An important part of your application to medical school at the University of Toronto is your personal statement, or “applicant essay.” Composing this essay will take a lot of time. As will the subsequent editing, and second-guessing, and reviews by friends and family. So start early (like, before today).
We recognise that many applicants will have folks in their support system read through their essay and critique it on grammar, spelling, content, etc. But we do expect that the essay be your own work. The essay should be your voice, telling your story. A little editorial help is fine (and probably a good idea), but make sure the words are really your own and be genuine and honest about your preparations and excitement for a career in medicine.
From our instructions in the OMSAS materials:
It’s pretty straightforward really. The Admissions Committee is interested to learn more about you, why you want to enter medicine, and how you’ve prepared yourself. What skills and experiences would you bring to med school and to the profession?
Your essay also is the opportunity to showcase your communication skills. We aren’t looking for fancy, flashy, “original” openers or eccentric approaches. We do expect to see fluent, coherent writing without grammatical and spelling errors.
Bottom line, be yourself, address the points in the guidelines, and be honest.
And, yes, do get someone to give it a read-over for you.
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