08/19/2021
📖 Personal Statement Tips: Part 3 of 4th Year Series from Tulsi .in.med
A personal statement is your chance to tell your story. Mostly everything in your application is objective information, but this is your one chance to make the reader curious and want to know more about you.
✨Things to Include:
Why are you choosing that specialty?
What do you bring to the table?
What are your long term plans/goals? (i.e. academic medicine, community hospital, research, etc.)?
What skills or qualities make you well suited for this specialty? If you have a unique story, this would be the time to share it! If you have any red flags, I would also use this as an opportunity to explain yourself. I also think that if you have any meaningful patient experiences, this would be a great time to highlight the impact it had on you and/or how you impacted the management/care of this patient.
✍️Draft. Outline. Word vomit.
This does not need to be a formal draft! Any ideas that come to mind, jot them down. “Word vomit” anything that you think of, and you can worry about connecting all the ideas later.
🧘♀️Find your zone
Chances are writing your personal statement in one sitting is probably not going to happen. Whenever you’re in the zone, just jot down whatever ideas or thoughts that come to mind. Personally, my best ideas come in the shower.
💪 Make sure your first and last paragraph are the strongest.
Ideally, the whole personal statement is strong, but make sure you particularly focus on the introductory paragraph and the conclusion. The first paragraph will lure the reader in, and if they choose to skim the rest of the paper, they will probably then proceed to the end. Start and end with a bang!⠀
🏔Consider an anecdote.
If you can think of a strong personal experience, I really like using this method to get the reader engaged. Make sure you keep it succinct and to the point! You want the reader to be engaged, but not get bogged down by too many details.
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Hope these tips were helpful! If you’ve already gone through this process and have tips, leave them below!