Mastering Medical School Essays - Personal Statements, Secondaries, and More - Medical School Application Guide

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Sarah

Guide for medical school applicants covering personal statements, activity lists, impactful experiences essays, and secondary essays. Provides timelines for starting and drafting, character limits and formatting rules for AMCAS/AACOMAS/TMDSAS, and what content to include such as core competencies, personal journey, and story-based evidence. Includes advice on addressing academic struggles, selecting reviewers, structuring narrative responses, combining similar experiences, and sizing secondary turnaround to demonstrate program interest.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

Personal Statement

When to start and length requirements

What to include

Discussing academic struggles

Who should revise

Activities List

Number of activities and character limits

What to include in descriptions

Most meaningful activities

Impactful Experiences Essay

What it is and who it applies to

Length and how to write

Secondary Essays

Cost considerations

When to start

Submission timing and expectations

MASTERING MEDICAL SCHOOL ESSAYS MOON PREP PERSONAL STATEMENTS , SECONDARIES , AND MORE MOO N P R E P Medical School Application Guide P E RSO NAL STAT M E NT Whe n s ho u ld I sta rt my pe rso n a l state me nt? At least 6 months before the application cycle to ensure adequate time to write and revise drafts How lo ng s ho u ld my pe rso n a l state me nt be? AMCAS and AACOMAS: 5300 characters, including spaces TMDSAS: 5000 characters, including spaces *Breaks in between paragraphs count as 2 characters! W hat s ho u ld I i nc l ude i n my pe rso n a l state me nt? Determine what characteristics you want to highlight to medical schools. Check the AAMC Core Competencies to see what traits are valued as a medical student Discuss your journey into medicine and how you developed this interested Show, Don't Tell: Use a series of stories to demonstrate these characteristics. Discuss the significance of your stories: What did you learn? Why are these lessons important? How will you apply these lessons in medical school and/or in your career as a physician? S ho u ld I ta l k a bo ut acade m ic st r ugg les? Yes, it is advised to discuss any unusually low grades or MCAT scores. Discuss if there were any life events that attributed to your academically struggles. Some examples include: Mental health Severe health issues in you or your family Working full time More importantly, discuss what you did to overcome these struggles, and how you will prevent them from recurring in medical school. Who s ho u ld rev ise my pe rso n a l state me nt? Professional editor (like our Moon Prep essay coaches!) Mentors Trusted friends and family Carefully select who you want to review your application, as multiple people can have differing opinions on how to change your personal statement M o o n p r e p Medical School Application Guide ACTIVITIES LIST How m a ny act iv it ies ca n I l ist? AMCAS: 15 total activities, although you don't need to fill all 15 activities AACOMAS and TMDSAS: Unlimited Be sure to include 1-2 hobbies at the end How lo ng s ho u ld t he desc r i ptio n be? AMCAS: 700 characters each, including spaces AACOMAS: 600 characters each, including spaces TMDSAS: 300 characters W hat s ho u ld I i nc l ude i n t he desc r i pt io n? Think of these as mini essays. Most students will write about what they did in each activity. To help your application stand out, include a story and discuss the significance of the activity What a re most mea n i ngfu l essays? In addition to your activity description, you will be allowed to further discuss 3 most meaning activities. Highlight why these activities have contributed to your personal growth. These do not all have to be medically related. AMCAS: 1325 characters, including spaces AACOMAS: No most meaningful designations TMDSAS: 500 characters, including spaces Do I need a s u pe rv iso rs co ntact i nfo r m at io n? Yes, you will need to submit either a phone number or email address. Don't worry, medical schools usually are too busy to confirm them! How do I co m bi ne my ex pe r ie nces? Shadowing: Most shadowing experiences are pretty similar. It is generally recommended to combine these experiences together Publications: For multiple publications, list a link to your Google Scholar profile with all of your publications. M o o n p r e p Medical School Application Guide IMPACT FUL EXPERIENCES ESSAY W hat is t he I m pact fu l Ex pe r ie nces essay? Beginning with the 2023-2024 cycle, AMCAS changed their Disadvantaged Essay to the Other Impact Experiences essays. This change is intended to capture lived experiences that align with the schools' missions and served communities. This change is only pertinent to the AMCAS application. How lo ng s ho u ld is t h is essay? AMCAS: 1325 characters I do n ' t co ns ide r myse lf d isadva n

FAQs

When should applicants start writing their personal statement?

Start at least 6 months before the application cycle so there is enough time to write and revise drafts.

What character limits apply to personal statements on AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS?

AMCAS and AACOMAS allow 5300 and TMDSAS allows 5000 characters, respectively, including spaces.

How should applicants approach secondary essay timing and submission?

Submit secondaries under 1 week when possible; faster submissions within a short timeframe signal interest in the program.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Sarah