Personal Statement - What to Include? (Part 2/3)

The second part of our Personal Statement Series is here, written by The Sassy Medic.

My first bit of advice is to make sure you take a bit of time between your last exam and starting your personal statement. Allow yourself a bit of down time. Once you are ready to start your personal statement it is important to know what needs to go it in.

Here is a list of my top 8 tips!

Make a list of everything you want to include and categories then into groups (this will probably change as you start writing)
A good structure is really important, you should try to include 4 sections each covering a different aspect:
why medicine?
what experience do you have?
What are your extracurricular interests/hobbies?
Closing statement.
To start your statement, try to be different to everyone else. If you have a personal experience or insight this is a good place to include it.
When writing about work experience state what you learned not just what you did.
Include hobbies and interest, this should only be a small part of your statement but if you have anything you are particularly proud of write about it. Are you a professional athlete? Can you play an instrument? Are you artistic?
A short but memorable closing statement is vital as it is the last thing the admissions tutors read about you.
Make edits and change things. A first draft is just that!
Before submitting make sure all your spelling and grammar is correct - it can be good to ask someone else to read through.

Wishing you all the best with your personal statements!

Remember we offer our Step2State service that involves unlimited reviews for your personal statement once you’ve written it. Get in touch via our website or email hello@step2med.co.uk if you are interested.

As always, if you have any questions please email us and the tutors are available daily to help you with any queries you may have.

The third article on personal statements will be published next week.

This piece was written by The Sassy Medic (Instagram @the.sassy.medic), and reviewed by Dr Pooja Devani, Step2Med.