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Medical School Personal Statement

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Hard to believe, but it’s already time to start tackling the medical school personal statement. Over the course of the next few blogs, I’ll offer tips on how to get started on your essay, so that you can initiate a draft early and be on top of your application.

Remember that the goal of the personal statement is to distinguish yourself from all of the other applicants. The best way to make yourself distinctive is by showcasing your accomplishments. Your essay should be dense with achievements. Avoid purple prose. After all, who you are to the admissions reader is what you’ve done.

Here’s a short blog of mine from 2012 that reminds applicants that highlighting accomplishments does not mean regurgitating a resume (although the highlights of your curriculum vitae absolutely should be covered in your essay).

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What Your Personal Statement Reader is Thinking

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medical school personal statement and residency personal statementPlease take a look at part 2 in my series of expert guest blog entries on the Varsity Tutors blog. This piece (and the one prior) are a good reminder of what to target and what to avoid when writing your personal statement for medical school, residency, fellowship, and post-baccalaureate programs.  Also, for “edutainment” take a look at my Guru on the Go® videos here (mid-page) on the same topic, called “Personal Statement Russian Roulette #1 and #2.”

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Quick Tip: Be Too Proud to Beg

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In writing their personal statements, some candidates end their essays with a plea like “I hope your residency program will see me as a valuable candidate who is eager to learn and work.”

Imagine that you are a lawyer in front of a judge. How can you best argue the case that you will be an excellent resident? With examples! Keeping that idea in mind will help you show – not tell.

Remember that if you are writing an effective, persuasive document with explicit examples of what makes you a distinctive applicant, you won’t need to make a second person appeal because your accomplishments will make your case for you.

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Showcasing your Accomplishments without Creating a Resume in Prose

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Recently, an applicant asked me how to write a personal statement that distinguished him without regurgitating his resume.

Although highlighting your achievements is critical to make you stand out as a distinctive applicant, you can avoid simply repeating your curriculum vitae by giving a sense of your motivation, dedication, and personality with your choice of words and details. You can also express yourself through the weight you place on your varied accomplishments.

Writing a persuasive – yet personal and nuanced – essay is not easy. It takes a lot of work and multiple drafts and edits. Contact me for expert help.

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Start with a Clincher…

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Advisees routinely tell me how they struggle with crafting their personal statement introductions. My advice: Start with a clincher (and end with a zinger). But how can you avoid writing about accompanying your grandmother to the emergency department/ realizing your calling? (FYI: If you are considering this tactic, it’s worth noting that I’ve seen it scores of times.)

Here is a great piece from my alma mater’s The Stanford Magazine. I originally read this short article way back in 2008, but it stuck with me.

Let the examples you read open your eyes to the opportunity you have to distinguish yourself in the eyes of medical school admissions committees and residency directors.

If you are interested in my editing assistance, please consider hiring me soon. My volume is already increasing tremendously as the summer approaches.

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more

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