Write a dental school personal statement that sets you apart!

This pre-dental blog is brought to you by Crack the DAT. Crack the DAT offers all the resources you need to ace your Dental Admission Test, all in one place! Try it today: CrackDAT.com

Writing a personal statement can feel like a daunting task, especially when you’re staring at a blank page, unsure of where to even begin. You know you’re passionate about dentistry, but how do you put your motivations for pursuing a dental career into words, and how do you write a personal statement that sets your application apart?

We’ve got you covered. Read on for five tips for writing a stellar personal statement!

Start by brainstorming.

Start by tackling the greatest obstacles writers face — the dreaded blank page! Grab a piece of paper or open your Notes app, and start by writing down topics you could write about in your personal statement. At this stage in the process, don’t feel any pressure to filter or edit yourself — the goal is to be creative and let ideas flow freely. You might jot down memories of shadowing or volunteering experiences. You could write about the first time you knew with certainty that you wanted to pursue a career in dentistry. You could write about other unique stories, experiences, hobbies, or interests you have, even if they don’t directly relate to dentistry — you can always find a way to connect them to dentistry later. The objective is to gather as much inspiration as you can. Remember, you don’t need to brainstorm all at once. You can write down ideas as they come to you. Over the course of a week, you’ll likely be surprised at how much potential content you’ve come up with.

Plan out your main themes and “story arc.”

Now that you’ve brainstormed, look at your list of ideas. Do you notice any common themes? For example, maybe you realize that a lot of the activities you participate in relate to your love of connecting and communicating with others. Maybe you jotted down a few different memorable shadowing experiences. Highlight ideas that you feel are somehow connected or that could be written about in the same paragraph. Now that you’re starting to see connections between ideas, it’s time to figure out what’s most important to you. What do you absolutely want to include in your personal statement? What could you do without? Now is the time to be more selective. Remember that the goal of the personal statement is to expand on your application and portray something about yourself as a person. You don’t need or want to repeat all the same information from your application!

At this point, you’re ready to plan your story! Focusing on the most important themes on your brainstorming list, start imagining how (and in what order) you might tell your story. As you start to write, you may start to shuffle around your order, but this is your starting point.

Put extra thought into your introduction and conclusion. The introduction is what is going to grab your reader’s interest, and the conclusion is going to be their final impression of your personal statement. You might consider writing a circular ending, where you wrap up your ending by referencing something you mentioned in the introduction, to give your reader a feeling of complete closure.

Be honest, authentic, and creative.

You’re ready to get writing! Now that you have an outline of how you want to tell your story, it’s time to put your ideas into writing. As you begin, try not to be too self-critical — the editing phase will come later, and you will inevitably improve your initial draft. Most importantly, be honest and authentic. Your reader will be able to sense if your essay is full of exaggerations or isn’t a true representation of you. This is your statement, so you want it to be a genuine reflection of your reasons for pursuing a career in dentistry, and to showcase the experiences, strengths, and passions that only you can bring to the table!

Ask yourself some important questions.

Once you finish your first draft, congratulate yourself! The hardest part is done. Take some time to step away from your personal statement so that you can return to it with fresh eyes. Then, it’s time to start editing. The editing process involves more than just checking for grammar and spelling mistakes (which is, of course, also important!) You also want to ask yourself these questions:
— Is my personal statement flowing? Would it make more sense if I moved some paragraphs around?

— Looking back at my brainstorming list, is there anything else that I initially opted not to include, but that I would now like to add?

— Does my personal statement convey what I want it to convey about myself, my personality, my strengths, and my reasons for applying to dental school?

— Is my personal statement generally free of clichés? Although all future dental students share some similar reasons for choosing dentistry, such as wanting a hands-on career and wanting to make patients smile, avoid too many clichés or statements that aren’t really unique to you. Remember that admissions officers read hundreds of applications, so steering clear of clichés will help set your essay apart.

Get feedback.

Once you’ve finished your editing process and are happy with where your statement is at, it’s time to get some outside feedback. Send your statement to at least one trusted person. Don’t go overboard and send to too many people — you’ll be overwhelmed with (possibly conflicting) feedback. Ask your editors to answer some of the same questions you asked yourself: Does this statement feel authentic? Does it tell a clear story? Is it easily understandable and cohesive?

At the end of the day, you don’t need to take anyone’s feedback if you disagree with it, and you don’t want to lose your voice. However, getting at least one outside perspective can be incredibly helpful, especially if the feedback is coming from someone who you trust and who knows you well.

And you’re done!

You now have a personal statement that really represents the most important parts of your story. Give it one more read, and if you feel good about it, it’s time to put energy into other parts of your application. Feel confident in the statement you have written, knowing that you planned, wrote, and edited it intentionally and authentically!

If you have any questions or comments about writing a personal statement, let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and we wish you the best of luck in the writing process (and beyond)!

—

Join the Crack the DAT community, connect with other pre-dental students, and ask questions! Join the Facebook group here.

Crack your Dental Admission Test! Visit our website at CrackDAT.com.