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... room This theme is often tied in closely with why I am a qualified person. Be very clear on the difference, though; the latter focuses specifically on your experience (medical or otherwise) that qualifies you to be a better medical student, while the former focuses strictly on you as a person. Committees are always on the lookout for well-rounded candidates. They want to see that you are interesting, involved, and tied to the community around you. To help you think about how to support this theme, look at your answers to the exercises from the last chapter and ask yourself: What makes me different?
Do I have any special talents or abilities that might make me more interesting? How will my skills and personality traits add diversity to the class? What makes me stand out from the crowd? How will this help me to be a better physician and student? If you are creative, youll be able to take whatever makes you different-even a flaw-and turn it to your advantage.
One student wrote about her experience as a childhood klutz and how her many accidents kept her continually seeking medical care. The care she received was the impetus to her desire to become a doctor and made her essay entertaining, sincere, and eminently credible.Note that the candidate in this example tied her experience to her desire to become a doctor.
It is imperative that this be done with practically every point you make in your essay. The Talented Among Us If you are one of a lucky few who have an outstanding talent or ability, now is no time to hide it. Whether you are a star athlete, an opera singer, or a violin virtuoso, by all means make it a focus of your essay.
These people can be some of the strongest of candidates. Assuming, always, that theyve excelled in the required preparatory coursework, the other strengths can take them over the top. Athletes, musicians, and others can make the compelling case of excellence, achievement, discipline, mastering a subject / talent and leveraging their abilities.If you do plan to focus on a strength outside the field of medicine, your challenge becomes one of how to tie the experience of that ability into your motivation for becoming a doctor. Students of Diversity If you are diverse in any sense of the word-an older applicant, a minority, a foreign applicant, or disabled-use it to your advantage by showing what your unique background will bring to the school and to the practice of medicine. Some admissions officers, however, warn against using minority status as a qualification instead of a quality. If you fall into this trap, your diversity will work against you.
Medical schools are full of these types; they thrive by bringing high achievers who possess intellectual ability into their realm.
If you are a student of diversity, then of course, use it. But dont harp on it for its own sake or think that being diverse by itself is enough to get you in; that will only make us feel manipulated and it will show that you didnt know how to take advantage of a good opportunity.So just be sure you tie it in with either your motivation or your argument for why your diversity makes you a better candidate. Latecomers and Career Switchers You need not be a member of a minority, a foreign applicant, disabled, or an athlete or musician to be considered diverse.
There are, for example, those who have had experience in or prepared themselves for totally different fields. If you fall into these categories, give succinct reasons for wanting to go into medicine and show evidence of sincere and intensive preparation for your new chosen field. English Majors and Theater People Not everyone who is accepted to medical school has a hard-core science background. If youre one of these applicants, you must turn your potential weaknesses into strengths. Point out that communication is an integral part of being a doctor, and discuss the advantages of your well-rounded backgrounds. Be very careful to demonstrate your motivation and qualifications in detail and with solid evidence to offset worries that your non-science backgrounds may have given you an unrealistic view of a doctors life or that you might be unable to cope with the science courses at medical school.
Can I Be Too Well Rounded? Some people have talents, abilities, or experience in so many different areas that they risk coming across as unfocused or uneducated. When handled deftly, though, your many sides can be brought together, and what could have hurt you becomes instead your greatest vehicle for setting you apart from the crowd. Taking Advantage of International Experience Many applicants have international experience. So, while it may not set you apart in a completely unique way, it is always worthwhile to demonstrate your cross-cultural experience and sensitivity.
To be successful, you must go beyond simply writing about your experiences to relating them either to your motivation or qualifications. Do not expect the committee to make these leaps for you; you need to put it in your own words and make the connections clear. Religion Some admissions counselors advise against the mention of religion altogether. Others say that it can be used to applicants advantage by setting them apart and by stressing values and commitment.
This is a sensitive subject area and is best left to individual choice. Back to Top
Were you a teaching assistant? The rule to follow here is: If you have done it, use it. Hospital/Clinical Experience Direct experience with patients is probably the best kind to have in your essay. But the important thing to remember here is that any type or amount of experience you have had should be mentioned, no matter how insignificant you feel it is. Research Experience A word of caution: Do not focus solely on your research topic; your essay will become impersonal at best and positively dull at worst. Watch out for overuse of what non-science types refer to as medical garble.
If it is necessary for the description of your project, then, of course, you have no choice. But including medical terms in your essay just because you are able to will not impress anyone. Unusual Medical Experience Even if you have not volunteered X number of hours a week at a clinic or spent a term on a research project, you might still have medical experience that counts: the time you cared for your sick grandmother or the day you saved the man at the next table from choking in a restaurant. It does not even matter if you were unsuccessful (maybe, despite all your valiant efforts, the man at the next table did not survive), if it was meaningful to you then it is relevant; in fact, these failed efforts might be even more compelling. Nonmedical Experience Your experience does not even have to be medically related to be relevant. Many successful applicants cite non-medical volunteer experience as evidence of their willingness to help and heal the human race. Back to Top
For tips on answering general application questions, click here.
From ESSAYS THAT WILL GET YOU INTO COLLEGE, by Amy Burnham, Daniel Kaufman, and Chris Down. Copyright 1998 by Dan Kaufman.
Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
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