Getting into medical school is becoming increasingly competitive, in part, because of the declining economy. Strong candidates who used to target law degrees or business school are turning their interest toward medicine, a less volatile field. Consequently, more competitive candidates are now pursuing a medical career, making the submission of an excellent medical school personal statement even more important.

The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS®) is a centralized application processing service for medical school applicants. AMCAS® includes ample space for a candidate’s personal essay. The AMCAS® medical school personal statement (and institutions’ follow up secondary essays) allow the applicant to demonstrate his or her distinctiveness as a candidate.

Some of the most useful AMCAS® advice I can offer includes ensuring that your personal statement is at its best: The essay is one of the most crucial aspects of applying to medical school.

Some of my tips for an excellent medical school personal statement include the following:

1. Do not use exaggerate the language used. Pretend that you are being charged for each word you write. How can you keep the imaginary cost down?

2. Do not use quotations, clichés or questions.

3. Avoid medical terminology unless absolutely necessary to convey a point. A layperson should be able to easily understand your essay.

4. Don’t forget to spell and grammar checks. (You might be surprised how many applicants do not do this.)

5. Highlight your accomplishments but do not sound arrogant. Even one bad sentence can bomb your essay and leave the committee worried about who you are.

6. Avoid wordiness. This is the most common mistake I see people usually make. Keep your personal statement to less than one standard, single-spaced page.

7. Make an outline. This really does make a large difference in the quality of the final essay.

8. Leave yourself enough time to write your statement. A good medical school application essay may take weeks or even months to write.

9. Most importantly, ensure that your essay demonstrates that you are a distinctive candidate. If any sentence in your essay could have been written by someone else the phrase should be omitted.

Finally, consider working with a skilled professional. Because applicants can unknowingly undermine their chances of success with poorly compiled application materials and underdeveloped medical school admission essays, a qualified, personalized medical school admissions consultant provides a great advantage.

Medical school consulting companies come in a variety of forms. Some are bigger businesses that focus on admissions to several types of graduate programs – not just medicine. Others are smaller and provide a medical focus, but have a pool of consultants of varying quality. Finally, best of the companies offer good medical focus and a highly knowledgeable medical consultant who works one-on-one with clients. These professionals are ex-admissions officers from highly respected medical institutions. They have the inside knowledge of how medical school admissions work, providing individualized guidance to optimize applicants’ personal essays, AMCAS® and interview skills.

When choosing a medical school admissions consulting company, a candidate should verify the company’s references and research its consultants. Elite companies that offer both the medical focus and a highly experienced consultant who works one-on-one with clients offer a large advantage for pre-medical applicants, especially during these competitive times.