Hi everyone,
I am currently drafting my personal statement, and find myself continuously trying to answer the question, “If you want to be a physician so badly, then why haven’t you done it by now?” Is this something that I need to justify? I have read that younger nontrads should discuss what they did in their gap years, but I cant really cover all the events that lead me to apply so late in life. Should I discuss it at all, or should I save it for the interview? Are there any topics that the older crowd should cover in personal statements that the younger nontrads don’t?
Thanks
Matt
I would lay out the path that got you to this point instead of focusing on the “why did I not do this before”. If you have more to say, you need to be VERY concise due to the word count. If you can’t get them interested in you via personal statement, then you won’t get the chance to wow them during the interview. It took me like 10 drafts to be able to pare down everything and compress what I really wanted to say.
Thank you for your help.
You are right I need to focus on the path and why I want to practice medicine. I think I will touch on the weaknesses of my application just enough to talk about lessons learned. I will try to emphasize my strengths and the benefits that the diversity of an older student can bring. Above all else I want to keep everything positive.
What do you think of this approach?
I think it’s good to concede that you have weaknesses in your application, but just make sure they are “true” weaknesses and not something that only neurotic premeds (including me when I was doing the premed thing) would think are faults. For example, it’s probably okay to have a C or two (or more) without really explaining what happened, it’s probably not okay to have jail time without explaining (and could lead to issues with background check and/or licensing).
Above all else, remember that this is a job interview and you’re trying to sell yourself, not explain why they shouldn’t take you…
@Kennymac wrote:
Above all else, remember that this is a job interview and you’re trying to sell yourself, not explain why they shouldn’t take you…
THIS.
I answered this question on this week’s OPM Podcast!
Listen on iOS - http://opmpodcast.com/iTunes
Listen on Android - http://subscribeonandroid.com/oldpremedspodcast.libsyn.com/rss
Ryan
You can also read this article I wrote, which gives tips for writing the PS:
http://www.studentdoctor.net/2016/05/tips-writing-convincing-personal-statement/
It doesn’t focus solely on older applicants but the same principles outlined in the article apply to nontraditional applicants.
Cheers,
Liza