How To Write a Medical School Personal Statement

Aspiring Medics, I get it.

Medical-School Personal

The pressure, the uncertainty, and the passion all come with preparing for medical school. When writing a personal statement, you have spent countless nights writing several drafts but couldn’t write a solid one.

Everytime you ask the same question to yourself: How to make it compelling?

The admission process of medical school is different from other admissions criteria. The main obstacle comes when writing a personal statement. The medical-school receives thousands of applications throughout the admission cycle.

In order to stand in the competition, one needs to have a solid personal statement to shine in the admission process. Even after seeing the medical school personal statement examples in 2024, you need help deciding where to begin.

Here, we will help you with factors to consider when writing a personal statement for medical-school and some mistakes to avoid.

Why Does Your Personal Statement Matter?

The personal statement is a written document submitted during the medical school application process. It shows the medical aspirants’ motivations, experiences, and qualifications to the admission committee.

As 42% of medical school applicants were accepted in the 2022-2023 admission cycle, it shows how tough the competition is. If you are aiming for 2024, you need to know how to write a medical school personal statement that can shine in front of the admission committee.

Factors to Consider When Writing a Personal Statement

1. Find Your Writing Style in Medical School

You can research the various writing styles as you start writing your personal statement.

You can look at the numerous examples of medical school personal statements available online to better understand the writing style the admission committee expects.

The first place to look for those is to find sample medical school statements and essays on the medical school websites. Also, you can get help from a renowned medical-school consultancy firm.

2. Make an Outline of the Statement

Now, you have a lot of med school statements. It is time to make an outline for your medical school personal statement. Many applicants find it hard to start writing their personal statements.

The best way to start writing it is by telling your story. The outline will help you to keep your statement organized. 

Here is a guide that can help you to organize your statement.

• Pick 2 or 3 qualities

Consider making a bullet for each skill you want to show in your statement.

• Convey your Experience

As you list the skills, you can convey your experience respective to each skill.

• Summarise

Present all your skills and experiences together, explaining how all of these encouraged you to pursue the medical field.

3. Be Unique and Authentic In Medical School

The important thing to consider is to be authentic and unique. You can take the reference from the medical school personal statements to understand how to write in a unique tone and reflect authenticity through your statement. Remember not to copy them.  

As everyone is different, so no one is like you. Take advantage of this opportunity by highlighting your experience and skills. Also throw some light on failures, learnings, and successes.

4. Show, Not Just Tell

Telling about your experiences and qualities through medical school personal statements is not enough. During storytelling in the essay, you can include specific experiences relatable to med school admissions.

5. Know the Character Limit

Knowing how long a personal statement should be is essential before you start writing the statement.

6. Avoid Generalising At Your Medical School

Avoid any type of unnecessary information in your personal statement. Only add the qualities in which you have enough experience. Only essential information will help your personal statement stand out in the competition.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Directly Start Writing

The common mistake that medical aspirants make is to start writing before knowing what you will write in it.

You can ask a few questions to know the reason behind writing the personal statement.

• Why do you want to become a doctor?
• Why you are the best fit?

Everyone has their reason for pursuing medicine. Figuring out why to become a physician can make a difference in your medical school preparation journey.

2. Waiting to Start

Most medical aspirants wait for the right opportunity to write a personal statement.

Conclusion

You can start writing your statement if you have figured out why you opted for medicine.

As medical school aspirants, you now know the importance of a medical school personal statement. The tough competition in the admission cycle of 2022-2023 has shown that approximately 42% of medical applicants got into medical school.

It shows that a compelling personal statement is necessary to get into medical school.

You can start writing your medical personal statement by finding your writing style, making an outline of the statement, being authentic and unique, and being aware of the character limit.