TMDSAS Essays: How I Approached All 3 Essays

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One of the biggest parts of your TMDSAS application is the essay section.

I remember feeling overwhelmed when I first opened the application. Three essays? What am I even supposed to write about? How do I avoid repeating myself? And what if I don’t have anything interesting to say?

If you’re feeling that way right now, don’t worry. In this post, I’ll walk you through each TMDSAS essay prompt, how I approached them, and the tips I wish someone had told me before I started writing.

The Three TMDSAS Essays

There are three essays in the TMDSAS application.

1. Personal Essay (Personal Statement)

Prompt:

Explain your motivation to seek a career in medicine. Be sure to include the value of your experiences that prepare you to be a physician.

Character limit: approximately 5,000 characters (I’ll double-check the exact limit).

This essay is required.

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2. Personal Characteristics Essay

Prompt:

A key aspect of holistic review includes the consideration of applicants’ attributes within the context of their experiences and academic metrics. Describe any personal qualities, characteristics, and/or life experiences that could enrich the educational experience of others.

Character limit: 2,500 characters

This essay is also required.

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3. Optional Essay (Unique Experiences Essay)

Character limit: 2,500 characters

The prompt asks you to:

Briefly discuss any unique circumstances or life experiences relevant to your application which have not previously been presented.

Now here’s my biggest piece of advice…

Although TMDSAS calls this the “optional” essay, I honestly don’t think it’s optional if you want to be as competitive as possible.

Use every opportunity you have to help the admissions committee get to know you. You only get one application to summarize your entire life, so don’t leave valuable space blank if you can avoid it.

At the same time, don’t repeat information you’ve already written elsewhere.

Let me clarify what I mean by that.

If you wrote about being a medical assistant in your personal statement, you should absolutely list it in your activities section because that’s one of your experiences.

What you shouldn’t do is repeat the exact same details.

For example, if your personal statement talks about how nervous you were during your first week as a medical assistant, then your activities section could instead focus on something different—like learning how fast-paced clinic flow is, or what you learned from rooming patients.

It’s perfectly okay to “double dip” on experiences.

Just don’t double dip on the stories.

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Let’s Break Down Each Essay

Personal Statement (Why Medicine?)

If you boil this entire prompt down into two words…

Why medicine?

Not:

“Why I’m impressive.”

Not:

“Everything I’ve ever accomplished.”

The admissions committee wants to know why you specifically chose medicine and what experiences confirmed that decision.

My biggest recommendation is to first figure out your core reason for wanting to become a physician.

Everyone’s answer is different.

Maybe it was shadowing. Maybe it was volunteering. Maybe it was watching a loved one battle an illness. Maybe it was overcoming your own health challenges.

Start there.

Once you know your “why medicine,” think about two or three experiences that support that message.

For me, I always like writing in a narrative style. I’m a narrative-style girly!

Instead of beginning with:

“I am interested in pursuing medicine because…”

I like starting with a scene. Paint a picture. Put the reader right into the moment. Admissions committees are humans too. They’re reading thousands of applications.

Stories are memorable.

Once you’ve hooked the reader, gradually connect that story back to your “why medicine” message.

Throughout the essay, I also sprinkled in small accomplishments or experiences that made me unique—but I never let those become the main focus.

Remember…

This essay isn’t about proving you’re impressive.

It’s about answering one question:

Why medicine?

One final tip…

Don’t sit in front of a blank Word document waiting for inspiration.

Some of my best ideas came while walking, stretching, talking with friends, or doing something completely unrelated.

If you’re stuck, take a break.

Sometimes your brain just needs time.

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Personal Characteristics Essay

This is where you really get to talk about yourself.

What makes you unique?

Some applicants talk about:

• Their cultural background
• Growing up in another country
• Being a first-generation student
• Personal hardships
• Family experiences
• Illness
• Life experiences

Whatever you choose, remember that the essay should still answer the prompt.

Just like the personal statement, I recommend writing this as a story rather than an argumentative essay.

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Optional (But Not Really Optional) Essay

Again…

I really don’t see this as optional.

Think of it as one last opportunity to show the admissions committee another side of yourself.

Try not to repeat what you’ve already written.

Instead, think about something you’ve never mentioned before.

It doesn’t have to be extraordinary.

I’ve heard of applicants writing about:

• Baking
• Reading
• Journaling
• Other hobbies they genuinely enjoy

The point isn’t that the hobby is unique.

The point is showing another piece of who you are.

If you write about something you genuinely enjoy and explain why it’s meaningful to you, that’s enough.

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My Essay Tips

Here are a few things that helped me throughout the writing process.

1. Create a separate Word document for each essay.

This makes it much easier to organize your thoughts and send essays out for feedback.

2. Start early.

Seriously.

I rewrote my personal statement three different times and had several people review it before submitting.

The same was true for my other essays.

Good essays take time.

3. Make sure your essays don’t overlap with your activities section.

Create separate documents for your essays and your extracurricular descriptions.

Read them side-by-side.

Make sure you’re adding new details instead of repeating the same stories.

4. Don’t use AI to write your essays.

Please.

Admissions committees can usually tell when something sounds artificial.

These essays are about you.

No one knows your story better than you do.

Use your own voice.

Stay authentic.

5. Have multiple people proofread.

Fresh eyes catch things you won’t notice.

They’ll also tell you whether your story actually flows and whether your message is clear.

6. Keep a running log of your activities.

This is probably one of the biggest tips I can give.

Throughout college (or after college if you’re a non-traditional applicant), keep one document where you write down:

• Every activity
• What you did
• What you learned
• Memorable experiences
• Reflections

You’ll thank yourself later.

Not only will it help you remember everything you’ve done, but it’ll also make writing your essays so much easier because you already have meaningful stories to pull from.

Final Thoughts

The essay section is one of the few places where the admissions committee gets to know the person behind the grades and test scores.

Take your time.

Tell your story.

Be authentic.

And remember—you’re not trying to write what you think admissions wants to hear.

You’re showing them who you are.