Personal Statements, Resumes, Interview Coaching & Essays for Medical School, Law, MBA, Residency, PhD Candidacy, Masters, College, Fellowship

Do you need help writing a personal statement and adjusting your resume? Do your applications call for multiple essays?

I am a:
-published author
-physician
-MBA student
-Bachelor of Arts in Literature

I have extensive writing, editing, and publishing experience.

Together, you and I can develop a personal statement that is poignant, clear, concise, interesting, and most importantly, reflects the best of who you are. Your personal statement will be a tool you can draw from during your interview, and something they will want to talk about. Insightful, well-structured answers will be at your fingertips. Let's work together to write your residency personal statement, medical school application essay, or college application essay.

I specialize in using a personal statement to weave a coherent, progressive story. The first sentence will grab the reader, and the plot will hold them until they reach the conclusion. Admissions reviewers will be familiar with your strengths, and know why you are the right match for their particular program. Best of all, it will all be the truth! Your story will be compelling, easy-to-read, and grammatically correct.

I will work with you at a local Starbucks or over the phone, until your resume and essays are perfect. I have extensive experience in college admissions, medical school admissions, and residency admissions.

My resume, publications, and writing sample excerpts are available upon request.

*I really enjoy working on 'scratch and dent' applications. If you failed or did poorly on the SAT, MCAT, USMLE, LSAT, or boards I can help. Don't let a speedbump hold you back. Turn it into a badge of honor, and use it to your advantage. Present your residency personal statement, college application essay, or graduate school application essay with confidence. Contact me now.

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SUCCESS STORIES
Others I have helped were accepted to:
-Georgetown Law School
-MD Anderson Cancer Center Postdoctoral Fellowship in Head and Neck Cancer Research
-St. Joseph's (Houston) General Surgery Residency
-Rice University Jones School of Business
-Case Western Weathervane School of Business
-UT Houston General Surgery Residency
-George Washington University
-The Royal College of Surgeons
-University of Maryland Medical School
-Mayo Clinic General Surgery Residency
-Jefferson Radiology Residency
-Hamilton College
-Hahneman Hospital Internal Medicine Residency
-Arizona State University Diagnostic Radiology Residency
-University of Iowa General Surgery Residency & Critical Care Fellowship

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SERVICES & FEES

all fees are quoted for 12pt font, single spaced pages

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**All payments are handled through verified PayPal invoice - I will send you an invoice via email, and you can click to pay - easy!

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Full Personal Statement (1-1 ½ pages) $350

For those who do not already have a rough draft of the personal statement - we build from scratch.

-Discussion: Personal Statement Goals
-Essay: Development
-Essay: Review

-Essay: Final Edit

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Resume Edit/Restructure/Reformat $120

Your resume will be converted to a descriptive business format. This format is superior to the traditional academic format, for which there is no one standard. Your new resume will:

-Read easily

-Progress logically

-Highlight your greatest strengths

-Economize space

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Personal Statement/Essay Editing $65/half page

If you already have a personal statement or essays, this includes basic editing, structure, form, flow, and review of topics. Depending on your writing, the editing may be quite extensive.

-Discussion: Personal Statement Goals
-Essay: Review & Edit
-Essay: Final Edit

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Full Additional Essay Service $100/half page

Like full service, but for additional essays typically a half page long. These usually cover a preassigned question.

-Discussion: Essay Question and Goals
-Essay: Development
-Essay: Review
-Essay: Final Edit

Additional Customized Personal Statements/Essays: $50/page

For multiple applications, we integrate references to the school/program throughout your pre-written essays.

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ESSAY & PERSONAL STATEMENT SERVICES: HOW DO I CHOOSE?

Horror stories about "essay grind houses" and "personal statement mills" frequently come my way. Whether you are writing a residency personal statement, college application essay, medical school application essay, or graduate school application essay. The folks at essayfraud.org have some excellent resources. The following is a good example of what to watch out for, available at: www.essayfraud.org/#2

Top 10 Warning Signs

The more warning signs are present, the more likely the site is a scam.

1. Charges less than $16.00/pg for its cheapest custom writing/research service

2. Site contains ESL or "broken" English (poor word-selection, spelling, punctuation, or grammar)

3. Uses only 2CheckOut.com (2CO) to process credit cards

(PayPal does not allow accounts from Pakistan.)

4. Fax # begins with 210, 347, 512, 703, 760, or 775

5. Fake customer testimonials, feedback, and/or photos

6. Claims to have won non-existent, bogus awards
(There are no recognized "awards" in the essay industry.)

7. Lies about the age of the site (e.g., "Since 1997")
(Verify the site's true "Creation Date" by clicking here.)

8. Advertises a bogus, money-back guarantee

9. Transfers copyright to the customer (condones plagiarism)

10. Claims to have an extremely high number of native English-speaking writers (e.g. "500"), but provides absolutely no proof .

It's important to do some investigating before you hand over your money. Try to get someone on the phone, and see if they know what they're talking about.

