1. Converting a Resume to a Curriculum Vita
Personal Statement for Grad Applications
Theresa M. Duello, PhD
Director, Diversity Initiatives
Associate Professor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Wisconsin-Madison

2. If you provide me contact info, I’ll send you notifications -
SACNAS – Booth 938
ABRCMS – Booth 1409
Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP)
Bioscience Opportunities Preview Program (BOPS)
Connections to UW graduate programs

3. Your Professional GPS Where are you? Where do you want to arrive?
How do you get there?

4. What do you know about writing Personal Statements?
What do you know about writing a Statement of Purpose?
How do our perspectives differ?

5. Don’t you wish you knew
what goes on behind the
door in an admissions
committee meeting?

6. Who is your audience?
What does your audience need to hear?
What are your reasons for applying to any given program?
Why should they pick YOU?

7. Personal Statements
Not an essay for summer camp . . .
Not an essay for a creative writing course
Not exactly scientific writing either
Definitely not just ‘a story’.
Not how you were taught to write in grade school.

8. Think about how much we tend to believe whatever
we heard first . . .
Fact
Fiction
Gossip
. . . and cling to it like our life depends upon it.

9. What I have to say may contradict some of what you
have heard through the grapevine,
so you have a decision to make.
Do you want to believe your roommate or
someone who has served on the admissions committee?

10. Personal Statement for Graduate School
Personal Statements for the MD/PhD

11. How important is the essay?
How much does it ‘count’?

12. There will be other applicants with your grades.
There will be other applicants with your GRE scores.
There will be other applicants who have had great research
and medical experiences.
There will be other applicants with great letters of
recommendation.
The personal statement is incredibly important.
It is your remaining opportunity to SHINE
and show your unique virtues!

13. What are you going to write about?
First, get organized !!

14. Step 1 – Produce a polished CV (or a hybrid).

15. Why do you need a CV? 1) To organize yourself.
2) To plan your career path. Foresight, not hindsight.
3) To let someone help you plan what to write in your
personal statement.
4) To provide to anyone you ask for a letter of
recommendation.
5) because you are going to need one the rest of your life.

17. Curriculum vitae or CV –
A history of a person’s professional life and qualifications.
vitae – singular
vita – plural
Resume –
A one-page document that contains a summary of relevant
job experience and education

18. Resume . . . . . . . . A hybrid . . . . . . . . . Curriculum Vita
Changes will parallel your advancement
through the educational system into the
career of your choice

19. Remember that you are providing the CV to a stranger,
so avoid assumptions.
Describe activities.
Avoid abbreviations.
Etc.

20. One inch margin
all around
No OBJECTIVE

21. You start with your credentials. Who are you?
Why should the reader be impressed?
Name and
contact info
EDUCATION is always next.
Then LICENSURES if any.
Then HONORS AND AWARDS

22. One font
Only headings in BOLD
Do not BOLD and
underline and use italics and
use colons.
No lines dividing

23. Make it visually easy to read.
Double
space
Institution
Major
GPA on scale
Graduation

26. The first part is standard.
Now things begin to vary.
What makes sense?

27. The first part is standard. Now things begin to vary.
What would make sense?
If you are looking for a research position,
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE goes next.
If you are looking for a teaching position,
TEACHING EXPERIENCE goes next.
If you need another category, invent one!

28. addressing an envelope.
Your title
Department
Institution
City, State
The same order you use
addressing an envelope.

29. Abbreviate (or omit) months

30. What you did.
Maybe what you found.
“Demonstration of two forms . . “
Why it is important

31. Standard bibliographic format

33. Can summarize
activities

34. References on separate page
Not ‘References upon request’.

35. Step 1 – Produce a polished CV (or a hybrid).
Step 2 - Write an outline for the essay

37. Step 1 – Produce a polished CV (or a hybrid).
Step 2 - Write an outline for the essay
Introduction
Educational background/motivation for research
Research experiences
Relevant extracurricular activities
Why you and this program are a great match
Whose work you are interested in
Great concluding paragraph
Maybe where you see yourself in 5 years

