future_doc Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 Hey everyone,I don't need anyone to read my personal statement, but I have a general question about them. I am sitting down to write mine, but I'm not sure if I should write something formatted like a formal paper or go with a more personal and candid approach. Any chance you could advise me on what has worked in the past? NO not like a formal paper, it needs to be personal and engaging where the reader learns about you from personal experiences be they research, academics whatever that led you to choose med etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcanmeds2011 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 Ditto to other members, I am also willing to give some feedback on personal statements/general ideas of structuring it, PM me if interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addy K Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 Just as a caution, don't give your essay out to just anyone. There are people here who have been around for a while and you can trust (e.g., future_doc), so just make sure the person you are giving it to has positive feedback from other members. Don't mean to be all negative and distrustful, but I could see people plagiarize/steal other's ideas from their essays, especially when there is so much anonymity here. On a more positive note, I'd be more than happy to help with people's essays too I got an interview at Dal so I think I could be of some use, but it's subjective so who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc2B Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 It's unfortunate that people at this point in their academic careers would be so low as to plagiarize, however I agree it could happen. I would be more concerned about being given bad advice however. As much as I'm sure everyone has great intentions, being accepted at a school does not necessarily make you an expert on admissions essays. That being said, can anyone really be an expert? Each adcom member will look at things differently so no one can make the perfect essay for every committee member. I'm certainly no expert, but I do have some experience that others may not. I've read over a hundred letters so I've seen the good, the bad and the in between. My advice is to write from the heart. Show your passion as much as possible. Use the word limit allotted, I've never seen a 500 word essay (when given a limit of 1500) scored high. Use life examples to illustrate your experiences and how they have brought you to medicine. Answer the questions asked.... I can't stress that enough. Don't just list out everything you've done in sentence format, they have the rest of your supplemental section to read the list of your activities. I hope that helps people a little. I don't mean to be negative whatsoever about others who have offered to read letters, I think that getting lots of people to read your essay and offer advice is useful. You just have to decide which advice to take. All that said, I'm happy to read essays and give my two-cents. But don't feel obligated to take it. doc2B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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