Recently, I was socializing with an old friend who reviews residency applications for his academic program. We were discussing personal statement errors (don’t worry – we chatted about nonprofessional topics too), and he told me that he and his colleagues have a term for candidacies that are represented by bad written materials: DNR, or Do Not Rank.
Make sure your candidacy is not hamstrung by bad writing. Avoid common personal statement errors that can bomb your application. Good writing takes a lot of time, so make sure to start early. AMCAS is opening on May 1, so medical school applicants should be completing their essays and experience descriptors. Residency applicants should be starting an outline for their personal statements and a draft of their experiences.
