Medical School Personal Statement

The personal statement constitutes an important opportunity to present yourself in your own words to the Admissions Committee of a medical school. AMCAS requires a personal statement and many medical schools require additional personal essays. You must use the space allowed on the AMCAS form for your statement (5300 characters).

This is an opportunity to articulate your interests and experiences, especially those related to the healthcare environment and research. Other topics might include how your interest in medicine came about, how you investigated this interest, your career goals, things about you which are unique (e.g. if a parent was in the Foreign Service and you grew up in a foreign country, etc.) and how you developed the skills and qualities important for a physician (caring, enjoy working with people, problem solving ability, work well under pressure, etc.).