“Aha” Moment

Personal statements in this category focus on a lightbulb moment or inciting incident when an applicant decided to pursue medicine. This single, meaningful moment put them on a trajectory toward a career in medicine or significantly changed the way that they view the field.

Creative Hook

Personal statements in this category begin with a unique and creative introductory paragraph, demonstrating how an essay can simultaneously catch a reader’s attention and introduce key ideas and themes.

Healthcare Disparities

Personal statements in this category focus on one of two key paths toward medicine, either (1) an applicant’s firsthand experience of healthcare disparities in their community or (2) their longstanding commitment to fighting against healthcare disparities through volunteer work or employment. These essays often discuss social determinants of health, such as income, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.

Humanities in Medicine

Personal statements in this category discuss how applicants were inspired by and hope to apply the tenets of the humanities—such as story, narrative, personal history, relationship building—within medicine.

Immigrant/Immigrant Family

Personal statements in this category focus on how an applicant’s membership in an immigrant community or family inspired their pursuit or understanding of medicine. The applicants from these essays are typically first- or second-generation Americans with close ties to their family’s country of origin or culture from which they draw core values.

International Applicant

Personal statements in this category feature applicants who were born or raised outside of the US for a significant portion of their lives, even during the application cycle itself. Strictly speaking, international applicants hold citizenship in another country and apply to a US medical school while holding residency elsewhere, even if they worked towards their undergraduate degree in the US.

Nontraditional Applicant

Personal statements in this category discuss less typical or traditional paths to a career in medicine, such as having taken an extensive gap year period (e.g., greater than five years) or having pursued another career before pursuing medicine.

Osteopathic/Holistic Medicine

Personal statements in this category are examples of strong essays to send to DO programs, as they focus on holistic healing, social determinants of health, the mind/body connection, and more.

Patient Applicant

Personal statements in this category feature applicants who are or have been patients themselves, either due to a chronic condition or a traumatic injury. Essays in this category demonstrate how the applicant’s illness or injury drove their initial pursuit of a career in medicine.

Physician Parents

Personal statements in this category are from applicants inspired by their parent’s or parents’ careers to pursue medicine, sometimes reluctantly at first and sometimes with enthusiasm. Although applicants who have physician parents are not required to discuss this attribute in their essay, if they choose to, they should ensure that they explore their genuine passion for medicine apart from their parents’ influence, too.

Public/Community Health

Personal statements in this category focus on public health issues like epidemics, addiction, lack of community resources, and more. Authors of these essays are often passionate about becoming a community health physician at a free clinic or working in primary care or public health to combat these issues.

Religious Applicant

Although many applicants may identify as religious, many avoid this topic in their personal statement because it can feel safer to do so. Personal statements in this category feature applicants who cannot separate their pursuit of medicine from their religious values and beliefs. Notice how all applicants here focus on the positive values that their religious or spiritual beliefs instilled in them that will be helpful in medicine.

Sick Family Member

Many applicants are drawn to pursue medicine due to an illness or injury in their family, so personal statements in this category focus on how those inciting or catalyzing incidents spurred an applicant to apply to medical school.

Texas/TMDSAS Applicant

Personal statements in this category feature applicants from Texas or interested in practicing medicine in Texas. Although not explicitly required, if applying through TMDSAS, applicants should strive to touch upon their familiarity with Texas communities, as schools often highly favor in-state residents.

Longstanding Interest in Medicine

Personal statements in this category cover a wide breadth of experiences and goals; however, their uniting trait is that all tell the story of an applicant who has known since childhood or the beginning of college that they wanted to pursue medicine.

Unusual Path to Medicine

Personal statements in this category feature applicants who face an unusual “aha” moment, often one that isn’t obviously related to medicine on the surface. These essays unpack how seemingly unrelated experiences—sometimes in another major, with animals, or with a separate hobby—drew the applicant to medicine and resulted in a unique and surprising perspective on its practice.

Women’s/Reproductive Health

Personal statements in this category involve applicants interested in a career primarily serving women or addressing reproductive issues. Some essays in this category focus heavily on advocacy efforts to protect women’s reproductive care; however, all are careful to focus on the medical consequences rather than broad political statements.