Examples
The uniqueness of the human body lies in its complexity. When I was a teen, I witnessed my grandfather undergo cancer treatment. As his condition deteriorated, the adverse effects of illness unleased before me. As the suffering continued, I shared the morbid impact along with the family. At one stage, a realization occurred to me, and I found that ailments not only affect the victim or the patient, but their family members too. Luckily, my grandfather had survived cancer, but his suffering went a long way in influencing my career choice. I realized that a gratifying career of a doctor awaits me, where I could handle such circumstances and comfort the ailing ones, along with their families. Channelizing my efforts to be a part of a medical school, I gained first-hand experience of a doctor’s job. Over the last few years, I realized that the responsibilities of a physician go much beyond performing surgeries and prescribing drugs. The profession itself calls for basic virtues, such as compassion and empathy. Now, that I have gained a sound knowledge from the three-year medical school degree in India, I am bracing up for a foreign program to spearhead my profile.
My experience at St. Johns Medical College in India, from where I graduated, bestowed me with valuable industry skills. The holistic learning approach helped me understand how medical practitioners deal with complex health implications for psychological and physical ailments. However, what I lacked was the technical expertise. Knowing that Western countries have been shaping the global healthcare industry with their advanced technological inventions, I aspire to make my career future-proof. It would be a pleasure for me to study in the world-class academic ambiance in your esteemed university in the US. In the process, I can streamline my career significantly and embrace a happening career in India.
Given that my past academic qualifications and professional goals stand in a collinear line, it would be logical for me to embrace the advanced program at your university. I have witnessed medical practitioners communicating in challenging situations, including the emotional involvement of patients’ families and despair. It gives me pleasure to channelize my innate virtues, such as patience, empathy, and compassion, that can foster a better relationship between doctors and patients. All this time, I have been a part of clinical multidisciplinary meetings and team discussions. Teamwork, collaboration, and professional expertise, I believe, defines the success of a medical personnel.
In the last couple of years, I had the opportunity to work closely with aged patients. During this time, I interned at a care home in Chennai, my hometown. In the process, I became aware of different challenges and healthcare requirements that are directly related to a faster recovery of the patients. I got to know different factors such as social class, ethnicity, and gender, that ultimately influences the recovery or healing process of the patients.
Apart from this, I have a strong grounding in the research aspects related to medicine. Particularly, research holds a significant value when it comes to modern medicine. I crave for lifelong learning to refine the profession I am a part of, that would eventually benefit patients. I also interned at AIIMS, one of the largest medical schools in India. Communicating with medical professionals and my peers, I got a broader idea regarding the challenges I would be encountering. Now, that I have resolved to be a medical practitioner, there’s no stopping before I scale to the position that I have always wanted to be in.
Beyond academics, I have been proactive in sports and debates. My friends and seniors appreciate my oratory skills. Besides, I love to think critically, regardless of the matter I am exploring. Besides, I actively participated in organizing meetings, concerts, and cultural programs for my college. It was fascinating to deliver speeches, as I realized my confidence growing over the years. Knowing the values of leadership and public speaking, I focused on cultural activities substantially, while maintaining a spotless academic record.
I believe that the field of medicine throws challenges to aspiring professionals. Only the capable ones succeed in putting on the right pair of shoes. I would like to find my name among these successful candidates through diligent efforts and knowledge acquisition. Besides, I would like to go through the ethical, intellectual, emotional, and physical challenges that committed professionals in this field continually experience. Being a part of this dynamic profession would be gratifying indeed for me. I would like to be a part of the progressive learning environment at your university. This will significantly propel me towards the profession to which I have committed myself.
Example 2 – Stanford University Medical School Personal Statement
If you are writing a personal statement for Stanford medical school, review these medical school personal statement examples student doctor for Stanford to learn the writing structure and format.
As you prepare to write your personal statement, it is a good exercise to review a few medical school personal statement examples PDF to expand your perspective.
How to Write a Personal Statement for Medical School?
How to Write an Impressive Introduction for Your Personal Statement?
The purpose of the introduction in your medical personal statement is to catch the attention of the reader and impress them. Also, it is necessary to engage the reader from the very first line. So, it is highly recommended to:
- Begin with an anecdote that would intrigue the reader to read further
- Introduce all the core areas that you want to address so that the reader would know what to expect from your write-up.
How Should Your Medical School Personal Statement Conclusion Be?
Remember that what is in the concluding paragraph is what the reader will mostly take from your entire essay.
Be aware of the following three points while writing the conclusion.
- The qualities or strengths you wish to use as your defining aspects
- Your sincere and strong passion for the medical profession
- Your notable learnings from all the previous experiences and formations
8 Cliches You Should Avoid in Your Medical School Personal Statement
The admission panel read hundreds of personal statements and thus they know what makes a good personal statement and what makes a bad one. The following are some of the cliches that cause your selection committee to disregard your personal statement.
If you refer to bad medical school personal statement examples, chances are high that these cliches will make their way into your write-up.
- Avoid using quotes in the introduction. Use your personal story instead.
- Listing strengths and qualities as if in a resume without substantiating them with pieces of evidence.
- Stating that medicine is a noble profession and being a physician is an honour. Break this cliché by showing specific ways by which you intend to serve as a physician.
- Trying to show what you are not. Be truthful to yourself and focus on your own character.
- Talking about the experience in detail rather than telling how those experiences shaped you.
- Talking about a finding or idea without showing how much of your critical thinking and decision-making abilities were triggered by it.
- Using flowery language in your statement when the points could have been written in simpler words.
- Switching to different points without any order or connection.
Final Checklist
Before you stop, make sure that your document ticks the following checkboxes
- Have I tried to make my profile look unique and different from other applicants?
- Is my essay simple and easy for a reader without any medical background to understand?
- Does my essay contain any grammatical errors?
- Have I sought a second opinion on my essay?
- Have I used the appropriate medical school personal statement format?
- Have I written a memorable conclusion and ended it on a thankful note?
Top 10 Institutes to Consider for Medical Degrees
- University of Oxford
- University of Cambridge
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Imperial College London
- University of Toronto
- Harvard University
- Stanford University
- Johns Hopkins University
- UCL
- Yale University
Best Medical Courses to Study in 2022
- Masters in Public Health (MPH)
- Pathology
- Psychology
- Midwifery
- Diagnostic Radiography
- Anaesthesiology
- Biomedical Science
- Occupational Therapy
Final Thoughts Before We Wind Up
We are positive that we could enhance your insights about writing a medical school personal statement.
Well, we don’t want to assume so.
We would like to get your feedback.
Did it really help you? Or is there anything that is still unclear?
Let us know your feedback in the comments below.
