5 Tips for Writing A Personal Statement For Medical School

By this point, you’ve spent hours, months, and even years preparing for medical school. Between stacking your resume with clinical experiences and earning high grades, you likely feel prepared to enter medical school. However, you still have to pass one of the final hurdles before you can start your medical education: writing your personal statement. 

In 2022, there were more than 55,000 applicants to allopathic medical schools, with 22,700 students matriculating into an MD program. That means just 41% of applicants were successful. Unfortunately, every year, qualified candidates with high GPAs, competitive MCAT scores and strong resumes are rejected from every medical school they apply to. Despite doing almost everything right, they failed to stand out from the crowded field of applicants with their personal statements. 

The AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) personal statement prompt is: “Use the space provided to explain why you want to go to medical school.” Applicants have 5,300 characters to answer this broad question. Because this prompt is intentionally vague, it allows students to reflect on their qualities and demonstrate why they are interested in joining the field of medicine. 

The medical school personal statement is not something that should be written in one draft. You should brainstorm, outline, draft, and rewrite your thoughts to address the qualities and experiences that make you suitable for the school and the profession. 

Our Forbes article here has the five tips to help you leverage the personal statement to your advantage. You can also schedule a call with us today!