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Our families often inspire our choices.
But is it really appropriate to talk about family in your essay?
Find the scenario below that best applies to your situation:
Scenario 1: Some aspect of my family’s history is fascinating and unique.
→ Did your family’s history directly impact your education and/or personal development? → Will this influence the way you someday practice medicine? → If yes, tell an interesting story that summarizes, in a nutshell, what happened and then connect that to a patient care story (or some other “eureka moment”) that helped crystallize your decision to pursue medicine. → Remember to keep most of the focus on what you learned and how that translates into action.
Scenario 2: My family is not particularly unique, but I love them and they inspired me.
→ Did you do something unusual or remarkable as a result of their encouragement? → If so, tell a story; that’s your focus, not your family. You might briefly mention them, but that’s about it.
Scenario 3: My family kind of let me down, but I have achieved a lot in spite of them.
→ Did you achieve what should have been impossible, given your circumstances? → If so, describe some of those obstacles (Tell a story!) and how that experience made you stronger. Don’t focus on how others disappointed you; tell your story without blaming or accusing.
Scenario 4: My family introduced me to the field of medicine.
→Do you have a parent (or other immediate family member) who is a physician? → You might briefly allude to that, but avoid making it a central focus. For example, you might mention working summers in your mother’s practice. No need to chronicle your parent’s journey to medicine, or education, or life philosophy. This essay is about YOU, not them.
Scenario 5: My close family member faced a life-threatening illness.
→ Were you extensively involved in their care or affected by their diagnosis? → Did this forever impact your view of medicine? → Are you comfortable talking about the experience and providing the basic details (type of illness, outcome, etc.). → If yes, then you can mention it. But try not to devote more than one paragraph to the subject, and make sure it connects to the other main points of your essay.
Scenario 6: Someone in my family told me I should be a doctor.
→ Don’t mention it! Even though our loved ones influence our decisions, you don’t want to send the message that you are primarily swayed by others’ preferences or pressure.
Working on your personal statement outline? Not sure what to include? Here’s a template to get you started!
In high school and college, we were instructed to formulate a complete outline prior to writing. Solid advice, but sometimes it can leave you feeling a little trapped, especially if you aren’t exactly sure of your main points.
Instead, try this model for “backing in” to your essay. Work through these four main questions, allowing several minutes to write all you can about each. Let your ideas flow fast and freely. No limits!
If you’ve followed these steps, you’ve basically worked backward into your outline. Now just connect the dots and streamline it into a concise 5300 (or 4500) character document!
The short answer: Probably not.
You may know exactly what sort of practice you’ll have someday. Still, resist the urge to announce it in your AMCAS, AACOMAS, or TMDSAS essay. This is especially true if you favor a very narrow, competitive field.
Why? Because it takes some serious chutzpah to declare that you will be a urologist or dermatologist before you’ve taken a single class. Yes, you might achieve that dream, but your reader will not think highly of your boldness.
Remember your freshman year of college? How many of your peers said they were going to be doctors? How many changed their mind after Organic Chemistry? Same deal with medical school.
But there are exceptions to this rule. If you have great reasons for wanting to pursue a more general path—maybe you want to be a family physician or pediatrician—and you are applying to programs that really prioritize these tracks, then go for it!
If you’ve served your country, you have a unique story to tell. Your path to medicine may be non-traditional, but your values and experiences can get you accepted to medical school.
Our editors have helped many vets articulate their value as future physicians.
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These days, everyone is an expert on healthcare. Your job in writing a personal statement is not to teach your reader something they already know. And no matter how great your clinical experiences are, their assumption is that you really don’t know anything yet. You get to prove that in medical school and residency. For now, your reader just wants to get to know you better.
So, although you may be eager to share your eye-opening realizations about the state of the profession, or the insurance industry, or governmental bureaucracy, waxing philosophical on such subjects is a waste of characters. Continue reading “Your reader doesn’t really want to hear all about medicine in your personal statement.”
