How to Write an AMCAS Essay That Stands Out
There are three important reasons medical schools want candidates to write essays to complement the stats and data provided in the other sections of the AMCAS application.
1. Essays provide a window into who you are.
The admissions committees are interested not just in your grades, scores, impressive awards, and experiences but also in the real you. Your AMCAS essay gives the admissions committee the opportunity to “meet” you beyond what your stats say about you. Consider the essay your chance to really introduce yourself.
2. Essays add insight and value to your application.
Your AMCAS essay allows you to delve deeper into specific experiences and to share both your motivation and lessons learned. Be careful not to repeat information you’ve already provided elsewhere in your application; instead, build on and add to it with an insightful essay.
3. Essays allow the schools to evaluate your writing ability.
Strong writing skills are indicative of strong communication skills, which are critical in the medical world. Let the admissions readers see that you know how to get your point across in a narrative writing style.
What to Include in Your Essay
When determining what to write about in your essay, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Will this topic authentically introduce me to the admissions reader?
2. Is this topic distinctive enough to set me apart from other candidates?
3. Does this topic reflect positively on my fitness for a career as a physician?
Again, your AMCAS essay serves as your introduction to the medical school admissions board, which means it should be more like a human interest story than a report. As a “science person,” you might be more familiar with factual, data-driven, analytical writing, crafting reports that rely heavily on facts, figures, and statistics. In your application, this kind of data will be included in your score reports and therefore doesn’t need to be covered in your essay.
Your AMCAS essay needs to be anecdotal and emotional. It gives you an opportunity to reveal your passion, humor, and drive – in short, your unique personality. Always keep in mind that the admissions readers are human beings. Their job is to wade through a mountain of boring, trite, monotonous essays in search of that – ideally, the one you’ve written.
To create that gem, you need to identify meaningful experiences you can write about integrity, individuality, and most importantly, nonacademic qualifications and motivation for pursuing medical school and a career as a physician.
Which would be a more interesting essay – one in which you speak generally about how you helped out in a volunteer setting, or one in which you describe in detail your experience working in Uganda with Doctors Without Borders? Obviously, the latter. An experience that only a handful, if any, of your competitors can also claim will stand out more to the admissions reader than a vague experience that is common to a large number of applicants.
But what do you do if you haven’t worked in Uganda or climbed Mt. Everest or discovered a cure for cancer? What if your most notable achievements are a little more pedestrian? By sharing the specifics about them and including compelling stories, you can make your simpler accomplishments stand out. Include your distinctive motivations, takeaways, and insights from those critical events in your AMCAS essay, and you’ll have a powerful submission.
Five Effective Techniques to Improve Your Writing
Creating an exemplary AMCAS essay requires more than compelling content, so in this section, we offer five tips to help you elevate your writing. In addition to covering the right material, you want your submission to also be written well.
1. Use active, lively, vivid verbs. You can “go” somewhere, or you can “meander,” “wander,” “race,” or “rush” instead. Variety enhances your verbiage!
2. Incorporate metaphors and images to enliven your writing and help your reader feel more immersed in your experience.
3. Avoid clichés. For example, saying that you “think outside the box” is not the most creative (or persuasive) way of stating that you are creative. When a phrase is overused, it becomes ineffective.
4. Use suspense and irony. They add depth to your writing and reveal more dimensions of your personality.
5. Be succinct.
Structuring Your Essay
After deciding what your central topic will be, you need to make sure that your essay will have the proper structure. Creating an outline before you begin writing will help you develop and maintain that structure. An effective essay structure usually looks like this:
1. Lead or hook
You want the admissions reader to be excited to read your essay, not just do so out of obligation. The best way to accomplish this is by drawing them in with a captivating, spellbinding opening. “I was born in…” or “I want to be a doctor because…” just won’t cut it! Avoid the common and ordinary, and instead, start with a catchy anecdote, question, bit of dialogue, or description that will capture your reader’s attention. Put them in the middle of whatever story you plan to tell.
2. Thesis
Your thesis is the core idea of your essay. A successful essay doesn’t need to spell out its main topic (for example, you don’t need to say, “The purpose of this essay is…”); it should be inherent in your writing and act as a kind of guiding light to keep you on point and your reader focused on the ideas you’re trying to convey.
3. Body
The body of your essay is the largest portion. In the body, you’ll present evidence (specifics that add interest and credibility to your essay and distinguish you from your competition) to support your thesis. You’ll want to order your points (and subpoints, if you have them) either chronologically, logically, or thematically. Always put your most interesting points earlier in your essay.
4. Conclusion
Your essay’s conclusion should reinforce your main idea or theme. Do not directly repeat what you introduced earlier in your essay, but find a way to refer back to it and relate an implication or two. For example, explain why your chosen theme or story is important or revealing. Also, if you ask a question at the beginning of your essay, make sure you’ve answered it by the end.
In summary, your essays are not meant to pad your application with meaningless filler. As noted at the beginning of this post, they should provide a window into who you are, add insight and value to your application, and demonstrate your writing skills. Ensure that your AMCAS essay delivers in these three ways, and you’ll be one step closer to capturing a spot at your dream medical school!
As the former assistant dean of student affairs and career development at the William Beaumont School of Medicine, Dr. Valerie Wherely worked directly with the dean of the School of Medicine, the associate dean of student affairs, the associate dean of clinical curriculum, and the assistant dean of admissions, as well as with Year 4 students on both residency application reviews/critiques and mock interview preparation. Work with Valerie! Schedule a free consultation today!
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