how do you write a personal statement for health visiting

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Writing the Personal Statement for Health Professions Applications

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The personal statement gives you the opportunity to present a compelling snapshot of who you are and perhaps why you want to be a doctor. Use your personal statement to say what others can’t. The personal statement can be a tricky genre to master. On the one hand, you want to give the admissions committee a sense of your personality and who you are. On the other hand, you must sound focused and professional, which sounds like it might impede your ability to capture your personality.

But this does not have to be the case. What you need to do is figure out how to say what drives you to want to become a healthcare professional in as specific a way as possible. The more specific you can be, the more the admissions committee will feel as if they have a sense of who you are.

You don’t need gimmicks, jokes, artificial drama, or hyperbole to express who you are or why you would make a good medical student or doctor. All you need are carefully selected details that you can craft into a unique and compelling story that conveys a sense of purpose and motivation.

What Makes a Good Personal Statement?

• There is no exact template for an effective personal statement. Often, however, strong personal statements combine a concise description of a personal experience with reflection on how this experience either led the writer to pursue medicine or indicates the writer’s character or commitment.
• Good personal statements often have a strong sense of narrative. This does not mean that they read like short stories, though they can relate a few scenes or anecdotes from your life. They have a strong sense of narrative, rather, in how they convey the writer’s sense of dedication to medicine. Strong personal statements often give readers an idea of how applicants see their experiences as leading to the decision to pursue medicine.

How to Get Started

The personal statement is an exercise in self-reflection. Questions to consider:

• Who are you?  I am driven to… I have learned to… I believe…
• What are your most passionate interests or concerns?  What problem(s) most occupy your thinking and your efforts?
• How did you develop those interests?  (Not just the story, but what drives you.)
• What errors or regrets have taught you something important about yourself?
• When does time disappear for you?  What does this tell you about your passions, your values?
• What ideas, books, courses, events have had a profound impact on you?  How so?
• To what extent do your current commitments reflect your most strongly held values?
• When have you changed?  Consider yourself before and after; what does this change mean?
• How do your interests and who you are relate to your goals in medical school and as a doctor?

Start a “shoebox”; a place to keep random notes for your personal statement; be ready to write at any time. Review these items occasionally; let them tell you more about what you want your personal statement to say. Start writing drafts, experiments; you will know when a paragraph begins to gel.

A Suggested Writing Process

Everyone writes differently, so these are potential strategies rather than rules.

• Make a list of some of your most defining experiences – extracurricular activities, specific classes, volunteer work, research, hobbies, etc. Try not to include overly personal experiences (breakups, trouble with parents, illnesses in the family, and so on). It’s difficult to write about such things without being sentimental or cliché. You want experiences in which you did something and had to make a choice.
• From this list, try to select an experience that particularly demonstrates your intellectual curiosity, your dedication to service, your composure under pressure, your leadership ability, or any other personal trait that you think is particularly relevant to your case that you would make a good doctor or medical student.
• Start writing a draft based on this experience. You want to be specific, but don’t get bogged down with an abundance of anecdotes or minutiae. Try to use your draft to craft a succinct story that demonstrates your character and your motivations.
• Set the draft aside for some time (a number of days or weeks), and then revisit it with fresh eyes. Be as honest with yourself as you can be: What works in this draft? What doesn’t work? What sounds cliché or unspecific? Would a reader who doesn’t know me at all get a sense of my personal character and dedication?
• Revise, revise, revise: tighten the structure, add new things to make your point clearer, take away sentences or sections that now seem unnecessary, use the active voice as much as possible, and anything else that needs to be done. If what you have just doesn’t seem to be coming together, do not be afraid to start over.
• Solicit feedback from a couple of trusted readers and revise again based on the suggestions that you find most useful. Don’t solicit feedback from too many people though – too many responses can be overwhelming.
• Edit your work for grammatical mistakes, typos, clumsy repetitions, and so on. Make your prose impeccable before you submit your statement. Asking help from other readers can be especially helpful with editing, as sometimes it gets difficult to read your work with fresh eyes.

Things to Do

• Use the experience that you describe to tell a story of personal progress, particularly progress towards your commitment to medicine.
• Write with active verbs as much as possible.
• Strive for concision.
• Sound humble but also confident.

Things Not to Do – Common Pitfalls

• Don’t talk in hyperbolic terms about how passionate you are. Everyone applying to medical school can say they are passionate. Instead, show your readers something you have done that indicates your passion.
• Don’t adopt an overly confessional or sentimental tone. You need to sound professional.
• Don’t treat the personal statement like a piece of creative writing.
• Don’t put your resume in narrative form.
• Don’t use jargon, abbreviations, slang, etc.
• Don’t use too many qualifiers: very, quite, rather, really, interesting…
• Don’t write in overly flowery language that you would normally never use.
• Don’t include famous quotations. If you must quote, use something that shows significant knowledge.
• Don’t write about yourself in an overly glorifying or overly self-effacing manner.

What to Remember

• They are read by non-specialists, so write for an intelligent non-medical audience.
• Actions sometimes speaks louder than words so give examples of experiences rather than describing them.
• All information must be accurate – don’t pad, but don’t be falsely modest either.
• The personal statement, in part, serves as a test of your communication skills.  How well you write it is as important as the content.

Writing Resources

• AAMC: 7 Tips for Writing your AMCAS Personal Statement
• Graduate Admission Essays: What Works, What Doesn’t and Why , Donald Asher, Ten Speed Press
• On Writing Well , William Zinsser
• Elements of Style , Strunk and White, Macmillan
• Article :  2 Med School Essays that Admissions Officers Loved
• Guidance for Writing Personal Statements, Work & Activities Section, Secondary Applications

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Although most applicants focus on GPA and test-scores, the personal statement is a very important component of your application and should be carefully composed. This is your opportunity to highlight things about yourself that may not be mentioned in other sections of your application and to distinguish yourself from other applicants.

You should have several different people objectively read your personal statement and provide constructive feedback. In addition to the Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) , your letter writers are often a great option. There are also resources on campus that can assist you, such as the UH Writing Center , University Career Services , and your major advisor. Consider the feedback you receive carefully, but be sure that the personal statement is still written in your voice!

Below we have outlined some advice and general guidelines to consider while writing your personal statement. Keep in mind that these recommendations are not restricted to medical/dental applications, but can be applied while writing essays for any healthcare professional program.

• See also UH University Career Services Personal Statement Tips
• Sign up for the UH Writing Center Personal Statement Workshops

Types of Prompts

Before beginning your personal statement, it is important you carefully review the specific question (or prompt) that is being asked and the character-limit, as there can be distinct differences between the application services.

TMDSAS ( 5000 characters ):

• Explain your motivation to seek a career in medicine. You are asked to include the value of your experiences that prepare you to be a physician.
• Explain your motivation to seek a career in dentistry. You are asked to discuss your philosophy of the dental profession and indicate your goals relevant to the profession.
• Personal Characteristics Essay - Learning from others is enhanced in educational settings that include individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Please describe your personal characteristics (background, talents, skills, etc.) or experiences that would add to the educational experience of others. The personal characteristics essay is required to all applicants and limited to 2500 characters, including spaces.
• Optional Essay – The optional essay is an opportunity to provide the admissions committee(s) with a broader picture of who you are as an applicant. The essay is optional, however, you are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. Consider briefly discussing any unique circumstances or life experiences that are relevant to your application which have not previously been presented. Optional Essay is limited to 2500 characters, including spaces.

AMCAS ( 5300 characters ):

• Why have you selected the field of medicine?
• What motivates you to learn more about medicine?
• What do you want medical schools to know about you that has not been disclosed in other sections of the application?

AACOMAS ( 5300 characters ):

• What motivates you to learn more about osteopathic medicine?

AADSAS ( 4500 characters ):

• Explain a defining moment that helped steer you toward a career in dentistry. Consider using that moment as the focal point of your essay.
• Be colorful, positive, imaginative and personal when discussing why you are a good candidate for dental school. Ask yourself—in a pile of 100 applications, would I enjoy reading my statement? Be sure to convey your passion for dentistry in your statement.
• Be yourself.  Don’t use jargon, clichés or big phrases that you would not use in daily conversation. Remember, dental schools want to know about the real you.
• Be original and thoughtful: Discuss how you would contribute to the profession and patient care, all of which will help you stand out from other applicants.

AACPMAS (4500 characters):

• State below why you are interested in becoming a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine. Provide information about your development for a career in Podiatric Medicine

CASPA (5000 characters):

• In the space provided write a brief statement expressing your motivation or desire to become a physician assistant.

OptomCAS (4500 characters) :

Essays can be customized for each individual Optometry program.  Most Optometry schools include this as their main essay question:

• Please describe what inspires your decision for becoming an optometrist, including your preparation for training in this profession, your aptitude and motivation, the basis for your interest in optometry, and your future career.

OTCAS (no character limit):

• Your Personal Statement should address why you selected OT as a career and how an Occupational Therapy degree relates to your immediate and long-term professional goals. Describe how your personal, educational, and professional background will help you achieve your goals.

PTCAS (4500 characters):

• Prompt: Every person has a story that has led them to a career. Since there are a variety of health professions that "help" others, please go beyond your initial interaction or experiences with physical therapy and share the deeper story that has confirmed your decision to specifically pursue physical therapy as your career.

PharmCAS (4500 characters):

• Your Personal Essay should address why you selected pharmacy as a career. How the Doctor of Pharmacy degree relates to your immediate and long-term professional goals. You should describe how your personal, educational, and professional background will help you achieve your goals.

VMCAS (1000 characters):

• There are many career choices within the veterinary What are your future career goals and why?
• In what ways do veterinarians contribute to society and what do you hope to contribute?
• Consider the breadth of society which veterinarians What attributes do you believe are essential to be successful within the veterinary profession? Of these attributes, which do you possess and how have you demonstrated these in the past?

When should I start writing?

You should begin working on your personal statement early in the spring semester prior to your intended application year and submitting your application materials to HPAC (if applicable).  Remember that the people who are helping you with your statement will need time to review it and you will need time to work through multiple drafts before submission.  In addition, some of your letter writers may want to see a copy of your personal statement before they write your letter, so you should strive to have a competent draft by mid-March.

What should be included?

It is important to treat the personal statement as an answer to a question (i.e., the prompt), rather than the opportunity to flex your creative writing muscles. Indeed, most applicants are STEM majors without much experience in creative writing; therefore, it is recommended that you avoid using the essay to practice your creative writing skills and stick to simply addressing the prompt in a direct, concise way. Some questions you may want to consider while planning your essay are:

• Why have you selected the field of medicine, dentistry, or other health profession?
• What motivates you to learn more about medicine, dentistry, or other health profession?
• How have you demonstrated your interest and commitment to your decision?
• What experiences have allowed you to develop the skills necessary to be successful in this program and to become an effective physician, dentist, PA, etc.?
• Did you have any exposure to role models who influenced your decision? Which of their attributes inspired you?
• Are your perceptions of this profession realistic?
• What are your professional goals?
• Is there anything you wish for your chosen health professional schools to know about you that has not been disclosed in other sections of the application?

Depending on the nature of the prompt, you may also wish to include information such as:

• Unique hardships, challenges, or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits.
• Commentary on significant fluctuations in your academic record that are not explained elsewhere in your application.

What should NOT be included?

• Avoid clichés and over-using/mis-using terms : How many times do you think admissions committees have read the phrase, “I want to become a physician because I like science and I want to help people”? Similarly, words like empathy and passion are, while applicable, can become empty in meaning when overused or misused. Consider exemplifying these terms, rather than simply stating them.
• Avoid unnecessary drama: While you may feel compelled to "hook" the reader with a dramatic opening to your statement, doing so may detract from the overall purpose (i.e., describing your decision to pursue medicine/dentistry) and may induce many an eye-roll by committee members.
• Avoid being vague : "[Insert experience] was challenging and rewarding." What does that mean? Be specific about what was impactful and how it affected you.
• Avoid brash decision-making :  Your decision to become a doctor/dentist should be the result of a series of thoughtful, conscious, and reflective decisions. NOT an instantaneous realization or epiphany. Similarly, you have not “always known” that you want to be a physician/dentist. No one is "born to be a doctor." Nothing is innate, you have to work for it.
• Avoid excuses :  In general, there are better uses for your personal statement than explaining away and justifying poor grades, incidents of misconduct, etc. Indeed, TMDSAS offers additional essays and opportunities to discuss these issues. However, if you choose to address these subjects, be sure to focus on what you have learned from those incidents and how your experiences have made you a stronger person.  Always accept responsibility and avoid blaming anyone else for your decisions or mistakes.
• Avoid restating your resume or activities section :  Choose ONE or TWO significant and distinguishing experiences to elaborate upon when outline the reasons behind your decision to pursue a career in healthcare. There is no need to narrate completely your 4+ years of college or carefully detail your activities from year to year; indeed, there are other sections in the application where you can detail your experiences and what you learned from each.
• Avoid grandiosity :  Claiming that you plan to cure cancer (or HIV, or healthcare disparities, or anything else) shows a grave lack of understanding of whatever problem you are planning to solve. Similarly, avoid “I know what it is like to be a physician/dentist from [shadowing/clinical volunteer experience].”  No, you do not.  That is precisely why you are hoping to go to medical/dental school.
• Avoid inflammatory or controversial topics :  You do not know the values, beliefs, and background of the committee member reading your essay.  For these reasons, you are advised to avoid making any strong statements regarding politics, religion, and other polarizing topics.  Be extremely cautious to avoid expressing any views that could be construed as derogatory to any group.  Additionally, your beliefs are not the only “correct” beliefs. 
• Do not lie :  Honesty and ethical behavior are the hallmarks of being a healthcare professional. Do not include details anywhere in your application or essay that you are not prepared to talk about or that are simply untrue.

Additional Recommendations

• Use simple formatting : Avoid the use of bullet-points, italics, and symbols.
• Read your statement aloud : As you draft your statement, reading what you have written aloud can help you determine whether your writing "flows" well and is an easy read for a reviewer.

This time, it’s personal

Personal statement advice: tell a story, experts say, effective personal statements tell a concise but vivid story about an applicant’s uniqueness and suitability for a career in medicine..

Having reviewed thousands of personal statements over the years, admissions committee chairman John T. Pham, DO, has come up with his own rule of thumb.

“When I look at a personal statement, if it doesn’t catch my attention in the first paragraph, then I’m not interested in reading further,” says Dr. Pham, who is the vice chair of the department of family medicine at the Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest in Lebanon, Oregon.

The personal statement provides an important glimpse of a candidate’s noncognitive traits such as self-awareness, empathy, passion and fortitude. A vivid well-written essay conveying a medical school or residency program applicant’s motivations and aspirations can be a deciding factor in inviting that candidate in for an interview.

“The personal statement is really the only way you can make a memorable mark on admission committee members before you meet them,” says Benjamin K. Frederick, MD, a third-year radiology resident in Columbia, Missouri, who runs an essay-editing service called Edityour.net.

Dr. Pham advises students to have their personal statements critiqued before submitting them to medical schools or residency programs. Applicants should seek feedback on their draft essays from their classmates, physician mentors, college guidance counselors, and friends or family members with strong editorial skills, he says.

Some students take this process a step further by seeking professional help with their statements. Dr. Pham is not opposed to students’ enlisting help from private admissions consultants and essay editors as long as the personal statement reflects the applicant’s own words, insights and experiences.

But Adam Hoverman, DO, who has reviewed many personal statements to assess med school and residency applicants, is concerned that heavily edited, overly polished essays do not accurately portray a candidate’s communication skills.

“Being able to organize your thoughts and write effectively is vital for transmitting knowledge as a physician,” says Dr. Hoverman, an assistant professor of family medicine and global health at the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine in Yakima, Washington. “An essay that reflects someone else’s skill set is misleading.”

Common pitfalls

But those who provide essay-editing services argue that they help future physicians become better, more reflective communicators. If it weren’t for their help, they maintain, many talented, compassionate individuals would not gain entrance to medical school or competitive residencies.

Medical school candidates often produce personal statements that are superficial and clichéd, says Linda Abraham, the founder of Accepted.com, an admissions consulting and essay-editing firm.

“The applicants will write in very generic terms about how they want to help people, and you don’t see where this comes from,” she says. “They don’t give their background story, and they don’t provide examples.”

Dr. Frederick notes that many students try to cram too much information into their personal statements, which end up reading like CVs or résumés.

“The personal statement should be a narrative about an experience that led to personal growth in the pursuit of a medical career,” he says.

Vagueness and a lack of illustrative stories are the death knell of many personal statements, says medical school admissions consultant Cynthia Lewis, PhD.

“What I tell my applicants is that only one half of one sentence in a paragraph should be ‘This is what I did.’ The rest needs to be a reflection on why you did something,” says Dr. Lewis, founder of Lewis Associates. “What did you get out of it? How did it change you? How do you think differently about the world as a result of this experience?”

Telling a story

When Dr. Pham reads a personal statement, he wants to be wowed by the applicant’s story. Maybe the candidate decided to pursue medicine because of experiences in the Peace Corps, hardships overcome, a community service project, a family member’s battle with a disease or any other life-changing situation.

“Does the personal statement engage me from the get-go?” Dr. Pham asks himself. “Does it have a good story line and tell me a lot about the person and whether he or she is really dedicated to medicine?”

Applicants to osteopathic medical school are limited to 4,500 characters (including spaces), roughly 700 words, for their personal statement, so it must be concise and to the point. Dr. Lewis recommends that candidates divide their personal statements into three components. The first part, she says, should be a one-paragraph “uniqueness statement”—something significant the applicant has accomplished, a passionate interest or hobby, or a challenging or deeply moving experience.

She recalls one client who had several stories to choose from. When he was studying abroad in Spain, his wallet was stolen while he was traveling in England and he had to navigate Europe without his passport or any other ID. He also learned how to play flamenco guitar that year.

“You need to pick one key experience or interest and talk about it,” Dr. Lewis says. “This will say a lot about you, what you care about and how you think.”

The second part of the personal statement should describe the applicant’s journey to medicine, she says. The candidate should explain in a couple of paragraphs what initiated his or her interest in becoming a physician, what has sustained that ambition over time, and why he or she feels ready to apply to medical school.

The final part of the essay should explore the candidate’s interest in osteopathic medicine. “Don’t just say, ‘I shadowed an osteopathic physician,’ ” urges Dr. Lewis. “Explain what you learned from the experience and how you might incorporate osteopathic philosophy into your future practice.

“If you are applying to osteopathic medical schools, the people evaluating your application need to see that you have an understanding of the osteopathic approach to care.”

However, warns Dr. Pham, applicants should not try to address all of the osteopathic tenets in the essay, which would seem forced and insincere.

“Applicants should not tell us what they think we want to hear,” he insists. “We know that many students apply to both DO and MD schools. But if a student is strictly applying to osteopathic schools, it’s important to tell us why.”

Months-long process

Unlike personal statements for osteopathic medical school, which are submitted with the application through AACOMAS, those for residency can be customized to the specialty and program, as ERAS permits. But that doesn’t make them any easier to write, says Kim M. Peck, the director of academic and career guidance at the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM) in East Lansing.

Residency candidates need to tell the story of how they came to be interested in a particular specialty and what their long-term career goals are, according to Peck. “I advise students to be specific,” she says. “Don’t just say, for instance, that you are good with your hands and would make a great surgeon. Give an example of how you came to realize that, including details. Did an attending compliment you when you assisted with suturing? Was it an interaction with a hospitalized patient that helped you make up your mind?”

MSUCOM’s website includes a list of 14 questions students should ask themselves before they begin writing their first draft, such as “Which course work and clinical experiences have you enjoyed the most and why?” and “What is unique about you and your experiences?”

The process of writing an effective personal statement may take months, not just days or weeks, Peck says.

“Medical students are so busy doing rotations, taking shelf exams, and jumping through all of the hoops that are part of the residency process that they often don’t have time to think about themselves and where they’re going,” she observes. “Taking considerable time to self-reflect and write a compelling personal statement is a valuable exercise that helps ensure that students are making sound, thoughtful career decisions.”

Medical communication: An overlooked skill?

Googling “medical personal statement editing” yields more than 590,000 links to services and informational websites.

“Evidently, these services have arisen because of demand: Students feel they have not been adequately prepared as premeds to write persuasive personal essays,” says Dr. Hoverman, who stresses that educators should be teaching aspiring physicians communication skills alongside biology and chemistry.

“The ability to frame your thoughts in a manner that is productive for a peer, a patient or the community is substantially relevant in all aspects of health care,” he says.

Premeds interested in educating themselves can take electives such as creative writing classes and advanced speech classes. Medical students may consider pursuing writing opportunities on their own, such as starting a blog or writing research papers or articles for medical publications.

Picking up communication skills will help aspiring physicians do much more than write better personal statements, Dr. Hoverman notes.

“Organizing clinical teams, developing treatment plans, engaging in health advocacy—all of these things require physicians to be excellent communicators,” he says. “Consequently, a personal statement should genuinely reflect an applicant’s communication skills.”

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• Personal Statement

Drafting Your Personal Statement

Your personal statement is about selling yourself to the admissions committee. You should begin with reflecting on your values, your best qualities, what you are passionate about, what's important to you, and how all of that has led you down the path to this career. You will need to identify activities or experiences where you demonstrate qualities that will prepare you for professional school and a career in healthcare. Telling professional schools that you possess various qualities is one thing, but the point is to really show them through your activities.

Check out the 15 Pre-Health Professions Core Competencies that represent skills applicants should work to develop for success in graduate health professional school and in their future careers in the health field. These broad ranging skills are critical for all the healthcare professions and can be utilized to help you frame your various experiences in both your personal statement and other areas of the application. They may also be able to help you see the value in some of the activities which you may feel are very disconnected from your professional goals -- e.g. a customer service part-time job, club sports, volunteering, etc.

Strengthen your Statement

Once you've drafted your personal statement you can strengthen it by highlighting specific experiences, showing rather than telling, and organizing for readability. Strong personal statements will be selective and develop particular examples that the committee can remember rather than give a general overview. Of course you can mention a few experiences in an opening sentence but you should highlight, or further develop, one or two particular examples in the rest of the paragraph. In addition to selecting specific experiences to highlight, you'll want to show your qualities and compatibility rather than just tell the readers about them.

After you highlight specific examples and develop those examples in order to show and not just tell, you'll want to be sure that your organized for readability. There's no single organizational pattern that all personal statements should use. However, you should identify a clear pattern of organization that makes the information readable for your audience. Often organizational patterns for personal statement will involve a combination of the past (your preparation or qualifications), the present (your compatibility with the program), and the future (your long term goals). Remember, when choosing your organizational pattern, it's important that you follow the personal statement prompt in order to highlight the aspects that the committee values.

Don't forget to revise your personal statement to ensure that it highlights your best qualities and most relevant experiences. Once you've written and revised your personal statement, you'll want to take your time and polish your writing. There should be no spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors.

Your personal statement is your chance to tell the admissions committee your story. Since space is limited, you will need to determine what is most relevant and valuable to include and also convey it in the most impactful way. You should identify when you realized your career goal and what you have done in order to prepare for professional school and that career. In your statement you should highlight stories that show your resilience, passions, individuality, and skills that will make you successful in your respective field. Include experiences that demonstrate your intellectual curiosity, dedication to service, composure under pressure, and leadership ability as well as experiences that challenged or changed your perspective about your field. You want to convey that you have a realistic understanding of the field and that you are the right fit for your chosen profession. The latter must be demonstrated through actions, so be mindful of how you construct your statement.

In your personal statement you should demonstrate that you have a clear understanding of your "why." The "why" is your purpose and your motivation. If you don’t know why you do what you do and why you are pursing this career, how can you expect the admissions committee to know and trust that this is the right path for you? To begin outlining your why statement you have to think about what it is you want to contribute to your chosen profession. Once you’ve identified your contribution you have to figure out what you want the impact of your contribution to be.

Once you have your "why" you want to support your stated motivation with actions which demonstrate your right fit for the profession, you capacity to succeed in your career, and an overall vision which ties all of this together.

