{"id":18161,"date":"2023-02-01T08:35:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T08:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=18161"},"modified":"2023-02-06T16:28:55","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T16:28:55","slug":"medical-school-personal-statement-faqs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/mcat\/medical-school-personal-statement-faqs\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical School Personal Statement FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s start today with a seemingly simple question that you are going to have to consider before applying to med school: Who are you? It may seem simple on the surface, but this can be one of the most challenging questions that premed students encounter on the medical school application or the MCAT. Yet, it\u2019s the basic question posed in at least one major part of your application:\u00a0the medical school personal statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are a couple important themes to keep in mind while you\u2019re coming up with the subject matter for your medical school personal statement\u2014or, what many admissions officers refer to as \u201cyour interview in writing.\u201d Check out a few of our handy personal essay FAQs:<\/p>\n

What kind of questions will I be asked?<\/h2>
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The question posed\u2014or the essay prompt\u2014will be surprisingly vague. The Association of American Medical Colleges\u2019 (AAMC) prompt from the\u00a0AMCAS application<\/a>\u00a0is simply: \u201cUse the space provided to explain why you want to go to medical school.\u201d
\nThis broad net can prove both a blessing and a curse, depending on how you look at it. On one hand, it allows you the freedom to take your story in just about any direction, and what could be better than that? On the other, it can feel overwhelming if you overthink it.<\/p>\n

How long should my medical school personal statement be?<\/h2>
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\nOn the AMCAS Application, there is a 5,300-character maximum, which equals about 1.5 pages, single-spaced and in 12-point font.<\/p>\n

You do not have to fill all of the available space. In fact, a more cogent, focused personal statement that falls short of 5,300 characters will always be stronger than one that\u2019s forcibly lengthened by digressions or irrelevant material.
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How many versions should I write?<\/h3>
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Unlike the school-specific, tailored information you\u2019ll give on your secondary applications, your AMCAS medical school statement will remain uniform across all the schools you apply to.<\/p>\n

Since you\u2019ll only have one version of the personal essay, it should not be directed towards any individual school. Use your\u00a0secondary applications and essays<\/a> to express your interests in individual medical schools.<\/p>\n

What should I write about in my personal statement?<\/h2>
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Even though the prompt for the medical school personal statement is vague, it is generally understood that you have three major goals to accomplish in this essay. Focus the essay with these in mind, but don\u2019t be afraid to be creative!<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll need to give some serious thought to\u00a0why you want to go into medicine<\/a>, and more specifically, why you want an\u00a0MD or a DO<\/a>. Far too often, students write generic, impassioned passages about \u201cwanting to help people.\u201d While that is a completely valid reason to go to medical school, it doesn\u2019t really explain why you want to become a doctor to the exclusion of other health careers, like nursing or physical therapy. It doesn\u2019t really even explain why you want to go into medicine. Firefighters, teachers, plumbers, and landscapers help people too!<\/p>\n

Why do I want to be a physician specifically?<\/h2>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Is it the translation of your scientific knowledge into patient education about how to live a healthy lifestyle? Is it the pursuit of new therapies and cures through research? Is it the rigor of a career that demands lifelong learning?<\/p>\n

Medical schools want to know that if they admit you, you\u2019ll contribute to the class in a unique and meaningful way. So think about what makes your desire to become a physician unique. Medical schools want to admit a\u00a0diverse class<\/a>, and although\u00a0diversity in medical education<\/a> is a rather broad topic in general, they\u2019re looking beyond just demographics\u2014to facets such as educational experiences, life challenges, medical interests, and more.How does everything fit together?<\/p>\n

You want your medical school personal statement to tell an intricate story about you\u2014something a reader can get excited about and relate to. Rather than simply rewriting your r\u00e9sum\u00e9 in paragraph form, construct your essay around a theme that you can keep returning to.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you\u2019re a musicology major who\u2019s also passionate about education and patient care. Focusing on the intersection between the arts and sciences both historically and in your own life could be a good launching-off point. Take it from us\u2014it\u2019s worked before.<\/p>\n

Who should edit my med school essay?<\/h2>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nThis is a key (and often-overlooked) question. You want your med school essay to be a highly polished product that really wows admissions officers. To accomplish this, enlist the help of at least three editors:<\/p>\n
    \n
  1. Someone who knows you really well.<\/b>\u00a0Medical schools can spot a disingenuous personal statement a mile away. Get a best friend, parent, or significant other to call you on any bluffing or \u201cgaming\u201d of the essay. It\u2019s not about writing what you think the admissions committee wants to hear\u2014it\u2019s about writing the truth, representing yourself tactfully, and letting your accomplishments speak for themselves.<\/li>\n
  2. A strict grammarian.\u00a0<\/b>To be sure,\u00a0using a comma when you should be using a semicolon<\/a>\u00a0will not, by itself, keep you out of medical school. But any sloppiness or lack of clarity in your statement will subtly and collectively bring down the overall quality and effectiveness of your words.<\/li>\n
  3. Someone who knows medicine.\u00a0<\/b>Who should know better what will appeal to a medical school admissions committee than someone who\u2019s already been there, done that? A physician you\u2019ve shadowed, a PI with whom you\u2019ve worked, or a friend who\u2019s already a medical student will help you hone your statement\u2019s message. If you are currently an undergraduate student, your pre-med advisor certainly fits the bill.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ultimately, the essay is crucial to your success in applying to medical school, so go ahead and start writing. By thinking through your essay, you\u2019re helping define who you are as a citizen, as a student, and as the physician you\u2019re well on your way to becoming.<\/p>\n

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    Let\u2019s start today with a seemingly simple question that you are going to have to consider before applying to med school: Who are you? It may seem simple on the surface, but this can be one of the most challenging questions that premed students encounter on the medical school application or the MCAT. Yet, it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,70,51],"class_list":["post-18161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mcat","tag-mcat","tag-mcat-adcon","tag-med-school-admission"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}