I've also heard some good things about other services. The folks at Essay Edge (www.essayedge.com) get some good reviews. Here's their menu as of 7/31/08:

ESSAY EDGE SERVICE MENU

Residency/Fellowship Intial Essay Package Description Choose a comprehensive approach to your essay editing needs. With the Complete Package, you will have the consulting and editing help you need to write your best essay and improve your chances of admission at a top residency. The complete package for your first essay includes an upfront, wide-ranging interview, an outline, and after you write your essay, editing of your essay. Price $720.00 $935.00 Rush Price

Residency/Fellowship Subsequent Essay Package Description Choose a comprehensive approach to your essay editing needs. With the Subsequent Essay Package, you will have the consulting and editing help you need to write your best essay and improve your chances of admission at a top fellowship. The Subsequent Essay Package -- for any essay after your first essay package -- includes a consultation, an outline, and after you write your essay, editing of your essay. Price $540.00 $700.00 Rush Price Notes All packages after the first essay package are subsequent essay packages no matter how many residencies/fellowships you apply to.

Residency/Fellowship Essay Review & Editing Description Ask your Accepted.com editor to critique and polish your essay so it shines. Price $220.00 per hour. $285.00 per hour. Rush Price

Residency/Fellowship 5-Hour Any-Service Plan Description Buy a block of 5 hours and save $100. You can use your time for consulting, editing, or interview preparation. Price $1,000.00 $1,300.00 Rush Price

Residency/Fellowship 10-Hour Any-Service Plan Description Buy a block of 10 hours and save $400. You can use your time for consulting, editing, or interview preparation. Price $1,800.00 $2,340.00 Rush Price

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The folks at USMLE World are supposed to be helpful (www.usmleworld.com). Here's selected portions of their site, dated July 31st:

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USMLE WORLD SERVICE MENU

Update: Due to an overwhelming response, this service is temporarily unavailable. We will resume this service in the first week of August. Please check back with us in due time.

Premium Service - $299.00

This service is the most comprehensive package that we are offering at this time.

-Subscriber must answer questions asked by USMLEWORLD and we will take care of the rest

-We will provide up to 2 revisions for your personal statement

-During this time, you will be given unlimited contact with our writing and editorial team in order to guarantee quality assurance

-This service is for the creation of one personal statement^*

^{-Your first draft will be completed within 7-10 business days}

^{*Each personal statement is specific to the specialty you are applying for (IM, PEDS, PSY etc)}

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What matters is that you feel safe doing business with the person that will write your essay. Be careful out there people.

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THE DOCTOR'S TIPS

7/8/08

THE OPENING SENTENCE

or

"Call me Ishmael'"

One of the most famous first sentences in literature appears in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Why call him Ishmael? Who is Ishmael? Why does he have such an odd name? The sentence creates questions, and focuses the attention of the reader. Very useful in personal statements, especially when you have to read hundreds of them. You want them motivated to pay attention.

The first sentence should almost always be brief and easy to read. Sometimes you don't even have to do anything special. The key is to find what's unique about your story. There's always something, and it's usually something you take for granted. Let me help you rediscover and define your extraordinary story, and include it in your personal statement or essay.

7/18/08

TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF

Today I had a residency applicant send me this in an email:

"Most people said don't talk about anything before medical school as they want to hear directly why I want to go into residency but not why i went to med school. I also want to describe myself as hardworking, and knowledgeable."

In my experience, admissions committees will be looking for both previous experience, and medical school experience. Most larger residencies will receive 200-300 applications, 75-100 of those probably scored above 90 on the USMLE, depending upon the residency. There is no way to differentiate those applicants based on scores. Is the guy that made the 96 really that much better than the 94? Most residencies try to get people with diverse backgrounds, Not everybody needs to be the brainiac. But how do they know who to take for an interview? The personal statement is your key to some face time. Telling your story shows who you are, and becomes the difference between the reject and interview piles.

"Da Vinci didn't have to write

'beautiful'

across Mona Lisa's face."

I am surprised that so many applicants want to use the words "hard working" and "knowledgeable" to describe themselves. Those descriptives should be implicit in your story: Hard working and dedicated? Works over the summer to gain experience. Knowledgeable? A high mark on the exam, maybe a publication or two.

Saying those things explicitly cheapens your application. "I am hard working and I really know my stuff." If it was that simple, we'd all write the same thing and they'd pick us out of a hat. Admissions wants to understand that you are diligent and passionate. That doesn't mean they want you to tell them that. They want you to show them...in your personal statement.

Let me give you some consulting advice - no charge this time. You have scored 99% on the important exam. You are an accomplished student with some good stuff on your resume. You did community service, and published a paper. You also escaped from North Korea, and spent two additional years studying just to qualify as a pre-med applicant. And you did it with English as your second language while taking care of your sick mother. What stands out to you? I'd take that North Korean kid, even with a 79 on the USMLE. He's got guts, and I can always get another 95 percenter.

Da Vinci didn't have to write "beautiful" across Mona Lisa's face. It's in the painting. It should be in your essay.

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