Once you have a good grasp on your "why" and have a list of all of your activities, you should consider how all of your experiences have developed skills that will be helpful in your future career and how to go about selling those experiences in your application. Many students believe that everything they include in the application should be clinically related, but that is not the case. Your leadership experiences, research, athletics, non-clinical volunteering, job, study abroad, and other campus and community involvements have likely played a significant role in shaping who you are. You can and should include these in your application.

• Why do you want to pursue this career?
• What was your initial aspiration?
• Did you have a "moment" when you realized your goal?
• What has been your ongoing preparation?
• How do you know this is the right career for you?
• What values or traits do you have that align with this profession well?
• How do you know that you have what it takes to be successful in this career?
• Accurately assess your skills, strengths, weaknesses and challenges you may face.
• Put your skills in a context that demonstrates your ability to succeed.
• How do you want to impact the profession?
• Why do you want to impact the field?

Your personal statement should not be a rehash of your resume nor is it necessarily in your best interest to organize your statement chronologically. As you approach writing your statement, you should identify a theme and goals for what you want your personal statement to convey. You could consider:

• After the admissions committee has read your statement, what three words do you hope they would use to describe you?
• Are there any common threads when examining your activities and interests?
• Is your application narrative consistent?"

A strong "why" and excellent theme cannot make up for poor writing and grammar mistakes. Clarity of writing in your personal statement is just as important as your message. While this is your story, it is also a professional document. Make sure that you are using a structure that is clear and easy to follow to ensure that you are getting your point across. If you are having trouble with organizations consider using the PEEL structure.

• Point – topic sentence – what is the point you want to make? “Extracurricular activities provided me the opportunity to broaden my leadership experience."
• Evidence – make your point – what evidence supports your point? “In M.O.V.E (Mobilization of Volunteer Effort), I was responsible for soliciting and training volunteers which enabled me to work with other organizations within the University. I also helped coordinate the scheduling of volunteers for two Red Cross blood drives. As vice president of the campus premed club, I scheduled meetings, arranged for guest speakers and publicized events.”
• Explanation – explain your point – why is this relevant to the program you are pursuing? “In the process, I learned that it takes a lot of patience and discipline to meet the responsibilities for organizing group activities. ”
• Progression of time (immediately, thereafter, soon, after a few hours, finally, then, later, previously, formerly, first (second, etc.), next and then)
• Change in place (Coming to, When taking)
• Additional example (Not only...,but also; Also; Similarly)
• Contradiction of Limitation (However, Even though, At the same time)
• Cause or Effect (as a result, because, because of, caused by, consequently, for that reason, that is why, therefore, thus)
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Advisor Corner: Crafting Your Personal Statement

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Being able to articulate an answer to the question “why medicine?” is critical for an applicant as they apply to medical school. One of the first opportunities for an applicant to convey this message to admissions officers is through their personal comments essay in the AMCAS application. We asked three pre-health advisors how they advise their students to put their best self forward when crafting their personal statements.

The personal statement is an unfamiliar genre for most students—you’ve practiced writing lab reports, analytical essays, maybe even creative fiction or poetry, but the personal statement is something between a reflective, analytical narrative, and an argumentative essay. You want to reveal something about yourself and your thoughts around your future in medicine while also making an argument that provides evidence supporting your readiness for your career. Well ahead of when you’re writing your personal statement, consider taking classes that require you to create and support arguments through writing, or those that ask you to reflect on your personal experiences to help you sharpen these skills.

As you draft your essay, you may want to include anecdotes from your experiences. It’s easiest to recall these anecdotes as they happen so it can be helpful to keep a journal where you can jot down stories, conversations, and insights that come to you. This could be recounting a meaningful conversation that you had with someone, venting after an especially challenging experience, or even writing about what keeps you going at times when you feel in danger of giving up. If it’s more comfortable, take audio notes by talking into your phone.

While reading sample personal statements can sometimes make a student feel limited to emulating pieces that already exist, I do think that reading others’ reflective writing can be inspirational. The Aspiring Docs Diaries blog written by premeds is one great place to look, as are publications like the Bellevue Literary Review and Pulse , which will deliver a story to your inbox every week. Check with your pre-health advisor to see if they have other examples that they recommend.

Rachel Tolen, Assistant Director and Premedical Advisor, Indiana University I encourage students to think of the personal statement not just as a product. Instead, I encourage them to think of the process of writing the statement as embedded in the larger process of preparing themselves for the experience of medical school. Here are a few key tips that I share with students:

• Start writing early, even months before you begin your application cycle. Expect to revise many versions of your draft over time.
• Take some time to reflect on your life and goals. By the end of reading your statement, the reader should understand why you want to be a physician. 
• When you consider what to write, think about the series of events in your life that have led up to the point where you are applying to medical school. How did you get here? What set you on the path toward medical school? What kept you coming back, even at times when it was challenging? On the day that you retire, what do you hope you’ll be able to say you’ve achieved through your work as a physician? 
• Don’t waste too much time trying to think of a catchy opening or a theme designed just to set your essay apart. Applicants sometimes end up with an opening that comes across as phony and artificial because they are trying too hard to distinguish themselves from other applicants. 
• Just start writing. Writing is a means for thinking and reflecting. Let the theme grow out of the process of writing itself. Some of the best personal statements focus on ordinary events that many other people may have experienced, but what makes the essay stand out are the writer’s unique insights and ability to reflect on these experiences.

Dana Lovold, MPH, Career Counselor at the University of Minnesota Your personal statement can and should include more than what you’ve done to prepare for medical school. The personal statement is an opportunity to share something new about yourself that isn’t conveyed elsewhere in your application.

Advisors at the University of Minnesota employ a storytelling model to support students in finding and writing their unique personal statement. One critical aspect of storytelling is the concept of change. When a story lacks change, it becomes a recitation of facts and events, rather than a reflection of how you’ve learned and grown through your experiences. Many students express concern that their experiences are not unique and wonder how they can stand out. Focusing on change can help with this. Some questions you may want to consider when exploring ideas are:

• What did you learn from the experience?
• How did you change as a result of the experience?
• What insight did you gain?

By sharing your thoughts on these aspects of your preparation and motivation for medicine, the reader has a deeper understanding of who you are and what you value. Then, connect that insight to how it relates to your future in the profession. This will convey your unique insight and demonstrate how you will use that insight as a physician.  

In exploring additional aspects of what to write about, we also encourage students to cover these four components in the essay:

• Motivation refers to a student’s ongoing preparation for the health profession and can include the initial inspiration.
• Fit is determined through self-assessment of relevant values and personal qualities as they relate to the profession.
• Capacity is demonstrated through holistically aligning with the competencies expected in the profession.
• Vision relates to the impact you wish to make in the field.

After you finish a working draft, go back through and see how you’ve covered each of these components. Ask people who are reading your draft if they can identify how you’ve covered these elements in your essay so that you know it’s clear to others.

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Personal Statements

Please read over the resources on this page, and then you are welcome to meet with a Pre-Health Professions Coach to discuss your ideas before starting your personal statement.

Recommendations for Personal Statements

The purpose.

The personal statement/essay should provide evidence to the admissions committees that you are knowledgeable about the profession (know what you are getting into) and are well-suited to the profession (have the necessary qualities, strengths and skills).

The Audience

The essays are likely to be read at different stages of the process.

• Initial review of the application
• Committee decision to invite for interview
• By interviewers in preparation for the interview
• Committee admission decision

You are not writing for one reader as you do for a course where you write what a particular professor is looking for.

The readers are very diverse. A committee may have up to 20-30 people on it who represent different generations and cultures and have a variety of ideas about who is suited to and prepared for the profession and a particular school.

Keys to Content

All essays are essentially about the same thing – you! – your strengths, your knowledge of the profession, how you have tested your desire to pursue this health profession and in what ways you are suited to and prepared for professional education and training. 

You need to know yourself and the profession well enough to choose the personal strengths, knowledge and insights you will write about.

Take inventory.

Take an inventory of your qualities and skills and how they relate to your experiences. Check out the “Tools to Help You Build Your Personal Statement” under Personal Statement Resources & Tools below. 

Get more mileage out of your essay with valuable content. 

Write about experiences that will demonstrate the qualities, strengths and skills that successful health care professionals must have.

Make the invisible visible.

Consider what the committees will see in your application. Is there something important about you that is not obvious from the numbers and information already listed in your application?

Make it matter.

Is there something included in your application that needs to be emphasized? For example, will you be listing one experience where you took on a leadership role, but the actual knowledge and abilities that you developed there are not obvious? Did you volunteer in one place rather than several but the experiences there were substantial and of great value in your pre-professional development? You may decide to give these more weight by writing about them

Read the prompt carefully.

The applicant is responsible for understanding the prompt and providing the kind of information that the admissions committees have asked for. 

Some prompts are as simple as “Why do you want to be a _________?”

Many are more complex.

In either case, the prompt requires thoughtful consideration, first to understand it and then to decide on the content of your response. 

Don’t get hung up on any one word or phrase in the prompt. Read the whole prompt, and decide what they are really asking for.

Can you explain the prompt in your own words? 

Decide which of your personal strengths as well as your knowledge and insight into the profession relate best to the prompt. (This is when the “Tools to Help You Build Your Personal Statement” can be of help.)

In responding to the prompt, your goal is to use your experiences to demonstrate those things about you that predict your success in professional school and in professional practice.

When Writing about You

“Why do you want to pursue a career in this health profession?”  is not asking you to write an essay on how very much you want to be in the profession. It is not asking what is so amazing about people who are in this profession. Admissions committees want to know who it is that wants to pursue this career and in what ways you are capable of and prepared for professional school and professional life. 

“I love science and want to help” is important but is not enough. Demonstrating how compassionate and caring you are is great, but there are many careers in which one can apply a love of science to help people. Write about the experiences that demonstrate specific knowledge of and exposure to the profession and the strengths and skills that will help you to succeed in this specific role.

When Writing about Mentors

If you write about what you observed/learned while shadowing a healthcare professional, you must then turn your attention to yourself and in what ways you have developed and demonstrated those qualities that you admire in your mentor.

Remember, this is about your qualities and skills, and knowledge. The experiences you choose to write about are the vehicles that convey that information.

Inspiration is important, but then what ….. ? 

Inspiration is essential to pursuing a health professions career. But… while the most interesting, breathtaking, awesome, unique, inspirational experience can be a place to start, after the aha moment, what did you do to test your motivation and to find out what professional education, training and practice are actually like? Show the committees that you are an informed applicant who has made a rational and mature decision to apply for acceptance into training for this profession.

By the way, it is not at all necessary to have one of those mythic and epic inspirational experiences. There are many health care professionals who realized their interest in their profession in a more gradual evolution of experiences.

No matter how you got here, the committees are more interested in what you’ve done recently than every step along the way.

This is not an English or Rhetoric or Creative Writing assignment.

Still it will make an important impression. So, if you want to make a very good impression that will help you earn an invitation to an admissions interview, it should be well-written, technically correct and, most importantly, respond appropriately to the prompt.

Don’t get hung up on having a theme. 

Doing so takes over and steals the room you need for details about valuable experiences. This is a very short essay, and the themes eat characters and spaces for lunch. Let the theme be subtle. Let the theme be the things about you that show you are suited to the profession and have what it takes to succeed and to care for patients. 

Use active verbs and active voice .

Health professionals are proactive. Write about what you’ve done and the value of those experiences. 

Everything you write should add value.  

If you write about a challenge or struggle or obstacle or mistake , get some mileage out of it by showing what you did to succeed, what you learned from it and who you are as a result.  

You have a small space and, hopefully, many strengths and experiences.  Each experience, paragraph, sentence, word takes up space.  Know why you are telling the committees a story and what messages you want to send. 

Your personal statement should be primarily about your experiences since high school. However, a pivotal moment or particularly valuable relevant experience from your pre-college years may be needed to set the stage for who you are today. If so, take care to write it concisely and save room for more current information.

Consider structure.

You may choose to write in a chronological order of events or in a modified chronological order in which you lead with an interesting recent experience and flashback to background information that is relevant. Either way, the first experience you write about should be interesting enough to get the reader’s attention.

There is not a lot of room for the Big Intro paragraph and the Big Concluding paragraph. Usually, a few lines of intro that lead into the first anecdote or background statement will work. You may use only the last few lines for your concluding statement. 

You may have room in a personal statement for only two or three experiences; however, each experience may reveal several different strengths that will be of interest to the admissions committees.

Be concise.

Avoid overuse of descriptive words and introductory words and phrases that are unnecessary to the message.

Get to the point. Each sentence moves the reader forward. No slow build. You don’t have that luxury. Neither does anyone else.

There is no space for reiteration.

There is usually some sacrifice of a smooth, flowing feel that you may have in longer essays.

Use your own vocabulary, not the thesaurus. When you interview, you should sound like the person who wrote the application essay.

You may see or hear the word “unique” in relation to essay prompts. While you want to stand out, you do not need to have an experience that no one else has had. A unique experience can be thought of as being unique or special to you in your own life rather than unique among all of the applicants.

Stand out by being well-prepared, mature, informed, experienced and able to communicate in writing that you possess the qualities that excellent health care students and professionals must-have.

Where to Find Help

Personal Statement Brainstorming – Health Professions Office

Pre-HP Coaches can help with

• Understanding prompts
• Content brainstorming
• Special circumstances – examples: academic difficulties, health issues, gaps in education, reapplication

Personal Statement Review and Feedback – University Writing Center

• Getting started writing
• Technical writing questions
• Help with structure, organization, style, tone

It is not the responsibility of UWC consultants to interpret prompts or select appropriate content. 

As the applicant, you should be able to explain to your writing consultant the prompt and the messages that you are attempting to get across.  Writing consultants can help with whether and how you are getting those messages into writing.

If you are still struggling with this, spend some time reading and thinking through the prompt. Discuss this in your Personal Statement Brainstorming appointment at the HPO.

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The personal statement is your opportunity to describe who you are, why you are uniquely qualified for a career in the health professions (beyond GPA and standardized test results), and what influences and experiences have informed your decision to pursue medicine or dentistry.

Most importantly, the personal statement is your opportunity to leave the reader with a message or theme that symbolizes a key aspect of your candidacy. The personal statement plays a role in determining who gets an interview, and you can greatly improve your chances by submitting a well-written and interesting essay. We recommend having a couple of trusted people read and edit your personal statement.

For assistance with the technical aspects of your essay, we recommend you schedule an appointment with the Writing Center to have one of their tutors review your draft. To schedule an appointment, please visit the Writing Center website and click on the “Schedule an Appointment” link. The Pre-Professional Advising Office also offers general feedback on one draft of your personal statement; details of this service will be available during your application cycle.

• PDF Document: Pre-Professional Advising’s Guide to Creating Effective Personal Statements
• Medical School Personal Statement: The Ultimate Guide
• 7 Tips for Writing Your AMCAS Personal Comments Essay
• How to Write a Medical School Personal Statement

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• Medical School Application

Medical School Personal Statement Examples That Got 6 Acceptances

Featured Admissions Expert: Dr. Monica Taneja, MD

These 30 exemplary medical school personal statement examples come from our students who enrolled in one of our medical school admissions consulting programs. These examples led to multiple acceptance for our student’s dream schools. In this article we'll also provide you a step-by-step guide for composing your own outstanding personal statement from scratch. If you follow this strategy, you're going to have a stellar statement whether you apply to the most competitive or the easiest medical schools to get into .

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free initial consultation here <<

Listen to the blog!

Article Contents 31 min read

Stellar medical school personal statement examples that got multiple acceptances, medical school personal statement example #1 – six acceptances.

I made my way to Hillary’s house after hearing about her alcoholic father’s incarceration. Seeing her tearfulness and at a loss for words, I took her hand and held it, hoping to make things more bearable. She squeezed back gently in reply, “thank you.” My silent gesture seemed to confer a soundless message of comfort, encouragement and support.

Through mentoring, I have developed meaningful relationships with individuals of all ages, including seven-year-old Hillary. Many of my mentees come from disadvantaged backgrounds; working with them has challenged me to become more understanding and compassionate. Although Hillary was not able to control her father’s alcoholism and I had no immediate solution to her problems, I felt truly fortunate to be able to comfort her with my presence. Though not always tangible, my small victories, such as the support I offered Hillary, hold great personal meaning. Similarly, medicine encompasses more than an understanding of tangible entities such as the science of disease and treatment—to be an excellent physician requires empathy, dedication, curiosity and love of problem solving. These are skills I have developed through my experiences both teaching and shadowing inspiring physicians.

Medicine encompasses more than hard science. My experience as a teaching assistant nurtured my passion for medicine; I found that helping students required more than knowledge of organic chemistry. Rather, I was only able to address their difficulties when I sought out their underlying fears and feelings. One student, Azra, struggled despite regularly attending office hours. She approached me, asking for help. As we worked together, I noticed that her frustration stemmed from how intimidated she was by problems. I helped her by listening to her as a fellow student and normalizing her struggles. “I remember doing badly on my first organic chem test, despite studying really hard,” I said to Azra while working on a problem. “Really? You’re a TA, shouldn’t you be perfect?” I looked up and explained that I had improved my grades through hard work. I could tell she instantly felt more hopeful, she said, “If you could do it, then I can too!” When she passed, receiving a B+;I felt as if I had passed too. That B+ meant so much: it was a tangible result of Azra’s hard work, but it was also symbol of our dedication to one another and the bond we forged working together.

My passion for teaching others and sharing knowledge emanates from my curiosity and love for learning. My shadowing experiences in particular have stimulated my curiosity and desire to learn more about the world around me. How does platelet rich plasma stimulate tissue growth? How does diabetes affect the proximal convoluted tubule? My questions never stopped. I wanted to know everything and it felt very satisfying to apply my knowledge to clinical problems.

Shadowing physicians further taught me that medicine not only fuels my curiosity; it also challenges my problem solving skills. I enjoy the connections found in medicine, how things learned in one area can aid in coming up with a solution in another. For instance, while shadowing Dr. Steel I was asked, “What causes varicose veins and what are the complications?” I thought to myself, what could it be? I knew that veins have valves and thought back to my shadowing experience with Dr. Smith in the operating room. She had amputated a patient’s foot due to ulcers obstructing the venous circulation. I replied, “veins have valves and valve problems could lead to ulcers.” Dr. Steel smiled, “you’re right, but it doesn’t end there!” Medicine is not disconnected; it is not about interventional cardiology or orthopedic surgery. In fact, medicine is intertwined and collaborative. The ability to gather knowledge from many specialties and put seemingly distinct concepts together to form a coherent picture truly attracts me to medicine.

It is hard to separate science from medicine; in fact, medicine is science. However, medicine is also about people—their feelings, struggles and concerns. Humans are not pre-programmed robots that all face the same problems. Humans deserve sensitive and understanding physicians. Humans deserve doctors who are infinitely curious, constantly questioning new advents in medicine. They deserve someone who loves the challenge of problem solving and coming up with innovative individualized solutions. I want to be that physician. I want to be able to approach each case as a unique entity and incorporate my strengths into providing personalized care for my patients. Until that time, I may be found Friday mornings in the operating room, peering over shoulders, dreaming about the day I get to hold the drill.

Let's take a step back to consider what this medical school personal statement example does, not just what it says. It begins with an engaging hook in the first paragraph and ends with a compelling conclusion. The introduction draws you in, making the essay almost impossible to put down, while the conclusion paints a picture of someone who is both passionate and dedicated to the profession. In between the introduction and conclusion, this student makes excellent use of personal narrative. The anecdotes chosen demonstrate this individual's response to the common question, " Why do you want to be a doctor ?" while simultaneously making them come across as compassionate, curious, and reflective.

This person is clearly a talented writer, but this was the result of several rounds of edits with one of our medical school admissions consulting team members and a lot of hard work.

If your essay is not quite there yet, or if you're just getting started, don't sweat it. A good personal statement will take time and editing. 

I was one of those kids who always wanted to be doctor. I didn’t understand the responsibilities and heartbreaks, the difficult decisions, and the years of study and training that go with the title, but I did understand that the person in the white coat stood for knowledge, professionalism, and compassion. As a child, visits to the pediatrician were important events. I’d attend to my hair and clothes, and travel to the appointment in anticipation. I loved the interaction with my doctor. I loved that whoever I was in the larger world, I could enter the safe space of the doctor’s office, and for a moment my concerns were heard and evaluated. I listened as my mother communicated with the doctor. I’d be asked questions, respectfully examined, treatments and options would be weighed, and we would be on our way. My mother had been supported in her efforts to raise a well child, and I’d had a meaningful interaction with an adult who cared for my body and development. I understood medicine as an act of service, which aligned with my values, and became a dream.

I was hospitalized for several months as a teenager and was inspired by the experience, despite the illness. In the time of diagnosis, treatment and recovery, I met truly sick children. Children who were much more ill than me. Children who wouldn’t recover. We shared a four-bed room, and we shared our medical stories. Because of the old hospital building, there was little privacy in our room, and we couldn’t help but listen-in during rounds, learning the medical details, becoming “experts” in our four distinct cases. I had more mobility than some of the patients, and when the medical team and family members were unavailable, I’d run simple errands for my roommates, liaise informally with staff, and attend to needs. To bring physical relief, a cold compress, a warmed blanket, a message to a nurse, filled me with such an intense joy and sense of purpose that I applied for a volunteer position at the hospital even before my release.

I have since been volunteering in emergency departments, out-patient clinics, and long term care facilities. While the depth of human suffering is at times shocking and the iterations of illness astounding, it is in the long-term care facility that I had the most meaningful experiences by virtue of my responsibilities and the nature of the patients’ illnesses. Charles was 55 when he died. He had early onset Parkinson’s Disease with dementia that revealed itself with a small tremor when he was in his late twenties. Charles had a wife and three daughters who visited regularly, but whom he didn’t often remember. Over four years as a volunteer, my role with the family was to fill in the spaces left by Charles’ periodic inability to project his voice as well as his growing cognitive lapses. I would tell the family of his activities between their visits, and I would remind him of their visits and their news. This was a hard experience for me. I watched as 3 daughters, around my own age, incrementally lost their father. I became angry, and then I grew even more determined.

In the summer of third year of my Health Sciences degree, I was chosen to participate in an undergraduate research fellowship in biomedical research at my university. As part of this experience, I worked alongside graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, medical students, physicians, and faculty in Alzheimer’s research into biomarkers that might predict future disease. We collaborated in teams, and by way of the principal investigator’s careful leadership, I learned wherever one falls in terms of rank, each contribution is vital to the outcome. None of the work is in isolation. For instance, I was closely mentored by Will, a graduate student who had been in my role the previous summer. He, in turn, collaborated with post docs and medical students, turning to faculty when roadblocks were met. While one person’s knowledge and skill may be deeper than another’s, individual efforts make up the whole. Working in this team, aside from developing research skills, I realized that practicing medicine is not an individual pursuit, but a collaborative commitment to excellence in scholarship and leadership, which all begins with mentorship.

Building on this experience with teamwork in the lab, I participated in a global health initiative in Nepal for four months, where I worked alongside nurses, doctors, and translators. I worked in mobile rural health camps that offered tuberculosis care, monitored the health and development of babies and children under 5, and tended to minor injuries. We worked 11-hour days helping hundreds of people in the 3 days we spent in each location. Patients would already be in line before we woke each morning. I spent each day recording basic demographic information, blood pressure, pulse, temperature, weight, height, as well as random blood sugar levels, for each patient, before they lined up to see a doctor. Each day was exhausting and satisfying. We helped so many people. But this satisfaction was quickly displaced by a developing understanding of issues in health equity.

My desire to be doctor as a young person was not misguided, but simply naïve. I’ve since learned the role of empathy and compassion through my experiences as a patient and volunteer. I’ve broadened my contextual understanding of medicine in the lab and in Nepal. My purpose hasn’t changed, but what has developed is my understanding that to be a physician is to help people live healthy, dignified lives by practicing both medicine and social justice.

Want to hear more medical school personal statement examples that got accepted?

