Accepted: Superficiality: Med School Application Essay Flaw #4

Avoid Superficial Statments in your Med School Personal Statement

Watch what you write! In this blog series, we’ll examine the 5 fatal flaws that you should avoid when writing your med school application essays. In this post, we’ll show you how to take a deep dive into your personal statement to avoid superficiality

When you write superficially you tend to blend into the great mass of applicants who, on a superficial level, are very much like you. They may have the same goal (or similar, since you’re all applying to med school). They have similar education and industry backgrounds. They have done about the same type of prep you’ve done to gain acceptance.

But blending in is exactly what you don’t want to do.

How can you distinguish yourself?

Use specifics to tell your unique story and portray yourself distinctively. Avoid umbrella words that have broad definitions and that cover any number of desirable qualities in the admissions process. For example, take the term “leadership”: Yes, you want to demonstrate leadership, but you don’t want to do so by blabbing on and on about your “leadership abilities.” Instead, you want to provide an example that shows you in a leadership role and breaks down your role into more specific subcategories of leadership that were key to your success.

Some specific, more unique components of leadership that you can focus on include:

1. Listening

2. Initiating

3. Mentoring

4. Teaching

5. Persuading

6. Organizing

7. Establishing a goal or vision

8. Motivating

9. Managing

10. Obtaining buy-in

And this is just a sample. Not all leaders can claim these qualities, and only a handful can write about the specific example you will provide. So remember:

• Avoid umbrella words.

• Use specific examples.

And banish superficiality from your AMCAS and secondary essays.

Now you that you know what NOT to do, it’s time to focus on what you SHOULD do to submit the absolute best medical school applications possible. Work one-on-one with a pro to create an application that will get you ACCEPTED.