LANCASTER UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SOCIETY
Personal Statement
We know how difficult it can be to write a personal statement and essentially, 'sell yourself' to potential universities.
Our WP officer, Salma, has teamed up with medical students around the North, to give all of you potential applicants a helping hand.
I was lucky in that I got a lot of help from my college in how to write a good personal statement. The most important thing was to keep the majority of the piece closely related to medicine, even if this means omitting something that you feel is more of an achievement.
I also mentioned a gold CREST award that I completed during college and the work experience I had done in a nursing home. The last paragraph was then dedicated to things that weren’t related to medicine, such as hobbies, sport, NCS and Duke of Edinburgh awards, to show that you’re a well-rounded individual and know how to manage your time.
My main piece of advice is don’t worry if you haven’t been on placements or done work experience in hospitals- some people simply don’t have access to opportunities like these (I didn’t!). Instead, find volunteering opportunities where you care for and look after others, then reflect on these experiences and why the qualities gained would make you a great candidate!
Maddie Marshall, Year 2, Lancaster Medical School
Writing your personal statement is your time to shine, and to tell all the medical schools why they should give you a place.
Your first sentence is key, make it original, gripping and to the point. Without a doubt you have to include why you want to be a doctor, but you also must talk about your achievements, your experiences in healthcare settings, any employment you’ve had and then your extra-curricular hobbies or interests You need to come across as a well-rounded person and someone who is adaptable and suited to a career in medicine.
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You can structure your paragraphs to be about things you’ve seen, done or achieved and then weave in how this has developed a certain characteristic, taught you a certain skill or made you who you are.
Start your personal statement, write a section, leave it and then come back to it; do not try and write it all at once, develop it over time.
Finally, don’t be afraid to make it your own, thousands of people apply to medical school so make your personal statement the one that they’ll remember, the one that catches their eye.
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Anna Clark, 2nd year student - Liverpool Medical School
Writing a personal statement can seem like a daunting task – where do you start, what do you write and how can you fit everything into one page?
Firstly – why medicine? What interests you about medicine? How do your current a-level subjects relate to medicine? What steps have you taken to find out more about medicine? What research have you done – whether this be work experience, talking to doctors or even reading books or articles? What qualities do you have that would make you a suitable candidate and makes you stand out from the crowd? This is not just listing all the qualities you have but giving examples of when you have displayed these qualities in different situations.
Show that you have a life outside your studies! This may sound harsh, but medical schools are looking for all-rounders – do you play sports, do you love baking or are you part of a chess club? This could be any extracurricular activity you do - even any part time work! The best way to go about the task is just start! Yes – it does not matter if your first draft is not perfect; you have many chances to perfect it!
Asmaa Ali, Year 2 - Lancaster Medical School
After visiting open days, it became apparent to me that the most important thing to include within my personal statement was what I had learned from all of my experiences. It was not important to discuss what I had seen, or how much shadowing I had done, but actually, what I had taken from those experiences and how I thought they were important to medicine, eg: teamwork, communication.
I had a little battle with school about what was right to include in my personal statement. My biggest piece of advice would be to make it sound like you. If you write sounding like yourself, and about things you’ve enjoyed and things that are important to you then you will produce something that reflects your personality. Don’t worry about sounding too academic and including loads of academic quotes etc- it’s a PERSONAL statement about yourself.
Sally Lawrence, Year 2, Lancaster Medical School
A personal statement is a 4000-character piece of writing as part of a UCAS application describing you and why you want to study medicine. It must however, explain not only why you want to study medicine but also why you are suited to medicine and why a university should choose you over the many other candidates.
It should highlight your experiences, achievements and interests with a clear focus on reflection. It is integral for a personal statement to not just state what you’ve done but what you have learnt from your experiences and how this makes you suited to studying medicine and ultimately being a good doctor.
Work experience/volunteering experience should make up the majority of your personal statement with clear reflection on your experiences and demonstrating what skills you have taken from these.
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Alice Charles, Intercalating 3rd Year - Manchester Medical School
Perhaps the hardest part about writing a personal statement is that everyone you speak to will give you different advice. We hope that this page has helped you to understand the need to make it personal to you and the main themes that all medical schools are looking for.