- Writing only about medicine and not about yourself.
- Not giving yourself enough time to revise multiple drafts.
- Cutting and pasting the statement from a Word document into the application, which introduces formatting errors. Make sure to write statement in a text-only program like notepad or directly into the online application.
- Not proofing the final draft carefully.
- Not being aware of the tone of essay; coming across as arrogant or entitled to a career in medicine.
- Relying only on your ideas of medicine and not showing how you tested your decision with experiences.
- Writing a personal statement that could apply to any applicant.
- Repeating information that can be found elsewhere in the application.
