How can I make my medical school personal statement stand out?

1.      Don’t focus too much on your academics. Universities will already have access to this information and with the limited character count for your personal statement, every word counts. That’s why you should focus on other things such as extra-curricular achievements, reflection on work experience or personal qualities that would make you a good doctor.2.      When talking about work experience, don’t just list what you did but reflect on what you learnt. It’s more useful to talk about how your time at the hospital taught you about the day to day to life of a doctor than saying you simply shadowed a doctor. In essence, reflection is key here. On a similar note, don’t panic if you don’t have heaps of clinical experience. It’s difficult to find and organise and often you need to know someone to have any chance. Aim smaller as these can be just as good. Local care homes, hospices and GP surgeries are great places to start and you will have lots of experiences to reflect on.3.      Finally, make it clear why you should be chosen over anyone else. Medical schools receive thousands of applications, you need to make it obvious why you deserve a place more than anybody else. Convey your passion for medicine, for science and for helping people. Show how you have already done this and how you want to continue doing it.