When it comes to entering a residency program, you recall all the process and already feel tired. But if you find a consistent approach to gathering documents, writing papers, and preparing for exams, you will succeed for sure. Not only does a high GPA have a real impact on the outcome of the application process, but also, a personal statement can change the overall situation. Applicants tend to underestimate the importance of a quality personal statement and can pay less attention to it.
However, a winning personal statement can assure the admissions committee that your exact candidature fits the program the best. To have this result, you have two options: to order a residency personal statement from a professional or to compose it by yourself. If you choose the second option, read carefully the information below.
1. What Should Be Included in the Statement?
Before starting work on your personal statement, search for relevant information on the internet. Look for some decent samples and try to analyze what makes them interesting and catching. If writing several personal statements for different programs, don’t forget about the special requirements set by the university. You’d better avoid submitting everywhere the same example. Make it tailored to a specific program.
The main information to include in the personal statement is your character. To be precise, you should include their relevant qualities that show you are the best fit for the program. Don’t just list them or tell them in the abstract form. Better reveal them through stories that show your qualities in action.
You can open the door to your soul a little bit more and show your hobbies or other sides of your personality. This will help to establish contact with the committee, as they will see not only the soulless application but the person behind it.
Your plans and motivation Also, describe your expectations from the program, why you chose the exact university, and why this profession is important to you. Reveal your career plans and how the program will strengthen your chances.
2. Mistakes You Can Make
Sometimes the task seems easier than it is in practice. So a candidate doesn’t waste energy on writing a draft and hopes the paper will become winning at once. However, if you spend more time and prepare more thoroughly, you will see that every next draft is better than the previous.
Do not include in the personal statement information that does not present you as the best candidate. Telling an admissions committee about your religion or food preferences would not enhance your chances as an applicant. Also, don’t include only positive sides, especially artificially decorated, as it is always visible and you will look ridiculous, as there isn’t any ideal person in the world.
When writing your statement, watch out for blending everything in one paragraph. Divide the text into sections, depending on the main thought. Don’t include in one paragraph information related to different sides of the application. Also, do not make it a solid canvas of text. You should make your statement visually clean with strict order.
In case you think it is appropriate t find an example and just change your personal information, you are wrong. The admissions committee can easily detect plagiarism in your paper and reject your application. Also, there isn’t any other person in the world with the same qualities, experience, plans, and motivation, so don’t try to copy someone. Just show yourself.
3. The Process of Crafting a Residency Personal Statement
Before submitting a ready personal statement, you have to pass several stages that can take you up to a month of persistent work. The main stages are research, brainstorming, drafting, writing, proofreading, editing, and submitting.
The first stage includes looking for the information to include, reading about common mistakes, and understanding the main point of the personal statement. After that, goes brainstorming, when you have to remember all the relevant situations that should be included in the statement. In the drafting stage, you have to gather all your gained knowledge and outline the first example. Actually, drafting usually does not end with one example. You have to compose at least 2-3, every time choosing correct lexical forms and improving stylistic constructions.
That was the phase of preparation, and now you have to write that statement more consciously. Pay attention to the formatting requirements, keep a neat structure and reveal your best sides. After the paper is written, give yourself some time to relax, don’t do the proofreading immediately. Look thoroughly through every word and phrase to be sure it’s adequate and the best fit. If you think you should change some phrases, do it during the editing stage. After the paper is done, submit it with pride, you did a great job!
