Applying to medical school is an exciting process! It is the first step towards the incredible journey of becoming a physician and a chance to reflect on the experiences and accomplishments that have made you who you are. The application itself is broken up into several different components, each with an opportunity to showcase yourself and your experiences. The two portions that involve the most writing are the Personal Statement and the Work/Activities section. Below are some tips and things to think about for each of these two sections. The exact character limits and further information can be found on the official AAMC website.
The Personal Statement
The personal statement is a ~1-page essay to make your case for why you chose to pursue medicine and why you are fit for the career. Here are some tips on what to think about and include when writing your personal statement:
Why medicine? The most important question! Be sure to answer this in some shape or form within your essay. It could be one reason, or it could be several reasons. It could have been one reason that then evolved and got reinforced over time with other experiences. Pursuing a career in medicine is not a small decision and the folks who are holding the keys between you and medical school want to be convinced you’re committed. It can be as simple as “___ is what motivated me to pursue a career in medicine.”
Showcase yourself. A lot of premedical experiences involve things like shadowing. It’s important to include these experiences and great to hear what you learned/saw, but make sure that you can use it as space to showcase your qualities as well. How did the experience contribute to your decision to pursue medicine or shape you into who you are today? Are there skills that you were required to learn that you now hold? Make sure not to use too much of your limited space talking about the mentor you worked with, but rather, how that experience is reflected in yourself.
What would you bring to a medical school class? Medical schools are investing in you! The selection committees are looking to curate a class of students that will work well together and uplift each other on a challenging journey. Be sure to highlight what you can bring to a community and to the various teams you will be working on in the future. (It’s okay to brag about yourself!)
The Work/Activities Section
The Work/Activities section simulates a broken-up CV of sorts where you can highlight top volunteer, work, research, and extracurricular experiences that have helped shape you into who you are. There are several different categories that you can chose from for each entry.
If it was important to you, include it. Include your research and volunteering, but also include things that you have enjoyed that might seem unrelated to medicine on the surface. The application is all about letting a school get to know who you are, so if it is something that has left a significant impact on you, be sure to highlight that in your application. That being said…
Be sure to write about things you can talk about. The next step after you submit your application is to interview with a school and if you include it in your application, it’s fair game for them to ask about. It will be noticeable if you write about something that you’re excited about versus something you wanted to include to try and check another box. If you did research, be prepared to talk about what you did during that time or your findings. If you took time off between school and applying for medical school, be prepared to talk about how you used that time.
It’s okay to have overlapping experiences in your Activities and Personal Statement. Just be sure to do this strategically. You only have so many characters/so much space to present yourself. If you choose to use the same experience, use the two spaces to showcase it from different angles. For instance, you may use one to highlight the technical details of the experience and the other to talk about what you learned/how this highlights some of your qualities as a person. Some schools also choose what documents to give to different interviewers and some may only see your Personal Statement or Work/Activities. Some experiences are just that impactful, so if it’s very important to you, make sure they know.
Other Tips
Tell a story. The people reading your application are humans: They want to be drawn in to an essay and read something interesting – especially those who are reading tens to hundreds of applications. It doesn’t need to be groundbreaking, but it should be engaging and let your personality come through.
Type all your thoughts out and then cut down. One of the trickiest things about the application for medical schools are the character limits. Those character limits will always be in the back of your head, but don’t let them limit you at first! Try typing out as much as you can about as many experiences as you can first and then piece together the best parts and cut it down. It can be easier to find a theme or story if you’re looking at the big picture with all available parts in front of you first.
Ask for feedback! It can be the scary, but ask the people who know you best to read over your application. They might remember things about your experiences that you yourself have forgotten. It can also be easier for others to point out some of your best strengths and qualities. It takes a little courage and vulnerability, but letting others proofread your application might be one of the best things you can do to get a kickstart or even put the final touches on your application.
Celebrate yourself! This is just the start to an incredible journey and the process should be fun. Use it as a time to reflect on all the awesome things you’ve done up to this point and the person you’ve become. You should be proud of yourself!
By Christina Suh (class of 2020), Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Resident