28 More Medical School Personal Statement Examples That Got Accepted

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t I pursue medicine sooner?\u201d Is the question that now occupies my mind. Leila made me aware of the unprofessional treatment delivered by some doctors. My subsequent activities confirmed my desire to become a doctor who cares deeply for his patients and provides the highest quality care. My passion for research fuels my scientific curiosity. I will continue to advocate for patient equality and fairness. Combining these qualities will allow me to succeed as a physician. ","label":"Med School PS Example #10","title":"Med School PS Example #10"}]" code="tab4" template="BlogArticle">

" It was the middle of the night when I received the call that my friend was trying to jump off the 30th floor of an apartment building. When I got to her, all I could see was anguish and fear in her eyes as she looked back at me from the balcony. I was eventually able to talk her down, but this was only one of many times I came to her aid as she struggled with mental illness."

Medical school personal statement example: #12

" I lost my brother before I had the opportunity to meet him. Technology was not advanced enough in my hometown in India for my mother to know she had lost her child before it laid still in her arms."

Medical school personal statement example: #13

" After six years of being in the closet, I came out to my parents as bisexual in the middle of a family dinner, blurting out the confession as I couldn’t hold it in anymore ... To me, this was just one small piece of me and my identity that was different but for some, it makes all the difference."

Medical school personal statement example: #14

" While shadowing primary care physicians, neurologists and a laryngologist however, I realized just how untrue the idea of doctors failing to feel helpless can be ... Looking back now, I didn’t yet comprehend that doctors were human and didn’t always have all of the answers. This was my first encounter with the limitations of medicine."

Medical school personal statement example: #15

" Having been both a patient and a teacher, I have experienced the importance of paying attention to brief moments that can offer great transformation."

Medical school personal statement example: #16

" “Who are you?” At 20 years old, I stood face to face with my abuela, but I was now a stranger. Our relationship had been erased with those three simple words. My abuela, as I had known her, was gone."

Medical school personal statement example: #17

" As a child growing up, I faced signs in Mandarin and Hindu scriptures with a mixture of curiosity and frustration. Across the street from my childhood home, I saw the effect of misunderstanding played out in reverse at the hospital ... I could not hear the conversations, but I recognized the expression on the receptionist’s face each time she spoke to a Hindi-speaking patient—wrinkled nose and a raised eyebrow with a look of confusion. At a young age, I understood how discouraging even simple communication could be across a language barrier."

Medical school personal statement example: #18

" The high pitched siren broke silence in a frosty winter morning. Stationed on the curbside was an ambulance with flashing red and white lights with my mother inside. Not long ago, our car skidded on ice and hit a tree ... In the next few days, I sat alongside my mother in the hospital, praying that her pain would ease and she would recover soon."

Medical school personal statement example: #19

" Coping with my mother’s visual hallucinations, amnesia, and overall emotional instability was frustrating and exhausting. I was heartbroken watching the strong, independent woman who raised me struggle to be herself. Nevertheless, I witnessed the necessity of having faith and proper support in overcoming hurdles such as these."

Medical school personal statement example: #20

" While it was devastating to learn that there was no treatment for NCL, it highlighted the importance of medical research ... The connection the doctors developed with my family, the way they taught us about NCL, and the hope their research on NCL gave us helped drive my curiosity and love for medicine."

Medical school personal statement example: #21

" We were passing through the blinding lights of New York City when the incident happened. It happened slowly, like in a movie. Shuffling along the crowded sidewalk, holding my mother’s hand, I suddenly felt her fingers slip from my grasp."

Medical school personal statement example: #22

"W hen I was ten years old, I had an uncle I’d never met before come to visit. When my mother introduced him to us, she told us that he was a travelling physician for doctors without borders ... He told us that his job was to provide care for people in need, regardless of race, nationality, class, or creed. 'One day, maybe you can join me,' he said."

Medical school personal statement example: #23

" When I was young, I wanted to be just like my father ... As I got older, the veil of importance I always viewed him with began to lift – the smoke in front of my eyes swept away in a cold gust of wind. On my 16th birthday, he gave me the only advice he would ever give before he died."

Medical school personal statement example: #24

" As I watched smoke curl around my grandfather’s chapped hands, I often wondered if the burning red tip of the cigarette kept him warm in the cold prairie winter ... Cigarettes were bad for you, he'd say, yet he continued the ritual every workday. Adults always told us they were bad for your health. But nobody told Grandpa he shouldn’t smoke."

Medical school personal statement example: #25

" To me, being a psychiatrist is like dropping a few coins in a cup. It doesn’t seem like enough, but little by little, those coins start to add up."

Medical school personal statement example: #26

" I wasn’t supposed to live past the age of 25. Growing up in a neighborhood where drug use was commonplace and crime rates were high, every young person could see what their future held every day on the walk home from school."

Medical school personal statement example: #27

" When we returned home after the mission trip, that sense of pride hung around. I reflected on my trip, and I realized ... while dentistry still didn’t spark my passions, my interest in medicine had been ignited."

Medical school personal statement example: #28

"' People like Annie have problems that won’t go away,' Dr. Dean said, 'but that doesn’t mean we can’t help.'"

Medical school personal statement example: #29

" We were out on patrol one night and heard shouting. We called it in and ran over, fearing the worst. What we found was a small boy – one of the local kids – who had tripped and scraped his knee. Well, didn’t Jeff patch him up with his field kit, showing a great bedside manner for a guy in full tactical gear."

Medical school personal statement example: #30

" I’m not decrying loud music, but ... a series of bad decisions and ignored warnings may have condemned me to a future of obnoxious background noise."

Are you a medical school reapplicant? Check out some medical school reapplicant personal statement examples. ","label":"NOTE","title":"NOTE"}]" code="tab2" template="BlogArticle">

Tips to Create Your Exemplary Medical School Personal Statement

Your med school personal statement is one of the most important medical school requirements . It tells your story of why you decided to pursue the medical profession. Keep in mind that personal statements are one of the key factors that affect medical school acceptance rates . A well-written personal statement can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection!

“Personal statements are often emphasized in your application to medical school as this singular crucial factor that distinguishes you from every other applicant. Demonstrating the uniqueness of my qualities is precisely how I found myself getting multiple interviews and offers into medical school.” – Dr. Vincent Adeyemi, MD

Personal statements remain one of the most challenging parts of students' journeys to medical school. Here's our student Melissa sharing her experience of working on her personal statement:

"I struggled making my personal statement personal... I couldn't incorporate my feelings, motives and life stories that inspired me to pursue medicine into my personal statement" - Melissa, BeMo Student

Let's approach this step-by-step. Here's a quick run-down of what we'll cover in the article:

#1 Review What Makes a Strong Medical School Personal Statement

Before discussing how to write a strong medical school personal statement, we first need to understand the qualities of a strong essay. Similar to crafting strong medical school secondary essays , writing a strong personal statement is a challenging, yet extremely important, part of your MD or MD-PhD programs applications. Your AMCAS Work and Activities section may show the reader what you have done, but the personal statement explains why.

This is how Dr. Neel Mistry, MD and our admissions expert, prepared for his medical school personal statement writing:

"The personal statement is an opportunity for you to shine and really impress the committee to invite you for an interview. The personal statement is your chance to be reflective and go beyond what is stated on your CV and [activities]. In order to stand out, it is important to answer the main questions [of medical school personal statements] well: a bit about yourself and what led you to medicine, why you would make an ideal medical student and future physician, what attracts you to [medicine], and what sets you apart from the other candidates. The key here is answering the last two questions well. Most candidates simply highlight what they have done, but do not reflect on it or mention how what they have done has prepared them for a future medical career." - Dr. Neel Mistry, MD

A personal statement should be deeply personal, giving the admissions committee insight into your passions and your ultimate decision to pursue a career in medicine. A compelling and introspective personal statement can make the difference between getting a medical school interview and facing medical school rejection .

As you contemplate the task in front of you, you may be wondering what composing an essay has to do with entering the field of medicine. Many of our students were surprised to learn that medical school personal statements are so valued by med schools. The two things are more closely related than you think. A compelling personal statement demonstrates your written communication skills and highlights your accomplishments, passions, and aspirations. The ability to communicate a complex idea in a short space is an important skill as a physician. You should demonstrate your communication skills by writing a concise and meaningful statement that illustrates your best attributes. Leaving a lasting impression on your reader is what will lead to interview invitations.

#2 Brainstorm Ideas to Make Your Medical School Personal Statement Stand Out

Personal statements for medical school often start by explaining why medicine is awesome; but the admission committee already knows that. You should explain why you want a career in medicine. What is it about the practice of medicine that resonates with who you are? Here are some additional questions you can consider as you go about brainstorming for your essay:

• What motivates you to learn more about medicine?
• What is something you want them to know about you that isn't in your application?
• Where were you born, how did you grow up, and what type of childhood did you have growing up (perhaps including interesting stories about your siblings, parents, grandparents)?
• What kinds of early exposure to the medical field left an impression on you as a child?
• Did you become familiar with and interested in the field of medicine at an early stage of your life? If so, why?
• What are your key strengths, and how have you developed these?
• What steps did you take to familiarize yourself with the medical profession?
• Did you shadow a physician? Did you volunteer or work in a clinical setting? Did you get involved in medical research?
• What challenges have you faced? Have these made an impact on what you chose to study?
• What are your favorite activities?
• What kinds of extracurriculars for medical school or volunteer work have you done, and how have these shaped who you are, your priorities, and or your perspectives on a career in medicine?
• What was your "Aha!" moment?
• When did your desire to become a doctor solidify?
• How did you make the decision to apply to medical school?

You shouldn't try to answer all of these in your essay. Try a few main points that will carry over into the final draft. Start developing your narrative by prioritizing the most impactful responses to these prompts and the ideas that are most relevant to your own experiences and goals. The perfect personal statement not only shows the admissions committee that you have refined communication skills, but also conveys maturity and professionalism.

Here's how our student Alison, who was a non-traditional applicant with a serious red flag in her application, used her brainstorming sessions with our admissions experts to get a theme going in her medical school personal statement and her overall application package:

"I think it was during my brainstorming session that we really started talking about... what the theme [was] going to be for my application. And I think that was really helpful in and of itself. Just [reflecting] 'Hey, what's your focus going to be like? How are we going to write this? What's the style going to be?' Just to create an element of consistency throughout..." Alison, BeMo Student, current student at Dell Medical School 

After brainstorming, you should be able to clearly see two to four key ideas, skills, qualities, and intersections that you want to write about.

As you begin thinking about what to include in your personal essay, remember that you are writing for a specific audience with specific expectations. The admissions committee will be examining your essay through the lens of their particular school's mission, values, and priorities, as well as the qualities of an ideal physician.

"Make it easy for the reader to be able to work [their] way through [your personal statement]. Because, at the end of the day, I think one thing that helped me a lot was being able to think about who was going to be reading this application and it's going to be these people that are sitting around a desk or sitting at a table and [go] through massive numbers of applications every single day. And the easier and more digestible that you can make it for them, gives you a little bit of a win." - Alison, BeMo student, current student at Dell Medical School

You should think about your experiences with reference to the AAMC Core Competencies and to each school's mission statement so that you're working toward your narrative with the institution and broader discipline in mind. The AAMC Core Competencies are the key characteristics and skills sought by U.S. medical schools.

You are not expected to have mastered all of these competencies at this stage of your education. Display those that are relevant to your experiences will help demonstrate your commitment to the medical profession.

#4 How to Answer the Prompt, Without a Prompt

Your personal statement is, in essence, an essay prompt without a prompt. They give you free rein to write your own prompt to tell your story. This is often difficult for students as they find it hard to get started without having a true direction. However, you can think of this question as essentially having the prompt “why do you want to become a doctor?” . Here are some questions to guide your self-reflection:

• The moment your passion for medicine crystallized
• The events that led you toward this path
• Specific instances in which you experienced opportunities
• Challenges that helped shape your worldview
• Your compassion, resilience, or enthusiastic collaboration
• Demonstrate your commitment to others
• Your dependability
• Your leadership skills
• Your ability to problem-solve or to resolve a conflict

These are personal, impactful experiences that only you have had. Focus on the personal, and connect that to the values of your future profession. Do that and you will avoid writing the same essay as everyone else. Dr. Monica Taneja, MD and our admissions expert, shares her tip that got her accepted to the University of Maryland School of Medicine :

"I focused on my journey to medicine and opportunities that I sought out along the way. Everyone’s path and validation is unique, so walking the reader through your growth to the point of application will naturally be different, but that's what I wanted to share in my personal statement." - Dr. Monica Taneja, MD

#5 reflect on your theme.

Admissions committees don't want your medical school resumé in narrative form. All that stuff is already in the activities section of the application. This is where you should discuss interesting or important life events that shaped you and your interest in medicine (a service trip to rural Guatemala, a death in the family, a personal experience as a patient).

“The essay is not about what you have been through; it's about who it made you into.” – Dr. Vincent Adeyemi, MD

One suggestion is to have an overarching theme to your essay to tie everything together, starting with an intriguing personal anecdote. Alternatively, you can use one big metaphor or analogy through the essay.

Dr. Jaime Cazes, MD encourages you to be creative when it comes to the theme of your personal statement:

"It is very easy to make the 'cookie-cutter' personal statement. To a reviewer who is reading tens of these at a time it can become quite boring. What I did was [tell] a story. Like any good novel, the stories' first lines are meant to hook the reader. This can be about anything if you can bring it back and relate it to your application. It could be about the time your friend was smashed up against the boards in hockey and you, with your limited first aid experience helped to treat him. It is important that the story be REAL." - Dr. Jaime Cazes, MD, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine

Your personal statement must be well-organized, showing a clear, logical progression, as well as connections between ideas. It is generally best to use a chronological progression since this mirrors your progression into a mature adult and gives you the opportunity to illustrate how you learned from early mistakes later on. Carry the theme throughout the statement to achieve continuity and cohesion. Use the theme to links ideas from each paragraph to the next and to unite your piece.

#1 Review Medical School Personal Statement Structure

Writing the first draft of your essay, it is important to keep an outline in mind: The essay should read like a chronological narrative and have good structure and flow. Just like any academic essay, it will need an introduction, body content, and a conclusion. 

Introduction

The introductory sentence of your essay will most certainly make or break your overall statement. Ensure that you have a creative and captivating opening sentence that draws the reader in. The kinds of things that inspire or motivate you can say a lot about who you are as a person.

“ Like any good novel, the stories' first lines are meant to hook the reader. This can be about anything if you can bring it back and relate it to your application. It could be about the time your friend was smashed up against the boards in hockey and you, with your limited first aid experience helped to treat him.” – Dr. Jaime Cazes, MD

That is a lot of work for a single paragraph to do. To better help you envision what this looks like in practice, here is a sample introduction that hits these main points.

I was convinced I was going to grow up to be a professional chef. This was not just another far-fetched idealistic childhood dream that many of us had growing up. There was a sense of certainty about this dream that motivated me to devote countless hours to its practice. It was mostly the wonder that it brought to others and the way they were left in awe after they tried a dish that I recall enjoying the most creating as a young chef. But, when I was 13, my grandfather was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, and I realized that sometimes cooking is not enough, as I quickly learned about the vital role physicians play in the life of everyday people like my family and myself. Although my grandfather ended up passing away from his illness, the impact that the healthcare team had on him, my family, and I will always serve as the initial starting point of my fascination with the medical profession. Since that time, I have spent years learning more about the human sciences through my undergraduate studies and research, have developed a deeper understanding of the demands and challenges of the medical profession through my various volunteer and extra-curricular experiences, and although it has been difficult along the way, I have continued to forge a more intimate fascination with the medical field that has motivated me to apply to medical school at this juncture of my life. ","label":"Sample Introduction","title":"Sample Introduction"}]" code="tab3" template="BlogArticle">

Check out our video to learn how to create a killer introduction to your medical school personal statement:

In the body of your essay, you essentially want to elaborate on the ideas that you have introduced in your opening paragraph by drawing on your personal experiences to provide evidence.

Depending on the details, a selection of volunteer and extracurricular experiences might be discussed in more detail, in order to emphasize other traits like collaboration, teamwork, perseverance, or a sense of social responsibility – all key characteristics sought by medical schools. Just like an academic essay, you will devote one paragraph to each major point, explaining this in detail, supporting your claims with experiences from your life, and reflecting on the meaning of each plot point in your personal narrative, with reference to why you want to pursue a medical career.

The conclusion is just as important as the introduction. It is your last chance to express your medical aspirations. You want to impress the reader while also leaving them wanting more. In this case, more would mean getting an interview so they can learn more about who you are!

Your final statement should not be a simple summary of the things you have discussed. It should be insightful, captivating, and leave the reader with a lasting impression. Although you want to re-emphasize the major ideas of your essay, you should try to be creative and captivating, much like your opening paragraph. If you can link your opening idea to your last paragraph it will really tie the whole essay together.

#2 Show, Don't Tell

The narrative you construct should display some of your most tightly held values, principles, or ethical positions, along with key accomplishments and activities. If you see yourself as someone who is committed to community service, and you have a track record of such service, your story should feature this and provide insight into why you care about your community and what you learned from your experiences. Saying that you value community service when you've never volunteered a day in your life is pointless. Stating that your family is one where we support each other through challenge and loss (if this is indeed true), is excellent because it lays the groundwork for telling a story while showing that you are orientated towards close relationships. You would then go on to offer a brief anecdote that supports this. You are showing how you live such principles, rather than just telling your reader that you have such principles:

"Remember to use specific personal examples throughout your statement to make it more impactful and memorable for the readers. Often, painting a picture in the reader’s mind in the form of a story helps with this." - Dr. Neel Mistry, MD

A lot of students make the mistake of verbalizing their personal attributes with a bunch of adjectives, such as, "This experience taught me to be a self-reliant leader, with excellent communication skills, and empathy for others..." In reality, this does nothing to convey these qualities. It's a mistake to simply list your skills or characteristics without showing the reader an example of a time you used them to solve a problem. The person reading the essay may not believe you, as you've not really given them a way to see such values in your actions. It is better to construct a narrative to show the reader that you possess the traits that medical schools are looking for, rather than explicitly stating that you are an empathetic individual or capable of deep self-reflection.

While it may be tempting to write in a high academic tone, using terminology or jargon that is often complex or discipline-specific, requiring a specialized vocabulary for comprehension. You should actually aim to write for a non-specialist audience. Remember, in the world of medicine, describing a complex, clinical condition to a patient requires using specific but clear words. Use words that you believe most people understand. Read your personal statement back to a 14-year-old, and then again to someone for whom English is not their first language, to see if you're on the right path.

Ultimately, fancy words do not make you a good communicator; listening and ensuring reader comprehension makes you a good communicator. Show them your communication skills through clear, accessible prose, written with non-specialists in mind. A common refrain among writing instructors is: never use a $10 word where a $2 word will suffice.

#4 Display Professionalism

Professionalism may seem like a difficult quality to display when only composing a personal statement. After all, the reader can't see your mannerisms, your personal style, or any of those little qualities that allow someone to appear professional. Professionalism is about respect for the experience of others on your team or in your workplace. It is displayed when you are able to step back from your own individual position and think about what is best for your colleagues and peers, considering their needs alongside your own.

One easy way to destroy a sense of professionalism is to act in a judgmental way towards others, particularly if you perceived and ultimately resolved an error on someone else's part. Sometimes students blame another medical professional for something that went wrong with a patient.

They might say something to the effect of:

"The nurse kept brushing off the patient's concerns, refusing to ask the attending to increase her pain medications. Luckily, being the empathetic individual that I am, I took the time to listen to sit with the patient, eventually bringing her concerns to the attending physician, who thanked me for letting him know."

There are a couple of things wrong with this example. It seems like this person is putting down someone else in an attempt to make themselves look better. They come across as un-empathetic and judgmental of the nurse. Maybe she was having a busy day, or maybe the attending had just seen the patient for this issue and the patient didn't really need re-assessment. Reading this kind of account in a personal statement makes the reader question the maturity of the applicant and their ability to move past blaming others and resolve problems in a meaningful way. Instead of allocating blame, identify what the problem was for the patient and then focus on what you did to resolve it and reflect on what you learned from the whole experience.

One last note on professionalism: Being professional does not mean being overly stoic, hiding your emotions, or cultivating a bland personality. A lot of students are afraid to talk about how a situation made them feel in their personal statement. They worry that discussing feelings is inappropriate and will appear unprofessional. Unfortunately for these students, emotional intelligence is hugely important to the practice of medicine. Good doctors are able to quickly identify their own emotions and understand how their emotional reactions may inform their actions, and the ability to deliver appropriate care, in a given situation. So, when writing your personal statement, think about how each experience made you feel, and what you learned from those feelings and that experience.

Step 3: Write Your First Draft of Your Personal Statement

As you can see, there is a LOT of planning and consideration to be done before actually starting your first draft. Properly brainstorming, outlining, and considering the content and style of your essay prior to beginning the essay will make the writing process much smoother than it would be you to try to jump right to the draft-writing stage.

“I wrote scores of essays at my desk in those few weeks leading up to application submission. I needed it to be perfect. Do not let anyone tell you to settle. There was no moment when I had this shining light from the sky filtering into my room to motivate me. The ultimate trick is to keep writing. It is impossible to get that perfect essay on the first try, and you may not even get it on your fifteenth attempt, but the goal is to keep at it, keep making those edits, and never back down.” – Dr. Vincent Adeyemi, MD

As you're getting started, focus on getting content on the page, filling in your outline and getting your ideas arranged on the page. Your essay will go through multiple drafts and re-writes, so the first step is to free write and start articulating connections between your experiences and the characteristics you're highlighting. You can worry about flow, transitions, and perfect grammar in later drafts. 

#1 Did You Distinguish Yourself From Others?

Is your narrative unique? Our admissions expert Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, shares how she got the attention of the admissions committee with her personal statement:

"I found it helpful to give schools a 'punch-line'. As in I wanted them to remember 1-2 things about me that are my differentiators and I reiterated those throughout [the personal statement]." - Dr. Monica Taneja, MD

Use your narrative to provide a compelling picture of who you are as a person, as a learner, as an advocate, and as a future medical professional. What can you offer?

Remember, you will be getting a lot out of your med school experience, but the school will be getting a lot out of you, as well. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, so use this opportunity to highlight what you bring to the table, and what you will contribute as a student at their institution. Make them see you as a stand out from the crowd .

#2 Does My Essay Flow and is it Comprehensible?

Personal statements are a blessing and a curse for admission committees. They provide a better glimpse of who you are than MCAT scores or GPAs. But they are long and time-consuming to read. And often, they sound exactly alike.

Frankly, if your personal statement is pleasant to read, it will get read with more attention and appreciation. Flow is easier to craft through narrative, which is why you should root the statement in a story that demonstrates characteristics desirable to medical schools . You want this to be a statement that captures the reader's interest by creating a fluid, comprehensible piece that leads the reader to not only read each paragraph but want to continue to the next sentence.

#3 Did You Check Your Grammar?

It is always important to carefully edit your medical school personal statement . Read your statement out loud to yourself and you will almost certainly find an error (and likely several errors). Use fresh eyes to review the statement several times before you actually submit it, by walking away from it for a day or so and then re-reading it.

This step can make or break your essay. Do not waste all the effort you have put into writing, to only be discarded by the committee for using incorrect grammar and syntax.

#4 Did You Gather Feedback From Other People?

While the tips above are all very useful for writing a strong draft, nothing will benefit you more than getting an outside appraisal of your work. This may sound obvious, but it's still an absolute necessity.

“It was very helpful for two of my mentors to review my statements before submitting my application. Ensure you trust the judgement and skills of the person to whom you would be giving your personal statement for review.” – Dr. Vincent Adeyemi, MD

Avoid having people too close to you read your work. They may refrain from being too critical in an effort to spare your feelings. This is the time to get brutal, honest feedback. If you know someone who is an editor but do not feel that they can be objective, try and find someone else.

