I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of XXXX in 2006. I was on the Dean’s or President’s List yearly and a member of Phi Theta Kappa and Golden Key Honor Societies. My experience has been so positive at UXX that I would love to continue to study here toward a graduate degree in Anthropology. Currently, I am taking graduate anthropology courses at UXX as a non-degree-seeking student to establish my capacity to perform at a graduate level in this field. I am a serious and dedicated person for my age, in part because I grew up with a mentally handicapped sister and a physically handicapped brother, helping me to become strong and responsible while still young. The daily challenges that my family has had to face have assured me that anything can be overcome through hard work and determination. I have sought social confirmation and solidarity through volunteer participation in the Charity Gala for XXXX County Children & Community Health Clinic. I am also a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas, serving as a ¨big.¨ A smile on my little brother´s face makes my day. It is an honor to be his mentor. After losing my second grandfather to cancer in January 2009, I also became a volunteer for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, where I raised $1,500 for cancer research. This was an immensely proud moment for my family and me. My love for the Spanish language and culture led me to pursue a B.A. in Spanish. My greatest passion is traveling, and I have a particular affinity for Latin America. Most particularly, I adore the intersection of Indigenous culture and environmental issues. It was love at first sight when I found myself in my first Anthropology class, and the romance continued through several other elective classes in Anthropology as an undergraduate. This is why I have my heart set on attending graduate school in this area. I have always been intrigued by cultures, languages, and especially religion. The importance of preserving the cultures of Indigenous peoples and maintaining the natural diversity of our world can hardly be underestimated. With each passing day, I become more ecologically and socially conscious. I have always cared about the environment, but I became incredibly enlightened about the dire situation of our planet through my environmental anthropology class with Professor XXXX. Dr. XXXX’s passion for the environment inspired me. Dr. XXXX from XXXX University has been instrumental in inspiring me to be more active in doing my part to save our planet. My dedication to our environment, along with my passion for travel and cultural studies, has naturally led me to get involved with ecotourism. I intend to continue to study its pros and cons and its impact on local communities. The best way to educate people about the environment is by allowing them to experience its wonders for themselves. Personally, connecting to the land, I believe, helps to instill the importance of conservation. I hope to become part of a team that takes ecotourism to new moral levels of grassroots collaboration between communities so that the local populations benefit from the experience of tourism. Studying environmental anthropology will increase my sensitivity to the complex issues that result from competition between cultural and economic visions, interests, and ideologies. By studying in your program, I will come to a much better understanding of our symbiotic relationship with our environment. I keenly look forward to studying the broad gambit of theoretical frameworks that help us to understand our chances for salvation and redemption for our bleeding planet, finding solutions that benefit everyone involved while protecting Indigenous people. My hunger for knowledge increases yearly, and I am eager to attain this new level of full-time graduate study. I will devote everything towards excellence in my studies, spurred on by the hope of being able to make this world a little better by improving the lives of others through a career in socially conscious ecotourism. Anthropology Personal Purpose, MA Environmental Example, Ecotourism Master's

My career switch from Accounting to Anthropology is unusual. Now in my final year of studies for my BS in Accounting, I have nevertheless cultivated a longstanding interest in human behavior and how it arises, develops, and changes. My extensive study of Economics has confirmed this. I have also read widely in Anthropology, most recently ‘Tristes Tropiques’ by Levi-Strauss. This reading fired a determination to pursue the formal study of the subject with the goal of working for an organization devoted to promoting information about Chinese history and cultural development. I am especially interested in passing on my passion to young people and therefore seek to form and develop an understanding and appreciation of China's uniquely rich heritage. Apart from reading widely on the subject, I have taken steps to expose myself to the practical side of Anthropology. In 2016, I planned a ‘Summer Social Practice’ and led a team of 10 on a visit to Dun Huang, the place of cultural integration, to investigate the local cultural brand construction. I was exposed to many of the glories of Chinese culture and achievement. To read about Dun Huang is fascinating but to be there, to see the many beautiful artifacts, to see the topography that provided such effective