The Student Room Group

Personal Statements of successful Medicine applicants

Hello, I am wondering if any successful Medical applicants out there (preferably from the Red Brick universities, Oxbridge or UoL) would be kind enough to share their UCAS personal statements with the rest of us, so that those who will be applying for admission this year will have a reference/guide. Also, I'm sure that other successful medics would be keen to read the PSs of their fellow medics. I would deeply appreciate this kind gesture.

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Reply 1
Nutter
Hello,
I am currently applying to the medicine faculty and is wondering if anyone could enlighten me on how to write a good personal statement. It would really be of a great help to me. Thank you!!:smile:

Aren't you reading PPE @ Oxford?

*points to your signature*
Reply 2
Knogle
Aren't you reading PPE @ Oxford?

*points to your signature*

Yes, but this is for a good friend of mine who will be applying to Medicine and is worried about his PS. Thanks in advance.

Also, what "I" wrote above was actually written by that friend of mine using my account. I've edited the OP now.
Reply 3
I might have a paper copy somewhere in a folder of old UCAS stuff in a drawer somewhere in my bedroom at home - but don't have an easily accessible one & being paranoid would probably want to blank out anything remotely distinguishing! :redface:

But on the reference/guide note have posted some of my thoughts on medical PSs before. :smile:

me in that old linked thread


<removed random banter>

but for generic 'what should be in a PS' type stuff i thought i'd post here so everyone can see.. (as ever, with the standard disclaimer, i'm obviously not actually an admissions tutor! but i'm going into my 3rd year now & have been involved with various uni access & admissions-y stuff, got 3 offers my time round coming from a school pretty switched on with medicine apps., have now observed 3 online forum intakes & been critiquing PS since last year. although all this is just my opinion.)

so - firstly.. it's a personal statement. by all means use templates etc. to guide you & perhaps listen to advice, but ultimately it's you it's selling.. & your name on the ap. so don't be pressured into things & perhaps don't take too many opinions all pulling you in a different direction.

might be handy to start off making a list of all the things you've done in terms of work experience/voluntary work. even if you didn't expressly do them with medicine in mind (good, good, that's what i like to see :p: ) things you've been involved in - school community service, charity projects, volunteer work etc. are all highly relevant.

secondly the 'selling yourself' part - that's what it is, the chance to have your say on the ap. & is basically designed to get you to interview. as we all probably know medicine is fairly tough to even get an interview for, especially at some unis - so definitely worth time crafting your PS.

lying is very bad. & highly likely you'll get caught out either at interview or some point in your career which can void any offers/places etc. presenting yourself in a light that looks uber fantastic, yet true, is not bad & is necessary. avoid faux modesty or underplaying your suitability for medicine... but similarly - you want the AT to think you'd be a nice student to have around & ultimately a good Dr, not recoil in horror at your arrogance. :wink:

in terms of language - it's my thoughts that a medicine PS should be of the ilk of 'clear concise effective communication' not 'verbose highly sophisticated rhetoric masterpiece' that might be better suited to a less vocational, more academic & wordy degree. someone to check for grammar, spelling, punctuation is handy. remember - ATs have plenty to read & not much time to devote to all - don't be remembered for the wrong reasons or let silly avoidable mistakes over shadow the content.

on this note - they don't have long - don't waffle on or make vague grand statements about saving the world & helping people.. keep it foccused, concise & realistic/evidenced. & as a stylistic point i'd try & avoid potentially patronising overtly must-tick-boxes statements like 'team work is very important for good doctors & effective hospitals. i have shown my teamwork in..' they know what qualities they're looking for & why they're releveant!

so content..

WHY MEDICINE is the vital question. be honest, really think. our med. co-ordinator just kept asking 'why' to all my 'i like science & people' type offerings.. until i got at what i think is the real reason. assuming this isn't entirely offputting 'i like dead bodies' then honesty is a good thing. being more unique & refreshing is also good.

but you need to elaborate on this & say HOW you know medicine is right for you.. ah yes, the all important work experience. should be at least a significant paragraph. & remember to focuss on what you learnt, not a list of what you saw.

other content you may want to include - any unusual subjects - how would they help you study medicine?
voluntary activities? emphasise these, especially if they show sustained commitment etc. what did you learn again?
then extra curriculars - what do you gain from these. leadership, teamwork, relaxation all relevant here

perhaps check the uni prospectuses to see what qualities/skills they mention as important.particularly emphasise & make sure you cover them? especially for non interviewing unis!

you might want to make your PS more academic - have you read any popular science books? read any journals? etc. BUT prepare to be grilled on them at interviews.. & remember - while this may turn on some schools, it may turn of others so to speak..

a note on academics - i would avoid any mention of your UMS results/school prizes etc. have your referee deal with this (make sure they KNOW - we filled in forms to remind them..) - firstly it makes it look more official & secondly - saves value PS space for the important personal qualities.

future ambitions? controversy over this - read the other thread.

& finally - a conclusion - don't just stop!
the intro & conclusion are VITAL. i personally think the conclusion is the hardest.. perhaps what you're especially looking forward to at med school, why you could be a good dr etc?

