I can't believe the insane amount of time the applications take. My personal statement went through two major revisions followed by six subsequent tweaking "events." I got to be honest, I am truly pleased with it.
As I sat down to fill out my 15 extracurriculars (ECs) on AMCAS, I was frankly over-whelmed. Two schools of thought are out there: 1) ad-coms already read so much so stick with bullets and make it quick, and 2) ad-coms already read so much so tell your story and make it compelling. I tried to blend the two approaches. You are allowed 700 characters to describe your experiences plus 1325 extra characters for the "most meaningful" activities. Some of my entries were short-and-sweet bulleted deals and others were definitely infused with my personality. (Take it or leave it, it is me.)
My AMCAS ECs took me forever to fill out! I really had hoped I'd be ready to submit a month ago, but I new I didn't have those well-crafted until now. In a way, I really think submitting Texas and the DOs schools first really helped me work out the kinks for AMCAS. No, I'm not saying those didn't count. I'm just saying that AMCAS is more competitive. Actually, Texas is pretty dang competitive for out-of-staters like myself. I did not write the optional essays for Texas (TMDSAS), but I now regret that decision. I can really see how every ounce of differentiation through giving your application your personal "voice" can be a benefit.
And now on to the secondaries...
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