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No More Personal Essay

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Comeon Newbie

Comeon

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The four questions to be answered are:

1. How have you used critical thinking to solve a

problem?

2. Describe an opportunity you have had to respond

to a community need — local, national, or global.

3. Tell us about a conflict you had with another

person and how you maintained a respectful

relationship with them.

4. Tell us about a time you had difficulty completing

a project or endeavour, and what strategies you

used to get over the hurdle.

 

If I had to apply again, I would have rather had these questions. I think there is less room to write a story that is full of BS - usually BS that might make a first time reader emotional. U of T used to have guidelines for the previous essay and, after reading a few statements, I think they were rarely followed but assessors did not really mind. It should be much easier to tell if someone is skewing their facts with these questions. For example, countless times I have read that someone was inspired to choose medicine after shadowing a doctor or through some event they witnessed while volunteering - and then I thought to myself, why were you in the hospital or shadowing in the first place? It is a clear timeline issue. There is no place for those kind of junky lies here.

 

Good luck to the next set of applicants - you definitely have a better pre-interview process.

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lost__in__space Newbie

lost__in__space

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I would have preferred to answer these new questions than write the autobiographical sketch. I'm glad UofT has switched over. I feel these questions offer more insight into a person/their skills (well at least the skills UofT apparently is looking for...I'd have different questions from those) and as one poster before said, I feel there is less room for "creative liberties" with your answers i.e. "I want to be a doctor after shadowing the local heart surgeon for a year who inspired me" doesn't tell me as much as "I effectively handled a volatile situation like this and these are the kinds of skills I bring to the table".

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medhopeful.com Newbie

medhopeful.com

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It's an interesting change... I think it will even the playing field a little bit (i.e. if we were to assign scores to the essay section, I think the difference between the "best" and "worst" essay will now be closer compared to with the previous type of essay).

 

These types of direct questions provide a more clear direction to the applicant, thereby making it harder for them to write irrelevant things.

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quackster Newbie

quackster

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With questions, you are pigeon-holed into giving the "relevant" answer. Being able to identify a personal experience as relevant and articulate it in your essay shows far greater ability for personal reflection in my opinion, than a question leading you to write the "relevant" information. This is arguably an important skill and says a lot about an individual's understanding of their penchant for a career in medicine. If one is inclined to write irrelevant information in their essay, and poorly construct a big picture of why they belong in medicine, their essay won't get them very far, and perhaps rightfully so.

 

My bias towards the essay is the opportunity it gives to present all of yourself, and really convey who you are, as a whole, to the ad com. The free form gives you the liberty to discuss anything you want. Walking into my interview, I was confident that my interviewers had a good sense of what kind of person I was. Thinking of how I would answer the questions posed, I can't say that I would feel the same way walking into the interview.

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aaronjw Newbie

aaronjw

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Maybe the point is that it helps to level the playing field a bit more?

 

Who knows but I certainly prefer questions of this nature that seek to understand the critical thinking and logic processing abilities of a person.

 

 

With questions, you are pigeon-holed into giving the "relevant" answer. Being able to identify a personal experience as relevant and articulate it in your essay shows far greater ability for personal reflection in my opinion, than a question leading you to write the "relevant" information. This is arguably an important skill and says a lot about an individual's understanding of their penchant for a career in medicine. If one is inclined to write irrelevant information in their essay, and poorly construct a big picture of why they belong in medicine, their essay won't get them very far, and perhaps rightfully so.

 

My bias towards the essay is the opportunity it gives to present all of yourself, and really convey who you are, as a whole, to the ad com. The free form gives you the liberty to discuss anything you want. Walking into my interview, I was confident that my interviewers had a good sense of what kind of person I was. Thinking of how I would answer the questions posed, I can't say that I would feel the same way walking into the interview.

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quackster Newbie

quackster

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Maybe the point is that it helps to level the playing field a bit more?

 

Who knows but I certainly prefer questions of this nature that seek to understand the critical thinking and logic processing abilities of a person.

you mean, make everyone look more the same? How does that help distinguish amongst applicants? Leveling the playing field essentially gives a leg up to those who for the sake of discussion, wouldn't write a good essay, thereby punishing those who would write good essays. See what I mean?

 

I'd also add that, although probably my own stingy preference, the essay gives an opportunity for an applicant to demonstrate their writing and communication skills moreso than in answering a question.

