You get 4000 characters to really sell yourself to the medical schools receiving your application, but with each university receiving thousands of these, how do you make yours stand out?
What distinguishes the personal statement of someone with an interview offer from an unsuccessful applicant?
I think the opening sentence of a personal statement is quite important. Once you get the person reading interested and hooked on they'll pay more attention to the rest of your statement!
Yeah I agree. It is vital to have a good introduction to stand out. I think a good conclusion is just as important too. Most personal statements cover the same points and so by having a good introduction and conclusion, you'll be able to stand out
The intro is deffo the hardest part part!
What do you guys think are the top tips for the intro? Because I think sometimes people focus too hard on making it very unique and stand out that they forget to talk about why they actually want to study Medicine.
I think people need to be mindful of clichés! You want your personal statement to be an authentic representation of yourself. I think common clichés in personal statements are quotes and rhetorical questions. Don't use up valuable words!
Yeah I definitely agree. It's your personal statement at the end of the day and your chance to show them all the great things about yourself and why they should give you a place at medical school.
I think writing and reflecting on your own personal experiences of work experiences and volunteering can help make yours stand out. Because everyone has their own reflections and experiences that they can take away from placements. Really helps convey your own interests in Medicine.
Yeah I agree I think the most important thing with reflecting on your own experiences of work experience and volunteering is making sure that you reflect on what you’ve learnt from each experience rather than simply listing what you’ve done. This shows the admissions tutor that you’ve taken something away from each experience.
How do you best avoid listing stuff out? Its easy to fall into that trap
Yeah 100%. This is a very important piece of advice. Have to show what you've learnt instead of just listing everything.
I think the final paragraph of a personal statement is really important too, it can help you stand out because you can summarise why you think you are a good candidate to study medicine and also further demonstrate your motivation to study medicine.
What are the types of things you could say in the final paragraph?
Yeahh I agree and I think some people just repeat their intro in the conclusion
NEVER FORGET YOUR PS IS MEANT TO BE PERSONAL!!! Obvs take people's advice on board, but end of the day your statement should showcase you, and only your skillset.