Good Morning My Dear IMG's and FMG's, DO's, MD's & Medical Fellowship Applicants!
I hope this finds you well. Please contact us if you need help with covering what you perceive to be problem area with your personal statement. As I mentioned yesterday, we can help you express in your essay what you THINK may be a major weakness in your application.
The thing is, is that no one is perfect, including the program directors who are going to be reading your PS. In most all cases, we have all built upon our weaknesses and turned them to strengths.
Again, here are a few more examples of areas where we can help:
- Poor USMLE scores
- A gap in your resume
- Lack of medical experience
- Low grades in med. school
- Demanding family issues
- Advancing age of the applicant
- A change in specialty choice
- Not completing an earlier residency program
- Over qualification
- Illness
- A PS that is too long (We like to keep them at about 650-750 words.)
- A PS that is too short
- A disorganized CV
- No research
The only thing I can think of that is difficult for us to edit and justify is if you have a TOTAL lack of passion for the medical specialty or subspecialty to which you are applying. That being said, it is still a good idea to cover your bases with a couple of specialty applications in somewhat related fields. I mean, OBGYN/Surgery/Family Medicine, etc. is not for everyone. Do not waste your effort on a "Plan D," but do consider applying for a second or third choice in case your first specialty choice doesn't work out.
By the way, here are some links to a great site where you might converse anonymously with others about a variety of subjects related to you USMLE tests and residency application:
General - https://www.usmle-forums.com/
FMG's/IMG's - https://www.usmle-forums.com/forums/img-fmg-forum.67/
Elizabeth
