Aisa Osayuki Estelle

The personal statement is arguably the most important part of your med school application (depending on who you ask). You have 5300 characters max to explain why you want to go to med school (this is usually about a page and a half long). There are so many paths to take when writing your personal statement so how you write is completely up to you. This website has a few examples of the directions people go with their personal statement. I highly suggest you check it out if you're not sure how to start. I'm going to give some general tips about what to incorporate in your personal statement and then I'll tell you how I wrote mine.

Personal Statement Tips

• PROOFREAD! You should type your personal statement into Word or something with spell check before submitting it to AMCAS. But mistakes include more the misspelled words. For example, if you write about a patient you met and you used a fake name (to maintain their privacy), make sure you use that same name throughout the entire essay. Also check for grammatical errors.
• Have as many people possible look over your statement. They're probably going to catch things that you didn't.
• The essay can't be changed after you submit it so make sure it's perfect.
• Make sure it's not just a narrative form of your resume ("I want to be a doctor because I shadowed... then I volunteered... In 1995, I worked...").
• Keep it relevant. If you want to mention how Dr. So-and-so had a great impact on your decision to become a doctor, that's fine. But don't spend two or three paragraphs talking about his achievements. Keep the essay about you.
• Be unique. It's likely that you and many other applicants will have similar experiences. Think hard and ask other people. What can you say about yourself that no one else can? Yes, you'll have some things in common with other applicants, but you're still different and there are things about you that make you special.
• Don't get fancy with your writing. No writing in all CAPS or only lower-case letters. Don't write a poem either.
• Don't lie about (or exaggerate) your life and do not plagiarize someone else's work.
• Avoid controversial topics. You could risk alienating someone who does not agree with you.
• Think ahead. You might be asked to explain details during an interview so make sure you feel strongly about what you wrote.
• Include specific experiences and how they impacted you
• Things to consider including
• Significant hardships or obstacles that might have affected your education
• Explain bad grades if they aren't explained elsewhere in your application - don't apologize or give excuses though. Talk about what you learned from it and how you improved.
• Note: when it comes to bad grades, it's important to have an upward trend. It looks really bad to explain what you learned from your bad grade but show no improvement in your transcript. That tells the committee that you didn't actually learn anything.
• Questions to consider
• Who are you?
• Why do you want to be a doctor? TO HELP PEOPLE IS NOT A GOOD ANSWER. Not by itself anyway. Most professions allow you to help people in one way or another so that doesn't explain why you want to be a doctor. Be specific. What happened in your life that made you realize medicine is your passion? What helped develop your interest afterwards? 
• What do you want medical schools to know about you that hasn't been disclosed in another part of the application?
• How do your experiences prove that you have the characteristics you say you have?
• Keep in mind that the readers are not medical specialists.

My Personal Statement

A while ago, Will and I made a YouTube channel. After three videos, we started getting requests from our subscribers (and some friends) to start vlogging. So as of November 23rd, we became professional vloggers :) If you're interested in that kind of thing, I encourage you to check us out!

Our most recent upload is a video of us sharing our most embarrassing moments.


I'm not going to lie, I was apprehensive about uploading it after watching the finished product. But some time ago, I realized that I had started to take myself too seriously and it often times brought down my mood. Since maybe around April or May, I've been a lot more light hearted and I've noticed a big change. I'm so much happier now than I was before and I even noticed a difference in my self-esteem. And though sometimes I have to remind myself to not take things too seriously, I'm improving every day. This video was a big step out of my comfort zone but I'm glad I did it. And I'm so happy I was able to make this video with Will. He's always been good at laughing at himself and maintaining his happiness. I don't know why I didn't notice this before. It seems intuitive that overthinking is bad for you, but I was too wrapped up in the idea of perfection that I didn't realize how my thinking affected my emotional well-being. But now, I'm learning more and more every day how to be unapologetically me. I laugh at and learn from my mistakes and I'm not so critical. This allows me to appreciate each day in a way that I once wasn't able to. And it's awesome!

So if any of you guys are feeling down or anxious all the time, consider the possibility that you're taking life too seriously and not laughing at yourself enough. Changing your point of view in life is easier than it seems, I promise. And the rewards are amazing :)

When requesting letters of recommendation, it's important to bring a copy of your CV and Personal Statement when you meet up with the letter writer (or attach it to the email if you don't). If you're like me, you won't have your personal statement (or maybe even your CV) finished by the time you ask for a letter. That's ok as long as you give them a draft. They need something to work with.