Want more examples? Check out our video below:

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your Med School Personal Statement

Part of your essay's body can include a discussion of any discrepancies or gaps in your education, or disruptions in your academic performance. If you had to take time off, or if you had a term or course with low grades, or if you had any other extenuating circumstances that impacted your education, you can take time to address these here. You can approach this in your essay similarly to the question “what is your greatest weakness” that may get asked during interviews.

You will also be able to address weaknesses or setbacks in your AMCAS Statement of Disadvantage or your adversity secondary essay , so make sure there is not too much overlap between these and your personal statements.

Use your personal statement to emphasize your ability to persevere through whatever life has thrown your way. Most of all, if you feel like you have to explain yourself, take accountability for the situation. State that it is unfortunate and then redirect it to what you learned and how it will make you a better doctor. Always focus on being positive and do not lament on the negative situation too much.

Mistakes to Avoid in Medical School Personal Statements

Here are some mistakes that may raise a red flag in your personal statement:

Check out this video on the top 5 errors to avoid in your personal statement!

FAQs and Final Notes

This Ultimate Guide has demonstrated all the work that needs to be done to compose a successful, engaging personal statement for your medical school application. While it would be wonderful if there was an easy way to write your personal statement in a day, the reality is that this kind of composition takes a lot of work. As daunting as this may seem, this guide lays out a clear path. In summary, the following 5 steps are the basis of what you should take away from this guide. These 5 steps are your guide and sort of cheat sheet to writing your best personal statement.

5 Main Takeaways For Personal Statement Writing:

• Brainstorming
• Content and Theme
• Multiple Drafts
• Revision With Attention to Grammar

While a strong personal statement alone will not guarantee admission to medical school, it could absolutely squeeze you onto a  medical school waitlist , off the waitlist, and onto the offer list, or give someone on the admissions committee a reason to go to battle for your candidacy. Use this as an opportunity to highlight the incredible skills you've worked and studied to refine, the remarkable life experiences you've had, and the key qualities you possess in your own unique way. Show the admissions committee that you are someone they want to meet. Remember, in this context, wanting to meet you means wanting to bring you in for an interview!

Your personal statement should tell your story and highlight specific experiences or aspects of your journey that have led you to medicine. If your first exposure or interest in the medical field was sparked from your own medical struggles, then you can certainly include this in your statement.

All US medical schools require the completion of a personal statement with your AMCAS, TMDSAS or AACOMAS applications. Medical schools in Canada on the other hand, do not require personal statements but may have essay prompts that are similar in nature.

Think about whether or not that bad grade might reflect on you poorly. If you think it will, then it's best to address the academic misstep head-on instead of having admissions committees dwell on possible areas of concern. 

No! Students arrive to medicine in all sorts of ways, some change career paths later in life, some always knew they wanted to pursue medicine, and others slowly became interested in medicine through their life interactions and experiences. Your personal statement should address your own unique story. 

While your entire statement is important, the opening sentence can often make or break your statement. If your opening sentence is not eye-catching, interesting, and memorable, you risk your statement blending in with the large pile of other statements. 

Having your statement reviewed by family and friends can be a good place to start, but unfortunately they will often not be able to provide unbiased feedback and may not have the expertise necessary to understand nuance in statements.

If you have enough time set aside to write your statement without juggling multiple other commitments, it normally takes at least 6-8 weeks to write your statement. 

The goal is to show as many of them as you can in the WHOLE application: this includes your personal statement, sketch, reference letters, secondary essays, and even your GPA and MCAT (which show critical thinking and reasoning already). So, you don’t need to address them all in your essay.

Yes, you can. However, if you used an experience as a most meaningful entry, pick something else to talk about in your essay. 

The reality is, medical school admission is an extremely competitive process. In order to have the best chance of success, every part of your application must be stellar. 

The ones that honestly made the most impact on you. You'll need to reflect on your whole life and think about which experiences helped you grow and pushed you to pursue medicine. Ideally, experiences that show commitment and progression are better than one-off or short-term activities, as they usually contribute more to growth.

Dr. Lauren Prufer is an admissions expert at BeMo. Dr. Prufer is also a medical resident at McMaster University. Her medical degree is from the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. During her time in medical school, she developed a passion for sharing her knowledge with others through medical writing, research, and peer mentoring.

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting

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I have been reading posts regarding this topic and this post is one of the most interesting and informative one I have read. Thank you for this!

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(and avoid the top 5 reasons that get 90% of applicants rejected).

Writing the Personal Statement

The personal statement, your opportunity to sell yourself in the application process, generally falls into one of two categories: 

The general, comprehensive personal statement:  This allows you maximum freedom in terms of what you write and is the type of statement often prepared for standard medical or law school application forms. 

• The response to very specific questions: Often, business and graduate school applications ask specific questions, and your statement should respond specifically to the question being asked. Some business school applications favor multiple essays, typically asking for responses to three or more questions. 

What's special, unique, distinctive, and/or impressive about you or your life story? 

What details of your life (personal or family problems, history, people or events that have shaped you or influenced your goals) might help the committee better understand you or help set you apart from other applicants? 

When did you become interested in this field and what have you learned about it (and about yourself) that has further stimulated your interest and reinforced your conviction that you are well suited to this field? What insights have you gained? 

How have you learned about this field—through classes, readings, seminars, work or other experiences, or conversations with people already in the field? 

If you have worked a lot during your college years, what have you learned (leadership or managerial skills, for example), and how has that work contributed to your growth? 

What are your career goals? 

Are there any gaps or discrepancies in your academic record that you should explain (great grades but mediocre LSAT or GRE scores, for example, or a distinct upward pattern to your GPA if it was only average in the beginning)? 

Have you had to overcome any unusual obstacles or hardships (for example, economic, familial, or physical) in your life? 

What personal characteristics (for example, integrity, compassion, and/or persistence) do you possess that would improve your prospects for success in the field or profession? Is there a way to demonstrate or document that you have these characteristics? 

What skills (for example, leadership, communicative, analytical) do you possess? 

Why might you be a stronger candidate for graduate school—and more successful and effective in the profession or field than other applicants? 

What are the most compelling reasons you can give for the admissions committee to be interested in you? 

If you are applying to several schools, you may find questions in each application that are somewhat similar. 

Don't be tempted to use the same statement for all applications. It is important to answer each question being asked, and if slightly different answers are needed, you should write separate statements. In every case, be sure your answer fits the question being asked. 

• Think in terms of showing or demonstrating through concrete experience. One of the worst things you can do is to bore the admissions committee. If your statement is fresh, lively, and different, you'll be putting yourself ahead of the pack. If you distinguish yourself through your story, you will make yourself memorable.
• Don't, for example, state that you would make an excellent doctor unless you can back it up with specific reasons. Your desire to become a lawyer, engineer, or whatever should be logical, the result of a specific experience that is described in your statement. Your application should emerge as the logical conclusion to your story.
• If you're like most people, your life story lacks drama, so figuring out a way to make it interesting becomes the big challenge. Finding an angle or a "hook" is vital.
• The lead or opening paragraph is generally the most important. It is here that you grab the reader's attention or lose it. This paragraph becomes the framework for the rest of the statement.
• The middle section of your essay might detail your interest and experience in your particular field, as well as some of your knowledge of the field. Too many people graduate with little or no knowledge of the nuts and bolts of the profession or field they hope to enter. Be as specific as you can in relating what you know about the field and use the language professionals use in conveying this information. Refer to experiences (work, research, etc.), classes, conversations with people in the field, books you've read, seminars you've attended, or any other source of specific information about the career you want and why you're suited to it. Since you'll have to select what you include in your statement, the choices you make are often an indication of your judgement.
• There are certain things best left out of personal statements. For example, references to experiences or accomplishments in high school or earlier are generally not a good idea. Don't mention potentially controversial subjects (for example, controversial religious or political issues).
• If a school wants to know why you're applying to it rather than another school, do some research to find out what sets your choice apart from other universities or programs. If the school setting would provide an important geographical or cultural change for you, this might be a factor to mention.
• Be meticulous. Type and proofread your essay very carefully. Many admissions officers say that good written skills are command of correct use of language are important to them as they read these statements. Express yourself clearly and concisely. Adhere to stated word limits.
• A medical school applicant who writes that they are good at science and want to help other people is not exactly expressing an original thought. Stay away from often-repeated or tired statements.

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Personal Statement Don'ts and Do's

Hi everyone:

Every year, I read hundreds of personal statements, mostly for residency, but my labor of love is to review the statements you write for fellowship applications. Residency personal statements are straightforward: we don’t expect applicants to have sophisticated career plans; we just want to know a student has a spark, can write well, and would fit into our community. In contrast, fellowship directors want mature applicants with a more advanced career trajectory.

For those of you getting ready to write your personal statements (and those who plan to write one someday), here are some don'ts and do's:

1.Don't dwell too long on why you chose your specialty: Beyond a sentence or two explaining why you chose your field, don't waste space extoling your specialty. All nephrology applicants love the kidney and you obviously love your organ too or you wouldn’t be applying. If you really have a special story—for example, your uncle had cancer and that motivated you to spend two years studying cancer genetics—then tell that story. But if your personal epiphany isn't unique, move on.

2.Don't trash other specialties: You don’t accomplish anything by saying other specialties bore you. Do you really think rheumatology is the only specialty that requires clinical reasoning? What if the cardiology chief’s wife is a gastroenterologist?

3.Don't exceed one page: No matter how fascinating you think you are, no one wants to read a long statement. Program directors have to examine hundreds of statements, often in long, exhausting sessions. Get to the point.

4.Don't pretend you're someone you're not: Be realistic about your trajectory. If you haven't done much research, don't claim you can't wait to return to the lab. And don't try to please everyone- almost no one has a career with one third clinical work, one third teaching, and one third research. Focus.

5.Don't make spelling and grammar errors: Pay attention to details. Read your statement out loud to find mistakes.

Take your time, make yourself shine, craft a masterpiece.

1.Do show how you plan to contribute: Fellowship Directors don't care what their program will do for you; they want to know what you will do for their program. And they really don’t want to hear about how you can’t wait to begin a new chapter or start your journey.

2.Do show sophistication: What are the big opportunities and new directions in your field? How will you contribute?

3.Do show where your career is headed: What do you expect to do after fellowship? How will you spend your time? If you can be specific—“I want to do cardiac transplant”—then be specific. If you don’t know, that's fine, but show you’re thinking ahead because fellowship directors need to know if they can give you the skills you need. And remember, not all fellowships offer the same training; if you want to do interventional pulmonology, you’re not going to excite programs that don't offer that.

4.Do be exciting: Use active voice. Don’t say “Directing a MICU would be a rewarding career pathway.” What a snore! Say “I hope to direct a MICU one day." And think big- fellowship directors like applicants with ambition.

5.Do show your draft to others: Show it to friends and family. I want to read all your personal statements, often if necessary, to make sure they're great.

So remember your personal statement is your last opportunity to boost your candidacy. Once you’ve applied, your clinical performance, board scores, research accomplishments, and extracurricular contributions are pretty much set. A fantastic personal statement will elevate you from a crowd of talented applicants. Take your time, make yourself shine, craft a masterpiece.

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone. I'm on my way to the MICU,

Featured in this article

• Mark David Siegel, MD Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary); Program Director, Internal Medicine Traditional Residency Program

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Health Visitor CV Example + Template (2024 Guide)

As a health visitor, you will be working with families to promote their health and well-being. You will mainly provide support, advice and guidance to parents who have new babies until the child reaches the school-starting age of 5 years old.

There are limited vacancies for this specialist role so you will need to have a strong health visitor CV to stand out from the crowd and impress the employer.

Use this comprehensive guide to write your perfect CV and secure an interview for this rewarding job!

• Health visitor CV example
• Download CV template (Word format)

How to structure and format your CV

• How to write a perfect CV (a step-by-step guide)
• Personal profile statement example

Duties to add to your CV

Useful skills to add to your CV

• Tips on making your CV more effective

Tip: Use the CV template below as an example to help you write your own personal and fully-tailored CV.

Lauren Springer

922 Alexander Road Durham CA9 1AT Mob: 079 2361 9982       Email: [email protected]

I am a highly motivated, outgoing and dedicated Health Visitor with a passion for supporting and helping people from all ages and a variety of backgrounds. I have worked for more than two years of providing excellent service to patients in hospitals, GP surgeries, families’ homes and community clinics. My greatest passion in life is to help people, and I get great satisfaction from seeing the positive change that I make in people’s lives; particularly in giving young children the best possible start in life.

• Volunteer Nurse, 2015
• Graduated from University in the 10% of students by grade, 2015
• President of Nursing Society, 2013

Relevant Modules:

• Public Health and Child Development
• Principles of Children’s Nursing
• Person-Centred Nursing Practice (Foundations)
• Personal and Professional Development

Main duties performed:

• Assisting parents in the upbringing of their young children
• Tracking the child’s growth and development milestones
• Offering support to new mothers as part of the NHS post-natal support service
• Encouraging parents to participate in Child Immunisation programmes
• Providing feeding and nutrition advice
• Supporting children with special needs
• Working with people who may have mental health issues or depression
• Organising events for members of the public including clinics or drop-in centres
• Regularly liaising with midwives, teachers, community nurses, GPs, paediatricians, consultants and other interdisciplinary teams
• Working closely with other agencies such as housing and social services
• Reporting any reasons for concern to the relevant child protection bodies
• Regularly visiting patients to ensure that they are looked after properly

• Managing and completing both practical and theoretical university work
• Working and shadowing professionals within a hospital environment
• Developing communication, organisational and people skills
• Administer routine medicine if and when required
• Assessing patient’s symptoms and advising accordingly
• Conducting medical history check through interviews and research
• Carrying out general admin duties (answering calls, sending emails, photocopying and printing, booking appointments, etc)
• Level 3 Diploma in Clinical Healthcare Support
• Level 2 Certificate and Diploma in Medical Administration
• Training in Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults
• Running clinics, antenatal classes and parenting, playing and weaning groups
• Fully trained in child accident prevention and dealing with postnatal depression
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
• Expert knowledge in behavioural management techniques
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office and related computer programs

I am an active member of my local football society and have recently been voted Captain of my team. Not only does this give me the opportunity to keep fit and healthy, but it is also an excellent way to make new friends and develop my communication skills outside of a work environment.

Please note: the above CV Example is presented in the UK format and layout.

Download CV template

• Save time and effort
• Guaranteed correct CV structure
• Word document (.docx) format
• Fully customisable

How to save your CV as a PDF document:

• Click on File > Save As > Select “PDF” from the drop-down menu.
• Adopt a standard CV structure: A typical CV structure contains the following sections in order; personal details, personal profile, achievements, employment, education, skills, hobbies and references. It’s a good idea to stick to this well-known CV format because employers are familiar with it. As employers only tend to spend around 30 seconds reading each CV, an unconventional CV structure will make it harder for them to find the important information that they need.
• Use an appropriate CV heading: Many applicants make the mistake of using “CV” or “Curriculum Vitae” as the heading of their CVs . Instead, the main heading of your CV should be your name, written in bold letters and centred on the page.
• Use short sentences and bullet points: It is well-known that employers tend to scan CVs rather than read them in great detail. You should break down the long paragraphs of your CV into easily digestible pieces of information by using short paragraphs, short sentences and bullet points . This will improve the scannability and readability of your CV and ensure that none of your important information is missed by the employer when they review your CV.
• Use a professional font: With hundreds of fonts to choose from, you may be wondering which font is the best for your CV . Our recommendation is to choose a font that is professional, easy to read and mainstream. Any font that meets these criteria, such as Verdana, Times New Roman, Georgia, Ariel and Helvetica, is an excellent choice. Fancy fonts, such as handwriting fonts, are a big no-no.
• Don’t use logos or images on your CV : A standard CV should not contain any images, logos, graphics or photographs. Also, limit the use of colour on your CV .

How to write a health visitor CV (step-by-step guide)

Personal details.

The first part of your CV contains your personal information and contact details.

Details you should include in this section:

• Address (read this if you have concerns about privacy)
• Telephone number
• Email address
• LinkedIn profile (if you have one)

Personal details not to include on your CV:

• Date of birth
• Marital status
• National insurance number
• Nationality
• Ashley Collins
• 342 Newgate Street, York, Y34 2MD
• Mob: 07978377221       Email: [email protected]

Personal profile

The next part of your CV will contain a short introductory paragraph known as your personal profile statement. It briefly informs the employer about your personal characteristics, experience and abilities.

Studies have shown that employers read an applicant’s personal profile in detail before making a decision about their suitability for the job.

Guidelines:

• Keep it short and to the point (3-5 sentences are more than enough).
• Summarise the reasons that make you a strong candidate for the role.
• Back up everything you say with facts and figures.

Health visitor CV personal profile

I am a friendly and methodical health visitor with more than 5 years of experience working in various health-related roles in NHS hospitals. I started my career as a nurse providing direct care to patients and then progressed to complete the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing – Health Visiting (SCPHN – HV) training programme to become a qualified health visitor. I have worked with more than two hundred families and supported them in all aspects of health and well-being. I take great pride in my work and wish to utilise my skills and abilities to better the lives of other people.

Achievements

Your achievements or accomplishments are a testimony of your skills, abilities and commitment to succeed in everything you do.

Examples of achievements to include on your CV:

• Awards received
• Promotions at work
• Trained/Educated others
• Completed important projects on time and within budget
• Saved time by coming up with efficient methods and tools
• Important qualifications gained
• Good results in examinations and tests
• Elected for leadership roles (project manager, team leader, etc.)
• Over five years of work experience in the healthcare industry
• Elected project manager on a number of occasions
• Ran the marathon (26.2 miles) for charity

Also check out how to write achievements on a CV (+ best examples) .

Employment and work experience

The employment section of your CV should contain details of your previous jobs and work experience, such as full-time jobs, part-time jobs, professional placements and voluntary positions.

• Write in reverse chronological order (most recent job first).
• Give details of your key responsibilities, duties and achievements.
• If you have a lot of work experience, you should omit mentioning very old, insignificant or irrelevant jobs. Doing so will keep your CV tidy and organised and free up valuable space for other important information.

Main duties and responsibilities performed:

• Planned, developed and delivered a range of services for children and their families.
• Provided information, advice and guidance to families.
• Supported vulnerable or disabled children and their families.
• Promoted continued development of the children.
• Assessed the complex health needs of children and offered appropriate medical recommendations to promote health and prevent harm.
• Worked together with colleagues for the safeguarding of young children.
• Make home visits.
• Advise new parents on taking care of a baby.
• Encourage healthy lifestyles, including regular exercise and diet.
• Promote immunisation and vaccination campaigns.
• Support children with special needs.
• Provide emotional support to children, parents and carers.
• Protect children from injury, harm or abuse.
• Liaise with other healthcare professionals.

Education and training

The education section, as its name suggests, contains details of your formal educational background and professional training qualifications.

What to include in this section:

• Undergraduate and postgraduate degrees
• College-level courses such as A-levels and BTECs
• School-level qualifications such as GCSEs
• Professional training qualifications

• Developing professional practice for health visiting
• A public health approach to promoting health and well-being
• Protecting vulnerable children
• Developing leadership and management skills for SCPHN

• What is nursing?
• The Foundations of Nursing Practice
• Clinical Skills
• Developing Proficiencies for Nursing

Qualifications

The qualifications section contains details of any other qualifications you hold, such as professional training qualifications.

• Level 2 Certificate in Caring for the Elderly – The Skills College

The only reason recruiters hire people is because of the skills, abilities and talents they bring to the organisation. The skills section of your CV should contain a list of your key skills, abilities and competencies that demonstrates to the employer that you have all the required skills and abilities to do the job well.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, demonstrated in my ability to work with a variety of people from all age groups and walks of life.
• Excellent organisation skills, demonstrated in my ability to manage a heavy workload and meet tight deadlines
• Punctuality, demonstrated in attending appointments on time
• Good knowledge of healthcare, wellbeing and child development
• Communication and listening skills
• The ability to win the trust of people
• The ability to motivate people
• Time management and organisational skills
• The ability to provide information, advice and guidance (IAG) to families
• The ability to deal with stressful and challenging situations
• Filling in forms and writing reports
• Having an interest in children and public health

More examples of skills to put on your CV.

Hobbies and interests (optional)

The hobbies and interests section can add great value to your CV (if used correctly).

For example, mentioning that you enjoy exercising or going to the gym indicates to the employer that you are a fit and healthy individual who takes care of their health and well-being. This fits perfectly with the role of a health visitor as their job is to promote healthy lifestyles to families.

The last section of your CV contains details of your two references, people who know you well and can vouch for you to the employer. One of your references must be your current or former employer, the other can be anyone who has worked with you and knows you well, such as your former manager, teacher, coach, etc.

Note: You can write “references are available upon request” if you do not wish to write your references on your CV. Check out this article for more information and the pros and cons of writing your references on your CV.

Tips to make your CV more effective

• Focus on your skills and abilities: Studies have shown that skills-focused CVs are better received by employers than duties-focused CVs. You can include your skills in many parts of your CV such as in the personal profile, employment and skills sections. Always back up your skills with real-life examples and situations.
• Working with children: As a health visitor, you will be working with and around young children most of the time. You should make clear on your CV that you love working with children and that you want to make a positive impact on them at these crucial moments of their lives.
• Travelling: You will be making daily trips to and from clinics, GPs and community centres to meet families in their homes. Stating that you have a full, clean driving license and your own method of transportation (car) will give a nice boost to your CV.

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How to Write a Personal Statement for Public Health

Last Updated: February 24, 2023 Approved

This article was co-authored by Daniel Santos . Daniel Santos is a College Admissions & Career Coach and Prepory's co-founder and CEO. Prepory is a leading college admissions consulting firm that has guided over 9,000 students from 35 countries through the US college admissions process. Prepory is a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling and a trusted admissions counseling partner to several competitive high schools across Florida. Prior to founding Prepory, Daniel worked at various leading law firms and the United States House of Representatives. Daniel has been featured as a college admissions and career coaching expert across several major publications, including the Wall Street Journal, FORTUNE, and The Harvard Crimson. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 86,258 times.

Graduate programs in public health require a personal statement as part of the application process to gauge whether a student is a fit for the program. This statement, also referred to as a statement of purpose, outlines a person's academic achievements, professional background and personal characteristics. Particularly in highly competitive programs, the personal statement is weighed carefully in admissions decisions. The following are important considerations for writing a personal statement for public health.

• Pay attention to the required word count, character limits and line spacing instructions. Some public health programs sort through large numbers of applications. Make a good first impression by complying with the length and formatting requirements.

Expert Q&A

• Provide original content. Many universities issue warnings against hiring a writing service to create a personal statement because they want to hear your thoughts and voice in the letter. Write the entire letter yourself and ask someone with solid language skills to provide feedback on content, grammar and tone. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://career.berkeley.edu/Grad/GradStatement
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/job_search_writing/preparing_an_application/writing_the_personal_statement/index.html
• ↑ https://ctl.yale.edu/sites/default/files/basic-page-supplementary-materials-files/writing_personal_statements_for_graduate_school.pdf
• http://sph.berkeley.edu/students/admissions/5_essays.php

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How to Write an Amazing Personal Statement (Includes Examples!)

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Zach Skillings is the Scholarships360 Newsletter Editor. He specializes in college admissions and strives to answer important questions about higher education. When he’s not contributing to Scholarships360, Zach writes about travel, music, film, and culture. His work has been published in Our State Magazine, Ladygunn Magazine, The Nocturnal Times, and The Lexington Dispatch. Zach graduated from Elon University with a degree in Cinema and Television Arts.

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The personal statement. It’s one of the most important parts of the entire college application process. This essay is the perfect opportunity to show admissions officers who you are and what makes you stand out from the crowd. But writing a good personal statement isn’t exactly easy. That’s why we’ve put together the ultimate guide on how to nail your personal statement, complete with example essays . Each essay was reviewed and commented upon by admissions expert Bill Jack. Let’s dive in!

Related: How to write an essay about yourself  

What is a personal statement? 

