Writing your personal statement is hard work. You won’t get your greatest work until after a few drafts and even then you need guidance to ensure you put out your absolute best. Your personal statement is the best way to humanize yourself in a very standardized application — it needs to be honest and relatable. Naturally, I can’t make up these experiences on your behalf, but I can help you craft it into your best written work. Let’s get started on what you need to know then.

Starting and Writing the Bulk of Your Personal Statement

One of the most difficult parts of writing your personal statement (or writing anything really) is starting. That first sentence needs to be juicy and really needs to reel the reader in. I have a few articles so you have an idea of just what to do.

• “How to Start Your Personal Statement for Medical School” discusses general ideas on how to introduce your text and also lists a few big cliche no-no’s that you should never introduce your statement with.
• “AMCAS Guidelines for the Medical School Personal Statement” is something you need to be aware of before brainstorming or starting to write. The last thing you want to do is write a great piece and then later realize it didn’t fit the proper criteria.
• Something useful before writing is to brainstorm and I do offer group and one-on-one help with this. Just scroll down on this page here and maybe you’ll see something you like.

After getting the introduction done, you need to start writing the bulk of your personal statement which is the body. However, it helps to have an idea on how you’re going to proceed. Having templates definitely help. Here are some articles with some tips to keep in mind.

• “How to Write a Personal Statement for Medical School” is a general overview of the process of writing. It includes a six-step process and some tips to keep you on track.
• “Showing, Not Telling, in Your Medical School Personal Statement” is very important because the admissions committee is interested in your own personal experiences. Therefore, instead of simply describing your strengths, demonstrate them through the experience you are writing about.
• “Stuck On Your Medical School Statement? Use Medical School Statement Samples” gives some guidance on what to do when you get stuck while writing the body paragraphs.
• “Video: Three Things You Need to Write in Your Medical School Personal Statement” — in this video I discuss the three most important points that I repeat to my students time and time again.
• “Hidden Tips to Give You the Edge for Your Medical School 2014 Personal Statement” has a lot of information what you need to include, extra tips to keep in mind, and some facts on the actual admissions committee.

Also, if you’re applying for dental school, you might need some different kind of help. I have one very successful article on how to write a winning personal statement along with another on just where to find sample statements.

Writing a Killer Ending and Beginning the Editing Process

The conclusion is equally as important as the introduction because it leaves the reader with a final thought on your piece. The admissions committee is no different so you need to know your audience.

• “The Best Way to End Your Medical School Personal Statement” tells you what not to do and what you need to do.
• “How to End Your Personal Statement” gives you some extra tips on making the conclusion memorable.

Editing your personal statements after finishing your first draft it hard work. You need to keep yourself organized and focused.

• “How to Edit Your Personal Statement” covers all the bases of what you need to do and if you need to actually hire a professional to help you.
• “Why Is Medical School Personal Statement Editing So Expensive” is an article that covers a question I get asked quite a bit. I explain it here and how you can lower these high costs.

Programs I Offer That Can Help You

Aside from my standard articles (which we’ll talk about in a sec), I have a few programs that I can offer to help you begin writing your personal statement and keep yourself on track. For one, I offer five free sample personal statements just to give you a taste of how I help you. You can access more samples, templates, and video tutorials in my 24-hour trial which only costs $1! You receive permanent access for only $27.

In addition to this, I have an extended program that is currently on discount. In this package, I give you the run-down of anything you need to know — including eight training videos assembled over the 18 years of my experience tutoring, 27 sample personal statements, 27 writing templates, a 25-page step-by-step guide, and plus 6 personal statement critique videos to show you how I edit my student’s work! With a one-time payment of $47, you receive permanent access digitally on my INQUARTA site.

Because some of my clients are also pre-dental students, I decided to make life a bit easier for them and assemble a similar package for students writing their personal statement for dental school. This package is a whole lot cheaper, costing only $14.95 and includes 9 personal statement samples, 27 personal statement templates, along with my already-mentioned 6 essay critique videos, and a handy 25-page how-to guide.

If You Have Any Other Questions, Feel Free to Contact Me

Aside from all this content, don’t forget I’m also available to talk. Just leave a question in the comments and I’ll be sure to respond. I hope you found some of this material useful!