Personal Statement

I'm in year 12 and I was pre-reading on medical school personal statements. There's a lot of emphasis on leadership skills however with all of the supercurriculars and volunteering I've done I haven't really found any leadership opportunities. Is there still a point in me applying in October or should I rethink my options?

Reply 1

Tulipbloom

11

Original post by Lara_S123

I'm in year 12 and I was pre-reading on medical school personal statements. There's a lot of emphasis on leadership skills however with all of the supercurriculars and volunteering I've done I haven't really found any leadership opportunities. Is there still a point in me applying in October or should I rethink my options?

Hey current med student here! I actually didn't put any of my leadership positions down on my PS so although it is greatly emphasized, you don't have to necessarily put it down.

Reply 2

applytomedicine

4

Original post by Lara_S123

I'm in year 12 and I was pre-reading on medical school personal statements. There's a lot of emphasis on leadership skills however with all of the supercurriculars and volunteering I've done I haven't really found any leadership opportunities. Is there still a point in me applying in October or should I rethink my options?

Hey! I’m a current NHS doctor, have sat on medical school interview panels and read 100’s of personal statements. The short answer is that it is definitely still worth applying!

The longer answer is that lots of successful applicants do not have a formal leadership position. What I would say however is that you need a couple of examples where you can demonstrate the attributes of a good leader. This might be through something you experienced during work experience or an extra curricular activity. A good example is often a story of how you led your team through some kind of adversity to a good outcome. This doesn’t necessarily need to make it to the final personal statement draft, but could come up at interview, so good you are thinking about how you could demonstrate these attributes.