defensive and trade opportunities - and to hear the ‘singing sands’ - was unforgettable. As an intern with Huachen Auctions, I arranged thousands of photographs and documents created by Weigh Gold, a German ornithologist who explored land to the west of Sichuan. These images and records, preserved for over a century, provided a window into a part of China as it was over a century ago and brought a remote civilization ‘to life’ for me. It was a privilege to organize these records so that others would share my wonder and fascination. I would be extremely interested in participating in such projects in the future. I also have a strong interest in film and music, both historic and modern, as reflections of a society’s contemporary mores, priorities, and concerns. As a result of this interest, I became a volunteer for the World Organization for Video Culture Development which works to preserve and catalog visual records of cultural interest. Although a study of accounting may seem irrelevant to Anthropology, however, it does call for an analytical mind, a facility for numbers and statistics that will aid my future studies and research, and an understanding of the significant effect that trade and competition for resources have in human activities and development. I possess the characteristics necessary to assist in research projects. I am capable of original and creative thinking, I am determined, I have numerical skills, I happily cooperate with others to reach a common goal, and I am diligent with an eye for detail. I have researched the programs available to me and am confident that the Anthropology Program at UXXX will provide precisely the kind of challenging but supportive environment that I seek. The program offers the opportunity to learn about Chinese culture from world experts in the field, which is my main area of interest. I am also aware, of course, that the department has a prestigious reputation and faculty. I can assure the reader that I shall apply myself with exceptional diligence and enthusiasm and I thank you for considering my application. Sample Statement of Purpose Anthropology

I hope to be selected to complete a fellowship program in Hematopathology based on my sheer passion and profound dedication to the field and my potential for professional contribution to this fascinating and rapidly advancing area of medicine. I have a natural affinity to Hematopathology which makes me highly motivated to accept the challenge of a long professional life giving my all to research and practice in this area of medicine. It is a profound honor to assist people who are amid the most difficult challenges resulting from the presence of hematologic malignancy. I wake up each day grateful for the opportunity to play a role in this profound struggle we face as human beings and as a society. Earning my MD in 2015 was one of the most critical moments of my life so far. Nevertheless, my time fully invested in science was intrinsic to developing my ability to understand the complexities involved in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Sheer curiosity and love of knowledge have always characterized me and led me to train as a scientist. When my mother became extremely ill with cancer after I had already completed a master’s degree and a year of study toward a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, I had to discontinue my studies and return to DC to care for her. As I got to know the neurooncologist and radiation oncologist who cared for her at the National Cancer Institute, however, I was offered a research fellowship, which I accepted. With their encouragement over that spring and summer, I applied to medical school and switched my focus to medical practice. I spent many years as a competitive athlete, and my love of teamwork has drawn me to areas such as pediatrics and rehabilitation medicine where one works with the family and parents to regain the maximal capacity to perform daily routines in the face of disease. Hence, during medical school, I completed extensive research concerning various treatments including orthopedic surgery and botulinum toxin-induced muscle relaxation used for kids with cerebral palsy. Within the more general area of pathology, I have found that the subfield of hematopathology allows me to participate most fully in interdisciplinary teams that enable patients with life-changing diseases to receive the diagnosis and treatment they need. Throughout my childhood, I excelled in math and science, receiving various awards from elementary through high school and I have always loved solving problems. mysteries. The field of hematopathology is a perfect fit for me as it allows me to do what I love most: incorporate information from various sources into a conclusion or best-fit scenario. Hematopathology, with its great intellectual appeal and intrigue, is where I want to invest my professional lifetime – especially because of its very immediate patient implications. I plan to specialize still further in the hematopathology of the skin, exploring the many fascinating inflammatory patterns and interactions between the immune system and malignancies. Developing enhanced diagnostic and treatment techniques in practice will enable us to recognize patterns of disease and initiate proper treatment ASAP. Thank you for considering my application to become a part of your team in Hematopathology.

