“Writing to Acceptance: How Students Learn to Write The Medical School Cover Letter”
by Chloe Stiggelbout | Xchanges 8.2
Data
The survey was sent by email to the Student National Medical Association, one of the largest national student-run organizations for people in the medical field, consisting of over 6,000 medical students, pre-med students, residents, and physicians. Sixteen responses were received. The respondents had a variety of GPAs (Mean = 3.77; Std Dev = .176). Of the sixteen people who responded, only two were rejected on their first try — one with a 3.4 GPA and another with a 3.91 GPA, suggesting GPA alone was not the causal factor for rejection.
Students approached the writing process of their cover letter in a variety of ways. Of the sixteen participants, seven responded to the question “How did you learn to write your medical school cover letter?” Table 1 shows the breakdown of their responses.
Table 1. Catalog of Survey Question Responses
Where/how did you find what needed to be done to improve your personal statement?
| Respondent | Family/Friends Review | Mentor Review | Medical Professional Review | English Professional Review | Books |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | X | X | X | ||
| 2 | X | ||||
| 3 | X | X | X | ||
| 4 | X | X | X | ||
| 5 | X | X | X | ||
| 6 | X | X | X |
A majority of respondents used multiple sources from different areas of expertise. Three people had family and friends look over their letter. Three people had mentors (favorite teachers and TAs) proofread their letter. Five students referred to someone in the medical field. Two respondents asked an English teacher to proofread for them. Three students also used “How To” books that included exercises and example essays.
Table 2. Example Survey Responses
“When editing my personal statement I had a number of people read it. One was my mother, someone who knows me well, knows my dreams and goals and can make sure that it ‘sounded like me.’ I also had a physician mentor and another medical student read it to make sure it sounded real and sincere and had content that medical schools might be looking for. Finally, I had an English teacher read it to make sure it was grammatically correct and read well.”
“I asked a favorite professor and a favorite TA to read and comment on my personal statement, as well as my prehealth advisor, my parents, and several of my friends. The more pairs of eyes that see your statement, the better!”
“Make sure you have someone who knows you well, someone who writes well (writing tutor, etc), and someone who’s familiar with medicine review your personal statement. That way you’ll have a good balance to any edits you end up making to your personal statement — and it will still sound like you despite changes.”
Through a text analysis of four medical school cover letters, three key recurring elements were identified. Table 3 shows the frequency of each element per letter.
| Cover Letter | Inferences about key qualities of a doctor | Applicant’s motivation for medical school | Applicant’s experiences in the medical field |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Mean | 4.75 (SD 1.26) | 2.5 (SD .58) | 2.25 (SD 1.71) |
Table 4. Examples from text analysis — Inferred presence of the skills needed
“The ability to integrate multiple factors effectively and efficiently is essential in an underserved setting.”
“I feel that being a caring Native American doctor in a Native American setting will allow patients to be more at ease and open about issues.”
“The best doctors practice three essential behaviors: ingenuity, diligence, and doing right.”
The Interview
One person was chosen to interview: a first-year medical student (referred to here as “Interviewee”) who graduated from a liberal arts college in the Pacific Northwest with a GPA of 3.4. In 2009, she applied to eighteen to twenty medical schools across the nation and was waitlisted at all of them. The following year, she applied to 27 schools and was accepted to both her top choices.
The first time she applied, she started by reading How to Write a Medical School Cover Letter books. She said they were useful for brainstorming, but somewhat generic. She ended up “just kind of writing about what I wanted to do and how I envisioned my future as a doctor.” After her rejection, she met with an acceptance board member who told her “her cover letter was a little vague, instead of her sounding really excited about medicine, it sounded like she was trying to please everybody… It sounded wishy-washy.” The board member advised her to have a distinct goal: “I was told not to write like I was excited about everything, ’cause everyone’s excited about everything. Choose one narrow thing and expand on that.”
After this meeting, the interviewee scrapped her entire cover letter and started anew, ultimately focusing on family practice for underserved populations. Her advice to future applicants: “You want to stand out, but you also want to look like someone that could be in medical school. I would say free write a whole bunch, and ask yourself why you want to be a doctor? So you know.”