The Personal Statement

Applying to medical school is complicated enough; the additional task of translating yourself to 1-2 pages of an essay is more than complicated. It is nearly impossible. How on earth is one to explain oneself so precisely and in such a condensed way; and not only explain, but sell yourself as an attractive package? The personal statement has for years been a frustrating barrier for many students applying to professional schools. For me, it is ever-present and looming in my near future. I find myself mulling over ideas, sentences, words in my head for the day (very soon) I will sit down and begin the task of "writing myself". I am scared senseless.

Recently, I guided my friend in writing her own personal statement for law school. As anyone can probably guess, it is much easier to write about another than to write about yourself. After two long nights of brainstorming, editing, and heavy thesaurus usage, we stared at the final product: two pages of "Pamela". As she breathed a sigh of relief, I felt the load of my own personal statement become heavier.

This, dear reader, is where you come in. Have you ever had to write your own personal statement or something similar? Do you have a wonderfully unique idea that would set me apart from the rest of my peers? Or do you know me well and have a gist of how I would look on paper? I welcome your input with open arms.

[The Purdue Online Writing Lab defines the personal statement as "an opportunity to sell yourself in the application process"; tell a story, find an angle, avoid cliches, and write what you know.]