You are currently browsing the personal statement tag archive.
by Karin Ash
Applicants to graduate school quickly become familiar with the request to provide a statement of purpose (SOP). The SOP for graduate schools, and especially for STEM programs, usually requests information on the applicant’s motivation and preparation for the graduate program. The SOP question can vary from school to school, but essentially, you’ll be asked to …
by Cydney Foote
For many residency applicants, writing the first draft of their personal statement is the most difficult part of the entire application process. And the most difficult part of composing that first draft is often getting the first few words on the page. Don’t fret – even accomplished novelists and famous journalists struggle to get started …
You’ve done the work you needed to to prepare yourself for vet school. The academic work. The volunteer work. The clinical work. And now you must answer the VMCAS (Veterinary Medical College Application Service) essay prompt “Why do you want to pursue a career in veterinary medicine?” You have just 3,000 characters with which to …
One of the most important parts of your application to postbac programs will be your personal statement. This piece of writing allows the admissions committee to get to know you and understand your path to medicine. Three attributes of a compelling postbac personal statement Three important elements can make your postbac personal statement resonate with your reader: …
You studied, worked, or volunteered abroad. Now you want to include part of this in your personal statement as part of an undergrad, AMCAS or other application. Maybe you want to show that you’ve experienced a different culture and expanded your perspective through your eye-opening experiences meeting new people, mountain-climbing, assisting in a rural community, …
Admissions season is going strong and the application questions are pouring in. Listen in as Linda Abraham answers some of the most common questions of the season and shares her formula for giving your application the ultimate last check before you hit submit. 1:31 – MBA applicant dilemma: Round 1 advantage vs. improving credentials and …
I took away a lot of wonderful concepts, frameworks and strategies from my MBA education that led to a successful admission career. In fact, one of the most powerful lessons I learned at Michigan (now Ross) was how to lead and work effectively on teams. Professor Noel Tichy, one of the gurus of Organizational Behavior …
I like to apply the principles established in Chip Heath and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick to personal statements and application essays. In this post I focus on concreteness. The third of Made to Stick‘s six key principles, concreteness, doesn’t seem to apply to intangibles like leadership, achievement, teamwork, or character – the topics you …
Do not forget that physicians will be reviewing your application; therefore it is probably not a good strategy to suggest that most physicians are incompetent and you are going to be the ideal doctor and will rescue our health care system. Also, be mindful of the fact that the people evaluating your application have many …
Do not try to make excuses for your poor grades or try to defend them. If you are invited for an interview, be prepared to discuss those grades, but instead of placing the blame on someone else, focus on the positive and perhaps highlight your academic performance since then. Emphasize what you learned from the …
I could write now about the aspects of my life I am thankful for: my husband, five healthy children, two delightful, adorable grandchildren, my daughter’s recent engagement, a thriving business, work that I enjoy, and good health. I have done so in the past as I wished you a Happy Thanksgiving, a US holiday that …
A friend of mine was recently going through a hard time. Things were going wrong, seriously wrong in her life. She wryly labeled these experiences "character building." It is a sad truth that tragedy and trial build character strength and develop wisdom. Most of us would rather be weaker and stupider than have character building …
Sign up for a free consultation to ask your most pressing admissions and application-related questions, get a profile evaluation, and find out how our team of professional admissions consultants can help you get accepted.
