Personal statement topic ideas...which one sounds best Forum

[alphbetsoup34]

1. My mom getting pregnant in high school, Growing up with my mother working her way through college. Attending her college bs and ms graduations and how she has always instilled the importance of education in us.

2. Growing up and struggling with ADHD. How it has shaped me as a person

3. Working at one of the top pediatric hospitals ad research centers in the country postgraduation. Being published in a major journal. How that experience has shaped me, my life outlook and professional goals

What would be your vote? Thanks.

[YYZ]

#2. I think it should be a story about what happened to you and what you learned from it.

[rinkrat19]

I would write about a specific anecdote/story/experience at the pediatric hospital that taught you something. Don't try to cover too much; go small and detailed.

1. this isn't about you, it's about your mom
2. risky to harp on the fact that you have ADHD. It may be disclosed in other ways in your app and that's ok, but you don't want it to be the single most memorable thing the adcomms know about you.
3. writing about your entire time there and all your duties and accomplishments is too much of a resume dump, but I bet you had some experiences at the hospital that would make great topics.

[collegebum1989]

2 is unique, and very personal. Both good qualities of a PS.

3 could be good too, based on how you write it. Leave the publication part out and put it on your resume unless you focus on the research steps to achieve the publication. Focus on one important experience and create a thematic story behind it rather than focusing on three/four related experiences where your describing them rather than showing how one actually impacted you.

[cutecarmel]

#1 isn't about you.

#2 could be good, but then you have to remember that there is a stigma around mental health issues. I would pick this one if you really emphasize overcoming the disorder because it might look bad on you if you can't pay attention for long periods of time

#3 would work only if you are going to talk about how you would like to work in a field of law that deals with the medical field.

So definitely not 1, but maybe 2 or 3.

Keep working
Good luck!