UNSOM Prospective Applicants: Admissions Information: Personal Statement
The personal statement is an important part of your application. It provides an autobiography of you to which the admissions committees will refer to again and again in making their decision about your acceptance. This is the best place to prepare an excellent profile of yourself, your educational and career objectives. Giving yourself adequate time to write and re-write your statement is the key to doing it well. Remember:
- Avoid spelling and grammatical mistakes.
- Good communication skills must be demonstrated. Make sure your statement is easy to read, makes sense and shows off your best writing skills.
- Be concise and don't make the committee search for the most important points. Put them at the beginning.
Guidelines for Personal Statements:
- What is the purpose of your statement? You want to convince the admissions committee you will be an excellent doctor and successful medical student. Describe the experiences you've had in the past that has prepared you for both these goals.
- Remember your audience. Committee members are professionals in their fields, mostly medicine, but also other academic areas.
- The content of your statement should answer all questions in the application and explain any inconsistent grades or other problems.
- Your writing should reflect your style, but this isn't a creative writing paper. Your writing should reflect your college experience.
- Avoid listing all your accomplishments. A list doesn't describe you as a person and the committee has this information.
- The committee members read hundreds of statements each year. Make yours interesting and easy to read.
- Stay focused. Don't wander around small points. Stick with two or three main themes.
