All Blog Posts Tagged 'personal' (4)

Okay, you’ve calmed down after your initial essay-writing anxiety, and you still don’t know where to begin.  How do you capture your whole life in the meager number of characters allotted?

Whether you’re feeling stuck or feeling overwhelmed by all the ideas bouncing around in your head, a stellar technique to start with is called Clustering, also known as Mind Mapping.  Clustering is a visual form of brainstorming that allows you to free associate around a chosen…

Can you write a kick-ass personal statement for medical school in only five minutes a day? I have a great method that will get you exactly that.

Before I tell you this awesome writing technique, let me put things into a bit of context:

1) It's really hard to find the time to sit down and spend four hours writing an amazing essay; most applicants try to do this right before the…

Two weeks ago I blogged about the importance of using your personal statement to showcase your accomplishments, while ensuring your essay does not become a resume in prose. In the “The Sound of a Sentence,” Constance Hale reviews techniques a writer can use to invigorate his or her compositions.

During my medical school admissions process, I introduced myself to my Duke interviewer…

Recently, an applicant asked me how to write a personal statement that distinguished him without regurgitating his resume.

Although highlighting your achievements is critical to make you stand out as a distinctive applicant, you can avoid simply repeating your curriculum vitae by giving a sense of your motivation, dedication, and personality with your choice of words and details. You can also express yourself through the weight you place on your varied accomplishments.

Writing…