Explore a Winning Medical School & Healthcare Admission Essay
In the high-stakes world of MD, DO, and Healthcare admissions, your personal statement must do more than recount your volunteer hours. It must prove that you possess the resilience, ethical clarity, and clinical empathy required of a future physician. Whether you are navigating the AMCAS, AACOMAS, or TMDSAS cycle, your essay is your interview before the interview.
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Explore our featured Medical School Essay Sample to see how we help pre-med students transform shadowing experiences and lab research into a narrative that commands the attention of elite AdComs.
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Read more Medical School & Healthcare Admission Essay Sample here.
Before
There is an increasing emphasis on health issues nowadays. This made biostatistics, which played an important role in medical research to be a field worth studied. This is the reason why I want to purchase a master degree in biostatistics.
I majored in statistics during my undergraduate in ***** University. At first, I thought statistics was all about analyzing data from the commercial field. But afterwards, I was very lucky to join the course “Statistics in Epidemiology”. I first find out the importance of statistics in the medical field and how this subject can benefit this world by using it in medical research.
During my undergraduate, in addition to the basic subjects of statistics, I also took classes in biostatistics such as Categorical Data Analysis, Survival Analysis, Design and Analysis of Clinical Trials, Analysis of Longitudinal Data, and Statistical Consulting. The Department of Statistics also awarded me a Medical Statistics Program Certification for earning good points in all the biostatistics courses mentioned above. Only three students out of sixty-four were awarded this certification.
I am also well-trained in using statistical software packages. Large database in medical research rely on statistical software for analysis. So during my under graduate, I completed the course, “Statistical Packages,” which taught SPSS, SAS, and R-project. I used these packages well and completed many projects in other classes. My ability in these software packages also helped me a lot on my work after I graduate.
In my free time in college, I joined the volleyball team of the Statistics Department for four year straight and worked as an elementary school math tutor for two years. I learned the importance of team work and to respect everyone on the team from my team mates. More importantly, I learned that no matter what, we should never give up. I was not a good player at first, but I kept trying then became one of the best players on the team. Our team even won the Statistics Cup championship during my years there. From the work as a tutor, I learnt to be very patient when teaching, since communicating with children is very different from that with adults. This also helped me in studying as it made me to gain more patience when facing a difficult problem.
After I graduated from college, I had a chance to take all what l have learnt into practice, which was working in the ***** in Taiwan as a research assistant. I worked under Dr. ***** and took charge of the research “Improve outcome of multi/extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis through intensive directly observed treatment, short course program.” I learnt a lot from Dr. ****. When I were in college, 1 in my eyes, the data that I use to analyze is just a bunch of numbers, but Dr. **** made me understand that each data represent a real person and I must treat them seriously. Biostatistics is not just about playing with numbers, but a very important part of medical research.
Furthermore, this was my first time to deal with real data. During my undergraduate, although I had many opportunities to do data analysis, but these data were often faked or collated. I struggled a little bit when I first starting to analyze these data that had been collected and filed by nurse. The reason is that there was a lot of missing data or data that was not logical. So I had to spend a lot of time to debug. Afterwards, I also found the difficulty of dealing with real data. There were a lot of details that we should be cautious, for example, whether the data meets the assumptions of the model, collinearity or interactions between variables, etc. When facing these problems there are many different statistical methods to use. I realized that undergraduate education alone is not sufficient enough to support my professional aspirations. There is still much to learn in biostatistics.
In the research that I have mentioned above, we used survival analysis to compare the outcome of the two groups. Since the research is a cohort study, we also used the aspects in longitudinal study. The more and more I use these two biostatistical methods, I am more and more interested in them. In the future, I wish to study more in these two biostatistics methods, and one day I can contribute it to medical research.
To create the present for the future is very important. We should determine which things could and should be done. Then find ways to make it happen. So far for me, the best choice for fulfill my goal is to apply to ***** University. The most important reason why I want to purchase a master degree in biostatistics in ***** University is that in addition to fulfill the course work, students also have to complete a one-term practicum and capstone experience. In my opinion, learning is not all about studying in books, but also gaining experience from the field. The practicum plan of ****** University exactly conforms to my ideal. The second reason is the seminars that often held. Student could learn a lot from biostatisticians who came from different universities. Furthermore, the ***** Library holds a big number of books in statistics, math and probability. This enables students to gain more knowledge in this field.
