There are many ways to get ideas on how to write a personal statement for medical school that could secure your chances for admissions. One of these is by reading sample medical school personal statements. All About Medicine gives advice regarding this. Read on to know some useful tips from excellent sample medical school personal statements.
Notable sample medical school personal statements introduce the writer
In your opening paragraph you should give a brief introduction to who you are, what you’re doing at the moment and why you are applying to read Medicine. For instance I am currently in my final year at college where I have been reading Biology, Chemistry and History A Levels. Medicine as a career is something that I have considered for many years. Go on to explain the background to your reasons.
You have to be clear and concise on your introduction. Aside from introducing yourself, you also have to mention why you are interested in applying to med school.
Good sample statements of purpose for med school state reasons
There are many reasons why you have chosen medicine and you need to be quite clear about it. Saying that you want to help people is just not enough, it is a flimsy reason and you don’t have to be a doctor to help people, you could work in a homeless shelter. Think about what being a doctor would really entail and what personal attributes you have and how they will contribute to making you a good doctor.
Be specific when you talk about your reasons. You also have to speak through your own voice. Make sure that you are really sincere in stating your reasons.
Excellent admission essays state why the writer deserves the slot
Personal statement needs to convince the admissions tutor that medicine is the right choice for you and that you will make a good student and a good doctor. Your unique attributes are what will make you stand out individually from every other medicine applicant. You will make a good impression by including a paragraph on your hobbies and pastimes.
Your essay should portray a clear image of yourself. You can do this by talking about your past times and interests. This BSU’s premed advice site says that:
Be sure your essay explains who you are and portrays you as a real human being who is capable, interesting, and caring. Reviewing sample letters is a great way to get an idea of what to write.
You can actually find sample letters of intent or admissions essays from many online resources.
If you really want to write a winning statement of purpose for med school, use sample medical school application essays as guide. You have to introduce yourself and state your reasons like in effective admission essay samples.
Question: What significant accomplishments or life experiences make you unique?
I am blessed with the privilege to grow up in several places where opportunity brought my family to settle down. My parents and I were born in India but we moved to Spain at a very young age. My childhood passed when we move again to Germany where I spent high school. And now, we are in the United States – where I will shape my ambition to be physician someday.
I consider growing up in three different countries a great experience that formed my uniqueness as a person. Having been exposed to a widely disparate cultural milieu meant so much to me. It is this formation that made relating to people of different backgrounds a job I can do like playing with my toys. My ability to communicate was honed as I grew up in different places, not only in terms of language but understanding non-verbals as well.
Understanding people is not simply mastering their native language; this is what I learned from my Spanish peers. They are a people who treasure their culture, and that explains why they love festivals and the arts. There are also people who value their national pride above the rest, and this makes the Germans memorable to me. Dealing with people needs knowing where they came from, what worldview do they carry, and what they expect from others. I think this is an important skill for a professional whose job is to make people well. Learning to communicate is not simply talking and hearing what the other person will say. A successful and meaningful conversation is achieved only when one of the two parties has an in-depth knowledge about the other person’s background, and where that person is coming from.
I am convinced my varied cultural background will make me a better physician serving in a cosmopolitan city someday. The United States is no longer a home of the American people alone. The American Dream attracted Asians, Europeans, Pacific Islanders, Australians, Africans and practically all people from the world’s seven continents. And as the Hippocratic Oath held, the consideration of race should not be a barrier in the practice of the healing art.
At present, I fluently speak four languages: Spanish, German, English and my native tongue from India. For me, this is a huge advantage that other aspiring medical students would need years to acquire, if they have a material time at all to spend. All I need is to learn Chinese, Arabic and French – the other languages popularly spoken by the rest of the world – and I will be able to talk with anyone who is not a native of the United States.
My knowledge of varied cultures and languages made me unique. I am placed in a position that other aspiring students of medicine won’t be able to easily follow, unless they grew up in a setting similar to mine. As medical sciences advance, especially along technologies involving genetics, I think I would be able to easily understand how variations in human genetic make up was shaped by the extremely varied lifestyle and culture of people around the world.
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Question: Please discuss your expectations as a future physician
Being a daughter of a physician, I have seen what a medical professional’s career looks like from a better vantage point. I know how differently a physician mother would be able to do her role in the family while being held busy by her profession. A doctor swore to save lives at all times, and this oath took away most of her personal time.
When we settled to the United States eight years ago, I have no idea how my new homeland would be. I’ve been in the company of other children whose mothers are devoted to the sole career of taking care of them. Admittedly, I am green with envy that my physician mother does not have the luxury of time to pick me up from school, or cook for my dinner. A physician’s work needed her away from home most of the time, and thus, I grew up without her close supervision. Eating a dinner prepared by others is normal to me. But on the other side of my unhappiness with her situation, I also saw her dedication and love for her job. My admiration for her keeps increasing as I matured dealing with the difficulties I use to endure. And that admiration has drawn me to tread the same path.
At a young age, the inspiration my mother gave me motivated a personal desire to study science seriously. I have been told always that a strong foundation in science is the key to a successful career in medicine. And now, I am facing a moment to test my proficiency in science as I take the challenge of passing an admission test to a medical school. This admission test alone signifies the huge requirement for academic rigor in pursuing this career.
It does not mean however that I am a nerdy type of a person. As I take studies to be a no-nonsense thing, I take time socializing with my peers, neighbors and my family. I am active in community work and the local Girl Scout movement. It is here that I have made a practical test on the ground to validate the theories I learned from books. It is here that I understood how degenerative lifestyle disorders develop. My immersion in the community opened my eyes that health is also a political issue, and it is inextricably linked to state of wellness of the environment we live.
My preparations ahead made me ready, and I don’t find these challenges fearsome anymore. I am, in fact, excited to take the test to prove to myself I am worthy of my chosen path. My mother never gave up learning herself as much of her time is devoted to acquiring state-of-the-art technology, skill and knowledge to cope with the ever advancing field of medicine. This paradigm keeps me strong because I know the first step, which is to pass an admission test to a medical school of my choice, is the most difficult part of my own journey of a thousand miles.