A personal statement is a special type of essay that’s required when you’re applying to colleges and scholarship programs. In this essay, you’re expected to share something about who you are and what you bring to the table. Think of it as a chance to reveal a side of yourself not found in the rest of your application. Personal statements are typically around 400 – 600 words in length. 

What can I write about? 

Pretty much anything, as long as it’s about you . While this is liberating in the sense that your writing options are nearly unlimited, it’s also overwhelming for the same reason. The good news is that you’ll probably be responding to a specific prompt. Chances are you’re applying to a school that uses the Common App , which means you’ll have seven prompts to choose from . Reviewing these prompts can help generate some ideas, but so can asking yourself meaningful questions. 

Below you’ll find a list of questions to ask yourself during the brainstorming process. For each of the following questions, spend a few minutes jotting down whatever comes to mind. 

• What experiences have shaped who you are? 
• What’s special or unique about you or your life story? 
• Who or what has inspired you the most? 
• What accomplishments are you most proud of? 
• What are your goals for the future? How have you arrived at those goals? 
• If your life was a movie, what would be the most interesting scene? 
• What have been some of the biggest challenges in your life? How did you respond and what did you learn? 

The purpose of these questions is to prompt you to think about your life at a deeper level. Hopefully by reflecting on them, you’ll find an essay topic that is impactful and meaningful. In the next section, we’ll offer some advice on actually writing your essay. 

Also see:  How to write a 500 word essay

How do I write my personal statement? 

Once you’ve found a topic, it’s time to start writing! Every personal statement is different, so there’s not really one formula that works for every student. That being said, the following tips should get you started in the right direction:  

1. Freewrite, then rewrite 

The blank page tends to get more intimidating the longer you stare at it, so it’s best to go ahead and jump right in! Don’t worry about making the first draft absolutely perfect. Instead, just get your ideas on the page and don’t spend too much time thinking about the finer details. Think of this initial writing session as a “brain dump”. Take 15-30 minutes to quickly empty all your thoughts onto the page without worrying about things like grammar, spelling, or sentence structure. You can even use bullet points if that helps. Once you have your ideas on the page, then you can go back and shape them exactly how you want. 

2. Establish your theme 

Now that you’ve got some basic ideas down on the page, it’s time to lock in on a theme. Your theme is a specific angle that reflects the central message of your essay. It can be summarized in a sentence or even a word. For example, let’s say you’re writing about how you had to establish a whole new group of friends when you moved to a new city. The theme for this type of essay would probably be something like “adaptation”. Having a theme will help you stay focused throughout your essay. Since you only have a limited number of words, you can’t afford to go off on tangents that don’t relate to your theme. 

3. Tell a story

A lot of great essays rely on a specific scene or story. Find the personal anecdote relevant to your theme and transfer it to the page. The best way to do this is by using descriptive language. Consult the five senses as you’re setting the scene. What did you see, hear, taste, touch, or smell? How were you feeling emotionally? Using descriptive language can really help your essay come to life. According to UPchieve , a nonprofit that supports low income students, focusing on a particular moment as a “ revised version of a memoir ” is one way to keep readers engaged. 

Related: College essay primer: show, don’t tell  

4. Focus on your opening paragraph

Your opening paragraph should grab your reader’s attention and set the tone for the rest of your essay. In most cases, this is the best place to include your anecdote (if you have one). By leading with your personal story, you can hook your audience from the get-go. After telling your story, you can explain why it’s important to who you are. 

Related:  How to start a scholarship essay (with examples)

5. Use an authentic voice 

Your personal statement reflects who you are, so you should use a tone that represents you. That means you shouldn’t try to sound like someone else, and you shouldn’t use fancy words just to show off. This isn’t an academic paper, so you don’t have to adopt a super formal tone. Instead, write in a way that allows room for your personality to breathe. 

6. Edit, edit, edit…

Once you’re done writing, give yourself some time away from the essay. Try to allow a few days to pass before looking at the essay again with fresh eyes. This way, you’re more likely to pick up on spelling and grammatical errors. You may even get some new ideas and rethink the way you wrote some things. Once you’re satisfied, let someone else edit your essay. We recommend asking a teacher, parent, or sibling for their thoughts before submitting. 

Examples of personal statements 

Sometimes viewing someone else’s work is the best way to generate inspiration and get the creative juices flowing. The following essays are written in response to four different Common App prompts: 

Prompt 1: “Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.”

When I was eight years old, I wanted a GameCube very badly. For weeks I hounded my dad to buy me one and finally he agreed. But there was a catch. He’d only get me a GameCube if I promised to start reading. Every day I played video games, I would have to pick up a book and read for at least one hour. At that point in my life, reading was just something I had to suffer through for school assignments. To read for pleasure seemed ludicrous. Needless to say, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about this proposed agreement. But I figured anything was worth it to get my hands on that shiny new video game console, so I bit the bullet and shook my dad’s hand. Little did I know that I had just made a life-changing deal. 

At first, the required hour of reading was a chore — something I had to do so I could play Mario Kart. But it quickly turned into something more than that. To my complete and utter surprise, I discovered that I actually enjoyed reading. One hour turned into two, two turned into three, and after a while I was spending more time reading than I was playing video games. I found myself captivated by the written word, and I read everything I could get my hands on. Lord of the Rings , Percy Jackson , Goosebumps — you name it. I was falling in love with literature, while my GameCube was accumulating dust in the TV stand. 

Soon enough, reading led to writing. I was beginning to come up with my own stories, so I put pen to paper and let my imagination run wild. It started out small. My first effort was a rudimentary picture book about a friendly raccoon who went to the moon. But things progressed. My stories became more intricate, my characters more complex. I wrote a series of science fiction novellas. I tried my hand at poetry. I was amazed at the worlds I could create with the tip of my pen. I had dreams of becoming an author. 

Then somewhere along the way my family got a subscription to Netflix, and that completely changed the way I thought about storytelling. My nose had been buried in books up until then, so I hadn’t really seen a lot of movies. That quickly changed. It seemed like every other day a pair of new DVDs would arrive in the mail (this was the early days of Netflix). Dark Knight, The Truman Show, Inception, Memento — all these great films were coming in and out of the house. And I couldn’t get enough of them. Movies brought stories to life in a way that books could not. I was head over heels for visual storytelling. 

Suddenly I wasn’t writing novels and short stories anymore. I was writing scripts for movies. Now I wanted to transfer my ideas to the big screen, rather than the pages of a book. But I was still doing the same thing I had always done. I was writing, just in a different format. To help with this process, I read the screenplays of my favorite films and paid attention to the way they were crafted. I kept watching more and more movies. And I hadn’t forgotten about my first love, either. I still cherished books and looked to them for inspiration. By the end of my junior year of high school, I had completed two scripts for short films. 

So why am I telling you all this? Because I want to turn my love of storytelling into a career. I’m not totally sure how to do that yet, but I know I have options. Whether it’s film production, creative writing, or even journalism, I want to find a major that suits my ambitions. Writing has taken me a long way, and I know it can take me even further. As I step into this next chapter of my life, I couldn’t be more excited to see how my craft develops. In the meantime, I should probably get rid of that dusty old GameCube. 

Feedback from admissions professional Bill Jack

Essays don’t always have to reveal details about the student’s intended career path, but one thing I like about this essay is that it gives the reader a sense of the why. Why do they want to pursue storytelling. It also shows the reader that they are open to how they pursue their interest. Being open to exploration is such a vital part of college, so it’s also showing the reader that they likely will be open to new things in college. And, it’s always fun to learn a little bit more about the student’s family, especially if the reader can learn about how the students interacts with their family. 

Prompt 2: “The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?”

I remember my first impression of Irvine: weird. It was foggy, stock-full of greenery and eucalyptus trees, and reminded me of my 5th grade trip to a “science camp” which was located in the San Bernardino mountains. Besides Irvine, that was one of the few places in Southern California where you’d find so many non-palm trees. 

Of course, perhaps my initial impression of Irvine was biased, motivated by a desire to stay in my hometown and a fear of the unknown. While that was true to an extent, Irvine was certainly still a little peculiar. The city itself was based on a “master plan” of sorts, with the location of each of its schools, parks, shops, and arguably its trees having been logically “picked” before the foundation was poured. Even the homes all looked roughly the same, with their beige, stucco walls almost serving as a hallmark of the city itself.

Thus, this perfectly structured, perfectly safe city seemed like a paradise of sorts to many outsiders, my parents included. I was a little more hesitant to welcome this. As I saw it, this was a phony city – believing that its uniformity stood for a lack of personality. My hometown, although not as flawlessly safe nor clean as Irvine, was where most of my dearest memories had occurred. From the many sleepovers at Cindie’s house, to trying to avoid my school’s own version of the “infamous” cheese touch, to the many laughs shared with friends and family, I shed a tear at the prospect of leaving my home.

Moving into the foreign city, remnants of the hostility I held towards Irvine remained. Still dwelling in my memories of the past, I was initially unable to see Irvine as a “home.” So, as I walked into my first-ever Irvine class, being greeted by many kind, yet unfamiliar faces around me, I was unable to recognize that some of those new faces would later become some of my dearest friends. Such negative feelings about the city were further reinforced by newer, harder classes, and more complicated homework. Sitting in the discomfort of this unfamiliar environment, it started to seem that “change” was something not only inevitable, but insurmountable.

As the years went on, however, this idea seemed to fade. I got used to my classes and bike racing through Irvine neighborhoods with my friends, watching the trees that once seemed just a “weird” green blob soon transform into one of my favorite parts of the city. While I kept my old, beloved memories stored, I made space for new ones. From carefully making our way over the narrow creek path next to our school, to the laughs we shared during chemistry class, my new memories made with friends seemed to transform a city I once disliked into one I would miss. 

Through this transformation, I have come to recognize that change, although sometimes intimidating at first, can open the door to great times and meaningful connections. Although Irvine may have once seemed like a strange, “phony” place that I couldn’t wait to be rid of, the memories and laughs I had grown to share there were very real. As I move onto this next part of my life, I hope I can use this knowledge that I have gained from my time in Irvine to make the most of what’s to come. Even if the change may be frightening at first, I have learned to embrace what’s on the other side, whether green or not.

One huge plus to writing an essay that focuses on a place is that you might have it read by someone who has been there. Yet, what’s really helpful about this essay is that even if someone hasn’t been there, a picture is painted about what the place is like.  Admission officers have the hard task of really understanding what the student sees, so the use of adjectives and imagery can really help.  It’s also really clever to see that the green that’s mentioned at the beginning is mentioned at the end.  It’s a nice way to bookend the essay and tie it all together.

Prompt 6: “Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?”

I like getting lost. Not literally, of course, but figuratively. Whether it be in the story of a love song by Taylor Swift, or in the memories brought back by listening to my favorite childhood video game’s background music, I’ve always appreciated music’s ability to transport me to another place, another time, another feeling. 

Alas, I cannot sing, nor have I practiced an instrument since my middle school piano class days. So, perhaps Kurt Vonnegut was right. As he puts it, “Virtually every writer I know would rather be a musician.” While I cannot speak for others, I have certainly not debunked his theory. Writing allows many, including myself, to attempt to mimic the transformative power of music – even if our singing voices aren’t exactly “pleasant.” Just as you can get lost in music, you can do so in a story. Whether it is in George Orwell’s totalitarian Oceania, or Little Women’s Orchard House, the stories outlined in novels can provide an amazing look into the lives and worlds of others, and an escape from the worries and problems of those in your own.

While I am certainly not claiming to have the storytelling abilities of the Orwells or Alcotts before me, I’ve had fun trying to recreate such transformative feelings for others. When I was nine, I attempted to write a story about a little girl who had gotten lost in the woods, only managing to get a couple pages through. As I got older, whenever I was assigned a creative writing assignment in school, I wrote about the same pig, Phil. He was always angry: in my 8th grade science class, Phil was mad at some humans who had harbored his friend captive, and in my 9th grade English class, at a couple who robbed him. 

Thus, when I heard about a writing club being opened at my school in 11th grade, I knew I had to join. I wanted to discern whether writing was just a hobby I picked up now and then, or a true passion. If it was a passion, I wanted to learn as much as possible about how I could improve. Although my high school’s writing club certainly wasn’t going to transform me into Shakespeare, I knew I could learn a lot from it – and I did. The club challenged me to do many things, from writing on the spot, to writing poetry, to even writing about myself, something that’s hopefully coming in handy right now. 

From then on, I started to expand into different types of writing, storing short ideas, skits, and more in appropriately-labeled Google Drive folders. At around the same time, I became interested in classic literature, which largely stemmed from a project in English class. We had been required to choose and read a classic on our own, then present it to the class in an interesting way. While my book was certainly interesting and unique in its own right, nearly everyone else’s novels seemed more captivating to me. So, I took it upon myself to read as many classics as I could the following summer.

One of the books I read during the summer, funnily enough, was Animal Farm, which starred angry pigs, reminiscent of Phil. I had also started going over different ideas in my head, thinking about how I could translate them into words using the new skills I learned. While the writing club helped reaffirm my interest in writing and allowed me to develop new skills, my newfound affinity for classics gave me inspiration to write. Now, I am actually considering writing as part of my future. In this endeavor, I hope that Phil, and the music I inevitably listen to as I write, will accompany me every step of the way.

Admission officers might read 70 (or more!) essays in one day. It’s not uncommon for them to start to blend together and sound similar. This essay might not make you laugh out loud. But, it might make the reader chuckle while reading it thanks to the subtle humor and levity. Being able to incorporate a little humor into your essay (if it is natural for you to do… do not force it), can really be a great way to shed additional light into who you are. Remember, the essay isn’t merely about proving that you can write, but it should also reveal a little bit about your personality.

Prompt 5: “Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.”

I learned a lot of things during the summer I worked at Tropical Smoothie. I discovered the value of hard work. I figured out how to save money. I even mastered the art of the Mango Magic smoothie (the secret is lots of sugar). But most importantly, I learned the power of perspective. And I have Deja to thank for that. 

Deja was my shift supervisor, and one of Tropical Smoothie’s best employees. She was punctual, friendly, and always willing to lend a helping hand. She knew the store from top to bottom, and could handle pretty much any situation thrown her way. She made everyone around her better. On top of all that, she was four months pregnant! I was always impressed by Deja’s work ethic, but I gained an entirely new level of respect for her one day.

It was a Friday night, and Deja and I were working the closing shift together. It was very busy, and Deja and I were the only ones on shift. We managed to get by, but we were exhausted by the end of the evening. After wiping down the counters and mopping the floors, we closed up shop and went our separate ways. I was eager to get home. 

I walked a couple blocks to where I had parked my car. Well, it wasn’t my car actually. It was my dad’s ‘98 Chevy pickup truck, and it was in rough shape. It had no heat or A/C, the leather seats were cracked beyond repair, and the driver’s side door was jammed shut. I sighed as I got in through the passenger side and scooted over to the driver’s seat. The whole reason I was working at Tropical Smoothie was to save up enough money to buy my own car. I was hoping to have something more respectable to drive during my senior year of high school. 

I cranked the old thing up and started on my way home. But soon enough, I spotted Deja walking on the side of the road. There was no sidewalk here, the light was low, and she was dangerously close to the passing cars. I pulled over and offered her a ride. She got in and explained that she was on her way home. Apparently she didn’t have a car and had been walking to work every day. I couldn’t believe it. Here I was complaining about my set of wheels, while Deja didn’t have any to begin with.

We got to talking, and she confessed that she had been having a tough time. You would never know from the way she was so cheerful at work, but Deja had a lot on her plate. She was taking care of her mother, her boyfriend had just lost his job, and she was worried about making ends meet. And of course, she was expecting a baby in five months. On top of all that, she had been walking nearly a mile to and from work every day. The whole thing was a real eye opener, and made me reconsider some things in my own life. 

For one, I didn’t mind driving my dad’s truck anymore. It was banged up, sure, but it was a lot better than nothing. My mindset had changed. I appreciated the truck now. I began to think about other things differently, too. I started making mental notes of all the things in my life I was thankful for — my family, my friends, my health. I became grateful for what I had, instead of obsessing over the things I didn’t. 

I also gained more awareness of the world outside my own little bubble. My encounter with Deja had shown me first-hand that everyone is dealing with their own problems, some worse than others. So I started paying more attention to my friends, family members, and coworkers. I started listening more and asking how I could help. I also gave Deja a ride home for the rest of the summer. 

These are all small things, of course, but I think they make a difference. I realized I’m at my best when I’m not fixated on my own life, but when I’m considerate of the lives around me. I want to keep this in mind as I continue to grow and develop as a person. I want to continue to search for ways to support the people around me. And most importantly, I want to keep things in perspective.

Too often we can be focused on our own problems that we fail to realize that everyone has their own things going on in their lives, too.  This essay showcases how it’s important to put things in perspective, a skill that certainly will prove invaluable in college… and not just in the classroom.  Another reason I like this essay is because it provides deeper insight into the student’s life.  Sure, you might have mentioned in your activities list that you have a job.  But as this essay does, you can show why you have the job in the first place, what your responsibilities are, and more.

A few last tips

We hope these essay examples gave you a bit of inspiration of what to include in your own. However, before you go, we’d like to send you off with a few (personal statement) writing tips to help you make your essays as lovely as the memories and anecdotes they’re based off of. Without further ado, here are some of our best tips for writing your personal statements:

1. Open strong

College admissions officers read many, many essays (think 50+) a day, which can sometimes cause them to start blending together and sounding alike. One way to avoid your essay from simply fading into the background is to start strong. This means opening your essay with something memorable, whether an interesting personal anecdote, a descriptive setting, or anything else that you think would catch a reader’s attention (so long as it’s not inappropriate). Not only might this help college admissions officers better remember your essay, but it will also make them curious about what the rest of your essay will entail.

2. Be authentic

Perhaps most important when it comes to writing personal statement essays is to maintain your authenticity. Ultimately, your essays should reflect your unique stories and quirks that make you who you are, and should help college admissions officers determine whether you’d truly be a good fit for their school or not. So, don’t stress trying to figure out what colleges are looking for. Be yourself, and let the colleges come to you!

3. Strong writing

This one may seem a little obvious, but strong writing will certainly appeal to colleges. Not only will it make your essay more compelling, but it may show colleges that you’re ready for college-level essay writing (that you’ll likely have to do a lot of). Just remember that good writing is not limited to grammar. Using captivating detail and descriptions are a huge part of making your essay seem more like a story than a lecture.

4. Proofread

Last but not least, remember to proofread! Make sure your essay contains no errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. When you’re done proofreading your essay yourself, we would also recommend that you ask a teacher, parent, or other grammatically savvy person to proofread your essay as well.

Final thoughts 

With those in hand, we hope you now have a better sense of how to write your personal statement. While your grades and test scores are important when it comes to college admissions, it’s really your essays that can “make” or “break” your application. 

Although this may make it seem like a daunting task, writing an amazing personal statement essay is all about effort. Thus, so long as you start early, follow the advice listed above, and dedicate your time and effort to it, it’s entirely possible to write an essay that perfectly encapsulates you. Good luck, and happy writing!

Also see:  Scholarships360’s free scholarships search tool

Key Takeaways

• It may take some people longer than others to know what they want to write about, but remember that everyone, including you, has something unique to write about!
• Personal statements should be personal, which means you should avoid being too general and really strive to show off what makes you “you”
• Time and effort are two of the most important things you can put into your personal statement to ensure that it is the best representation of yourself
• Don’t forget to ask people who know you to read your work before you submit; they should be able to tell you better than anyone if you are truly shining through!

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By Nik Taylor (Editor, The Uni Guide) | 18 August 2023 | 22 min read

How to write an excellent personal statement in 10 steps

Stand out from the crowd: here's how to write a good personal statement that will get you noticed

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Your personal statement forms a core part of your university application, and the sooner you get going, the better you can make it. You may think that your personal statement won’t matter as much to unis as your grades and experience but a great personal statement could make all the difference between you and a candidate with the same grades. Sure, your application might not reach that deal breaker stage. But is it something you want to leave to chance?  Here we’ll take you through the process of planning, writing and checking a good personal statement, so you end up with something you can submit with confidence. And to make sure the advice we're giving you is sound, we’ve spoken to admissions staff at loads of UK universities to get their view. Look out for video interviews and advice on applying for specific subjects throughout this piece or watch our personal statement playlist on YouTube .

• Are you looking for personal statement examples? Check our library of hundreds of real personal statements, on The Student Room

Personal statement deadlines

You'll need to make sure you've got your personal statement written well in advance of your application deadline. Below are the main university application deadline dates for 2024 entry.

2024 entry deadlines

16 October 2023: Deadline for applications to Oxford and Cambridge universities, along with most medicine, dentistry, and veterinary courses.   31 January 2024: Deadline for applications to the majority of undergraduate courses. After this date, universities will start allocating places on these courses –   but you can still apply after the 31 January deadline , as this article explains . 30 June 2024:  Students who apply after this date will be entered into Clearing .

• Read more: Ucas deadlines and key application dates

What is a personal statement?

A personal statement is a central part of your Ucas application, where you explain why you’ve chosen a particular course and why you’ll be good at it. It's your chance to stand out against other candidates and hopefully get that all-important offer. You only write one personal statement which is then read by each university you apply to, so if you are applying for more than one subject (or it's a combined course) it's crucial that you include common themes or reference the overall skills needed for all subjects. Personal statements are especially important if you’re trying to get on a very competitive course, where you need to do anything you can to stand out to admissions tutors. Courteney Sheppard, senior customer experience manager at Ucas, advises that your personal statement is "the only part of the application that you have direct control over. Do lots of research to demonstrate your passion, curiosity and drive to pursue your chosen subject." There’s a limit on how much you can write: your personal statement can be up to 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of 95 characters (including spaces); whichever is shorter. This may appear generous (read: long) but once you've got going you may find yourself having to edit heavily.

• Read more: teacher secrets for writing a great personal statement

1. Plan what you want to cover

The first thing you need to do is make a plan. Writing a personal statement off the top of your head is difficult. Start by making some notes, answering the following questions:

• What do you want to study?
• Why do you want to study it?
• What is there about you that shows you’re suited to studying this subject at university? Think about your personality, as well as your experiences.
• What are your other interests and skills?

These few points are going to form the spine of your personal statement, so write them in a way that makes sense to you. You might want to make a simple bulleted list or you might want to get all arty and use a mindmap. Whatever you choose, your aim is the same. You want to get it clear in your own head why a university should offer you a place on its course. Getting those details down isn't always easy, and some people find it helpful to make notes over time. You might try carrying a notebook with you or set up a memo on your phone. Whenever you think of something useful for your personal statement, jot it down. Inspiration sometimes comes more easily when you’re thinking about something else entirely. It might help to take a look at The Student Room for some sample personal statements by university and sample personal statements by subjects , to give you an idea of the kind of thing you want to include. 

• Read more: personal statement FAQs

2. Show off your experience

Some things are worth adding to your personal statement, some things are not. Firmly in the second camp are your qualifications. You don’t need to mention these as there’s a whole other section of your personal statement where you get to detail them very precisely. Don’t waste a single character going on about how great your GCSE grades are – it’s not what the admissions tutor wants to read. What they do want to see is: what have you done? OK, so you’ve got some good grades, but so do a lot of other applicants. What have you done that’s different, that shows you off as someone who really loves the subject you’re applying for? Spend some time thinking about all the experience you have in that subject. If you’re lucky, this might be direct work experience. That’s going to be particularly appropriate if you’re applying for one of the more vocational subjects such as medicine or journalism . But uni staff realise getting plum work experience placements is easier for some people than others, so cast your net wider when you’re thinking about what you’ve done. How about after-school clubs? Debating societies? Are you running a blog or vlog? What key skills and experience have you picked up elsewhere (eg from hobbies) that could be tied in with your course choice? Remember, you’re looking for experience that shows why you want to study your chosen subject. You’re not just writing an essay about what you're doing in your A-level syllabus. Use this checklist as a guide for what to include:

• Your interest in the course. Why do you want to spend three years studying this subject at university?
• What have you done outside school or college that demonstrates this interest? Think about things like fairs/exhibitions, public lectures or voluntary work that is relevant to your subject.
• Relevant work experience (essential for the likes of medicine, not required for non-vocational courses such as English )
• Skills and qualities required for that career if appropriate (medicine, nursing and law as obvious examples)
• Interest in your current studies – what particular topics have made an impression on you?
• Any other interests/hobbies/experiences you wish to mention that are relevant either to the subject or 'going to uni'. Don't just list your hobbies, you need to be very selective and state clearly what difference doing these things has made to you.
• Plans for a gap year if you’re deferring entry.

Read more: 6 steps you need to take to apply to university

3. Be bold about your achievements

Don't be bashful about your achievements; that’s not going to help you get into uni. It's time to unleash your inner Muhammed Ali and get all “I am the greatest” with your writing. Do keep it focused and accurate. Do keep your language professional. But don’t hide your qualities beneath a layer of false modesty. Your personal statement is a sell – you are selling yourself as a brilliant student and you need to show the reader why that is true. This doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and if you’re finding it difficult to write about how great you are it’s time to enlist some help. Round up a friend or two, a family member, a teacher, whoever and get them to write down your qualities. Getting someone else’s view here can help you get some perspective. Don’t be shy. You are selling your skills, your experience and your enthusiasm – make sure they all leap off the screen with the way you have described them.

• Read more: the ten biggest mistakes when writing your personal statement  

4. How to start your personal statement

Type your personal statement in a cloud-based word processing program, such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word and don’t copy and paste it into Ucas Hub until it’s finished.  One of the benefits of doing it this way is that you can run spell check easily. (Please note, though, that Word adds "curly" quotation marks and other characters (like é or ü) that won't show up on your Ucas form, so do proofread it on Ucas Hub before submitting it to ensure it is how you typed it.)  Another big benefit is that you'll always have a backup of what you've written. If you're being super careful, you could always save your statement in another place as well. Bear in mind that extra spaces (eg adding spaces to the beginnings of paragraphs as indentation) are removed on Ucas. In your first sentence, cut to the chase. Why do you want to do the course? Don’t waste any time rambling on about the daydreams you had when you were five. Just be clear and concise – describe in one line why this course is so important to you. Then, in the rest of your intro, go into more detail in demonstrating your enthusiasm for the course and explaining how you decided this is what you want to do for the next three or more years. However you choose to start your statement, just avoid the following hoary old chestnuts. These have been some of the most used lines in personal statements over the years – they are beyond cliche, so don’t even think about it.

• From a young age I have (always) been [interested in/fascinated by]…
• For as long as I can remember, I have…
• I am applying for this course because… 
• I have always been interested in… 
• Throughout my life I have always enjoyed… 
• Reflecting on my educational experiences… 
• [Subject] is a very challenging and demanding [career/profession/course]… 
• Academically, I have always been… 
• I have always wanted to pursue a career in… 
• I have always been passionate about…   

5. Focus your writing on why you've chosen that subject

So you’ve got your intro done – time to nail the rest of it. Bear in mind that you’ve got to be a little bit careful when following a personal statement template. It’s easy to fall into the trap of copying someone else’s style, and in the process lose all of your own voice and personality from your writing. But there is a rough order that you can follow, which should help keep you in your flow. After your opening paragraph or two, get into any work experience (if you’ve got it). Talk about extracurriculars: anything you've done which is relevant to the subject can go here – hobbies, interests, volunteering. Touch on your career aspirations – where do you want this course to take you? Next, show your enthusiasm for your current studies. Cite some specific examples of current work that you enjoyed. Show off your relevant skills and qualities by explaining how you’ve used these in the past. Make sure you’re giving real-world examples here, not just vague assertions like “I’m really organised and motivated”. Try to use examples that are relevant.   Follow this up with something about you as a person. Talk about non-academic stuff that you like to do, but link it in some way with the course, or with how it shows your maturity for dealing with uni life. Round it all off by bringing your main points together, including a final emphasis of your commitment to studying this particular course.

• Read more: how to write your personal statement in an evening  

6. How long should a personal statement be?

You've got to work to a very specific limit when writing your personal statement. In theory you could use up to 4,000 characters – but you’re probably more likely to be limited by the line count. That's because it's a good idea to put line breaks in between your paragraphs (to make it more readable) and you only get a maximum of 47 lines. With this in mind, 3,500 characters is a more realistic limit. But when you’re getting started you should ignore these limits completely. At first, you just want to get down everything that you feel is important. You'll probably end up with something that is far too long, but that's fine. This is where you get to do some polishing and pruning. Keep the focus of your piece on the course you’re applying for, why you want to do it and why you’re perfectly suited to it. Look through what you’ve written so far – have you got the balance right? Chop out anything that goes on a bit, as you want each point to be snappy and succinct.

• Read more: universities reveal all about personal statements  

7. Keep it simple

8. Smart ways to end your personal statement

Writing a closing line that you’re happy with can feel as tricky as coming up with your opener. What you’re looking for here is a sign-off that is bold and memorable. The final couple of sentences in your statement give you the opportunity to emphasise all the good stuff you’ve already covered. Use this space to leave the reader in no doubt as to what an excellent addition you would be to their university. Pull together all your key points and – most importantly – address the central question that your personal statement should answer: why should you get a place on the course?

• Read more: universities explain how to end your personal statement with a bang  

9. Make sure your personal statement has no mistakes

Now you’ve got a personal statement you’re happy with, you need to make sure there are no mistakes. Check it, check it a second time, then check it again. Once you’ve done that, get someone else to check it, too. You will be doing yourself a massive disservice if you send through a personal statement with spelling and/or grammatical errors. You’ve got months to put this together so there really is no excuse for sending through something that looks like a rush job. Ask your teachers to look at it, and be prepared to accept their feedback without getting defensive. They will have seen many personal statements before; use what they tell you to make yours even better. You’ve also got another chance here to look through the content of your personal statement, so you can make sure the balance is right. Make sure your focus is very clearly on the subject you are applying for and why you want to study it. Don’t post your personal statement on the internet or social media where anyone can see it. You will get picked up by the Ucas plagiarism checker. Similarly, don't copy any that you find online. Instead, now is a good time to make your parents feel useful. Read your personal statement out to them and get them to give you feedback. Or try printing it out and mixing it up with a few others (you can find sample personal statements on The Student Room). Get them to read them all and then try to pick yours out. If they can't, perhaps there's not enough of your personality in there.  

10. Don't think about your personal statement for a whole week

If you followed the advice at the very start of this guide, you’ve started your personal statement early. Good job! There are months before you need to submit it. Use one of these weeks to forget about your personal statement completely. Get on with other things – anything you like. Just don’t go near your statement. Give it a whole week and then open up the document again and read through it with fresh eyes. You’ll gain a whole new perspective on what you’ve written and will be well placed to make more changes, if needed.

• Read more: how to write your personal statement when you have nothing interesting to say  

10 steps to your ideal personal statement

In summary, here are the ten steps you should follow to create the perfect personal statement.  

Personal statement dos and don'ts

• Remember that your personal statement is your personal statement, not an article written about your intended field of study. It should tell the reader about you, not about the subject.
• Only put in things that you’re prepared to talk about at the interviews.
• Give convincing reasons for why you want to study the course – more than just "enjoying the subject" (this should be a given).
• For very competitive courses, find out as much as you can about the nature of the course and try to make your personal statement relevant to this.
• Be reflective. If you make a point like 'I like reading', 'I travelled abroad', say what you got from it.
• Go through the whole thing checking your grammar and your spelling. Do this at least twice. It doesn’t matter if you’re not applying to an essay-based course – a personal statement riddled with spelling mistakes is just going to irritate the reader, which is the last thing you want to do. If this is something you find difficult then have someone look over it for you.
• Leave blank lines between your paragraphs. It’s easier for the reader to get through your personal statement when it’s broken into easily digestible chunks. Remember that they’re going to be reading a lot of these! Make yours easy to get through.
• Get someone else's opinion on your statement. Read it out to family or friends. Share it with your teacher. Look for feedback wherever you can find it, then act upon it.
• Don’t write it like a letter. Kicking off with a greeting such as "Dear Sir/Madam" not only looks weird, it also wastes precious space.
• Don’t make jokes. This is simply not the time – save them for your first night in the union.
• Don’t criticise your current school or college or try to blame teachers for any disappointing grades you might have got.
• Be afraid of details – if you want your PS to be personal to you that means explaining exactly which bits of work or topics or activities you've taken part in/enjoyed. It's much more compelling to read about one or two detailed examples than a paragraph that brushes over five or six.
• Just list what you're doing now. You should pull out the experiences that are relevant to the courses which you're applying to.
• Mention skills and activities without giving examples of when they have been demonstrated by you or what you learnt from them. Anyone can write "I have great leadership skills" in a PS, actually using a sentence to explain when you demonstrated good leadership skills is much rarer and more valuable.
• Refer to experiences that took place before your GCSEs (or equivalent).
• Give explanations about medical or mental health problems. These should be explained in your reference, not your PS.
• Apply for too many different courses, making it difficult to write a convincing personal statement which supports the application.
• Write a statement specific to just one institution, unless you're only applying to that one choice.
• Copy and paste the statement from somewhere else! This means do not plagiarise. All statements are automatically checked for plagiarism by Ucas. Those that are highlighted by the computer system are checked manually by Ucas staff. If you’re found to have plagiarised parts of your statement, the universities you apply to will be informed and it could jeopardise your applications.
• Use ChatGPT or another AI program to write your personal statement for you. Or, if you do, make sure you thoroughly edit and personalise the text so it's truly yours. Otherwise you're very much at risk of the plagiarism point above.

You may want to look at these...

How to write your university application.

Tips for writing your university application, including deadlines and personal statements

The Ucas personal statement is changing in 2025

A question-based personal statement will be required as part of university applications from autumn 2025 onwards

How long does it take for universities to reply to your application?

It might feel like it's taking forever for your uni offers to come through. Find out what's going on, and when you should hear back

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How To Write A Personal Statement & Examples

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Whether you’re using the Common Application, the Coalition Application, or a school-specific application portal, it can be scary to come up with an essay topic that encompasses the complexity and vastness of who you are as a person. So to help you move past the intimidating aspects and focus more on the fun and meaning, in this post, we’ll describe what differentiates the personal statement from other college essays and what function it serves in your college application.

How to Write a Residency Personal Statement with Examples from a Program Director

Residency programs receive thousands of applications from qualified candidates, and your personal statement provides the chance for you to show a program why they should choose you.

For Kamran M. Mirza, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology Education at Godfrey D. Stobbe, the residency personal statement is the first piece of the application that he reads. So, it’s important to make it count. 

Use your voice to show them why you’re the perfect match for their program. It could be the thing that tips the scales in your favor.

Remember, it’s called the residency “match” for a reason. Programs aren’t just looking for the best candidates; they’re looking for the best match for their team and culture. Your personal statement is your opportunity to showcase why you belong there.

Key Takeaways:

• Invest time in your personal statement, as this can be the first piece of your application that a program director reads.
• Start with an engaging opening, use illustrative incidents to maintain the reader’s interest, and conclude by reinforcing your main points and linking back to your introduction.
• If there are any gaps, unexplained grades, or other potential red flags in your application, use your personal statement to provide context and show the lessons you have learned from these challenges. 
• Steer clear of clichés, rehashing old statements, and focusing too much on experiences before your time in medical school. Instead, emphasize current interests and future aspirations. 
• Ensure your writing is polished, free of grammatical errors, and avoid controversial topics unless they are presented thoughtfully and professionally.

What is the Purpose of a Personal Statement?

A personal statement paints a picture of you. While your ERAS application introduces your accomplishments, it doesn’t fully capture the essence of you . There’s a whole history behind why you’re on this journey to becoming a doctor, and your personal statement is where you get to tell that story. Show the program why this path matters to you.

A personal statement highlights your unique qualifications and experiences. It’s your opportunity to talk about your professional aspirations and showcase the experiences that make you stand out—whether it’s research, clinical skills, leadership, or even your ability to communicate effectively. Explain how these experiences have shaped you and how they’ll influence the way you practice in your chosen specialty.

A personal statement shows your commitment. Demonstrate how you’ve gone above and beyond the basic requirements. Make it personal. Share what you believe in, what you love about the specialty, what fascinates you, and what you find most rewarding. This is where you show the program what you will bring to the table to make an impact in the lives of the patients you will serve.

A personal statement sells you. Residency programs are going to be reading hundreds of these, so it’s crucial that yours makes an impact. Think of your motivation as the trunk of a tree, with specific incidents or work experiences branching out from there. Remember—be genuine. Don’t feel like you have to oversell yourself. Just be true to who you are, and let your passion and experiences speak for themselves. That’s what’s going to resonate the most.

How to Write a Residency Personal Statement 

The personal statement is your chance to help residency programs really understand who you are, what draws you to your desired specialty, and what sets you apart from other candidates. To make sure your personal statement is top-notch, here’s what you should include:

• Lead with a catchy opening paragraph that grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to read more. This is the most critical part of your personal statement, and a strong start sets the tone for the rest of your narrative.
• Recapture the reader’s attention about halfway through your statement with insight that reinforces your overall theme.
• Focus on a few illustrative incidents that have shaped your journey. Unite these incidents with a theme or thesis that ties your story together and highlights what makes you unique.
• Outline what you want to say and the order in which you want to say it. This will help you create a coherent and well-structured narrative.
• Use concrete examples of experiences that help distinguish you from others and make your story more relatable and memorable.
• Write about interests that excite you. When you share what you are passionate about, it will come through in your writing and resonate with the reader.
• End your message with a conclusion that refers back to your opening and restates your thesis. This brings your personal statement full circle and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

 Effective Residency Personal Statement Examples 

During the 2025 Match Summit event, Dr. Kamran Mirza presented several personal statements to help guide medical students through the process.

As a program director who has read many residency personal statements as part of the ERAS application process, Dr. Mirza shares some of the best residency personal statement examples.

Example #1 – The Introduction

I love dinosaurs. 

When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was learn everything I could about them – how they lived, what they ate, and what they looked like. My love of dinosaurs led me to apply to college as a paleontology major. Like any eager student, I wanted a head start in college so I decided to take a human anatomy class. My goal was to learn the names of bones. One day in class, the teacher showed us a video of total hip replacement and that was it. My entire life’s dream shifted. From that day on, I knew I wanted to be a surgeon. 

Example #2 – A Story of Family Hardship

My mother immigrated from the Philippines to Minnesota as a mail-order bride. Amidst the improved living conditions and snowy winters, she was physically abused by my father and repeatedly threatened for her life. Between episodes of abuse, she gave birth to me, her firstborn child. In the thick of her celebration and under postpartum care, her OBGYN connected her with the resources necessary to exit her dangerous situation. This was the first of many instances that would provide me insight into the immense privilege that OBGYNs have of caring for extremely vulnerable patients, such as my mother. And so, my mother left for California with her newborn infant, and if not for her OBGYN, she – and I – might not have survived. 

Example #3 – The Theme

The key to a perfect choux pastry, or any pastry for that matter, and the singular quality I’m convinced separates good surgeons from great ones are one in the same.

Mise en place is a French culinary adage meaning, “everything in its place.” In short, one’s ability to prepare is the major determinant of quality.

The best preparation, however, is informed by experience. I can tell you every ingredient, tool, and step to follow to make choux, but I can’t tell you how many eggs you’ll need. Recognizing the perfect texture comes only through practice and repetition. In these iterations one learns what could go wrong, what’s likely to go wrong, and whether those are the same. 

Example #4 – Turning Around Your Red Flag

During my senior year of undergrad, I was diagnosed with depression and got the help I needed to become the best student I could be. Through this experience, I learned the importance of advocacy for myself and others. Once I sought help for my mental health, my entire academic career changed. I use this skill now to advocate for my patients. 

For more examples, be sure to watch Dr. Mirza’s entire presentation below.

How to Address Red Flags

Your residency personal statement is a great way to address any gaps in your education, unexplained grades, or any other potential red flags in your application that may stand in your way of showcasing your strengths for a potential program.

There is no need to focus too much on any red flags you are able to address within your ERAS application. However, if there is something that you need to provide further explanation for, the best way to do so is to use your personal statement to turn it around to show how this challenge in your life shaped you in a positive way, and the lessons you learned. 

What to Avoid When Writing Your Personal Statement 

As you begin mapping out your residency personal statement, there are some common drawbacks that can prevent your statement from standing out.

As a rule of thumb, here are some things you should avoid: 

• Cliches . Saying, “I want to help people,” isn’t going to set you apart—it’s something we innately hope all of you feel strongly about! However, what did you have to overcome to get here, and what part of your story led you to this moment? Stay clear of cliche stories that make it look like you didn’t put effort into your personal statement. Give specific examples of experiences that inform your career choice and demonstrate your skills.
• Rehashing medical school statements. Your time in medical school has helped shape who you are and why you are pursuing your desired specialty. Focus on experiences and challenges you have overcome in the present day and try to steer clear from anything before medical school. 
• Focusing too much on what led you to your specialty. While it’s important to touch on this, it shouldn’t dominate your narrative. Leave room to discuss your current interests and future aspirations. What excites you about the residency ahead? What are your goals for the future, both in residency and beyond? Programs want to see that you are forward-thinking and have a clear vision for your career.
• Informal writing. Your statement should be polished and well-structured, demonstrating your ability to communicate effectively.The best advice you can receive is revise, revise, and revise some more. Plan to read your personal statement several times, as well as others, to make sure your story stays on track, is free of grammatical errors, and remains engaging throughout.
• Controversial topics. It’s wise to avoid topics that include political, ethical, or religious issues. While it’s important to share your personal experiences, you don’t want your writing to come off as offensive or cross any lines. However, when relevant, sharing examples of hardships or family problems that have shaped your journey can be powerful, provided they are presented in a way that is thoughtful and professional. You can refer to Dr. Mirza’s example above for how to best position this.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should your residency personal statement be.

The standard recommendation is to keep your residency personal statement to one page, which is around 600-750 words in length.

How to Write a Residency Personal Statement?

Start with an outline to help you begin to narrow down your theme, followed by examples you want to include. Remember to follow our guide on what to avoid, and don’t forget to revise, revise, revise !

Should You Address Red Flags in Your Residency Personal Statement?

Your personal statement is how you are going to sell yourself to your desired program. If you are able to address your red flags in your application, there is no need to bring them up in your essay, especially if it might invoke any doubt. However, if you are able to address it in a way that demonstrates how you overcame your situation and learned lessons from your struggles, this is a great opportunity to show the program how you were able to turn it around into a positive experience. 

What are Some Residency Personal Statement Examples?

While we touch on a few samples in this blog, Dr. Kamran Mirza, a program director who presented on the topic of writing an effective personal statement, shares several more in his presentation. Watch the full clip from TrueLearn’s 2025 Match Summit event here !

Time to Write Your Personal Statement

We know there is a lot of information here, and we hope these insights have given you a solid foundation to start shaping your own personal statement. The most important thing to remember about the residency personal statement is there are no shortcuts in this match application process. Doing things the right way and going the extra mile will set you apart from the hundreds of other applicants. 

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The Medical School Personal Statement: How To Stand Out

Posted in: Applying to Medical School

Impressive GPAs and MCAT scores, research experience, physician shadowing , and meaningful volunteer work are only one part of a successful medical school application . You may meet all other medical school requirements , yet face rejection.

One thing can help you stand above the rest : A compelling personal statement.

The medical school personal statement is important because it highlights your hard work, your pre-medical school accomplishments, and why you’re a better candidate than everyone else. 

In other words: Who are you, what makes you unique, and why do you deserve a spot in our school?

We’ve helped thousands of prospective medical students increase their odds at acceptance with better personal statements. Now, we’ll show you exactly how to do it. 

Working on your personal statement? Speak with a member of our enrollment team who can walk you through the step-by-step med school application process from start to finish.

Table of contents, what’s in a great med school personal statement.

An excellent medical school personal statement should contain:

• Passion for an area of the healthcare field.
• Storytelling that captures the reader’s attention from the first sentence.
• Emotion and personality to show (not tell) admissions committee members who you are.
• A unique answer to the question, “Why do you want to be a doctor?”

A powerful personal statement shows that you are the kind of candidate who will make an exceptional physician and be a valuable asset to the school during your medical education. Additionally, it helps to distinguish your application from the many other students with similar MCAT scores and GPAs.

A weak personal statement would, in turn, have the opposite effect.

Not only does the personal statement weed out unqualified candidates, but it also serves as a foundation for many interview discussions and questions . 

Admission committee members often only have a few minutes to review an application. Personal statements provide them with the right amount of information. Since it’s possible this is the only part of your application they’ll read, it needs to be perfect .

When writing your personal statement, you’ll also want to note the AAMC core competencies that are expected of all medical professionals. Some, if not all, of these competencies should shine through in your application essay .

The AAMC premed competencies include: 

• Professional competencies:  Factors like communication skills, interpersonal skills, commitment to learning and growth, compassion, dependability, and cultural awareness and humility
• Science competencies:  Understanding of human behaviors and living systems, both of which are best demonstrated in data-driven measures like research, MCAT scores, and science GPA (in other words, not things that necessarily need to be displayed in your personal statement)
• Thinking & Reasoning competencies:  Critical thinking, reasoning, scientific inquiry, and written communication

It’s important to show passion for something specific — a group of underserved people, a type of patient, the benefit of a particular area of medicine, etc. Your passion should be evident, non-generic, and authentic. Ask yourself, “What makes a good doctor?”

It’s crucial to avoid cliches in your personal statement, like claiming you want to become a doctor “to help people.”

Dr. Renee Marinelli, Director of Advising at MedSchoolCoach, warns that certain cliches may not truly represent meaningful experiences that influenced your decision to pursue medicine.

You may have decided to become a doctor from experiencing a kind physician as a child, but that personal experience doesn’t convey genuine passion. Your enthusiasm for medicine doesn’t need to originate from a grand experience or sudden revelation.

Your interest in medicine probably developed gradually, perhaps when you fell in love with psychology during college and volunteered at nursing homes. You don’t need a lifelong dream to demonstrate passion and become an outstanding doctor.

2. Storytelling

A memorable personal statement captures the reader’s attention from the first sentence, which you can do with an interesting personal story or anecdote. Including some creativity, ingenuity, humor, and character.

Immersing the admissions committee in your personal statement allows you to show , not just tell , how your experiences have impacted your journey to medicine.

Don’t repeat the data your admissions committee can read on the rest of your application — SHOW the passions and experiences that have led you to this field using a narrative approach.

Consider the following examples of statements about a student’s volunteer experience at a food pantry:

"“Through my work at the local food pantry, I came to understand the daily battles many individuals face, and it allowed me to develop deeper empathy and compassion.” “When I saw Mr. Jones, a regular at the kitchen, struggling to maneuver his grocery cart through the door, I hustled over to assist him. My heart sunk when I saw he was wearing a new cast after having been assaulted the night prior.”

Which do you think performed better in terms of conveying personal characteristics? Your personal statement is a deep dive into one central theme, not about rehashing all of your experiences. 

3. Emotion & Personality

An engaging personal statement allows your unique personality and real emotions to shine through.

As Dr. Davietta Butty, a Northwestern School of Medicine graduate, avid writer, pediatrician, and MedSchoolCoach advisor, puts it,

“I think the best personal statements are the ones that showcase the applicant’s personality. Remember that this is your story and not anyone else’s, and you get to say it how it makes sense to you.” 

This is why storytelling is such an important part of personal statement writing. Your writing process should involve quite a bit of writing and editing to express emotion in a relatable, appropriate way.

A Note On Writing About Tragedy

One way you can show who you are is by expressing an appropriate level of emotion, particularly about challenging or tragic experiences. (But don’t worry — not everyone has a tragic backstory, and that’s perfectly fine!)

If you are discussing a tragedy, don’t go into an extended explanation of how you feel — show emotion and your personality while sticking to the plot.

Personal tragedies, such as the death of a loved one, can powerfully motivate a personal statement. In a field where life and death constantly clash, experiences with death might appear impressive qualifications; however, approach them cautiously.