I hope to be selected to complete a fellowship program in Dermatopathology based on my sheer passion and profound dedication to the field as well as my potential for professional contribution to this fascinating and rapidly advancing area of medicine. I was introduced to this field as a student in medical school, listening attentively to a lecture in this field by my foremost mentor, Dr. XXXX, who has published extensively in this area. She is also a highly skilled communicator and lecturer. Something about the way that she described “the logic” behind the relationship between the layers of the skin, on the one hand, and the advancement of skin disease on the other, clicked in my mind and I knew at once that I had found my niche. Dr. XXXX’s discussion of the visible, clinical correlations appealed strongly to my logical mind and passion for mystery and solving puzzles. The wide variety of disorders which manifest themselves through dermatological diseases is something that I find absolutely thrilling on an intellectual level. What I experience as an almost natural affinity to Dermo pathology has me exceptionally highly motivated to accept the challenge of a long professional life giving my all to the study and practice of this area of medicine. Having spent many years as a competitive athlete, I have also had the opportunity to learn a great deal as a patient, especially the experience of undergoing bilateral ACL replacements. Furthermore, I recently accompanied my mother through her experience at multiple rehabilitation hospitals. I could not feel more excited about the prospect of soon having the profound privilege of helping patients and their families to learn how to better cope with, manage, and recover from the traumatic experiences of sickness and disease. For some time now, I have paid especially close attention to the way in which patients with different dermatological conditions can find themselves just as incapacitated and unable to engage in or perform their daily activities as someone with a neurological disorder. I find myself reading a lot about strategies for helping people with a variety of different medical conditions to rise to the challenge so they can return to their daily lives and activities. Earning my MD in 2015 was one of the most critical moments of my life so far. Nevertheless, I also think of myself as a scientist as well as a doctor. When my mother became extremely ill with cancer after I had already completed my master's degree in psychology and a year of study towards a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, I had to discontinue my studies at Montana State University and return to DC to assist with her care. As I got to know the neurooncologist and radiation oncologist who cared for her at the National Cancer Institute, I was offered and accepted a research fellowship for that year. With their encouragement, I applied to and was accepted to medical school. Due to the intellectual appeal and intrigue of Pathology as well as its immediate patient implications, it is where I want to invest my professional lifetime. During my fourth-year rotation in Dermatology, I had the opportunity to work very closely with Dr. Hood. I helped her to adapt the Dermatopathology lectures for the medical students to a new format that increased group activity. I very much look forward to a life of learning and challenge in Dermatopathology. Thank you for considering my application to become a part of your team.

As I continued through different clinical rotations in medical school, I gradually came to more fully appreciate why I felt especially drawn to radiology, over and above my passion for the other branches of medicine. I think the central aspect of this was my profound admiration for the way that radiology spans so many different disciplines, with diagnostics always as the central core. I was fascinated by radiology attendings’ breadth of knowledge across various medical fields and enjoyed collaborating with physicians of diverse specialties. My passion for neuroradiology blossomed when I joined the four-year radiology residency training program at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. It was not long into my whole immersion experience in radiology that I started to gravitate towards neuroradiology and began working towards carving out for myself a particular focus in this area of radiology. I enjoy very much the diversity of experiences in neuroradiology and the need for in-depth knowledge of neuroanatomy and medical physics. In September 2009, I completed my radiology residency and began working as a diagnostic radiologist. For a restless person with an ambitious personality like mine, it was just the start of a long journey. In 2013, my desire to advance my career and participate more fully in global medical research led me to secure a research position in the Pediatric Radiology Department of Texas Children’s Hospital. As a clinical research fellow with a focus on neuroradiology research, I quickly found myself working on several projects including the application of fMRI and quantitative imaging biomarkers in the study of epilepsy. My ongoing research efforts in this area have resulted in several peer-reviewed publications and oral presentations at scientific conferences, with one of my co-authored papers winning the annual Lucien Levy Award as the best research article published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology in 2016. My ardent desire to expand my clinical knowledge led to my entering a radiology residency program at Baylor College of Medicine in 2016. Rotations have enriched my radiology residency at multiple hospitals including Ben Taub community hospital, the MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Texas Children’s Hospital. My training in a community hospital has been instrumental in developing my organizational skills and proficiency in time management, helping me to further develop confidence and autonomy in performing minimally invasive procedures, having completed more than four hundred image-guided procedures so far. Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to work alongside some of the most distinguished neuroradiologists in the country and gained in-depth clinical experience in all aspects of neuroradiology including emergency neuroradiology, pediatric neuroimaging, and oncologic neuroimaging. Of all the factors involved in making my decision for neuroradiology, the most important one is the excitement and fulfillment that comes with facing a spectrum of challenging neuroradiology cases where my clinical judgment has a meaningful impact on patient outcomes. It was during my neuroradiology rotations that I found myself waking up in the morning before my alarm went off with joyful anticipation of what the day would bring. At the end of each day, I couldn’t wait for the next workday to arrive. I intend to continue my career in academic medicine where I can participate in patient care and teaching and pursue my research interests. I aspire to become part of a fellowship program with extensive exposure to a variety of topics in neuroradiology that can further enhance my clinical and teaching skills. Additionally, I look forward to the research opportunities that make me able to dive into the most current, innovative research and make significant contributions to the field of neuroradiology. To my program, I will bring my enthusiasm, perseverance, and passion for excellence.