38. Step 1 – Produce a polished CV (or a hybrid).
Step 2 - Write an outline for the essay
Introduction
Educational background/motivation for research
Research experiences
Relevant extracurricular activities
Why you and this program are a great match
Whose work you are interested in
Great concluding paragraph
Maybe where you see yourself in 5 years

39. • State how these research experiences were relevant
to preparing you for a professional or graduate degree.
Scientific method
Analytical thinking
Differential diagnosis

40. • State how these research experiences were relevant
to preparing you for a professional or graduate degree.
Basic science research
Clinical science research
Public health research
Community-based participatory research MD
MD/PhD
PhD

41. Have a brief, accurate research statement ready to share -
“I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Theresa Duello
in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology who studies low birth weight and infant mortality
This is what we did.
This is what we found.
This is why it is important.
(Not just techniques. You are not applying to
be a technician.)

43. Step 1 – Produce a polished CV (or a hybrid).
Step 2 - Write an outline for the essay
Introduction
Educational background/motivation for research
Research experiences
Relevant extracurricular activities
Why you and this program are a great match
Whose work you are interested in
Great concluding paragraph
Maybe where you see yourself in 5 years

44. Do enough homework to know what makes the institution great / unique.
Hint: Search ‘Centers’ and ‘ Institutes’ on the homepage
Center for cultural diversity
Great rural health program
Center for translational research
Type I translation – ‘Lab to Bed’
Type II translation – ‘Bed to Curb’ 44

45. Type I From the lab to the bedside
Type II From the bedside to the community
Health
Bedside
Lab
Community I II

47. PubMed
Search:
Topic X
University of Wisconsin-Madison

48. PubMed
Search:
Neuron x
Stem cells
University of Wisconsin-Madison

52. How do you brag and appear modest?
Have them talk to Mom and Dad ??

53. How do you brag and appear modest?
You say you ‘were honored’ to be chosen
. . . to be selected to be included
Tell the admissions committee about yourself and
let them conclude you are‘wonderful’ !
Give them the data to draw their own conclusion..

54. What are your bragging rights for being a NIH RISE Scholar?
an ASCEND Scholar?
an LSAMP Scholar?

55. What is the difference between writing an essay for a
summer research application and writing an essay for an
application to graduate school?
If you are applying for a summer research program
– and have already conducted two research projects –
you have to give them good reasons for why you need this
additional experience. Leave a door open for a reason
to admit you.

56. So how do you address problems?
Like your entire freshman year?
Or the ‘C’ in organic chemistry?
Or that semester when you took a leave of absence?

57. • You can explain (but not apologize) for any weaknesses,
or unusual aspects of your background or application,
like discrepancies between your MCAT/GRE scores and your GPA, impact of second job, etc.
Usually it is best to say nothing, however, if you do write, keep it short.
“I too am at a loss to explain the discrepancy between
my undergrad GPA and my MCAT scores, however, I
am confident my graduate GPA demonstrates my
true abilities and aptitude for research .”

58. • You can explain (but not apologize) for any weaknesses,
or unusual aspects of your background or application,
like discrepancies between your MCAT/GRE scores and your GPA, impact of second job, etc.
Keep it short. On and off the topic quickly.
* But you write everything as a success story.

59. Write uphill. You were challenged. You
conquered the problem. You succeeded.

60. STOP !
When you have
made the point well,
stop writing !
Don’t dilute a
great statement.

61. Example for medical school:
Great introduction
Educational background
Research experiences
Medical/health/community setting experiences
Maybe extracurricular activities/Leadership
Great concluding paragraph

62. Realize it is going to take multiple drafts.
Have people within the field/discipline critique
the essay for you.
Not just critiqued for English usage.
Not just critiqued for punctuation.
Not just critiqued for flow.
Critiqued for content by someone who sits or has sat
on an admissions committee.

63. Reminders –
The first paragraph is an introduction, not an abstract
of everything you want to say. Do not include a
conclusion. A conclusion belongs at the end.
Define your terms the first time you use them. If you
are talking about ‘global health’ , define what you mean by
‘global health’ the first time you write it.
Avoid repeated use of pronouns. (We seldom use pronouns
in scientific writing.)

64. Thank you for allowing me to present! Dr. Theresa Duello 64