CV Essentials

A CV (or curriculum vitae) is a summary of your experience, skills, and education. It's very similar to a resume but is more detailed (a description of what you did rather than just your position title) and includes more sections. I used one of the resume templates on Word to make my CV and mine was 3 pages long. It should include (if applicable):

• Research and publications (and posters and abstracts)
• Name of institution
• Mentor (full name and degree)
• Name of project and brief description
• Honors and Awards
• Academic Experience (not coursework)
• Clinical experience
• Volunteer experience
• Professional experience
• Certifications
• Eduction (any place after high school from which you earned a degree)

Less than a month before I graduated, I had a weirdly vivid dream. I was with some people from both high school and college. I was telling my old friends from high school about my college experience. One kid, Jacob, wasn’t satisfied with my descriptions and he said, “You’re not telling me what was really important about the college experience.”
After thinking a little I said, “College helped me-“
“Find yourself right?” He cut me off. “You found who you are? I want to remind you of who you were.”
The rest of the dream was a blur but I remember that part so well. This might sound silly but I took it as a sign. Before falling asleep that night I prayed for a sign from God. I was a little unsure about my future and I didn’t know where my life was heading. I felt like something was missing. Just a few days later, at church, my pastor was talking about growth and I gasped when I heard him say, “We continually change but it’s important to remember who you were. Sometimes we need to be reminded to know who we are.”
I’m not exactly sure what that dream meant but I started trying to remember who I was before I moved to LA.
I wasn’t only a science kind of girl before I came here. I have always loved art. Everything art! I’ve been writing novels and poems since before I can remember. I draw, I dance, I paint, I take and edit pictures/videos, I love reading, and I play four instruments. But as an undergrad, I never really had time to indulge in my artistic passions. Sure, I danced a little and drew some pictures, but my artistic side was relatively suppressed to make room for science and engineering. Don’t get me wrong, I loved learning all that stuff. But one thing I really appreciate about taking time off before med school is that I can get back in touch with a side of myself that I thought I had lost. I just had to remember who I was. I’m logical and analytical. I love science and math. But I’m also emotional. I feel too hard and I’m an artist. Sometimes I forget that and I start to feel empty. I wrote this poem but I had forgotten its meaning:


But not just writing, strip any of my art from me and I’m no longer myself. It’s so simple as a child. We know what we want and what we like and we pursue it. Then we grow up and there are so many rules to follow and so many requirements to meet and we lose sight of what we once thought was important. I’ve seen it happen to so many people. I can’t let it happen to me again.
I’m doing NaNoWriMo this month. I hope to finish a 50,000-word novel. And I’ve been reading, drawing, and playing ukulele more than I did before. My next step is to sign up for a dance class. I miss it so much. Especially hip-hop, jazz, and contemporary.
This time off has taught me the importance of finding balance. I know that my passion is to become a physician, but I also know that there are many sides of me and they are all important. It’s going to be hard in medical school to maintain this balance but now that I remember who I was, I will never let go of her again.

Pre-med required and recommended courses

o Every school has a list of their required and recommended courses and extracurricular activities. Most schools have the same requirements but it’s still very important for you to check because there are always those couple of schools with that random class you haven’t taken.

o Taking classes abroad: I took Physics abroad through a UCLA program and the grades were transferred to my UCLA transcript. Be careful taking classes abroad though. Some schools only accept required classes taken in the United States (you can take any class abroad except for the required ones). But obviously some schools are ok with taking any class abroad. Just email or call the schools you hope to attend beforehand to make sure it’s ok for you to go abroad before you sign up for those classes.


Don’t be afraid to ask for help

o I found that it is important to realize that you are not alone. Have mentors and a cohort you can go to. I can't count how many times I got lost on my journey to med school. Thankfully I had older students who gave me advice concerning school, extracurricular activities, and so much more. I also did an amazing pre-med program one summer that equipped me with all I needed to become a successful applicant. Also, even though GPA and MCAT don’t make the applicant, they’re still very important. You might have to go to tutoring or take an MCAT class.


