PERSONAL STATEMENT
Dental
schools are looking for why you want to be a dentist. They want to gain insight into your committement, maturity, and sincerity. They also look at your writing ability and
self-knowledge.
Topics
to write about…
Why
you want to be a dentist
What
experiences led you to this career decision
Describe
the experiences you have gain rather than a laundry lists of the experiences
Describe
yourself and how you can fit into the field of dentistry
Write
about what kind of impact you want to have on the community through dentistry
Write
reflective rather than descriptively
Focus
on something you feel passionate about
Try
to provide potential conversational material for the interview
Steer
clear of controversial opinions on subjects such as religion and politics
Remember
that dentists not English teachers will be reading this
How to
prepare for writing your personal statement
Outlines
Organize
and prioritize the things you would like to say
Use
specific examples when describing experiences
Use
proper essay format (i.e. introduction, develop, close)
Free-writing
Sit
and brainstorm
Write
about whatever comes to mind
Go
back and look for a common theme
Organize
your thoughts
Edit
for appropriateness and length
Introduce
and close properly
DO…
Be
sincere and honest
Let
your personality come through in your writing
Write
positively about your attributes (i.e. I always arrive too early which causes me
to do a lot of waiting.)
Address
the issue briefly and move on
Write
more about “how” than “what”
Use
recent experiences rather than old ones
Use
specific examples instead of generalized ones
DO NOT…
Include
everything
Sacrifice
content for creativity
Use one
example try ~3 (remember be concise)
Focus
on others
Make
excuses
Apologize,
get emotional or melodramatic
Be
arrogant
Use
quotes, colloquialisms or clichés
Attempt
to be humorous
Be
sure to
PROOFREAD
and PROOFREAD TWO MORE TIMES
Have
at least 2 people read your essay and provide feedback