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Justlive Newbie

Justlive

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With questions, you are pigeon-holed into giving the "relevant" answer. Being able to identify a personal experience as relevant and articulate it in your essay shows far greater ability for personal reflection in my opinion, than a question leading you to write the "relevant" information. This is arguably an important skill and says a lot about an individual's understanding of their penchant for a career in medicine. If one is inclined to write irrelevant information in their essay, and poorly construct a big picture of why they belong in medicine, their essay won't get them very far, and perhaps rightfully so.

 

My bias towards the essay is the opportunity it gives to present all of yourself, and really convey who you are, as a whole, to the ad com. The free form gives you the liberty to discuss anything you want. Walking into my interview, I was confident that my interviewers had a good sense of what kind of person I was. Thinking of how I would answer the questions posed, I can't say that I would feel the same way walking into the interview.

 

+1. This is what I think too. My interviewer didn't even ask me the "why medicine" question and went straight to some detailed ABS activities.

 

On the other hand, the new rounds of interviews are probably going to spend more time on getting to know the applicant.

 

I am still a fan of the AMCAS application... it's just so detailed and gives you an opportunity to discuss EVERYTHING... With the char limit of OMSAS sketch it really feels you are forced to cut yourself into pieces.

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medhopeful.com Newbie

medhopeful.com

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My interviewer didn't ask me ANYTHING from my essay for the MD-only interview...(he didn't know I also had my MD/PhD interview, it is separate and they only know if you tell them). :(

 

My experience was similar as well. I had completely close-ended questions that had nothing to do with my application. Some of my classmates had more conversational interviews based on their application. It completely depends on the interviewer and how they choose to approach it.

 

With regards to personal essay vs. close-ended application questions, there are definitely pros and cons for both. As someone who has reviewed many essays for applicants, my impression is that most people are worse at writing personal essays than close-ended application questions. Essay writing is an art and a skill, and I doubt you would be able to find any significant correlation between quality of personal essays and candidacy for medicine. There are many, many excellent candidates for medical school who are just bad at personal essay writing. In my opinion, close-ended application questions are simply easier to navigate for most people, irrespective of their motivations and qualifications for medicine.

 

The truth is that admissions will essentially identify the applicants who are (1) best at the application process. Ideally, it would find the applicants (2) best suited for a career in medicine. Ad coms are always trying to find strategies where (1) is closer and closer to = (2). I think the close-ended questions will be better at doing that for most suitable applicants.

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lloyder34 Newbie

lloyder34

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I think medhopeful.com really hit the nail on the head. Getting into med school is equal parts being a qualified applicant and equal parts understanding the steps in the system and how to market yourself appropriately. There is no perfect situation as far as pre-interview writing goes (questions vs essays). I think that essay writing is a skill, and one that has little bearing on your ability to be a competent physician. Yes you need the experience and critical reflection to lay the groundwork for a good essay, but ultimately its your prowess as a writer that will leave a lasting impression on the reader. I think of it this way: if you are a "musician" with a great story for a song, but can't play your instrument worth a **** and it sounds terrible, people aren't going to like it. Same goes for the essay: Good content does not a quality essay make. As far as close-ended questions go however, I definitely think it will be harder for applicants to stand out from the crowd. "describe a time you dealt with a volatile person or situation": "one time at work this guy was really pissed with his order and yelled at everybody!" x 10000. But I suppose the true writers will still manage to conjure up some heartfelt poetic to stand out, which might make things easier on the adcoms in the long run.

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nikki dale Newbie

nikki dale

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The four questions to be answered are:

1. How have you used critical thinking to solve a

problem?

2. Describe an opportunity you have had to respond

to a community need — local, national, or global.

3. Tell us about a conflict you had with another

person and how you maintained a respectful

relationship with them.

4. Tell us about a time you had difficulty completing

a project or endeavour, and what strategies you

used to get over the hurdle.

 

If I had to apply again, I would have rather had these questions. I think there is less room to write a story that is full of BS - usually BS that might make a first time reader emotional. U of T used to have guidelines for the previous essay and, after reading a few statements, I think they were rarely followed but assessors did not really mind. It should be much easier to tell if someone is skewing their facts with these questions. For example, countless times I have read that someone was inspired to choose medicine after shadowing a doctor or through some event they witnessed while volunteering - and then I thought to myself, why were you in the hospital or shadowing in the first place? It is a clear timeline issue. There is no place for those kind of junky lies here.

 

Good luck to the next set of applicants - you definitely have a better pre-interview process.

 

I wish I had these questions too if I were to apply again. I think it is a better way than the essay for all the reasons everyone has already described. Though, I still think the Casper tops all ;)

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