After
Healthcare, and the effective utilization of healthcare technologies, has become increasingly important due to our aging society, rising healthcare costs, and the emergence of antibiotic resistant diseases. The demand for medical breakthroughs, new drugs, and new procedures has outpaced the resources of doctors and hospitals. The solution to our society’s health problems must be based on biostatistics -- applying rigorous statistical methods to biology. My goal is to complete a Master’s degree in biostatistics from ***** University to utilize mathematical theories to solve pressing biological problems, which will ultimately improve society.
I have always excelled at mathematical problem-solving, and decided to major in statistics at ***** University in Taiwan. Initially, I assumed that statistics would lead me into a commercial field, but I became enamored with how statistics could benefit humankind when I completed the course, “Statistics in Epidemiology.” I discovered that I could use my mathematical abilities to improve and refine methods for medical research.
I expanded this interest by successfully completing similar courses including Categorical Data Analysis, Survival Analysis, Design and Analysis of Clinical Trials, Analysis of Longitudinal Data, and Statistical Consulting. My passion for finding new methods to contribute to medical breakthroughs allowed me to achieve top grades, and be awarded the prestigious Medical Statistics Program Certification -- an honor awarded to only three of the 64 students in my major. In addition to theoretical knowledge, I also focused on obtaining practical skills which motivated me to complete the course, “Statistical Packages,” which taught students how to use SPSS, SAS, and R-project. This course gave me the tools to complete several projects that required working with large databases; it also gave me a better foundation for graduate studies.
Although I focused on my studies at ***** University, I found it personally rewarding to participate in extracurricular activities. Even though I was not initially the most physically talented player, I joined the Statistics Department volleyball team. Due to my perseverance, practice, self-discipline, and most important of all, teamwork -- I eventually became one of the best players on the team and helped lead our team to the Statistics Cup Championship. I also developed my interpersonal skills by becoming an elementary math school tutor for two years. This experience taught me the importance of patience, communication, and understanding different students’ 1 learning techniques; even though they were children, I found that understanding how different people learn and communicate helped me with team-oriented projects with adults as well.
Following graduation, I was determined to obtain some practical experience to supplement my academic knowledge and was fortunate to have been selected as a research assistant for the ***** in Taiwan. I worked under the guidance of Dr. **** who was responsible for the research project, “Improving Outcomes of Multi/Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Through Intensive Directly Observed Treatment; Short Course Program.” Dr. **** became my mentor who taught me how to transform what appeared to be a bunch of numbers into a fascinating story that potentially could yield solutions to biological dilemmas that could help real people.
Gaining practical experience was important for another reason. I found it exhilarating to work with “real data;” these numbers were not a fabricated dataset arranged by a college professor, but represented real people, real outcomes, and real variables that had to be studied. Unfortunately, I learned that real data also has real problems. For example, the nurse collecting this data sometimes made recording errors, and there was missing data. This made it even more difficult to make inferences from the data. I also discovered specific problems endemic to the data itself such as abnormal collinearity, correlations between independent variables, and that the experimental assumptions were not consistent with the modeling. Although I was aware of several statistical methods to overcome these problems -- it made me realize that undergraduate academic study was not enough. Professional experience combined with graduate studies was required to solve these complex problems.
To overcome some of the problems in this research, I utilized survival analysis to compare the outcomes of the two groups. Since the research was from a cohort study, we also had the opportunity to use longitudinal analysis (time-series analysis). The more that I used these two methods -- the more I realized their potential to contribute to breakthroughs in medical research. One of my goals is to explore these methods more thoroughly during my Master’s studies at ****. At this point in my career, I realize that international study at an elite American university like **** will most benefit my professional and personal development. In addition to the Master’s in biostatistics coursework, I am excited about the one-term practicum which will give me field experience in an American laboratory alongside American professionals and international students.
I also will benefit enormously from seminars, interactions with other students, and learning the differences in how medical research functions in the Western World. The ***** resource books and research studies in statistics, mathematics, and probability are unparalleled, and will also contribute to my overall understanding. While my goal is to obtain a Master’s in Biostatistics from your elite Ivy League School and return to my native Taiwan, I do have another objective: I hope to develop a network of like-minded professionals from around the world that want to encourage international collaboration on important medical issues. Countries like the United States and Taiwan should not be competing to create new drugs -- but collaborating. I will contribute to this spirit of collaboration in the classroom at *****, and in my future professional career.