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50 SUCCESSFUL HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL ESSAYS – REVIEW

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Litercurious Book Review

Title50 Successful Harvard Medical School Essays
Author(s)Staff of the Harvard Crimson
PublisherSt. Martin’s Griffin (8 June, 2020
FormatKindle, Paperback
Pages240
LanguageEnglish
ISBN# 10/131250244471 / 978-1250244475

AUTHOR

The Harvard Crimson is a non-profit student run newspaper at Harvard University. You can find out more about it here.

WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE?

Applicants for pre-eminent Medical School Universities.

SYNOPSIS

The “Personal Statement” has been an intrinsic part of the British Ivy league universities since the late 1980s. Their purpose was to separate the hard empirical scores presented in examination results from the candidates soft character traits. Those traits form an important part of the selection process for medical school. These soft characteristics include the candidates experiences, motivations, and suitability to train in the medical field.

The Medical Profession requires particular requirements. The prospective student must have a combination of technical and scientific knowledge; as well as being personable, approachable, compassionate and have fine interpersonal communication skills.

Admission boards use the personal statement in addition to the applicants grade point averages to asses their level of maturity, communication skills and their critical thinking ability.

Prospective applicants often make the critical mistake of misunderstanding the importance of their personal statement. It is part of the wider selection metrics; such as their past academic performance, reference letter or personal interview. Yet the personal statement forms arguably their best opportunity to make a winning impression. This is where 50 Successful Harvard Medical School Essays becomes an excellent resource for those wishing to create effective applications that could give them the key to acceptance into the hallowed halls of medical school academia.

50 Successful Harvard Medical School Essays can enhance the likelihood of success through improvements to your personal statement preparation. The Staff of the Harvard Crimson provides the reader with 50 real-world examples of previously successful applicants. They highlight the myriad of key traits that the medical school selection committee will be looking for, such as:

Motivation

Empathy

Honesty

Enthusiasm

Commitment

Humor

Perseverance

Compassion

Emotional Stability

Each of the 50 essays has an analysis with helpful recommendations and explanations of the qualities that hold the greatest value to the selection committee. 50 Successful Harvard Medical School Essays will provide an advantage in your application process. I was happy to see that the editors made it clear that the process gives students with lower MCAT grades access to top medical schools. 50 Successful Harvard Medical School Essays does this by alerting the prospective applicant to the importance of a well-rounded character; educationally, socially, emotionally and psychologically. These traits are required to face the rigors of the medical school assault course.

CONCLUSION

50 Successful Harvard Medical School Essays is filled with important advice for anyone wishing to enhance their probability of receiving a placement offer at a leading medical institution. It provides practical guidance on how to approach a personal statement in order to make the best impression and showcase the desired characteristics universities are looking for.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank The Staff of the Harvard Crimson, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Griffin for affording me the opportunity to review 50 Successful Harvard Medical School Essays.