I am a well-qualified physician and have considerable experience in practicing general medicine in India, together with substantial recent exposure to the US medical environment. I now feel ready to undertake a residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics in a challenging but supportive environment. I excelled in science in high school, especially in biology and physics. I also wanted to have a career that involved contact with people and the opportunity to help them, so a career in medicine seemed an excellent choice. Such a choice involves a great deal of challenging work in any country but especially in India since only 0.1% of senior secondary students seeking entry to medical school succeed in gaining admission. The medical school entrance examinations are fiercely competitive. I am immensely proud to be part of the small proportion that succeeded, as an indicator of my determination, intelligence, and diligence. While still in high school in India, I volunteered to work in a primary care hospital in the countryside. I met a wonderful and inspiring doctor who devoted half his time to providing free treatment to indigent patients. He showed me that medicine is a vocation and not merely a career choice and I have always treated my work as such. He also fired my interest in equitable healthcare access, and the challenge of providing care to the poor and underserved, which will always be with me. During my undergraduate studies, I took every opportunity to join voluntary projects, including blood donation camps, Aids awareness camps, and ‘Pulse Polio’. I learned a great deal about the importance of health education and preventative medicine and still retain a great interest in these vital aspects of medicine. My first experience with internal medicine came when I was conducting research at XXXX Hospital. I was fortunate to be able to observe several excellent internists and immediately felt that this was the specialty that would most suit my skills and characteristics and where I could do the best. I enjoy having substantial direct patient contact; I get on well with patients of all ages and types, especially children whose company I enjoy and who I can put at ease. I am aware that effective treatment can only follow an accurate diagnosis and that diagnostics is an art requiring patient listening, exceptional observation, and other skills, such as an appreciation of the importance of non-verbal signals. My career so far has provided me with substantial exposure to a wide variety of conditions and patient types that will be of direct application in an Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency. Internal Medicine/Pediatrics attracts me because of the breadth of experience and exposure that it offers, the variety in the working day, and the opportunity to apply the significant diagnostic and bedside skills that I have developed in my work to date. It also provides the opportunity to offer primary care to underserved communities. I have undertaken medical research, and I have the characteristics of determination, curiosity, lateral thinking, and diligence necessary for successful research. I look forward to assisting in research during the residency. I am particularly interested in investigating the potential applications of alternate technologies in providing healthcare to the underserved, particularly telemedicine. I anticipate intense study of effective ways to manage our ‘aging population’. I hold a US master's degree in health administration and am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in this discipline. These studies have provided me with an excellent understanding of healthcare provision in the US that will serve me well during my residency and beyond. I am fully aware of the need for exceptional cultural awareness and sensitivity in the provision of healthcare. Since arriving in the US, I have happily worked and socialized with people of many cultural and social backgrounds. I look forward to continuing to do so in the residency program. I come from a rural background and know that country people are friendly, honest, and open. It is my hope to serve in a rural community that is currently underserved. I know that there will be many well-qualified applicants. However, I am an exceptional candidate. I have a good practical grounding in medicine, most of which relates to Internal Medicine, and I am an experienced researcher. Still, my main recommendation is a real passion for this specialty and a determination to acquire the skills and knowledge to become an excellent practitioner. Med Peds Residency Pediatric Internal Medicine

