Writing a personal statement to get into the medical school of your choice is no easy task. As though it isn’t hard enough just writing an essay that meets the expectations of the admissions committee, you even have to come up with your own topic. For some medical school applicants, coming up with a topic for the personal statement is even harder than scoring well in the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). If you are having a hard time coming up with your topic, read on for some helpful information and quick tips on choosing the perfect topic for your medical school personal statement.
The topic as an integral element of your essay
Before you even start making an outline or your first draft, the first thing that you have to think about for your essay is the topic. Your topic is likely to dictate the theme, style, tone, and scope of the essay. Basically, this means that your choice of topic can make or break your personal statement. Keep in mind that your topic is probably the unifying factor for your essay, the topic is what will gel everything together and help keep your essay coherent. Not to say that you can only have a single main topic for your essay, but it’s important that all of the subtopics you write about are related in one way or another.
Tips in coming up with a topic
When you are trying to think of your topic for your essay, the most significant consideration is the aim of your essay. For your medical school personal statement, the main aim is to convince the admissions committee that you are a good candidate for their school. In other words, you are telling the admissions committee what makes you unique, why you have what it takes to make a good medical student, and what your aspirations are for your career in medicine. Focus on topics that highlight your personality, experience, character, education, accomplishments, and your passion for pursuing medicine. Try to reflect upon who you are, why you want to enter into medicine, and what drives you to succeed. As you evaluate yourself, your drive, and your goals, you may come upon the perfect topic for your essay.
Writing the perfect outline for the perfect topic
Once you have a good idea of what topic or topics you want to write about, it would be helpful to come up with an outline to guide you on your writing. Here are some guidelines as you draft your outline:
- Come up with a solid thesis statement that will be the focus of your essay.
- You may want to write notes along the margins of your outline to jot down your ideas and feelings, which can help when it comes to writing your essay.
- Try using a sentence outline, so that your ideas and topics are clear.
- Make sure that your outline flows well from one topic to the next to ensure that your personal statement will read well.
