Writing a dental school personal statement can be daunting because your career might depend on this piece of paper. Most students focus on DAT and GPA scores, but the personal statement is as important as the other two. Here, we will tell you what to include and most importantly what not to include in your statement.
A dental school personal statement needs to be perfectly curated in order to highlight things that aren’t mentioned in other places. You need to express how your application differs from a thousand other applications.
An AADSAS essay lets you add 4,500 characters or one page full of things to write. You will be asked about your interest in dental education and how your degree will contribute to your professional and personal growth.
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How to get started?
For starters, you need to assume that your dental school personal statement will be read by several people. They will collectively put feedback that will determine your career. You need to understand how to make the statement appealing enough to make it likable.
You need to start by working on your personal statement during the early spring semester or let’s say at least two months before the application process. Take help from experts who can guide you on how to write a personal statement and have it reviewed. You will have to create several drafts in order to bring perfection.
Hire letter writers or take help from the ones you know to check and approve your copy. They will be able to tell you if you’re on the right track or you need changes.
What to include in dental school personal statement?
Check out the things you must add in your statement while writing the essay:
- Why do you want to study dentistry?
- What motivates you about the subject?
- How can you demonstrate interest and commitment to this decision?
- What are your experiences and skills and how do you plan to expand it?
- Who is your role model who influenced your wish to become a dentist? What attributes from that person inspired you?
- What is your perception of this profession?
- All about your career goals
- Is there anything you specifically expect from a dental school that isn’t mentioned in the application?
You can also write about things like:
- The hardship that has got you here. The challenges and obstacles you faced in your educational background.
- The explanation for fluctuations in the academic record that isn’t explained anywhere.
- The additional personal statement is welcome but you need to be careful with the choice of words. Anything negative can go against you and make you lose the opportunity.
Mistakes to avoid in a dental school personal statement
Now that you have an idea about what to write, you need to know what not to write too. Check out the mistakes you need to avoid:
1. Not planning ahead
You can get lucky and have an easy selection process. But somewhere between the finishing the undergraduate program and preparing for DAT, you need to research and practice writing a statement. You might crack DAT or might not, but don’t go unprepared at any level.
People looking into your admission details will be sophisticated and educated. They have seen it all and will not spend much time on one personal statement. Since this is one aspect that you have the most control over, failing in it can leave a negative impact. In other words, you need to write the best dental school essay according to what the competition demands.
2. Write about childhood and parents
Even if you decided you want to be a dentist when you were small, you don’t need to add that here. By talking about childhood, we mean you need to give all the details about education and things you learned related to dentistry all through your life.
If your family history includes having dentists, you can add that too. This will show that you have been brought up with basic dentistry ideas or you know what is what. You have probably seen your mother do a root canal on someone while you were quietly in her chamber. You don’t need to add such details, but having a family history in the same industry counts. While writing you may need to count your words then word counter is the best tool to track your counting.
3. Using the personal statement to criticize the system
You might be aware of the ways this industry fails to offer hygiene or care to the masses. But your personal statement is not the place you want to rant about it. You, joining the industry, is your step ahead towards growth, development, and contribution to it. You should write about how to plan to make it better and not talk about negative aspects. Be focused on the specific actions you plan to do to make patients happy.
4. Forget to write about dexterity
You should mention a few lines about dexterity. You can mention playing an instrument, drawing, planting, and more. These are ways to add hand-on career appeal and ensure the reviewers about your physical abilities.
Your dexterity has a lot to do with how well you can carry out operations and dental care procedures. Add experiences about research and trials if any, to make your profile more credible and interesting.
5. Emphasize lifestyle over career
There are many aspiring dentists who speak about how important their lifestyle is. It is not surprising that they are also the ones trying to pay heavy fees to pursue their goals. Your career can shape your lifestyle and that should come before anything else. You need to know how to express that and also believe it to be true. Only then can you be committed in a profession like this.
Final thoughts
These are some of the tips you need to follow when writing your personal statement. Note that the admission officers will not be interested to know about what you do during your spare time. You need to add more about your credibility and keep the fluff out of your content. Make it crisp and clear, make it interesting and appealing.