I was born in Pakistan where human misery is evident even to a small child and I found myself affected by the suffering I saw as soon as I was old enough to notice it. I determined at an early age to spend my life helping those who suffer. I genuinely regard my decision to be a physician to be a vocation rather than a mere career choice. I achieved the highest scores in Pediatrics and Obstetrics in my year and regard these achievements as relevant to my application. A positive family environment is the foundation of healthy children, and this effect is cumulative over generations. Consequently, I have decided to maximize my effectiveness as a physician by pursuing Family Medicine. I have become even more convinced of this choice since the birth of my first child three years ago. I have carefully considered the characteristics required of an excellent Family Medicine practitioner, and I possess them. I understand that a ‘holistic’ approach is required, being sensitive to emotional and physical symptoms, and cultivating a genuine interest in the patient’s family background and social and work environments together with diagnostic skills of a remarkably high order. The specialty demands a high degree of sensitivity, patience, cultural awareness, and empathy which I possess. I am also extremely interested in preventative and proactive interventions to promote good health. I am aware of the need to be sensitive to non-verbal signals during consultations and regard this as particularly important in Family Medicine. I am widely traveled and have been exposed to people of many cultural and social backgrounds and can relate easily with them. I also possess a highly developed sense of humor. I am extremely interested in assisting with research, and my particular interest is in the prevention and treatment of pediatric diabetes. I have the determination and curiosity that will enable me to succeed in research. I know that there will be many well-qualified applicants, but I am an exceptional candidate. I have an excellent academic record; I am multilingual; I have the necessary personal traits for this specialty, but my main recommendation is my passionate determination to become a highly effective Family Medicine practitioner. Thank you for considering my application to a Residency in Family Medicine. Personal Statement for Residency in Family Medicine

I was born in Sarajevo, a city known for its Winter Olympic Games, during the time my parents were going through their university years. Our entire family immigrated to the United States in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. I grew up in New York City, where I obtained my elementary and high school education, going to a catholic elementary school and one of the top four public high schools in New York City at the time, Aviation High School, which had excellent advanced college preparation courses in physics, biology, and chemistry. I took some courses at Hunter College, New York, to prepare for Medical School in Europe. At that time, living in New York was hard, and my only way out was through education. I looked up to my uncle and other doctors in my family. My brother and I both decided to pursue careers in the medical field. Once in Croatia’s capital city, Zagreb, it was challenging to adapt to the local language, curriculum, and oral exams in Croatian, even though most books were direct translations of English Textbooks (Guyton, Harrisons, etc., with which I paralleled in English). After integrating with some of the country’s best students, I persevered and lived up to these challenges. During my medical training, I learned responsibility and compassion for the welfare of patients, and I felt drawn to the clinical sciences and enjoyed each rotation with curiosity and freshness. Unfortunately, during my medical studies, a war broke out in Croatia and other Balkan countries in that part of Europe, which was entirely unexpected for all of us. During my ongoing medical studies, and while witnessing a lot of pain and suffering, I was compelled to help in any way I could, both in and out of the medical arena. I accomplished this through working with the Red Cross, United States Embassy, and in the medical field with trauma patients, as well as extra hours in the forensic medicine department. Walter Reed Army Medical Center had its Mobile Hospital set up at the local International Airport, where I volunteered and was involved with multiple surgical cases. Serving in the middle of senseless suffering made me an even stronger person regarding humanitarian needs. I would not be the same doctor if I did not participate in the humanitarian services I was involved with, which gave me an enhanced perspective on life and death and how valuable life is. I graduated from Medical School and authored a research paper and thesis with my mentor, Professor Klapman, from the Maxillofacial Surgical Department. The thesis was on squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, which I presented to a committee of professors. After graduating, I also worked in the emergency room department in Zagreb, Croatia, for eight months to acquire additional emergency room skills. After moving back to the United States, I was introduced to a group of cardiologists at the XXXX Clinic in Lakeland, Florida, who invited me to spend time with them. There, I saw what a luxury it was to practice medicine with natural ailments (diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, etc.) compared to the trauma of wartime medicine. At the XXXX Clinic and the XXXX Regional Medical Center, I attended weekly academic meetings, spent time in a catheter lab, as well as rounds, and observed open heart surgeries. XXXX Regional Medical Center was one of the national centers at the forefront of cardiac intervention STEMI protocols and had a 24-7 prevention team, which later became standard of practice. I always made it a point to stay in a clinical setting while studying for my certification exams. However, at the same time, I needed to sustain myself financially; therefore, I worked as a Patient Care Coordinator at the XXXX Medical Care Clinic in the Tampa Bay, Florida area. There, I was able to continue interacting with patients. I met other physicians that were kind enough to let me shadow them and keep up a variety of clinical skills. I also found time and opportunities to attend various conferences and pharmaceutical lectures. I am a great candidate for your residency program as I have the knowledge, experience, and exposure to a variety of unique things in the medical field. I am very able to connect and communicate with people, and I can offer you compassion, hard work, and commitment. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for considering my application. Cardiology Residency Personal Statement