Extracurricular activities/Experiences:

o The AMCAS application asks for extracurricular activities (at least one and up to 15). For each activity, you’ll have to provide a short description (700 characters).

o You will have to pick at least one (and up to 3) meaningful activities. For those, you’ll have to type an additional paragraph explaining why it was meaningful to you (1325 characters).

o Quality over quantity. You might not fill out all 15 spaces on the AMCAS application but it’s better for them to see a few activities you did for years than to see 15 activities that each lasted a week. If you can, do as many activities as possible but don’t overwork yourself to the point where your grades suffer. When describing your 15 activities, make sure you include why it will make you a better physician (even if the activity has nothing to do with medicine, it could have helped you develop characteristics that are important to have as a doctor). I highly suggest that you have at least one shadowing experience and one clinical volunteering experience. A lot of pre-med students are also involved in research, though it is very possible to get into med school without research.

o They want to see personal development and the skills you will bring to their school and your practice. Choose activities that have a growing impact on you. Make sure you will be able to talk about them in your interviews.

o You should have a letter of recommendation from all of the activities you said were the most meaningful. You might not submit them to some schools, but some schools ask for those letters.

o If possible, try to have at least one activity in 6-8 categories (not a requirement though):
- Paid employment
- Community service/volunteer (both medical and non-medical)
- Research/lab
- Teaching/tutoring
- Honors/awards/recognitions
- Conferences
- Presentations
- Posters
- Publications
- Extracurricular/hobbies/advocations
- Leadership
- Athletics
- Other


Letters of Recommendation

o You can submit up to 10 letters of rec on AMCAS. For each school, you’ll have to select which letters you want them to receive. Every school has their own letter requirements so look on their websites before selecting what letters to send to them.

o GET THEM EARLY! It can take a long time for the letter writers to complete a good letter for you (one of my letter writers took almost an entire year!). Talk to them about potentially writing a letter for you as soon as you’re done with the class or experience so that they don’t forget about you.

o Not getting a letter is better than a getting a bad letter. Keep that in mind if you decide to ask someone last minute for a letter. Give them time to write the best letter possible.

o Most schools require two science professor and one non-science professor so be sure to ask those teachers.

o Give them your CV (CV essentials coming soon) and personal statement

o Go to office hours and get to know them

o Opt not to read the LOR even if they end up sending it to you


MCAT

o I took the old MCAT (the one with three sections and out of 45 points). I started studying three months before taking it and did as many practice tests as possible.

o I took Berkeley Review classes and also used Examkrackers to self-study. I can’t say if these companies are better than others. They worked well for me but of course you can always go to Kaplan or Princeton or any other company. I suggest taking a class though along with self studying.

o KHAN ACADEMY! It’s free :) you can use this along with your other MCAT study resources.


Choosing where to apply:

o I found MSAR to be the most important resource when picking schools. It's only $25 for a year's subscription and it tells you almost everything you need to know about a school before applying including, but not limited to:
- Mission statement and contact information
- Student life, research, and cost of attendance
- Combined degrees and special programs
- Matriculant demographics by race and gender
- Application deadlines and requirements (remember how I said schools vary in their required classes? You can find the classes on this website and whether or not they accept AP credit. You will still have to contact them to ask about studying abroad thought).
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY (in my opinion)
- Selection factors: this is the freshman profile. It tells you the range and median of MCAT scores and GPAs and compares them to the national range and median.
*Note: don't let the numbers scare you though! There are always exceptions. I know a few myself*

o Most people apply to about 10-25 schools (depending on their confidence level and financial situation). The reason I said knowing the selection factors is important is because applicants need to be realistic. I highly encourage applying to a couple dream schools even if your numbers are up to par (I did!). But I also suggest applying to some back up schools (schools with average MCAT scores and GPAs near or lower than yours) along with schools exactly in your range.
- I applied to a few "out-of-reach" schools and I ended up getting accepted into one really early and getting interview invites for some of the others (I'll keep you guys updated on those). So I'm an advocate for occasionally ignoring the freshman profile. Just limit the number of "out-of-reach" schools (unless of course you have enough money to apply everywhere).

