The Personal Statement

Medical schools receive thousands of applications from applicants with strong GPAs and MCAT/DAT scores. The personal statement plays a significant role in determining who gets an interview, and you can greatly improve your chances by submitting a well-written and interesting essay. This is your opportunity to describe who you are and why you are uniquely qualified for a career in the health professions.

AMCAS applications provide available space for 5,300 characters (spaces and punctuation are counted as characters), AACOMAS applications are limited to 5,300 characters. AADSAS allows for 4,500 characters. VMCAS asks you to answer 3 questions and each is limited to 1,000 characters.

The personal statement is one of the most important parts of your application and should be done in a series of ever-improving drafts. We highly recommend not waiting until the last minute.

If you would like feedback:

  • Schedule an appointment with Karen Daigler by calling (207) 786-6232
  • Make an appointment with Stephanie Wade STEM Support Specialist swade@bates.edu
  • The Personal Statement workshops are held each year in January

Resources