Half Japanese and half Chinese, I am a young woman in my fourth year of undergraduate studies who lives in Canada and hopes to attend medical school here in my newly adopted home. Born in Japan and raised in Taiwan, I am a natural appreciator of diversity. Very serious-minded for my age, at 23, I am a hard worker and a diligent student and very dedicated to achieving my long-term goal of being a successful physician. I will be graduating this May with honors, and, in addition to keeping my grades up, I am a volunteer at the Rehabilitation Unit at XXXX General Hospital. Helping people recover from accidents and disease is central to my existence. As a result of my profound respect for the Osteopathic Tradition, based on my extensive research, I have made up my mind to attend an osteopathic medical school. I look forward to learning how to diagnose diseases, handle emergencies, and perform Osteopathic Manipulative Treatments. I chose osteopathic medicine because of its "whole person" approach, its emphasis on preventive medicine, and its philosophical focus on patient-centered care. I also aspire to become a distinguished expert concerning the musculoskeletal system, which I see as a significant key to a healthy body. In honor of my heritage and to satisfy my intellectual curiosity, I also plan to draw what I can from Chinese and Japanese medical traditions, harnessing the vast wisdom of these traditions in my service as a physician in North America. I hope to have the privilege of doing substantial research in the areas of and diet with an eye to longevity, especially in the Japanese tradition. As a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, I look forward to a long and productive career as a primary care physician in the field of family or internal medicine. In the short term, I hope to be accepted into an osteopathic medical school and obtain the DO Degree. Aware of my gift of speaking three critically important languages, fluent in English, a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese, and a near-native speaker of Japanese, I plan to use all three languages in my medical career. I look forward to the camaraderie with other Asian students in your program. I profoundly enjoy my interactions with staff and support individuals at our hospital—our sense of teamwork. Most of the patients have muscle and bone injuries. By helping them to achieve a complete restoration, I am learning a great deal about the healing of the musculoskeletal system while I develop invaluable hands-on skills. Aside from obtaining an NSERC research scholarship in the summer of 2008, and volunteering in an evolution genetics lab this coming semester, I will be conducting a fourth-year research project in nutrition with one of my favorite professors in the Department of Nutrition at XXXX U. I have also shadowed a family physician for a couple of days to get to know what it is like to be a doctor and obtaining a great deal of clinical experience. After completing medical school, I look forward to contributing to the ethnic diversity of medicine in America. I hope to always serve on the front lines as a family physician providing holistic and preventive care. This is where I am most needed and will do my best. Thank you for considering my application. Osteopathic Medical School Personal Statement

Witnessing my father’s death from sudden cardiac arrest when I was five years old was an extremely traumatic experience that played a foundational role in developing my interest in studying medicine and becoming a physician. One minute he was asking me how my day had been at school; the next minute, he was dead. From that moment forward, I have never ceased to ponder what went wrong. In that instant, I became a little adult at 5, serious and dedicated to the cause of preserving life. In 2001, I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to leave my native Nigeria, so full of suffering and such a lack of opportunity, to immigrate to the United States. Since then, I have built and enjoyed a most beautiful life, full of a rich multitude of learning experiences; for example, attending Mini-Medical School during my senior year of high school. It was this experience that fully cemented my quest to become a doctor. I had found my calling in life, the embodiment of what I most crave, live for, and respect. Primarily, I long to be a teacher, a helping hand, and a mentor, guiding patients in their healthcare choices, answering questions about lifestyle choices, and practicing the art of preventive medicine long before drastic intervention is called for. I also want to be a scientist, researching and diagnosing the physiological and environmental antecedents and causes of ailments: a healer, caring for patients, listening to, and responding to their concerns, and empowering them to prolonged, productive lives full of joy. Thus, I majored in