Overview
Market Yourself
Do not rewrite an AAMCAS essay
The personal statement is not your CV.
Don't get cute
Editing is key
Read and re-read
Pace yourself

The personal statement gives you the opportunity to introduce yourself to residency programs and your letter writers Your personal statement is similar to your AAMCAS essay for application to medical school. The personal statement is a brief description of yourself, both professional and personal, that will be submitted to all residency programs, and should be given to your letter of recommendation writers. (Note: You can have multiple versions of the personal statement. In fact, you could submit a different personal statement to every program if you chose to! ERAS will ask you which personal statement you want to designate for each program.)

You need to market yourself to residency programs Residency programs receive hundreds of applications each year for a very limited number of positions. You need to explain why they should want you as a part of their program. You need to effectively tell programs what your specialty choice is, and why you chose that field. Don't make it a big secret that you reveal at the end of your personal statement. Make sure from the very beginning it is crystal clear which field you are applying in. Topics you should definitely discuss are: how you came to your decision to enter specialty X, and your medical school experience (this may be included in your discussion about specialty choice, research experience, outside interests, any time not spent in school, qualities you are looking for in a residency program, and any career goals you have at this point i.e., where do you see yourself in the future?) In describing your specialty choice, avoid statements like, "ever since I saw my cat give birth when I was nine years old, I wanted to be an obstetrician." Such statements are simply not convincing and will seem superficial to people reading your letter. As far as research, if your specialty choice is not heavily research driven, do not spend too much space describing in excruciating detail every aspect of the research you have conducted. Use the space to introduce the research. During the interview you may be asked to explain your research in more detail. Every program wants to know what you are like as a person, so a description of your extra curricular interests and hobbies may be included. This need not be a large portion of your personal statement. Often, two or three sentences are enough to give readers a sense of your well-rounded personality. Be sure to explain, or at least mention any time you spent outside of academia performing research, working, traveling, etc. Probably the topic that is most often neglected in the personal statement is what you are looking for in a program. The programs know exactly what kind of candidates they are looking for, and you should remember the program is called the "match" exactly because it hopes to match applicants and programs together in a way such that both parties get what they want. The process is not only about having programs select you; it's also about you selecting the programs you are interested in. If you are looking for an academic program, a program with research opportunities, or a community based program, go ahead and share this in your personal statement. Again, remember that you can make changes to the personal statement that you submit to particular residency programs. Programs are interested in what you intend to do with their residency training. They want to know if you are interested in fellowships (although they know you may change your mind later), pursing research, or getting a job in academia.

Do not rewrite an AAMCAS essay Applicants to residency programs are going to be physicians. There is no need to spend time explaining in detail your decision to become a physician. Many applicants make the mistake of dedicating one-third to one-half of their personal statement retelling their AAMCAS essay.

The personal statement is not a narrative version of your CV Programs receive a version of your CV from ERAS or on paper. Avoid wasting valuable personal statement real estate by rehashing your CV. Also, you need not mention your USMLE scores, course grades, etc. unless you feel a strong need to do so. The personal statement may be your chance to explain any areas of potential concern on your academic record If you experienced circumstances that have adversely affected your academic or clinical performance, the personal statement can give you a chance to explain in your own words what happened to you. However, use this chance carefully, as it potentially draws more attention to perceived flaws in your application.

Don't get cute Avoid personal statements that are too out of the ordinary. Not everyone likes creativity. Remember that your application needs to be professional from start to finish. Personal statements written in the form of an admission history and physical, story, newspaper article, or other "creative" methods are unnecessary and can probably hurt more than they help. For every reader that may be entertained by these formats, there may be five that feel it unprofessional and inappropriate.

Editing your personal statement is key The personal statement must be grammatically flawless. Any typographical error, spelling mistake, misplaced comma, or run-on sentence will appear unprofessional to program directors. As a resident, you will be expected to write admission history and physical exam reports and daily progress notes. Residency programs may wonder what kind of notes you will write on the wards given limited time if your personal statement, which you had weeks, even months to perfect, contains mistakes. Remember that all this information should fit on one typewritten page. There is not a lot of space to waste, so each sentence should be very carefully crafted and should serve a purpose. Each sentence needs to be essential. When it comes to editing, sometimes the most difficult part comes to shortening the personal statement. Ask yourself if each sentence is absolutely needed.

Get people to read and re-read your personal statement Often it becomes difficult to edit work that you have written yourself. Small mistakes can be easily overlooked by the author. Ask your peers, residents, faculty, and residency advisors to read your personal statement. Be open to criticism, as often an extra opinion can bring major improvements to a personal statement. If you can find a faculty member at your institution who has experience in reading residency personal statements, ask for help.

Don't get so caught up in writing your personal statement that you neglect other aspects of the application The entire application process is all about timing and organization. Do not spend so much time writing your personal statement that you neglect other areas of your application, such as asking for letters of recommendation. While it is true that the personal statement is important, remember to keep the entire process in perspective and don't kill yourself over writing it.