Hope this may help. :biggrin:



"preferably from the Red Brick universities, Oxbridge or UoL" - isn't much of a useful category when referring to medical schools though? the university = reputation issue isn't so relevant to a medical career. & the courses/admissions procedures vary hugely between the universities included in there!
Reply 4
Agree with Elles. I have it, but am not posting it. It's my personal statement. I have no problem reading peoples PS and offering pointers, but that's as far as I go.

IIRC, Manchester have some good PS pointers on their website.
Reply 5
Yea our Deputy Head got the Manchester guidlines and typed them all out into a nice little booklet for us and I used that to write mine. Still got me a straight rejection from Manchester :biggrin: But that wasn't because of anything I didn't put in, it was simply lack of DofE and Sports
parag
Yea our Deputy Head got the Manchester guidlines and typed them all out into a nice little booklet for us and I used that to write mine. Still got me a straight rejection from Manchester :biggrin: But that wasn't because of anything I didn't put in, it was simply lack of DofE and Sports


You got rejected because you didn't have DofE and sports? :eek:

(I get the feeling I read that passage wrong, but hey..)
I used the manc guide and got no rejections without interviews. I don't do sports and got interviewed on the first day (it was just a terrible interview).

What elles posted in that quote is very good advice. A medicine personal statement can feel a little like box ticking. If you PM me then i can send you mine, but i don't know how much use it will be.
LouisaG
You got rejected because you didn't have DofE and sports? :eek:

(I get the feeling I read that passage wrong, but hey..)


Don't worry - i didn't do DofE and the only sport i do is horseriding, so don't worry too much! ECs don't have to be sporty.
Reply 9
friendlyneutron
Don't worry - i didn't do DofE and the only sport i do is horseriding, so don't worry too much! ECs don't have to be sporty.

:eek: woah! the only sport i do too is horseriding....had we not had exactly the same score on each section of the bmat as well..i wouldve let this just go...this is freaky!:biggrin: :redface:
Reply 10
Yep you needed >75/100 for an interview and I had 71.

On Leadership Skills I had 4/10 and Interests/Hobbies/Sports 2/5, so had I done DofE and been in any sports teams it probably would've gotten me an interview. That, and all the people who were interviewed from my school had done DofE.
It helps if you got a way with words too. 2 applicants might be identical but the way the present themselves in their personal statement makes a huge difference. Your first para has to be the bomb like the best para you've ever written in your life lol.
Reply 12
friendlyneutron
Don't worry - i didn't do DofE and the only sport i do is horseriding, so don't worry too much! ECs don't have to be sporty.


What do you think got you the offer, (although they are both significant), the PS or the interview?
Also, what kind of ECs aside from sport/DoE do you think are worth mentioning?

Thanks.
Optimistic
What do you think got you the offer, (although they are both significant), the PS or the interview?
Also, what kind of ECs aside from sport/DoE do you think are worth mentioning?

Thanks.


I think they're both really important, but I think interviews are probably more important - particularly for Oxbridge - as PSs can be a bit monotonous.

RE other ECs - I do a lot of debating (not as much now as it's near exam time) and coach younger pupils, so I talked a bit about that, being a charity/year group representative and a prefect, babysitting, first aid for the Red Cross and making weekly visits to a nursing home. The only sports I mentioned on my PS were horseriding and netball. To be honest, I didn't talk much on my PS about ECs, the majority of my PS was on work experience, why medicine, what interests me in particular about medicine, books that I've read, science projects and the like. Always try and show how your ECs are relevant to medicine - whether it be enhancing your leadership skills, communication skills, ability to work in a team etc.
Reply 14
friendlyneutron
I think they're both really important, but I think interviews are probably more important - particularly for Oxbridge - as PSs can be a bit monotonous.

RE other ECs - I do a lot of debating (not as much now as it's near exam time) and coach younger pupils, so I talked a bit about that, being a charity/year group representative and a prefect, babysitting, first aid for the Red Cross and making weekly visits to a nursing home. The only sports I mentioned on my PS were horseriding and netball. To be honest, I didn't talk much on my PS about ECs, the majority of my PS was on work experience, why medicine, what interests me in particular about medicine, books that I've read, science projects and the like. Always try and show how your ECs are relevant to medicine - whether it be enhancing your leadership skills, communication skills, ability to work in a team etc.

Excellent advice there. From the sound of it, it's no surprise why you received an offer for A100 from Cambridge. :smile:
friendlyneutron
Don't worry - i didn't do DofE and the only sport i do is horseriding, so don't worry too much! ECs don't have to be sporty.


Heh, I'm okay, I do DofE Gold and play a lot of squash (team, competition and for fun) and other stuff.

I was just shocked that they reject people on terms that seem so irrelevant to medicine.
Reply 16
LouisaG
I was just shocked that they reject people on terms that seem so irrelevant to medicine.


If it's the only difference between 2 candidates with otherwise identical qualifications and experience...
Fluffy
If it's the only difference between 2 candidates with otherwise identical qualifications and experience...


Yeah, I suppose. If I think of my own experiences within sport/DofE, I've definitely learnt a lot and grown as a person because of it. Learning how to work in a team (especially when you don't particularly like the people in it) has been pretty interesting and worthwhile for medicine too, I guess.
Reply 18
wel i got an offa from SGUL so i guess ma PS wil be of no interest to you hehehe
Reply 19
i offers from glasgow, aberdeen, dundee and st andrews with my statement. so if anyone wants a read feal free to PM me!