Please take a look at part 2 in my series of expert guest blog entries on the Varsity Tutors blog. This piece (and the one prior) are a good reminder of what to target and what to avoid when writing your personal statement for medical school, residency, fellowship, and post-baccalaureate programs. Also, for “edutainment” take a look at my Guru on the Go® videos here (mid-page) on the same topic, called “Personal Statement Russian Roulette #1 and #2.”
Blog Archives
What Your Personal Statement Reader is Thinking
Quick Tip: Be Too Proud to Beg
In writing their personal statements, some candidates end their essays with a plea like “I hope your residency program will see me as a valuable candidate who is eager to learn and work.”
Imagine that you are a lawyer in front of a judge. How can you best argue the case that you will be an excellent resident? With examples! Keeping that idea in mind will help you show – not tell.
Remember that if you are writing an effective, persuasive document with explicit examples of what makes you a distinctive applicant, you won’t need to make a second person appeal because your accomplishments will make your case for you.
Medical Residency Admissions: Avoiding Common Essay Pitfalls
Picture, if you will, a residency admissions committee member beneath a halo of light reading applicant essays in her office at midnight. Caffeine on her breath, crumpled white coat next to her desk chair, she is making steady progress on the never-ending stack of applicant files until she picks up a residency personal statement that begins, “I first became interested in Internal Medicine when Grandma was diagnosed with cancer…” Pulling out her hair by the fistful, she tosses the file into the trash. That cancer may not have killed your grandma, but it just might have killed your application. Read more ›
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
As featured in:
Student Doctor Network: Choosing a Medical School? Why Your Situation Matters
KevinMD: Made Mistakes? How to Spin Them for Your Medical School Applications
Doximity Op-Med: The Medical School Admissions Process Is Falling Short
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on The Visible Voices podcast:
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the White Coat Investor podcast:
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the FeminEm podcast: