The Medical School Admissions Essay

Writing the personal statement is one of the most challenging parts of the medical school application. Students spend weeks or even months planning, writing, rewriting, and editing their essay, and having gone through the process myself, I know it's no easy task. From my own experience, as well as having edited a number of other applicant essays, I will outline a few tips below to help you construct the best essay possible.

What your essay should address:

1. Who you are.
2. Your career plans.
3. Where you hope to have an impact.
4. When did your interest in medicine develop?
5. How have you demonstrated your interest and commitment to a career in medicine?
6. What makes you a unique candidate?

The above does not mean you form your responses in a Q and A format. Rather, your essay should touch upon 2-4 of these points, and not necessarily explicitly. Remember that you want to be clear and succinct, and don't overdo it with fantastical stories or heartfelt moments. Do however include specific examples that address the points you are trying to make. Your overall goal is to sketch out in the reader's mind a picture of who you are. It does not matter if you use examples from your youth, your college years, or from your extracurricular activities, as long as the experiences are meaningful to you.

Another common mistake is to stray off topic. It is nice to include examples and stories, but don't let these be the main point of the essay. Remember, the essay is about you, and how you came to where you stand now, and why you want to do what it is you plan to do.

After reading your essay, does the reader want to meet you and know more about you, the kind of person you are? Can the reader get a sense of a future doctor, one who is smart, driven, and compassionate? If so, then that is a successful essay.

I won't belabor too much about pertinent topics and being professional in your writing, but do allow time to edit your essay, and do so rigorously. It is your writing, and so you will understandably have emotional attachment to your words, but be ruthless. If the sentence can do without the word, take it out. If the paragraph can do without the sentence, take it out. Even entire paragraphs can and should be taken out, or reduced to a line or two. The editing process should not begin however until you finish your rough draft, otherwise you can develop a case of writersous blockus.

Allow plenty of time to map out your essay and think it through. What helped me was to write specific examples I want to include and the kinds of attributes I wanted to demonstrate about myself. Use this to construct a rough essay. At this point don't care about grammar or mechanics, just write. Once completed, then you start the revision process. Sometimes letting time pass in between edits will help you approach your essay from a different perspective. Writing multiple drafts  or essays is not uncommon, so do so if you must. And finally, have a few trusted friends edit your essay once you are near the completion stage. One important advice I would say is do not give rough drafts for review. It is irritating to an editor to have to purge and clean rough drafts, so make sure the essay is near completion and you have gone through multiple edits yourself. Also, if you think there is questionable content, it's probably a better idea not to include it in your essay.

Overall, an effective essay is honest, clear, and gives the reader a sense of who you are. Good luck!