😵‍💫 Help, I’m Trapped in My Personal Statement & Secondaries

The Emotional Weight of “Telling Your Story”

• In the higher ED admission world, it is a well-known tale that a good personal statement can make a big difference in your admission decision. From the famous Costco college essay to numerous YouTube videos, TikToks, blogs, and podcasts explaining how you can write a better PS. This informational content can be genuinely helpful, but it does feed the pressure students like myself feel surrounding writing the best personal statement and secondaries possible for medical/PA school.

• I often overthink the amount of vulnerability to put in it. What level of sharing is oversharing? Should I talk about a mental health struggle I’ve had? Would that reflect poorly on me? Is the immigrant or sports injury story overdone?

  • Other common fears: “I’m boring,” “I haven’t suffered enough,” “This doesn’t sound smart enough,” etc…

• I know it can feel risky to bring vulnerability into these essays—because if you’re rejected after pouring your heart and soul into them, the sting feels sharper. The rejection can feel personal. If that fear is what’s holding you back, remember: your worth is not defined by the school that accepts you, your grades, or your academic standing. You are enough simply by being you. No career path or calling should ever shake that truth.

• Reminder: It’s not about the most dramatic story — it’s about giving the admission committee insight into who you are and how you’ve grown

Perfectionism ≠ Better Writing

• The trap of over-editing every sentence before you finish a draft

  • To this day, I feel like I could edit my personal statement another three times over. At the start, the revisions to my PS were much needed, and I eventually got to the point where I was happy with the final draft, but I still found myself making small edits every time I reread it.

  • I kept deleting and reinserting the same sentence. I knew I had to step away from my PS and leave it alone before I decided to scrap too much of it. I came to realize that there was no “perfect” essay, and what mattered was if I was satisfied with it and it felt authentic to me.

• Why you need to write a bad first draft (seriously)

  • Another huge obstacle to PS writing is the desire to make the best first draft. I challenge you to do the complete opposite and go into writing with the goal of writing the worst draft possible. And I’m not kidding LOL. It will be the best way to start your essay writing and free you from the pressure to suddenly become a literary master.

You’re Not Just Writing an Essay — You’re Building a Narrative

• Connect the dots across your activities, values, and goals

• The personal statement, experiences, and secondaries don’t all have to do the same work

  • I made an effort to bring up different stories, qualities about myself, and pre-med competencies in each opportunity I had to write.

• Leave space for reflection, not just accomplishment

  • Most advisors recommend doing more reflection than anything else in your writing. Spend very minimal time explaining what you actually did (unless it’s something very uncommon or confusing).

Reframing the Process: From Anxiety to Clarity

• Write like you’re explaining your “why” to a curious friend, not a gatekeeper

  • Be genuine and honest, not defensive of why you are a better fit than anyone else.

• Try voice notes, storyboards, or bullet lists to get started

• Don’t do it alone — who’s your “reader squad”?

  • I used my parents, professor, and advisors (consider professional writing help as well).

You’re Allowed to Be Unpolished at First

• Start messy, trust the process

• Focus on progress, not perfection

  • Speaking of which…

    Perfectionism vs. Progress

• This isn’t the last important thing you’ll ever write in your life

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🧠 Reflection Prompt:

What parts of myself am I most proud of — and how can I show that with stories, not just statements?