Tips on Writing Medical School Application Essays Using a Personal Approach

Although writing an admission essay does not require literary genius, it can be tough even for students who have good writing skills.  Preparing a medical school application essay can be twice the challenge, because admission to any medical school is very selective.  Since healthcare is one thing that the market cannot easily dictate, more and more people want to study medicine, which makes the competition even tougher.  If you want to be accepted to medical school, you need to exert extra effort in writing your application essay, as it is your personal statement which sums up the reasons why you want to become a doctor.

Why focus on personality when writing your medical school application essay

Medical school is a lot more difficult than college.  Partying would be unlikely, and your years are going to be spent doing experiments, research, internships, and studying even when there are no exams.  Students who make it to medical school sometimes drop out not because they are not smart enough, but simply because they cannot cope with the stress or they do not have that much passion to overcome the challenges.  These are only a few of the factors that the Admissions Committee cannot assess through your GPA and MCAT score, so your best weapon is an outstanding application essay.  Although it may seem true that the purpose of a medical school’s admission requirements is to give you a hard time, the real reason is that the committee wants to determine how much of the pressure you can take.  Your application essay should be able to address that.  As you read this article, you may have browsed through sample essays of successful applicants already.  One thing that you might have observed is that students who get accepted into programs and academic institutions of their choice are able to express in writing their passion for the field and determination to fulfill their goals.

What to write in your medical school application essay

Before you start writing, think about a specific experience or person that influenced your decision to go into medicine.  Did you lose a loved one due to a chronic illness?  Have you been treated by a family doctor whom you have looked up to since you were a child?  Do not worry about being mushy.  The more personal your motivation is for wanting to become a doctor, the better.  Keep in mind that “personal” does not mean “selfish.” Even if you think that medicine is a good career, because there will always be a need for doctors despite hard times, it may be best to leave that out of your essay.  If you know of any doctor who has been given awards or is well-loved by the community, try to find out about personal traits that you share.  For instance, good doctors are keen to detail, exercise professional courtesy, and are very service-oriented.  Patients say that the qualities that they consider very important when choosing their doctors can be summed up into how they treat their patients as human beings and not as “conditions.” When writing your essay, put in your strong points in interpersonal relations, such as sensitivity to other people’s needs and being a good listener.  Support these with relevant extra-curricular activities, such as organizing outreach programs or being a peer counselor.  Just make sure that you write down only the qualities that you do have.  Otherwise, the Admissions Committee will see through inconsistencies during your interview and might even blacklist you for lying.