Please see the numerous previous blog entries written about personal statement, specifically part 1 (http://pharmacyschooladmissions.blogspot.com/2009/06/personal-statements-words-of-advice.html). I thank everyone for sending in their personal statements and allowing us to choose select portions to point out some areas to avoid.
Below is a paragraph from a personal statement that we received today. I understand the angle the applicant was using, but my reaction as a reviewer was not a positive one:
Unlike numerous jobs, pharmacists have flexible hours. A lot of pharmacies are open for 24 hours and this provides a great flexibility. The pharmacy I shadowed had only two pharmacists and they discussed about their schedule and made changes when necessary easily by phone. So, the pharmacist could go on a vacation with his family pretty frequently and was able to spend quality time with them. I rarely saw the pharmacist working more than 5 days a week; sometimes he only worked 2 days a week. Another pharmacist I met at a hospital could take an entire month off so he could help his wife with two new born babies. I value my family significantly and I would also like to have a career that will provide me with flexible hours.
Response: While the schedule of a certain work environment may be appealing to you, I would suggest avoiding potential "flexible scheduling" as a primary reason why you want to be a pharmacist. The bolded paragraph would probably be a concern for most committee members. I agree a schedule such as this would be appealing, but it wouldn't be hard for a committee member to turn this statement into a negative for the applicant. I have a couple of committee members in mind who I can already hear say, "This guy/gal doesn't plan to work hard once out of school - how hard will they work while in school?".
My response was to suggest the applicant revise the statement to mention learning about the various disciplines of pharmacy and how s/he hoped to find a specific field of pharmacy that offered the best opportunity to meet his/her personal and professional goals.
Thanks for all the emails. I should have the personal statement reviews in queue completed in the next couple of days.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
This site is amazing. It just give me lots of information and it helps me too. The idea of it is magnificent and I am loving it. Thank you so much for the author. You rock!
For all the Pharmacy Students who have problems in Writing A Pharmacy Personal Statementm. here are some tips to consider in writing Writing A Pharmacy Personal Statement.
Well, I have gone through the highlighted paragraph and would probably be a concern for most committee members. Also, I would agree a schedule such as this would be appealing, but it wouldn't be hard for a committee member to turn this statement into a negative for the applicant and I believe that is the right thing.
student fail to plan, plan as I know it is a laid down schedule or protocol to observe at a particular point in time, do low gpa college
Post a Comment