Shaping my PS

[joshto]

I am starting my PS this week and was wondering what kind of PS the american schools want to hear? do they want me to focus on how I came to choose medical school or do they want to hear about my life?

any advice is much appreciated because these forums suggest that the PS is a maker or breaker of the application.

[silvermen85]

I am starting my PS this week and was wondering what kind of PS the american schools want to hear? do they want me to focus on how I came to choose medical school or do they want to hear about my life?

any advice is much appreciated because these forums suggest that the PS is a maker or breaker of the application.

 

I think the two are mutually inclusive. What part of your life's journey led you to the realization that you want to pursue a career in medicine.

[Classic]

When I wrote my PS I knew that I wanted to say A, B, and C. Then I came up with different "stories" I could use that incorporated ABC. American Adcoms get up to 10,000 applicants so I wanted to make sure my story was interesting ....

 

We all pretty much have the same experiences (research, volunteering, etc), but it's how you tell your story that IMHO will get you noticed.

[THX]

When I wrote my PS I knew that I wanted to say A, B, and C. Then I came up with different "stories" I could use that incorporated ABC. American Adcoms get up to 10,000 applicants so I wanted to make sure my story was interesting ....

 

We all pretty much have the same experiences (research, volunteering, etc), but it's how you tell your story that IMHO will get you noticed.

 

I did the same as Classic.

 

Pick a few experiences and write a story about each to SHOW who you are.

[Rach]

I did the same as Classic.

 

Pick a few experiences and write a story about each to SHOW who you are.

 

Hope this question makes sense.... Did you guys write only about experiences and qualities that you directly related to medicine? Or did you also throw in some stories and examples that showed you are a solid person in general, while allowing them to figure how those fit into a career in medicine?

[SpanishFly]

Hope this question makes sense.... Did you guys write only about experiences and qualities that you directly related to medicine, or did you also throw in some stories and examples that showed you are a solid person in general, without necessarily making obvious links to why these would make you a good doc?

 

I did what classic did. I also tried to keep a unifying theme throughout my PS which for me was how these experiences have provided me with the sound knowledge of not only who I am, but where I want to be. But I think the stories and experiences you bring up don't necessarily have to be related to medicine. As already mentioned, a lot of it is how you put it all together; as long as you stick to that theme that you choose and tie in your points together, I think your PS will flow better and have a greater overall effect.

 

I think for the longest time I was struggling with this because I thought it had to be somehow different and special from any other essay I've written before, and yes, in a way it is, because writing about yourself is always more difficult, but try and look at it more objectively...I find that helps. I'm the kind of person who gets squeamish when I have to talk about myself (yes the application process is hell for me), so I had to really try and do that in order to write a well written PS.

[Rach]

I did what classic did. I also tried to keep a unifying theme throughout my PS which for me was how these experiences have provided me with the sound knowledge of not only who I am, but where I want to be. But I think the stories and experiences you bring up don't necessarily have to be related to medicine. As already mentioned, a lot of it is how you put it all together; as long as you stick to that theme that you choose and tie in your points together, I think your PS will flow better and have a greater overall effect.

 

I think for the longest time I was struggling with this because I thought it had to be somehow different and special from any other essay I've written before, and yes, in a way it is, because writing about yourself is always more difficult, but try and look at it more objectively...I find that helps. I'm the kind of person who gets squeamish when I have to talk about myself (yes the application process is hell for me), so I had to really try and do that in order to write a well written PS.

 

That makes sense and is good advice on how to get it to flow in an effortless way. I think I will have the opposite problem that you had, I will likely want to fit too much into it and will definitely need to edit and cut stuff out. I also have the tendency to make things a little too flowery and story-like but I realize this isn't a romance novel! hah

[THX]

Hope this question makes sense.... Did you guys write only about experiences and qualities that you directly related to medicine? Or did you also throw in some stories and examples that showed you are a solid person in general, while allowing them to figure how those fit into a career in medicine?

 

You are trying to show who you are, if there is something that you have done that is important to you and defines your character - add it. I think too many people see the personal statement as a sort of an essay based medical/research-CV, it is not. You are trying to grab their attention and persuade them that you are someone that they would be interested in meeting.

 

As others have said, how you put it all together is really important and you should follow SpanishFly's advice of having an overarching theme. In my case, my theme was that I am a curious guy who is genuinely interested in people. I don't think I ever overtly talked about my own character, I let the description of my experiences speak for themselves.

 

The best advice I can offer is to SHOW who you are. Don't just tell them you are a caring person, SHOW them, provide vivid experiences.

[SpanishFly]

That makes sense and is good advice on how to get it to flow in an effortless way. I think I will have the opposite problem that you had, I will likely want to fit too much into it and will definitely need to edit and cut stuff out. I also have the tendency to make things a little too flowery and story-like but I realize this isn't a romance novel! hah

 

trust me, despite everything, I still had wayy to much written, and had to spend more time cutting than I did adding. Also, I love writing, and while I needed to write an interesting piece, I had to remind myself several times that I wasn't writing a creative short story lol. I say, still be creative and use your personal writing technique, just try not to get carried away or else it might come off pretentious (which is one of my concerns).

 

I don't think I ever overtly talked about my own character, I let the description of my experiences speak for themselves.

 

The best advice I can offer is to SHOW who you are. Don't just tell them you are a caring person, SHOW them, provide vivid experiences.

 

This is a really great point too, and its also the easiest way of presenting yourself in the best light without sounding boastful. The interviewers are also really all about this. I even had my interviewer a few weeks ago literally ask me "can you give me an example to show that?" In the moment, I forgot to use a specific example and that brought me right back down to earth lol. Getting into med school is a lot like kindergarten...people like show and tell.

[Rach]

Getting into med school is a lot like kindergarten...people like show and tell.

 

Well that's good to know, I was super popular in kindergarten!

 

To all who contributed to the thread, thanks for all the great advice. I am actually looking forward to writing the essay now that I have some idea of where to start.