Biomedical Sciences in college and joined the Association of Pre-Medical Students (APMS) and Minorities in Health-Related Professions (MHRP). When not studying or working with these organizations, I was shadowing physicians, attending medical panel discussions, and working as a volunteer in hospitals. In my sophomore year, I became Vice-President of the MHRP, and increased my participation in seminars, gaining crucial public speaking and organizational skills. Community service is my focal point, and serving with our Community Corps, cleaning up the streets of Buffalo, and tutoring inner-city children in various subjects, were also dear to my heart throughout my college years. None of this was easy, because, in addition to carrying a full course load and my extensive participation in extracurricular activities, I had to work many hours each week to support myself. Things became especially difficult for us during my junior year of college when my mother lost her source of income, and I had to work to support her as well, finding another job on top of the one I already had. I beg you to consider this when evaluating my GPA during this period. I am applying to medical school as a woman, as a person of color, and as an African. I hope to devote my life to the special attention of women and medically underserved communities, and I look forward to many years of practice in an inner-city setting. I have already started preparing myself for these career directions through my work at the free clinic, where I was exposed to many of the issues facing underserved communities and the complex problem of providing adequate medical care to the poor and uninsured. The most significant contribution that I might be able to make to society would be to contribute to the realization of equal and outstanding healthcare for all members of our community. I also hope to return to Nigeria someday and assist with the construction of an adequate healthcare system in my country of origin. Thank you for considering my application. Medical School Admission Personal Statement

I was raised in Tehran, but I moved to Canada in 1998 when I was ten years old. Doctors have been my heroes since my childhood. An avid daydreamer as a child, I would often spend hours each day conjuring up fantasy visions of myself as an essential doctor, working alongside my colleagues and arriving at a diagnosis as a team. Finding cures for diseases also ranked extremely high among my early fantasies. My fixation with physical health led to me actively taking up bodybuilding by the time I was eighteen, and I even started training other interested individuals, sharing with them the scientific aspects of bodybuilding. I would carefully study the science behind every exercise and always be incredibly careful to produce complimentary diet plans. Since I am graduating this October with an Honorary BSc Degree in Biology from York University, I now have great confidence that I am well prepared to enter medical school and that I have the right level of determination, high motivation, focus, and drive to excel in your program. I was always interested in the diseases that struck our family over the years. I did my best to learn everything I could about them; cancer survived by my uncle, the physical disability suffered for so long by my mother, and the near-death of my father - all keenly reinforced my interest and exposure to medicine while still a child and especially a teenager. My bed-fast mother tells me that she would rather be able to run for 10 minutes than inherit ten million dollars. These events have left me serious beyond my years, primarily dedicated to my studies, and most keenly interested in becoming a physician. The emotional and financial difficulties that my family faced during the first few years of our immigration were complicated. I matured very quickly so that I could work, beginning at 14. The first job I had was wearing a cardboard box shaped like a house to attract the attention of oncoming traffic to the new residences being built in that area. I would wear 4-5 layers of clothing during the winter season to withstand the chilly weather. I hated and constantly fought the stigma of being on welfare. When a big bully stole my bike, I took Taekwondo classes in addition to Karate. I won two gold medals at the 2003 Canadian Junior Taekwondo Championship at the age of sixteen. A year later, I also won gold in the sparring competition and the pattern performance at the XXXX Taekwondo Championship held at XXXX College. Due to numerous knee injuries, however, by 2005, I was no longer able to compete in sparring competitions; I served as a judge for some time after that. I feel that my experience as a martial artist will serve me well as a physician, constantly having learned from the strengths and limits of my own capacities. The most significant contribution that I might be able to make to society would be to help the most vulnerable to protect their health throughout their lifetime, to cure them of ailments, and to help them to make wise choices that make medical intervention unnecessary. I see a medical degree as a giant leap forward to a life of service. I especially look forward to being able to devote my time and my talents to the care of the medically underserved. I want to be remembered not just as a great doctor, but also as a great citizen. I passed through several critical life-changing events that helped to solidify