<p>Okay, so one of the biggest essays we write for these programs is 'why med' So I've got a lot of reasons (various things that I've done or people that I knew) not really one major thing, like I had an epiphany or anything.</p>
<p>My question is: because of the word limit, should I write about all the things that have affected my decision but not be indepth about any of them or pick 2 or 3 and really elaborate on those??</p>
<p>Anyone, been in this boat? What did you do?</p>
<p>umm it's up to you there's no real way to go about it and dont ask other students because...we arent admissions dude...besides this should sound like YOU</p>
<p>I know you guys aren't admissions. I was just looking for an opinion. Ideally, I would write about all things that have affected my decision in depth but since there is a word limit, I can't. I was hoping that maybe other people had gone through this already (last year or whenever) and that they could share what they had done. </p>
<p>And I'm writing it myself, so how could it not sound like me?</p>
<p>"And I'm writing it myself, so how could it not sound like me?" </p>
<p>Style, edits, revisions all mess with the YOU in the paper..</p>
<p>My pt was do what feels right...there is no correct/incorrect</p>
<p>I don't think many colleges are strict about their word limit. I mean, if the limit is a 100, you can have a 115 or whatever but not 1000. I think you already knew that.</p>
<p>Because of the word limit, I would suggest that you pick a couple of them. You can pick as many as you want as long as you stay near the word limit, and pick the things that had the most effect on you.</p>
<p>I'm not in a program. I'm currently a Senior who's applying, and I just thought I would give you my advice. I hope I helped. :)</p>
<p>thanks Visali. I was thinking of mentioning all of my reasons, but then elaborating on a few (maybe not as much as I want to but still more than the others). Anyway, I'll see what I can finagle when I start writing. So far all I've done is brainstorm. ahhhh, such a procrastinator.</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat as you....haha. I'm a senior as well, and I'm applying too. I'm working on my app essay right now, and I think the best way to write is to think back to the beginning as to why you decided to do med...and just go with the flow. If yer one of those ppl who got shoved into the med field by your parents (like so many indian parents out there) then you should reconsider if its the field for you. But in any case, just look back, ask why, and then answer it.</p>
<p>thanks pipinghottufu, it's good to know that other people are out there struggling like me. It makes me feel better lol. </p>
<p>I have written my essay now and I ended up picking the three top reasons why I want to be a doctor and elaborating on the first and kinda elaborating on the other two. Anyway, that hasn't worked very well bcuz I'm still at like 830 words. And while that sounds like a lot, my orginal was a whopping 1103 words. </p>
<p>ugh, I just can't seem to take out anything more! AARRGGGHHH, I have to go back to editing it...sorry about the rant-ish post</p>
<p>aww you'll get there....I'm still hitting walls...</p>
<p>heh, well, right now yer better offfff
I just hit a brick wall...lol
but, i mean, we'll all get in some way or another, so no worries</p>
<p>If you're still having trouble with length, pick the most engaging reason, and write about it in the best way you can. Most of us probably have pretty similar motivations, none of which are "Eureka!"-worthy. They just wanna see how you present your own reason. It doesn't even have to be the strongest reason... just something you can write well about.</p>
<p>Don't give them a laundry list, or mention things you don't plan to develop in your essay. Definitely write about yourself in-depth, with one or two vivid vignettes--in short, tell a good story about yourself. It doesn't have to be an autobiography on why Sohni wants to be a doc, but it should give them a pretty good impression of this aspect of you. They totally don't expect this essay to be the tell-all about why you want to enter medicine. It should just allow them to add another point in your favor... and listing 3 mundane reasons without telling them much about them won't help. However, developing a single idea (even if it's not the most exciting reason, make it sound exciting! persuade them that it is a good reason! why is it such a motivation for you, anyway?) to its fullest potential will show them you have thought about this question intelligently and thoroughly, and you have the ability to express your thoughts in words. (that's quite important in medicine...)</p>
<p>Don't worry about the reasons you're leaving out... you can bring them up in your interviews if they're <em>that</em> important to you. The interviewer would want to know. :)
But the admissions committee that's just screening applicants for interviews probably doesn't have the time to learn as much as they want to about you... so put your best foot forward within the limits they set.</p>
<p>"and listing 3 mundane reasons without telling them much about them won't help. "</p>
<p>That's true and nto true. My cousins all got into EXCELLENT programs. They all wrote about 3-5 things, explaining them....and I mean it wasn't like they had a SUPER SAT or some insane other factor that got them in.</p>
<p>Some people write better like that. If you went back and changed it to a style that wasn't YOU...it'd sound like it easily. </p>
<p>So Sohni, I think three reasons isn't too much....just dont' say reason a, reason b, reason c.....say reason a CUZ reason b CUZ...etc you know?</p>
<p>thank you all very much :) I will def be using only the reasons that I can articulately write about (which just happen to be my top three)</p>
<p>"Some people write better like that. If you went back and changed it to a style that wasn't YOU...it'd sound like it easily. " </p>
<p>Good point, Aspen D. :)</p>