By Sue Afsari, True North Essays
If you're pre-med, you probably already know that applying to medical school is a writing marathon. The application process includes the personal statement, where you’ll explain your passion for medicine, 15 short-form and three long-form activity descriptions, and upwards of 50 school-specific secondary application essays for a typical applicant. Though some secondary prompts are similar from school to school, their slight differences usually require tailored responses.
To craft these responses, you'll need a lot of meaningful content to draw from. The best stories come from experiences that shaped you, and they are key to showing how your journey has formed your view of medicine.
When I meet with pre-med students and their families, they almost always ask the same question: How can I stand out in this crowded process? They want to know what medical schools are looking for and how to make their applications “right.” Believe me, if there were a formula for writing the perfect essays, I’d give it to them. But medical schools aren’t looking for formulaic responses—they want to see you. They want your unique story, your perspective, and your heart.
The only way to get to your unique story is by documenting the most memorable moments of your journey. This process isn’t easy—it’s tough to sift through your life and identify the powerful moments worth sharing. But that’s the heart of the personal statement and much of the writing required in the application.
Waiting until you start writing your application isn’t the best time to begin reflecting on your life for these stories. The guidelines below will help you understand the types of stories that make a lasting impression so you can start collecting them now.
Big-Feeling Stories
I often read essays where students try too hard to be impressive. They tell stories meant to showcase a strength, or they pad the word count with details that don’t add much. They use phrases like, “I worked tirelessly” or “I’ve always been driven to…”
Don’t do this.
When you tell stories to try to make yourself look impressive, it’s obvious. Like me, medical schools won’t be convinced by how highly you talk about yourself. What’s truly compelling is the substance of your stories, particularly those that reveal your values, perspectives, and motivations. The best stories are the ones that resonate with the reader—whether through happiness, grief, or compassion.
A helpful resource for brainstorming is the AAMC Pre-Med Student Competencies. These outline the knowledge and skills expected of medical students. To demonstrate these competencies without sounding boastful, let your genuine experiences and emotions do the talking.
Consider these two examples:
Example A: As the patient started to cry, I consoled her and expressed my empathy.
Example B: Midway through our intake, she broke down into tears. I set my iPad down, handed her a tissue, and placed a gentle hand on her knee.
While both examples demonstrate empathy, the second is more impactful. It puts the reader in the room with the patient and the student. In her essay, this student went on to describe the conversation, further demonstrating her ability to relate to and support her patient.
My rule of thumb is this: If a story makes me tear up, we’re onto something. If it makes you tear up, it’s probably too raw, and we may need to pull back. The goal isn’t to make it a tear-jerker but to select moments that evoked strong emotions in you—ones that tugged at your heartstrings, made you laugh, or left you pondering life’s big questions. You want the admissions committee to feel connected to your journey, inspired by your growth, and confident in your commitment to the path ahead.
Breakthrough Moments
In your pre-med journey, you’ll likely have “aha” moments—when a scientific concept clicks, a clinical observation changes your understanding, or a patient’s story shifts your perspective. These moments are golden. They showcase your intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and commitment to patient care. Think back to times when you made a significant realization about the profession.
If you have a personal medical story (about yourself or a family member), as many students do, write about the moment you realized that a doctor or medical team made a difference. These reflections can be incredibly powerful.
Consider this ending to a student’s story about her family member’s cancer diagnosis:
Instead of focusing solely on the severity of my mom’s cancer, Dr. Kean emphasized what could be done and made sure we understood every step of the plan. At that moment, I realized how much a doctor’s communication can shape a patient’s and a whole family’s experience.
Learning Through Action
Clinical experience is essential for pre-meds who want to be taken seriously. You need enough hands-on experience with patients to prove to yourself—and to medical schools—that this is the right path. Working closely with patients also gives you a wealth of personal, meaningful stories for your application.
For example, here’s a story that reveals a student’s dedication to patient care:
As a medical assistant on the post-surgical floor, I helped Sarah, a patient recovering from abdominal surgery, take her first steps. Clutching my arm and holding her breath with every step, she kept nudging herself forward. I noticed the photo of her 12-year-old daughter on her dinner tray, and I knew that was what kept her going.
Working with patients gives you a sense of what it feels like to be involved in their care. You can only write about these experiences honestly if you’ve lived them.
Stories That Show Your Understanding of Patient Struggles
Most medical schools ask applicants to reflect on the challenges faced by underserved communities. As a future healthcare provider, you need to understand the social determinants of health that can hinder equitable access to care.
The best way to gain this understanding is by immersing yourself in volunteer work in high-need communities. By working in a community clinic in a low-resource area, for example, you can witness firsthand how complex factors like poverty, housing insecurity, and limited access to transportation can impact health outcomes. With this experience, you’ll be able to speak with both knowledge and credibility about the barriers patients face.
If your experience is limited—if you’re talking about “wanting to help underserved people” without having spent enough time in the field—it will be challenging to be convincing. I see this often with students, and as their writing coach, there’s only so much I can do to help them craft impactful stories when they lack real-world experiences to draw from.
Here’s an example showing the difference between a student with limited experience and one with more extensive face-to-face interactions.
Example A:
During my time at the City Clinic, I interacted with a diverse group of patients and witnessed the challenges they faced, such as language barriers and limited access to healthcare.
Example B:
Mr. Alvarez struggled to attend his regular appointments due to his lack of transportation. I learned that he had recently lost his job after a workplace injury and was now facing a serious health crisis. We talked about services that could help him keep up with his doctor appointments and called the local community organization that offers transportation for people in need.
If you don’t yet have these stories, it’s time to seek out volunteer work or community roles that push you outside your comfort zone and allow you to serve those who need help the most. Only through forming real connections will you develop an understanding of the obstacles people face—and only then will you be able to write about them authentically.
Before you begin brainstorming for your application, I encourage you to research personal statement examples and review secondary prompts from your target schools. By understanding the goal in advance, you’ll have a leg up in understanding the types of experiences and stories medical schools value.
Looking for More Guidance and Support: If you’d like more personalized guidance, consider scheduling a consultation to discuss how Julie and I can help you. Whether you're an undergraduate exploring your passions or a seasoned applicant ready to apply, we can help you take steps in the right direction.
Schedule a meeting with us today here: Request A Consultation.
Comments