Personal Statements

I'm in year 12 and I've been doing some pre-reading on personal statements.
There's a lot of emphasis on leadership skills and despite me doing lots of volunteering and supercurriculars, I feel like I haven't done much leadership. Should I still apply in October?

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

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The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread
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Medicine A-Level subjects queries
Work Experience and Voluntary Work

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Official Undergraduate Medicine 2023 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2023 Entry
Medicine 2023 entry for resit / retake / gap year applicants
A100 Medicine for International Students 2023 Entry
Medicine Interview discussion 2023 Entry
2023 entry A100 / A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Index of Individual Medical School Applicants' threads 2023 Entry

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Useful Articles:
GCSE Requirements for Medicine
Everything you need to know about the BMAT
Work Experience as a Graduate or Mature student
Medicine Personal Statement Advice
Medicine Personal Statement Advice (Graduate Entry)
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What to do after an unsuccessful first application

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Reply 2

DoctorJorts

Yes, still apply.

Don't overthink the personal statement, it's really not the most important part of your application. Medical schools have several thousand applications to sift through - they're looking at your GCSEs, A-levels (or equivalents), interview scores. They're not sat with three thousand personal statements printed out on a big conference table being like, 'well, X said they led scout camp, but Y mentored a year seven student'.

The main thing I would say about the personal statement is, just, don't mess it up. Check the spelling and the writing quality is at least okay - obvious errors might be a red flag. Check that it definitely reads as an application to medicine and doesn't sound like you're hedging your bets and maybe applying for biology too, that can be a red flag. Don't accidentally be racist (not even a joke).

Schools will tend to focus a lot on the personal statement because it's something they know how to advise on. The much more important thing I would suggest is that you start researching entry requirements as thoroughly as possible make sure you meet them exactly, and that you don't do anything that could make you ineligible. Most rejections are because candidates just narrowly missed some criteria, few are to do with personal statements.

Reply 3

ladybug222

You miss every opportunity you don't take!!

I reached out to an advisor to assist me with my application, which really helped me write my personal statement. I am an international student though, and personal statements in my country are quite different from how they are in the UK

Reply 4

applytomedicine

Hi, I’m a NHS doctor and medicine application tutor. The personal statement is important - but it’s your opportunity to highlight your own strengths. So my advice would be, while great to try and find a good opportunity to demonstrate this skill, to not get bogged down in it and to focus on demonstrating some of the other equally important attributes medical schools are looking for! When it comes to the interview stage, that’s a different story and it’s important to have at least 1 good example of a time you’ve developed leadership skills up your sleeve! Candidates often confuse a leadership formal position (great) with demonstrating a time where you’ve demonstrated excellent leadership skills (also great!). This might be extracurricular related - e.g navigating your team out of a tricky situation. I’ve read 100’s of personal statements and sat on med school interview panels - I’m very happy to help if any specific questions!