Personal Statements

http://www.mcw.edu/FileLibrary/Groups/AcademicAffairs/stuaffairs/PersonalStatementSample2.pdf

I thought this personal statement was really well done, the author began with a great introduction and for some reason that stood out a lot more than the 10-15 other statements I’ve read. The beginning read like a book, and was written in a way that made it seem like you were experiencing it firsthand. He/she took a seemingly normal life event (their mother giving birth) and made it seem like so much more. I like that this person used their experiences with their family as a focus of the essay rather than “listing” the things that they did that would’ve been in their resumes. And when they do mention clinical experiences, they don’t make it overpowering or show-offy. I enjoyed the fact that they managed to show you what makes them a good candidate while remaining humble. That’s something that I found was really hard to come by in a lot of personal statements–even though people are supposed to talk about their accomplishments and good traits, it always comes off as bragging and showing off to me. I thought this was an excellent essay because of how subtle the author was about it.