Focus on the reasons behind your motivation, rather than the details of the tragedy. Explain how the experience impacted your medical career aspirations, including skill development or perspective changes.

How have you applied these new skills or perspectives? How would they contribute to your success as a medical student?

4. Why You Want To Be a Doctor

Becoming a doctor is no small feat. What journey brought you here?

Writing things like “I want to help people” or “I want to make a difference” won’t set you apart from all the other students applying for medical school .

Knowing who you want to serve, why you want to help them (in story form), and where you’d like to end up will show admissions officers that you are serious about your medical career.

After all, this career doesn’t just involve many years of post-graduate education — you need a significant motivation to see this career through. That’s what admissions committees are looking for!

Read Next: Medical School Interviews: What To Do Before, During & After  

How long is a personal statement for medical school?

Your statement is limited to:

• 5,300 characters (including spaces) on the AMCAS application ( MD programs )
• 5,000 characters on the TMDSAS (Texas MD programs)
• 5,300 characters for AACOMAS ( DO programs )

That’s roughly 500-700 words, or 3 double-spaced pages of text.

We typically suggest our students divide their personal statement into about 5 full paragraphs — an intro, 2-3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Pro tip: Do not type directly into the text box — if something goes wrong, you’ll lose all of your work. Write in another program first, then copy and paste the edited copy into the application text box.

Use a text-only word processing tool (TextEdit on Mac devices or Basic Text Editor on Windows), or type the essay into Microsoft Word or a Google Doc. Just remember to save the file as a *.rtf. This will eliminate formatting issues when you copy and paste the essay into the AMCAS box.

Read Next: How to Successfully Reapply to Medical School and Get a “Yes!”

How To Write a Personal Statement For Medical School

Your personal statement is an opportunity to showcase your passion for medicine and your unique experiences. Be genuine, focused, and concise; your personal statement will leave a lasting impression on medical school admissions committees.

Some questions you may want to consider while writing your personal statement are:

• Why have you selected the field of medicine?
• What motivates you to learn more about medicine?
• What do you want medical schools to know about you that has yet to be disclosed in another application section?

In addition, you may wish to include information such as unique hardships, challenges, or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits. Comment on significant academic record fluctuations not explained elsewhere in your application.

With thousands of students, we’ve developed a nine-step process for how to write a personal statement that’s sure to get noticed. Follow these steps in order to uplevel your personal statement writing.

1. Choose a central theme.

Sticking to one central theme for your personal statement may sound tricky, but sticking with a central theme can give your statement more of a rhythm.

Here are a few examples to use when thinking of a central theme:

• What is an experience that challenged or changed your perspective on medicine?
• Is there a relationship with a mentor or another inspiring individual that has significantly influenced you?
• What was a challenging personal experience that you encountered?
• List unique hardships, challenges, or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits.
• What is your motivation to seek a career in medicine?

2. Choose 2-4 personal qualities to highlight.

Keep this part brief and highlight the strengths that will make you an exceptional doctor.

What sets you apart from others? What makes you unique? What are you particularly proud of about yourself that may not be explained by a good GPA or MCAT score?

Here are a few examples of quality traits great doctors possess:

• Persistence
• Reliability
• Accountability
• Good judgment under pressure
• Excellent communication skills
• Leadership skills

3. Identify 1-2 significant experiences that demonstrate these qualities.

In this section, you should include that these experiences exemplify the qualities above and outline your path to medicine.

The top experiences college admissions seek are research projects , volunteer activities, and mentorship.

Here are a few ways to narrow down what makes an experience significant:

• Which experiences left you feeling transformed (either immediately, or in retrospect)?
• Which experiences genuinely made you feel like you were making a difference or contributing in a meaningful way?
• Which experiences radically shifted your perspectives or priorities?
• Which experiences have truly made you who you are today?

Pro tip: If you’re still in your third year of pre-med and want to participate in more experiential projects that will support your future medical career, check out Global Medical Brigades . We partner with this student-led movement for better global health, and brigades are a transformative way to begin your medical career.

4. Write a compelling introduction.

Your personal statement introduction is the first thing the admissions committee will read. The first paragraph should be a catchy, attention-grabbing hook or story that grabs the reader’s attention and sets up the main point of your essay .

Check out this webinar for more examples of what makes a great introduction.

5. Use storytelling to write the body paragraphs.

Since the goal is to achieve depth rather than breadth (5,000 characters isn’t a lot!), focus on key experiences instead of discussing everything you’ve accomplished. Remember, you’ll have the Work & Activities section to share other relevant experiences.

Use the following five-step formula to elaborate on important experiences in the body paragraphs of your personal statement:

• Discuss why you pursued the experience.
• Mention how you felt during the experience.
• Describe what you accomplished and learned.
• Discuss how your experience affected you and the world around you.
• Describe how the experience influenced your decision to pursue medicine.

The best personal statements tell a story about who you are. “Show, don’t tell,” what you’ve experienced — immerse the reader in your narrative, and you’ll have a higher chance of being accepted to medical school.

6. Create an engaging conclusion.

Your goal is to make the person reading want to meet you and invite you to their school! Your conclusion should:

• Talk about your future plans.
• Define what medicine means to you.
• Reflect on your growth.
• Reiterate how you’d contribute to your school’s community and vision.

7. Use a spellchecker to proofread for basic errors.

Misusing “your” instead of “you’re” or misspelling a few important words can negatively impact how your personal statement is received. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation should be perfect on your personal statement.

Use Grammarly or a similar spellchecker to check for errors before completing your personal statement. You can also use an AI tool like ChatGPT for proofreading, although it’s more likely to make sweeping changes.

8. Edit your draft.

Editing your personal statement a few times over will benefit you in the long run. Give yourself time to write, edit, reread, and re-edit your personal statement before submitting it with your application.

You can use AI technology like ChatGPT for small edits or to help you add in information where you might feel stuck, but don’t rely too much on it.

9. Ask a few trusted people to read your draft.

Have at least one friend, family member, and at least one person who’s a medical professional review your draft. A  professor in your pre-med program would be a great person to review your draft.

Be willing to receive as much feedback as your trusted people are willing to give. Don’t get caught up in obsessing over one statement you really like if all three of your readers suggest cutting it.

If you’d like a professional eye on your personal statement, consider a personal statement editing service. Our editors are medical professionals, often who have reviewed personal statements and applications submitted to admissions committees.

We’d love to help you craft a personal statement that’s sure to stand out.

30 prompts to inspire your personal statement.

Here are 30 prompts to inspire your personal statement: 

• Describe a defining moment in your life that solidified your desire to pursue a career in medicine.
• Discuss a challenging situation you faced and how it shaped your perspective on healthcare.
• Reflect on a time when you made a meaningful impact on someone’s life through your actions or support.
• Explain your motivation for wanting to become a physician and how it has evolved over time.
• Describe a personal quality or skill that will contribute to your success as a medical professional.
• Discuss the importance of empathy and compassion in the medical profession and share a personal experience demonstrating these qualities.
• Reflect on a specific medical case or patient that inspired you and how it influenced your future goals.
• Share a story about an interaction with a mentor or role model who has inspired your path in medicine.
• Describe a time when you overcame adversity or faced a significant challenge in your journey to medical school.
• Explain how your background, culture, or upbringing has influenced your perspective on healthcare.
• Discuss a medical issue or topic you’re passionate about and why it’s important to you.
• Describe your experience working or volunteering in a healthcare setting and the lessons you’ve learned.
• Reflect on a time when you had to adapt or be resilient in a challenging situation.
• Discuss how your interest in research or innovation will contribute to your career as a physician.
• Share a personal experience that has shaped your understanding of the importance of teamwork in healthcare.
• Describe a leadership role you’ve held and how it has prepared you for a career in medicine.
• Discuss the impact of a specific medical discovery or advancement on your decision to pursue medicine.
• Reflect on your experience with a particular patient population or community and how it has influenced your perspective on healthcare.
• Share your thoughts on the role of social responsibility in the medical profession.
• Explain how your experiences with interdisciplinary collaboration have prepared you for a career in medicine.
• Describe a time when you advocated for a patient or their needs.
• Share your experience with a global health issue or project and how it has impacted your perspective on healthcare.
• Discuss your interest in a specific medical specialty and why it appeals to you.
• Reflect on a time when you encountered an ethical dilemma and how you resolved it.
• Describe an experience that demonstrates your commitment to lifelong learning and personal growth.
• Share a story about a time when you had to think critically and problem-solve in a healthcare setting.
• Discuss how your experiences with diverse populations have informed your approach to patient care.
• Describe an experience that highlights your ability to communicate effectively with others in a medical setting.
• Reflect on a time when you demonstrated your commitment to patient-centered care.
• Share your thoughts on the importance of balance and self-care in the medical profession and how you plan to maintain these practices throughout your career.

Avoid These Common Personal Statement Mistakes

Avoid these 5 common mistakes students make when writing their personal statements: 

• Clichés : “I just want to help people,” “from a young age,” “I’ve always wanted to,” and “for as long as I can remember,” are just some of the overused phrases in personal statements. Other clichés we’ve seen often include saying that you’ve wanted to be a doctor for your whole life, using overly dramatic patient anecdotes, or prideful-sounding stories about how you saved a life as a pre-med student. Eliminate clichés from your writing.
• Typos/grammatical errors: We covered this already, but the grammar in your statement should be flawless . It’s hard to catch your own typos, so use grammar checking tools like Grammarly and ask your readers to look for typographical errors or grammar problems, too.
• Name-dropping: At best, naming a prominent member of the medical community in your statement sounds braggadocious and will probably be brushed off. At worst, an adcom reader may think poorly of the person you mention and dismiss you based on the connection. If you do know a well-known and well-respected person in the medical field and worked closely with them, request a letter of recommendation instead.
• Restating your MCAT score or GPA : Every character in your personal statement counts (literally). Don’t restate information already found on your application. If your application essay is being read, an algorithm has already identified your prerequisite scores as being worthy of reviewing the rest of your application.
• Using extensive quotes from other people: This is your chance to show who you are. Quoting a philosopher or trusted advisor in these few precious characters takes away from the impact you can have. A single short quote might be okay if it’s highly relevant to the story you’re telling, but don’t go beyond that.

Should you use ChatGPT to help you write?

ChatGPT is a great AI tool to help you get your personal statement off the ground. However, since this is your personal statement, ChatGPT won’t be able to effectively write transitions or tie your personal statement together.

Only you can effectively convey what being a doctor means to you. Only you carry the experiences in your mind and heart that have compelled you to pursue this competitive profession. Don’t rely on artificial intelligence to fake those experiences — it will show, and not in a good way.

We’ve found that ChatGPT can help speed the processes of ideation , editing, and grammar-checking. If you’re not using it to emulate human experiences but just treating it as a helpful assistant, go for it! 

When should you start writing your personal statement?

Begin writing your personal statement early enough to have months of reflection and editing time before your application cycle begins. We recommend writing your personal statement as the first step when applying to medical school , starting in December or January before applications open.

As you progress, anticipate revising multiple versions of your draft. Spend time reflecting on your life experiences and aspirations.

Dr. Katzen, MedSchoolCoach Master Advisor and previous admissions committee member at GWU, recommends starting your personal statement in December/January if you plan to apply in May/June (you should!). 

This gives you plenty of time to have others review it or to get professional personal statement editing services. It also gives you time to write multiple drafts and be 100% satisfied with your final essay.

Read Next: A Complete Guide to the Residency Match Process

9 Personal Statement Examples That Led To Med School Acceptance

We’ve included some of our favorite medical school personal statement examples below. Each of these was written by a student who was accepted at one or more programs of their choice.

1. Embracing Diversity: Healing Through Cultural Connections

Student Accepted to Case Western SOM, Washington University SOM, University of Utah SOM, Northwestern University Feinberg SOM

With a flick and a flourish, the tongue depressor vanished, and from behind my ear suddenly appeared a coin. Growing up, my pediatrician often performed magic tricks, making going to the doctors’ feel like literal magic. I believed all healthcare facilities were equally mystifying, especially after experiencing a different type of magic in the organized chaos of the Emergency Department. Although it was no place for a six-year-old, childcare was often a challenge, and while my dad worked extra shifts in nursing school to provide for our family, I would find myself awed by the diligence and warmth of the healthcare providers.

Though I associated the hospital with feelings of comfort and care, it sometimes became a place of fear and uncertainty. One night, my two-year-old brother, Sean, began vomiting and coughing non-stop. My dad was deployed overseas, so my mother and I had no choice but to spend the night at the hospital, watching my brother slowly recover with the help of the healthcare providers. Little did I know, it would not be long before I was in the same place. Months later, I was hospitalized with pneumonia with pleural effusions, and as I struggled to breathe, I was terrified of having fluid sucked out of my chest. But each day physicians comforted me, asking how I was, taking time to reassure me that I was being taken care of, and explaining any questions related to my illness and treatment. Soon, I became excited to speak with the infectious disease doctor and residents, absorbing as much as I could to learn more about different illnesses.

In addition to conventional medical settings, I also came to view the magic of healing through other lenses. Growing up, Native American traditions were an important aspect of my life as my father had been actively involved with native spirituality, connecting back to his Algonquin heritage. We often attended Wi-wanyang-wa-c’i-pi ceremonies or Sun Dances, for healing through prayer and individuals making personal sacrifices for their community. Although I never sun danced myself, I spent hours in inipis, chewing on osha root, finding my own healing through songs. In addition to my father’s heritage, healing came from the curanderismo traditions of Peru, the home of my mother, who came from a long line of healers, which involved herbal remedies and ceremonies in the healing of the mind, body, energy and soul. I can still see my mother preparing mixtures of oils, herbs, and incense while performing healing rituals. The compassion and care she put into healing paralleled the Emergency Department healthcare providers.

Through the influence of these early life experiences, I decided to pursue a career in the health sciences. Shortly after starting college, I entered a difficult time in my life as I struggled with health and personal challenges. I suddenly felt weak and tired most days with aches all over my body. Soon, depression set in. I eventually visited a doctor, and through a series of tests, we discovered I had hypothyroidism. During this time, I also began dealing with an unprocessed childhood trauma. I decided to take time off school, and with thyroid replacement hormones and therapy, I slowly began to recover. But I still had ways to go, and due to financial challenges, I made the difficult decision to continue delaying my education and found work managing a donut shop. Unbeknownst to me, this experience would lead to significant personal growth by working with people from all walks of life and allowing me time for self-reflection. I found myself continuously reflecting on the experiences in the hospital that defined my childhood and the unmatched admiration I had for healthcare workers. With my renewed interest in medicine, I enrolled in classes to get my AEMT license to get more experience in the medical field.

As my health improved, I excelled in my classes, and after craving the connections of working with others, I became a medical assistant. In this position, I met “Marco,” a patient who came from Mexico for treatment. Though I spoke Spanish while growing up, I had little experience as a medical interpreter. However, I took the opportunity to speak with him to learn his story. Afterwards, he became more comfortable, and I helped walk him through the consultation process, interpreting the physician’s words and Marco’s questions. This moment showed me the power of connecting with others in their native language. As a result, I began volunteering at a homeless clinic to continue bridging the language barrier for patients and to help advocate for the Latinx community and those who struggle to find their voice.

My journey to become a doctor has been less direct than planned; however, my personal trials and tribulations have afforded me the opportunity to meet and work with incredible people who have been invaluable to my recovery and personal development. Most importantly, I have seen the value of compassionate and empathetic care. Though I have not recently witnessed any sleight of hand or vanishing acts, what healthcare providers do for patients can only be described as magic. I look forward to bringing my diverse background as a physician and expanding my abilities to help patients in their path to healing.

2. The Calling to Heal From the Battlefield

Student Accepted to Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Harvard Medical School, Yale SOM

I’ll never forget his screams of pain.

It was the first time I had heard a man cry for help, and it shook me to my core. It had been a long night of training in South Korea for me and my fellow Army Rangers. We were reaching the end, heavy with exhaustion, when my friend took the direct impact of an explosive to his leg. The shockwave momentarily rattled my sense of balance. Struggling to see in the dark, I switched on my headlamp. In that instant, all I could focus on was his face. His eyes darted back and forth, sweeping the surroundings for any semblance of help, but all I could do was stand there and watch as our medics treated him.

No amount of training prepared me to see a friend in pain. As I watched the helicopter fly him away, I couldn’t help but think— even though I’d gone through some of the best military training in the world, in that moment, I could do nothing for him. Fortunately, he is okay, but had there been no medic available, the situation could have ended with tragedy. That night, I realized that through a career in medicine, I could be more than just a bystander to suffering— I could be in the position to not only reduce unnecessary pain but to also help those affected by conflict and trauma be restored to the fullness of life.

Upon returning home from this deployment, I shifted my focus to developing my skills in trauma care. I completed various trainings on caring for casualties in a combat environment and preparing non-medic Rangers to provide self-aid or buddy-aid in the absence of a medical provider. In a final scenario-based training lane, I helped lead my team in the treatment and packaging of a trauma patient for evacuation, setting a record time in our company and earning a military medal. This achievement, however, was only the beginning. These trainings and my successes served as a foundation that I built upon to ensure I could provide life-saving care in combat situations.  I continued to hone this skillset over my next two combat deployments as a machine gunner to Afghanistan, where, I was prepared to use these critical abilities to decrease mortality on the battlefield. In medicine, like in the army, the actual practice of one’s craft may be life or death. Therefore, evolving both dependability and proficiency during training is imperative in preparation for that final test, both in war and in medicine.

After leaving the military, confronting injury and trauma continued to be a reality. A year after exiting the service, two Army Ranger leaders whom I knew were critically injured on a mission overseas. One was my former team leader, who was shot in the neck, and the other was caught in an explosion that later resulted in a triple amputation. The relentless efforts of doctors and nurses is the reason why both of these brave men are alive today. Recognizing that without the diligent care of these medical professionals, these men would not have survived, I became ever more dedicated to serving others.

While in college, this dedication pushed me to routinely visit the West Haven VA Hospital to provide a community of support for the older, disabled veterans there. I first began visiting this hospital for my own medical care but witnessing the suffering of the other veterans at the hospital spurred me to return repeatedly not as a patient, but as a friend to my fellow veterans.  As a veteran and student, seeing and hearing about the pain and loss of function experienced by many other veterans reminded me of the importance of advocacy in healthcare: to understand, to care for, and to fight for those who are unable to do so themselves.

I continued to see these effects of conflict while volunteering as a tutor to individuals from the Middle East who were affected by the very war I served in. Alaa lives in Syria and dreams of becoming a surgeon. Together, Alaa and I discussed chemistry, biology, and math. Despite his love of learning and dedication, the instability of his community, which was plagued by violence, often barred him from focusing on his studies and committing to a routine tutoring schedule. Although I’ll never intimately know the reality of growing up in a war-torn country, working with Alaa taught me to keep the bigger picture of healthcare in mind. It reminded me that a career as a physician would provide me with the capability to help those like Alaa who are affected by conflict.

When I reflect on medicine, I draw many parallels to my life in army special operations. The training is intense, the hours are long, and the structure is hierarchical. The mission, above all else, is to provide the best outcome for those around you. On my journey to a career in medicine, I plan to continue to add to what I’ve learned from my experiences so far: humility, empathy, dependability, communication, teamwork, and leading from the front. For over four years I lived by the Ranger Creed, and I plan to imbue the same ethos in serving as a physician— to keep myself mentally alert and morally straight, to shoulder more than my share of whatever task presents itself.  In crossing from the path of a warrior to that of a healer, I hope to continue a life of service to improve the human condition and reduce unnecessary suffering in the world one person at a time.

3. Community-based Health and Empathy: Serving Underserved Communities in Crisis

Student Accepted to Weill Cornell

My path to medicine was first influenced by early adolescent experiences trying to understand my place in society. Though I was not conscious of it at the time, I held a delicate balance between my identity as an Indian-American and an “American-American.”

In a single day, I could be shooting hoops and eating hotdogs at school while spending the evening playing Carrom and enjoying tandoori chicken at a family get-together. When our family moved from New York to California, I had the opportunity to attend a middle school with greater diversity, so I learned Spanish to salve the loss of moving away and assimilate into my new surroundings.

As I partook in related events and cuisine, I built an intermixed friend group and began to understand how culture influences our perception of those around us. While volunteering at senior centers in high school, I noticed a similar pattern to what I sometimes saw at school: seniors socializing in groups of shared ethnicity and culture. Moving from table to table, and therefore language to language, I also observed how each group shared different life experiences and perspectives on what constitutes health and wellness. Many seniors talked about barriers to receiving care or how their care differed from what they had envisioned. Listening to their stories on cultural experiences, healthcare disparities, and care expectations sparked my interest in becoming a physician and providing care for the whole community.

Intrigued by the science behind perception and health, I took electives during my undergraduate years to build a foundation in these domains. In particular, I was amazed by how computational approaches could help model the complexity of the human mind, so I pursued research at Cornell’s Laboratory of Rational Decision-Making. Our team used fMRI analysis to show how the framing of information affects its cognitive processing and perception. Thinking back to my discussions with seniors, I often wondered if more personalized health-related messaging could positively influence their opinions. Through shadowing, I had witnessed physicians engaging in honest and empathetic conversations to deliver medical information and manage patients’ expectations, but how did they navigate delicate conflicts where the patients’ perspectives diverged from their own?

My question was answered when I became a community representative for the Ethics Committee for On Lok PACE, an elderly care program. One memorable case was that of Mr. A.G, a blind 86-year-old man with radiation-induced frontal lobe injury who wanted to return home and cook despite his doctor’s expressed safety concerns. Estranged from family, Mr. A.G. relied on cooking to find fulfillment in his life. Recognizing the conflict between autonomy and beneficence, I joined the physicians in brainstorming and recommending ways he could cook while being supervised. I realized that the role of a physician was to mediate between the medical care plan and the patient’s wishes in order to make a decision that preserves their dignity. As we considered possibilities, the physicians’ genuine concern for the patient’s emotional well-being exemplified the compassion that I want to emulate as a future doctor. Our discussions emphasized the rigor of medicine—the challenge of ambiguity and the importance of working with an individual to serve their needs.

With COVID-19 ravaging our underserved communities, my desire to help others drove me towards community-based health as a contact tracer for my county’s Department of Public Health. My conversations uncovered dozens of heartbreaking stories that revealed how inequities in socioeconomic status and job security left poorer families facing significantly harsher quarantines than their wealthier counterparts. Moreover, many residents expressed fear or mistrust, such as a 7-person family who could not safely isolate in their 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment. I offered to arrange free hotel accommodations but was met with a guarded response from the father: “We’ll be fine. We can maintain the 6 feet.” While initially surprised, I recognized how my government affiliation could lead to a power dynamic that made the family feel uneasy. Thinking how to make myself more approachable, I employed motivational interviewing skills and even simple small talk to build rapport. When we returned to discussing the hotel, he trusted my intentions and accepted the offer. Our bond of mutual trust grew over two weeks of follow-ups, leaving me humbled yet gratified to see his family transition to a safer living situation. As a future physician, I realize I may encounter many first-time or wary patients; and I feel prepared to create a responsive environment that helps them feel comfortable about integrating into our health system.

Through my clinical and non-clinical experiences, I have witnessed the far-reaching impact of physicians, from building lasting connections with patients to being a rock of support during uncertain times. I cannot imagine a career without these dynamics—of improving the health and wellness of patients, families, and society and reducing healthcare disparities. While I know the path ahead is challenging, I am confident that I want to dedicate my life to this profession.