what I see as my destiny to become an excellent physician. Only one year into our immigration from Iran to Canada my dad had a heart attack while he was on his way to deliver a pizza to a customer. I was eleven and had only been studying English for one year, but I immediately began checking out science textbooks to decipher what had gone wrong with his heart. Soon, I began to understand much of what I was reading. My passion for the mysteries of the heart has also long been enforced by my mother´s heart disease, thought to be a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy. Watching my mother suffer over the years, slowly losing her ability to move, and only in ever greater agony, has been a bulwark for my studies. I have spent countless hours studying her biopsies and genetic test results in a never-ending search for clues to better understand her rare disease. I must know that I at least tried. I have spent so much time diligently studying at hospitals, that since I have gotten older, I have been occasionally mistaken for a medical professional by patients seeking to find out some sort of basic information. While, of course, I declared that I was only a student, the feeling of trust, and the warmth of the handshake from these patients stayed with me. I feel strongly that the greatest asset that I have to offer to medical school is my keen, highly refined sense of social responsibility. I do not look at medicine to make a good living; I am much more attracted to the challenge and the fulfillment that comes from service. I spend much free time on the Internet reading and watching videos about the selfless activities of physicians who donate their time to the group Doctors Without Borders. They are fully my modern-day heroes possible, and it is their heroic sacrifice, nobility, and determination to protect the suffering that I most fervently seek to emulate. I hope to one day join their cause. Medical School Personal Statement

I wish to study medicine to obtain the skills and knowledge required to help redistribute health as a social good - especially for the disadvantaged. As a child of Vietnamese parents arriving in the United States when I was nine years old, I learned the value of healthcare early on. My father had been interned in a communist labor camp for eight years as punishment for his military service on behalf of what was formerly South Vietnam. We escaped Vietnam as a family with my father weakened by the ordeal. Within one week of our arrival in America, however, he was disabled because of atrial fibrillation. I have often wondered how different things may have been with adequate healthcare. As the only family member fluent in English, I soon became intimately acquainted with medical services. I accompanied him to his appointments acting as an interpreter. These experiences have exerted a formative influence on my decision to become a doctor. During high school, I gravitated toward Biology and Chemistry to eventually study medicine at university. Upon completing a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Biology, at the University of XXXX, I gained a holistic understanding of the body as the sum of its parts. I credit my chosen free electives in physiology—microbial, human, and exercise—for this critical development. I began volunteering in the day surgery department of the XXXX Hospital of XXXX. My duties included conveying discharged patients to their transportation, assisting nurses in moving patients to another care unit and answering and relaying patients' needs from the call system to nursing and PCT staff. I also brought patients food, drinks, and blankets. Over time, these experiences have helped me to develop a familiarity with hospitals as a working environment, including their procedural and medical terminologies. Volunteering has also reinforced something I already intuitively understood as a person from a minority background who acted as his father's interpreter so that he could access medical care: the importance of diversity and inclusion. The XXXX Hospital places a particular emphasis on the challenges Latin American immigrants and migrants can face when seeking treatment, which typically includes cultural barriers, language, and communication. I now regard my past as something to be proud of because I can draw on it to help me empathize with all underprivileged patients. I am, therefore, fully committed to nurturing the relationships I will have with my future patients by taking the time to listen to their concerns. My idea of "holistic" healthcare presumes that health issues cannot be treated in isolation. I seek to instill a sense of self-worth in my patients to inspire them in their interactions with healthcare providers. I have come to believe this most excellent feeling of self-worth is the key to helping underprivileged patients feel valued and hence better able to make a positive contribution to society while enjoying longer lives enriched by better health. I wish to dedicate my professional life to serving the health needs of the minority community. With this long-term goal in mind, my objective is to improve my academic credentials for medical school. I am convinced that my participation in your program will give me the thorough preparation this will require. I respectfully ask for the opportunity to benefit from your program. Thank you for considering my application. Medical School Personal Statement Immigrant Parents