Writing a personal statement, letter of recommendation, scholarship or fellowship statement is a reflective process. It requires one to be thoughtful about why one has engaged in professional experiences as well as intentional about what one has learned.
In general these documents should discuss how the applicants' pursuit of their goals has informed their career paths and ideally how their goals align with the mission and values of the organization they're seeking to join.
We recommend that applicants work closely with their school advisors, faculty members and skilled writers who know them well, to help them review and edit their documents.
The Office of Career and Professional Development does not review personal, fellowship or scholarship statements. Students looking for additional help with these statements can find a list of resources below.
General Writing Resources
For anyone experiencing the most common writing issues, including, but not limited to; trouble with the writing process, organization, clarity, grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and how to cite sources, the Purdue OWL Writing Lab is an excellent resource.
- https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/index.html
- The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2019.
Medicine Personal Statement Resources:
Dentistry Personal Statement Resources:
Online Statement Review Resources:
Letters of Recommendation Resources:
- UCSF School of Medicine: Writing letters of recommendation for residency
- UCSF Dermatology Career Information page has advice if you are asked to write your own letter of recommendation
- UCSF School of Dentistry: Read the Dentistry Letter of Recommendation Dissected Sample
- UCSF School of Dentistry: ADEA provides letter writers guidelines on elements of what a strong letter of recommendation contains. We strongly encourage letter writers to speak to these qualities in their letters. The list is provided here for reference:
- Critical thinking
- Clinical skills
- Didactic knowledge
- Integrity
- Interpersonal skills
- Maturity
- Organizational skills
- Professional demeanor
- Reaction to criticism
- Self-awareness
- Pennsylvania State University Writing Recommendation Letters Online, (includes sample recommendation letters by activity)
Fellowship, Research, and Scholarship Resources:
- How to Win a Graduate Fellowship, Chronicle of Higher Education
- Grant Writing Resources, (including a successful grants library)
- Writing Research Resources, (including a 6 part guide for how to write research articles)
- Presenting Science Resources, (including conference talks, designing research posters, and job talks for academic careers job search)
