Med School Personal Statement Examples Database

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Are you applying to med school and dreading writing your personal statement? Perhaps seeing some successful examples can help get the ball rolling! 

Whether you fell in love with the hum of rhythmic monitor beeps and the omnipresent smell of antiseptic when you first visited the hospital for a broken arm, or felt an intrinsic draw to medicine and discovery after a family member lost a battle with a terminal illness, there’s a distinct reason you chose to pursue medicine. 

This reason can act as a great foundation to build your personal statement. But, sharing your narrative in an intriguing yet informative way can be challenging. Knowing what to share with the committee and how to appropriately expand on your interest in medicine can be overwhelming! 

Regardless of the challenges you’re facing with your essay, seeing real medical school personal statement examples that got students into their top choices can make a world of difference, which is exactly what this guide will offer you!

The Importance of Personal Statements for Medical School

Before delving into the top medical school personal statement examples, it’s essential you understand the importance of this application requirement. As med schools seek to admit students with strong academic backgrounds and high MCAT scores, the admissions process can easily turn into a numbers game.

But, grades alone do not make excellent physicians. While intelligence is certainly required to become a physician, so is compassion, enthusiasm, curiosity, persistence, and creativity. To ensure students can demonstrate these key talents, and to humanize their applications, medical schools use personal statements!

An impressive personal statement can make up for weaker parts of your application just as a weak personal statement can lessen the effectiveness of otherwise strong applications. Accordingly, writing a compelling personal statement for medical school is crucial to maximize your chances of admission!

Personal Statements for Medical School Examples

Now that we’ve established just how important your personal statement is, we’d like to offer you a tool that includes 27 AMCAS medical school personal statement examples. These statements were written with the help of our expert admission counselors and helped students get into their top choices!

Use these examples to draw inspiration and learn what the judges are looking for! As you go through them, consider their opening statements, the experiences they share, and how they tie in their passion for medicine and future aspirations.

To ensure you get the most out of these personal statement for medical school examples, here are some key similarities between them that you should implement in your own essay:

• They begin with narratives: opening with the climax of a story is an excellent way to intrigue your readers and make your application stand out from the beginning
• They thoroughly explain their interest: simply stating you want to save lives isn’t personal enough to impress the committee; delve into the various influences and experiences that confirmed your decision to pursue medicine
• They brag a little: if you’ve developed key skills or gained important perspectives that will help you become a better physician, share this in your statement
• They’re descriptive: be creative with your personal statement, show don’t tell when appropriate to immerse your readers and demonstrate your strong writing skills
• They show direction: share clear and specific goals for the future to portray your enthusiasm and drive to become a doctor
• They leave a lasting impression: your conclusion should summarize your statement and offer final insight into why you’d make an excellent physician

Understanding what makes a good personal statement and seeing examples of them will aid you in crafting stellar essays that will help you get into even the most competitive medical schools!

FAQs: Med School Personal Statement Examples

For any remaining questions about the personal statement for medical school examples shared in this guide, read on to find your answers!

1. What Should a Medical School Personal Statement Include?

While you have the creative freedom to structure your personal statement however you see best, it should include the following:

• Genuine experiences: discussing your journey to medicine, including what or who influenced you to join the field, how you developed your interests, and how you’ve confirmed medicine is right for you
• “I” statements: avoid speaking in the third person; ensure you are the central character of your story 
• Simple language: use language within your skillset to avoid misusing words that will reduce the efficacy of your writing
• Goals: provide specific aspirations for your future and explain what you hope to accomplish by joining the medical field

It’s essential your personal statement is reflective, so spend time thinking about your most meaningful experiences and skills before your first draft.

2. What Should You Not Write About In a Medical School Personal Statement?

There are unlimited possibilities for what you can write in medical school personal statements and about five topics you should absolutely avoid:

• TMI: any information you would only tell your therapist should be left in the brainstorming stage
• Incriminating Information: experiences that call your academic integrity or morals into question will do more harm than good, even if they’ve been removed from your records 
• Resume Rehash: do not only focus on all of your accomplishments
• Cliches: overused quotes, metaphors, or anecdotes will make your statement more generic and less memorable
• The Toddler Tales: avoid mentioning experiences you had from ages you cannot recall

As a final note, students often approach their personal statements from the angle that they’ve wanted to become doctors for as long as they can remember. If you want to discuss your deep-seated passion for medicine, you should not use it as your main argument for why you’re an excellent medical school candidate.

Committees will not accept you into their prestigious programs simply because of how long you’ve wanted to become a doctor. 

You’ll need to demonstrate what you’ve done because of this passion, how you’ve used it to develop the skills necessary to actually become a good doctor, and should share more recent experiences that affirmed your passion.

3. How Do I Make My Personal Statement for Med School Stand Out?

The best way to make your personal statement for medical school stand out is to be genuine.

Create a narrative based on real events that occurred in your life. Use an intriguing anecdote to open your essay and spend the rest of it expanding on its relevance to your interest in medicine. Use the examples shared in our database to guide you, but do not plagiarize! 

Final Thoughts

These top medical school personal statement examples will help you tackle your essays with more confidence and, perhaps, even some excitement! You’ll have a clear understanding of how to share your unique experiences and abilities in a captivating and unique way!

And, if you’re still unsure, we’re here to help! From the brainstorming process to the final touches, our team of experienced admissions counselors will ensure you submit nothing less than the best personal statement!