o The primary application is $160 for the first school and $36 for each additional school (keep in mind you'll have to pay for secondary applications and plane tickets/hotels for interviews also)

o Look into their grading system. Do you prefer letter grades? Pass/no pass? Honors/high pass/pass/fail? I personally prefer pass/no pass because it facilitates team work and minimizes competition. But everyone has their own preference

o Public vs. Private. Private schools tend to be smaller and more intimate. But public schools are usually less expensive. There are other pros and cons to both types of schools. Decide which kind you'd rather attend and apply to more of those schools

o I know I mentioned cost in the previous bullet point but I personally don't think cost should be a factor. One of my interviewers told me, "You'll be a doctor. You're gonna pay it off." But if money concerns you, include it in your decision making process

o For me, the biggest factor in deciding where to go was location and weather. I unfortunately was limited to certain states. I actually looked up "most racist states in America" and stayed away from those lol. In addition, I NEED sunshine. I don't care if it's cold or hot as long as the sun shines. Prolonged cloudy weather gets me down and demotivates me. I can't afford to lose motivation as a med student because I know I will need a drive to be able to keep up with the rigorous curriculum. Some of you might be in the same boat. Some of you might consider location for different reasons (getting away from home or staying close to home etc.) but regardless, location is usually a factor.

o I didn't include prestige for a reason. The goal should be to be HAPPY wherever you end up. Whether you like big or small or out of state or in state or sun or clouds. Pick a place where you will be happy. You'll be spending four years of your life there. You don't want to be miserable.


You're all done right?

Not exactly

o Proofread EVERYTHING! People tend to only proofread their personal statements and forget about activity descriptions, courses, and background information. Make sure your ENTIRE application is accurate and paints an accurate (and positive) picture of you

o Ask other people to proofread. People who know you well, doctors, med students, English majors etc.


APPLY EARLY!!

o The earlier you apply, the higher your chances are of getting in because most med schools do rolling admissions.

o I think one of the main reasons I am where I am is because I started the AMCAS app as soon as it opened and I submitted it only 4 days after they began accepting applications.

o HOWEVER, it's better for you to submit a perfect application a little late than to submit a rushed application on the first day.


*Note: most allopathic schools use AMCAS but some schools have other application processes so look that up before you start applying

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comment section below. Or you can email me directly using the “contact me” section at the bottom of my blog.

Stick around for more posts about other things like personal statements, CV essentials, interviews, secondaries, etc.

The Primary Application Part 1

• The most important quality of a pre-med student: PASSION! It’s so much work and it can be exhausting. But if you’re really passionate about being a doctor, it won’t overwhelm you. The entire foundation of your future rests on your passion.

This one will be quick. I just want to express how incredibly happy I am that I’m finally officially a substitute teacher! It has been such a long and draining process but I don’t regret it at all. With all the random obstacles, I was beginning to feel discouraged. But I made it! I can barely hold in my excitement. I was already called to sub for my first class this week. I can’t wait to meet the kids and maybe even change some lives. You can now call me Ms. Iyawe haha :)

I recently did a photoshoot for a friend's project ("Colors" by Noor Euceph). She asked female models of various different skin colors to write about their ethnicity and what their skin color means to them. I loved participating in this project because too often, I see signs in the media (both explicit and implicit) that my shade of beauty isn't up to par. As a child, I struggled with the self-hatred caused by my exposure to such things but now, I couldn't possibly love my skin more. I truly hope that every woman who looks like me will realize how gorgeous she is.

Anyway this is how I answered her questions:

What is your ethnic background/what ethnicity do you identity with?
I am Nigerian. I was born there and I was raised very culturally Nigerian. Because of my background, I am grounded in my roots.

What does your skin color mean to you?
When I think of my skin color, I think about my journey from self-hatred to self-love. My skin color is a lesson in pride and accepting myself in a society with standard of beauty that doesn’t. My skin color encompasses the struggle and the triumph of an immigrant, the conflict between two languages and cultures, the pressure to be academically and socially outstanding, and all the negative and positive feelings of being considered “exotic". Unfortunately, it took me a while to realize how incredibly beautiful my skin really is, but better late than never. I hope that everyone takes pride in their skin color, especially those raised in societies that don’t appreciate its beauty. I know I do. I mean, how could I hate my skin color when it is a testament to how much the sun is in love with me?