4. Creating a Judgment-Free Zone with The Power of Acceptance in Healthcare

Student Accepted to George Washington SOM and Health Sciences, Drexel University COM

Immigrating into a foreign country without speaking a word of the language is a terrifying task for anyone. My mentee at Computers4kids, Sahil, came to the United States at seventeen and had been struggling to integrate with society due to the language barrier. Although I was born in the United States, I can empathize with the struggle he encounters daily, since both my parents and many members of my family have dealt with the same issues. Often, these barriers exacerbate mundane issues the immigrant population faces as they have difficulty finding people who can understand and care for them. Since I am bilingual in Farsi, when Sahil approached me with his driving instructions manual written in Dari, I thought I could teach him the rules of the road with no issues. I asked him to read the first sentence, but he diverted his gaze and mumbled that he did not know how to read. As I realized he seemed embarrassed by his illiteracy, I placed my hand on his shoulder and assured him that he could learn. I increased my weekly hours at the site to spend an equal amount of time on the rules of the road and on phonetics and reading. Within a few months, he was more comfortable greeting others around the Computers4Kids site and participating in interactive projects. Upon reflection, I appreciate the importance of creating a judgment-free zone that encourages learning and reciprocal care. Once Sahil noticed that I saw him no differently after learning of his illiteracy, he was ready and willing to work on the basics of language and reading, instead of solely memorizing words.

I did not realize how pivotal a judgment-free zone in a medical environment is until I worked at the University of Virginia Emergency Department as a medical scribe. Although I had scribed at a smaller hospital before, I had always strived for a position at a high-volume healthcare center and level one trauma center. Close to the end of a long shift, I walked into the room of a patient with the chief complain of ‘Psychiatric Evaluation’.  A male patient with schizophrenia was hyperventilating and speaking through tears as he described seeing his deceased wife and daughter everywhere he looked. Between short breaths, he mentioned he was going to Florida to attack the person who “murdered his family”. The resident diffused the situation by acknowledging the patient’s feelings and suggesting that he stayed for psychiatric help instead of flying to Florida. Eventually, the patient agreed and was admitted. Seeing the resident create this judgment-free environment was eye opening, as the previously distressed patient was now accepting counseling. The powerful influence of acceptance can lead to valuable insights about patients’ lives, potentially increasing the range of care one can administer.

I decided to transition to primary care in the most recent fall season because I would be able to build a more personal relationship with families in my community. I began working at Union Mill Pediatrics and was finally able to serve the community I grew I up in. I was given the responsibility of acting as the primary contact for a few families with children who have autism. Dr. Maura and I perused the plan of care for one of these children, Ayaan, determined by the Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), to ensure that set therapeutic goals were reasonable and generalizable. When I asked Salwa, Ayaan’s mother, about some of the goals set by her BCBA and the school, she mentioned they would repeat exercises he already knew how to complete. I informed Salwa of her right as a patient to bring up her concerns with Ayaan’s teachers. I was overjoyed when she updated me that she instructed Ayaan’s teacher to continue putting his hearing aid in despite Ayaan’s constant cries. Salwa explained that the tantrums would curb after two days, which proved to be true. Similarly to how I encourages Salwa to advocate for her son, I will advocate for my patients and help them develop confidence to speak about their needs. After finding her voice as the patient’s guardian, Salwa gained the confidence to ask about a support group as she faces difficulties raising Ayaan alone. After some research, I found a few active groups to send her. By proving to Salwa I had her best interests in heart, she opened up to me about her mental health issues, which enabled me to extend the appropriate resources her way.

I have witnessed the potential that physicians have at work to forever change a family’s quality of life by being open-minded and remaining judgment-free. As a physician, I will aim to provide for my community through attentive healthcare and community service. I will advocate for my patients with cultural, language or socioeconomic barriers to healthcare. Building a trusting relationship with my future patients can result in a more productive office visit and enhance my ability to administer holistic care. My goal is for patients to leave their visit with not only a reasonable plan of care, but also a greater appreciation of their health and their rights as patients.

5. The Intersection of Medicine and Creativity

Student Accepted to Hackensack Meridian SOM, Nova Southeastern CoOM/KPCOM

Growing up, I inherited a deep admiration for medicine. From my grandfather’s chilling stories as a forensic psychiatrist assessing mental fitness, to my father’s heroic accounts as a pediatric dentist operating on toddlers with severe tooth decay, I was enamored with the honor of healing. These exposures nurtured my natural curiosity and innate aptitude for the sciences. Yet my mother, who had studied dance and theatre, instilled in me a fervent love of the arts and creative practice. Following in her footsteps, I took up multiple musical instruments, attended a high school for the arts, and earned a degree in art history coupled with a dance minor. Still, my dream was to pursue medicine, and though it seems counterintuitive, my love of art has only facilitated my enduring love of science, reinforcing why pursuing a career as a holistic, health-centered physician is my deepest aspiration.

My affinity for the health sciences began in the dance studio, where I devoted many hours of my adolescence. Dance, insidious in its promotion of grotesque health practices, demanded that I limit my calories to 1,200 a day counting everything from ibuprofen to a stick of gum, and to dance through a severe hamstring tear. My conceptions of health were severely warped until college dance came to my rescue. These new progressive teachers uplifted dancers of all physical and cognitive abilities, distributed scientific journals on effective warm-up techniques, and abandoned conventional dance norms. I was disturbed by all the unlearning I had to do, but eager to reacquaint myself with my body and disseminate new knowledge. Thus, I was honored when dance again presented an opportunity in health, as I was hired to teach dance at my childhood summer camp. Here, I could separate my curriculum from unreasonable physical expectations and interpersonal competition. I found a fierce sense of joy and fulfillment from being an advocate for physical and emotional health, and I knew I wanted to continue helping others heal while also deconstructing my own negative health experiences.

These formative experiences in the arts profoundly supported my intellectual development, allowing me to thrive in science-based settings and ultimately prompting me to seek out colleges with robust research programs. At the University of Michigan, I had the privilege of participating in a campus research lab, undoubtedly resulting in my most valuable college experience. The world of scientific inquiry can be intimidating, but after a year of reading dozens of papers and learning novice lab protocols, I began my own independent investigation of zebrafish retinas. My goal was to uncover the mechanisms of retinal regeneration in fish, thus addressing vision loss. The excitement I felt in utilizing challenging lab techniques, working with animals, witnessing the culmination of my efforts through image analysis, and being a part of such life-altering research was unmatched. What once seemed like magic was now tangible; I was an artist helping craft the solutions to science’s unanswered questions. In the context of my multidisciplinary interests, my research reinforced the creative, humanitarian side of science, and that science was where I felt compelled to take action and build a career.

Art continued to deepen my passion for and understanding of medicine. The revolutionary approaches of my dance teachers modeled the importance of critique as it pertains to health. This was not a new concept to me; my high school art teachers had urged us to challenge institutional weaknesses. It was not until college, however, that I realized how this line of thinking intersects with medicine. Studying art history, I repeatedly encountered artists whose work tackled issues in health. Keith Haring confronted the AIDS crisis when society had turned on the gay population, and Marc Quinn confronted the disease of addiction in his self-portrait sculptures, made entirely of his own frozen blood. Art, I learned, is so often a response to disease, be it physical, mental, or sociological. These artists had been champions of health in light of its stigmas and politics; art thus fostered new intentions, instilling within me an ardent goal of social activism through medicine.

Art has contributed to my journey, and while it is not my ultimate goal, I hope to incorporate my artistically based insights into my work in science and medicine as a health and social justice advocate. I am driven to continue exploring these intersections, having compiled an entire portfolio on the connection between dance and science, researched disability in the arts, and pursued my personal interest in LGBTQ+ health advocacy by connecting with and shadowing a variety of gender care physicians. My intention to pursue medicine is personal, fulfilling, and pressing, and I take seriously the responsibility I will have as a physician to be a mogul for change in areas of healthcare that compromise the human experience. Further, my natural inclination towards science and involvement in academic research has instilled in me the confidence and skills necessary to be an effective medical practitioner. With this balanced mindset, I know I will contribute to a more ethical and well-rounded approach to healthcare.

6. Innovation in Medicine and a Quest for Discovery

Student Accepted to Johns Hopkins SOM, Washington University SOM, Hofstra Zucker SOM

As a notoriously picky nine-year-old with a penchant for grilled cheese, I was perplexed when I learned that my younger sister, Rachel, had been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I felt a sting of betrayal knowing my comfort food was the culprit for Rachel’s terrible stomach aches. Yearning to understand how my favorite food was poisoning my favorite person, I developed an insatiable desire to discover the “why” behind Celiac. As Rachel’s doctor explained her disease, I was both fascinated that a simple protein could cause so much damage and inspired by the doctor’s compassion. He described every detail in a way Rachel would understand, addressed her every concern, and held her hand when she was scared. I wanted to be just like Rachel’s doctor so that I too could use science to decipher medical mysteries while also reassuring my patients that I would be their advocate and help them heal.

My interest in medicine drove me to learn more about what it meant to be a doctor. As a freshman in high school, I arranged a shadow day with Dr. M, a cardiologist. He taught me about echoes, showed me a pacemaker implantation, and in the midst of a cardioversion, even beckoned me over to press the button that discharged the defibrillator. I could not contain my excitement recounting how much I had learned during my first day in a clinical setting. From there, my curiosity skyrocketed and I embarked on a relentless pursuit to explore the spectrum of the medical field. I was moved by the supportive atmosphere of the NICU, struck by the precision involved in ophthalmology, absorbed by the puzzle-like reconstruction of Mohs surgery, and awed by the agility of cardiothoracic surgery. Between high school and college, I shadowed over a dozen physicians, cementing my interest and furthering my passion for a future medical career.

My college classes allowed me to immerse myself further in the study of the human body. Following my fascination with cancer, I secured an internship working on a melanoma immunotherapy clinical trial at the National Institutes of Health. I savored the stimulation, grasping new experimental techniques and developing assays; but my work took on even greater meaning when I learned that my grandfather had been enrolled in an early-stage immunotherapy trial himself while battling mucosal melanoma. Although immunotherapy did not heal my grandfather, I was immensely proud to be advancing the science years later. Through long nights and evolving experiments, I gave the trial its final push through an FDA approval checkpoint; ultimately, my contributions will help more grandparents go into remission. The most fulfilling moments came every Monday when I accompanied the leading physician scientists on their rounds. As I met patients, listened to their stories, and celebrated their improvements, the pulsating blister on my thumbpad from endless pipetting became akin to a medal of honor. Reflecting on these encounters, I wanted to continue driving scientific innovation, but I also wanted a more active and personal impact in the patient’s experience.

My desire to connect with patients brought me to Alliance Medical Ministry, a clinic serving uninsured, disadvantaged communities in North Carolina. I stepped up to lead efforts to organize a community COVID-19 vaccination clinic, communicating personally with every eligible patient and arranging vaccine appointments for over a thousand people across the hardest hit areas of Raleigh. The experience became even more rewarding when I trained to administer vaccines, becoming a stable, anchoring presence from the beginning to the end of the process. One memorable patient, “Amy,” had not seen a doctor in years because of the associated financial burden. When she came to the clinic suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis, she was not even aware of her diabetes diagnosis. While I waited with her for transportation to the ER, she expressed her fears about contracting COVID at the hospital. However, she emphatically dismissed my suggestion about receiving a vaccine. I listened intently to all her concerns. Not only was she worried about the vaccine infecting her with the virus, but also her history of being denied healthcare due to her socioeconomic status had instilled fears that she would not be taken care of should she have an adverse reaction. I took her hand in mine and reassured her of the clinic’s mission to provide care regardless of ability to pay. I further explained everything I knew about how the vaccine worked, its safety and efficacy, and how my body reacted when I received my own injection. I could not help but beam behind my N95 when days later, Amy returned, sat in my chair and confidently rolled up her sleeve for me to give her the protective shot.

I have grown by exploring the multifaceted world of medicine through shadowing, pioneering research to advance patient care at the NIH, and cultivating trusting relationships with patients from the vaccine clinic. As a doctor, my desire to be an innovative thinker and problem solver will fuel my unrelenting quest for discovery throughout a lifetime of learning. Most importantly, I aspire to use my medical knowledge to improve lives and establish meaningful patient partnerships, just as Rachel’s doctor did with her.

7. Transforming Pain into Purpose: Inspiring Change in the Field of Medicine

Student Accepted to UCSF SOM, Harvard Medical School

Countless visits to specialists in hope of relief left me with a slew of inconclusive test results and uncertain diagnoses. “We cannot do anything else for you.” After twelve months of waging a war against my burning back, aching neck and tingling limbs, hearing these words at first felt like a death sentence, but I continued to advocate for myself with medical professionals. A year of combatting pain and dismissal led me to a group of compassionate and innovative physicians at the Stanford Pain Management Center (SPMC). Working alongside a diverse team including pain management specialists and my PCP, I began the long, non-linear process of uncovering the girl that had been buried in the devastating rubble of her body’s pain. From struggling with day-to-day activities like washing my hair and sitting in class to thriving as an avid weightlifter and zealous student over the span of a year, I realized I am passionate about preventing, managing and eliminating chronic illnesses through patient-centered incremental care and medical innovation.

A few days after my pain started, I was relieved to hear that I had most likely just strained some muscles, but after an empty bottle of muscle relaxers, the stings and aches had only intensified. I went on to see 15 specialists throughout California, including neurologists, physiatrists, and rheumatologists. Neurological exams. MRIs. Blood tests. All inconclusive. Time and time again, specialists dismissed my experience due to ambiguous test results and limited time. I spent months trying to convince doctors that I was losing my body; they thought I was losing my mind. Despite these letdowns, I did not stop fighting to regain control of my life. Armed with my medical records and a detailed journal of my symptoms, I continued scheduling appointments with the intention of finding a doctor who would dig deeper in the face of the unknown. Between visits, I researched my symptoms and searched for others with similar experiences. One story on Stanford Medicine’s blog, “Young Woman Overcomes Multiple Misdiagnoses and Gets Her Life Back”, particularly stood out to me and was the catalyst that led me to the SPMC. After bouncing from doctor to doctor, I had finally found a team of physicians who would take the profound toll of my pain on my physical and mental well-being seriously.

Throughout my year-long journey with my care team at the SPMC, I showed up for myself even when it felt like I would lose the war against my body. I confronted daily challenges with fortitude. When lifting my arms to tie my hair into a ponytail felt agonizing, YouTube tutorials trained me to become a braiding expert. Instead of lying in bed all day when my medication to relieve nerve pain left me struggling to stay awake, I explored innovative alternative therapies with my physicians; after I was fed up with the frustration of not knowing the source of my symptoms, I became a research subject in a clinical trial aimed at identifying and characterizing pain generators in patients suffering from “mysterious” chronic pain. At times, it felt like my efforts were only resulting in lost time. However, seeing how patient my care team was with me, offering long-term coordinated support and continually steering me towards a pain-free future, motivated me to grow stronger with every step of the process. Success was not  an immediate victory, but rather a long journey of incremental steps that produced steady, life-saving progress over time. My journey brought me relief as well as clarity with regard to  how I will care for my future patients. I will advocate for them even when complex conditions, inconclusive results and stereotypes discourage them from seeking continued care; work with them to continually adapt and improve an individualized plan tailored to their needs and goals, and engage in pioneering research and medical innovations that can directly benefit them.

Reflecting on the support system that enabled me to overcome the challenges of rehabilitation, I was inspired to help others navigate life with chronic pain in a more equitable and accessible way. Not everyone has the means to work indefinitely with a comprehensive care team, but most do have a smartphone. As a result, I partnered with a team of physicians and physical therapists at the University of California San Francisco to develop a free mobile application that guides individuals dealing with chronic pain through recovery. Based on my own journey, I was able to design the app with an understanding of the mental and physical toll that pain, fear, and loss of motivation take on patients struggling with chronic pain. Having features like an exercise bank with a real-time form checker and an AI-based chatbot to motivate users, address their concerns and connect them to specific health care resources, our application helped 65 of the 100 pilot users experience a significant reduction in pain and improvement in mental health in three months.

My journey has fostered my passion for patient-centered incremental medicine and medical innovation. From barely living to thriving, I have become a trailblazing warrior with the perseverance and resilience needed to pursue these passions and help both the patients I engage with and those around the world.

8. Overcoming Bias, Stigma, and Disparities in Medicine

Student Accepted to University of Florida COM

Growing up as a Black woman, my family’s experiences with racial bias in medicine were central to my perception of doctors. From my grandmother’s forced electric shock therapy in the Jim Crow South that resulted in severe brain damage, to my father’s ignored appendicitis that led to a near-death infection after rupturing, every trip to the doctor came with apprehension. Will these strange men with sharp tools heal me or hurt me? This question repeated in my head as I prepared to undergo my first surgery to remove suspiciously inflamed lymph nodes at age 11. I woke up groggy from anesthesia with a negative cancer diagnosis but a blistering third degree burn. The surgeon had successfully removed the malignant masses but had left the cauterizing iron resting on my neck in the process. Today when I look in the mirror and see the scar, I am reminded of the troubling reality that myths such as black people having thicker skin and less sensitive nerve endings are still pervasive in the medical field. By challenging the systemic disparities in medicine that disadvantage minority populations, I vow to my inner child that I will be a different kind of doctor, a doctor who values the patient as much as the procedure.

My experiences with a variety of communities, minority and majority, stem from growing up in a military household that came with frequent relocations. I was exposed to a wide range of communities from an early age—rural Oregon to tropical Hawaii, industrious Japan to politicized D.C, sunny San Diego and finally to radical Berkeley where I  began my pre-medical education. I chose to view medicine from an anthropological lens while at Cal and supplemented my coursework with community service.  As co-coordinator of UC Berkeley’s chapter of Peer Health Exchange, my 9th grade students were, at first,  mistrusting –even with my Angela Davis-esque afro, I was clearly not from Oakland and not quite old enough to be lecturing them. But it was the Good Samaritan Law lecture, during which students learned they would not face police penalty for calling 911 if a friend was in trouble, that I finally gained their trust. One student shared, “I always worried that I wouldn’t be able to call for help because I’m undocumented.”  Later as a health advocate at UCSF, I encountered the same sentiment from families in the pediatric clinic who worried that accessing healthcare for a sick child might put their immigration or legal status at risk. I learned that to get to the root of barriers to access, trust is invaluable. Navigating marginalized spaces with cultural competency is an asset that I pride myself in.

I carried this foundation into my research and clinical work on HIV, a disease that disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities and is often left untreated by the stigmas surrounding medicine for these communities. As an HIV PreP Navigator at the Oasis clinic, I was on rotation when a thirteen-year-old girl was referred to the clinic after testing positive for HIV. We analyzed her T cell count and viral load, and discovered she fit the AIDs criteria.   In the following weeks, we worked on medication adherence, and as the girl’s CD4 count rose, so did her spirits and mine. Medicine is more than just a diagnosis and prescription—it is active compassionate treatment. It is holding steady when the entire ground seems to shake with the magnitude of an illness. It is being able to look a patient in the eye and truly see them despite the myriad of differences.

The disparities and differences in patient circumstances has been emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing this disproportionate effect of the virus on minority communities, I worked at a COVID-19 testing facility in one of the most underserved and impoverished communities in the Los Angeles’ area. Assuring patients of the safety of Covid testing measures was a big part of the job. “Have you done it?” They would ask. “What about Tuskegee?”  Being Black, I felt the burden of responsibility that came with these questions. How could I have such faith in medicine knowing the traumatic past? My response was simple, “I believe in the science. I can explain PCR testing to you if you like.” By eradicating some of the mystery surrounding these lab techniques, people felt more comfortable.  The opportunity to serve as a trusted community leader by directly interacting with patients and working on a team with doctors, EMTs, and nurses amid an international crisis reaffirmed my journey into medicine.

Zora Neale Hurston once wrote, “mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to ‘jump at de sun.’ We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.” As an aspiring physician, these words have served as a motivating mantra. To “get off the ground” for me means to become the first medical doctor in a lineage of sharecroppers and farmers. Medicine has been my “sun” for as long as I can remember; its promise to bring light has kept me jumping at every opportunity. Like my grandmother, my father, and so many others, I have experienced disparity in medicine. The scars that mar our bodies are my constant reminder that there is much work to be done. I see medicine as the ability to directly enact that change, one patient at a time.

9. Navigating Personal Struggles to Become a Compassionate Physician

Student Accepted to Touro CoOM, Nova Southeastern CoOM/KPCOM

I fight the heavy sleepiness that comes over me, but before I know it, I am out like a light. Forty-five minutes later, I wake up with a sore throat, watery eyes, and an intensely cold, painful feeling plaguing my entire right leg. Earlier, my parents and I arrived at the Beckman Laser Institute for another treatment of my port-wine stain birthmark. Despite my pleas to not undergo these procedures, my parents still took me twice a year. As I was rolled into the cold, sterile operating room on a gurney, I felt like I was experiencing everything from outside of myself. Despite my doctor’s and nurses’ best efforts to comfort me, I felt my heart racing. Feelings of apprehension and fear of the unknown flooded my senses at the sight of beeping machines and tubes that seemed to go everywhere. As the anesthesiologist began to administer the “sleepy juice,” I felt sad, realizing that my birthmark was a permanent resident on my leg and that I would have to receive this treatment for the rest of my life.

As an adult, I am grateful my parents continued to take me to the laser institute. Starting treatment so early aided in the lightening of my birthmark, which did wonders to improve my self-confidence. However, I suffered daily, feeling like I constantly had to hide something about myself. I kept my secret from everyone except my parents. Despite there being several medical doctors in my family, I knew that any sign of illness or disease would be held against me socially amongst other Egyptians. My secrecy was made even more difficult by the advice of my doctor to avoid certain physical activities, as they could worsen the underlying pathology of the veins in my legs. On his advice, I only wore long pants and would not run with other children during recess and gym class. This all added to the isolation I felt growing up, not knowing anyone with a similar condition to mine. Even as a child, no amount of explaining or encouragement could make me understand the benefit of those painful laser treatments.

What eventually changed my perspective was the team of compassionate doctors and nurses who have been caring for me since I began this journey. I was particularly touched when one of my doctors shared with me that she had also undergone a procedure that she would be performing on me. In that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Not only was she a specialist in the field, but her empathy for what I would soon go through became a source of instant comfort and ease for me. I knew that what she said was heartfelt, and not simply an attempt to convince me to undergo a procedure. I realized then that one of the reasons I had felt so afraid was because I had been alone in what I was going through.

A few years later, I attended a conference held by the Vascular Birthmark Foundation, where a variety of specialists convened to discuss port-wine stain birthmarks and other related conditions. Once we arrived at the hotel where the conference would take place, I met a woman who had a facial port-wine stain birthmark. As we began sharing stories about our experiences with our condition, we connected over how difficult it had been to receive treatment. We both knew what it felt like to be told that the birthmark was simply a cosmetic issue, and that any form of treatment we received would have no corrective purpose, if it was even considered treatment in the first place. There was a certain sense of freedom that I felt in finally being able to talk about my illness with someone I could trust to understand. Thinking back to the doctor who connected with me over a procedure she had also experienced as a patient, I felt truly called in that moment to pursue my goal of becoming a vascular physician. My goal would be to become a source of comfort and familiarity for patients who struggle as I have, to give them the same relief that I experienced from finally being understood.

Despite the pains I went through, I now realize that the experiences I have had as a patient can help me better understand what it means to be a physician. By being an excellent listener and openly sharing my experiences with receiving treatment, I can foster an honest and safe physician-patient relationship. I believe this approach will not only comfort my patients, but also help them make informed decisions about their treatment. My commitment to this approach has also led me to choose a DO path for my medical career. Having researched the holistic treatment approach that a DO delivers, I realized that being treated by a DO would have done wonders for my self-confidence and overall health as a young patient. The aspects of my port wine stain that were always left untreated were the emotional and social side effects of my condition. As a DO in the dermatology or interventional radiology specialty, I hope to gain the tools to provide empathetic and comprehensive care to my patients that reassures them that they are not alone in their journey to better health.

Want to read a few more great samples? We also broke down the things that make these 3 personal statements excellent and compelling.

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Preparing Your Personal Statement For Medical Programs : Hosted by MedSchoolCoach Director of Writing & College Advising, Jennifer Speegle.

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Where to Begin When Writing Your Personal Statement : Hosted by MedSchoolCoach Associate Director of Writing and College Advising, Jennifer Speegle, Associate Director of Advising, Ziggy Yoediono MD, and Writing Advisor, Carrie Coaplen Ph. D.

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