The following essay was written by a medical school applicant who was admitted to competitive programs in the US. It was aimed to answer the med school personal statement question: Why do you want to become a doctor?

This sample is intended to provide you with a flavor of a successful essay for a top medical school.

On my 7th birthday, I unveiled what I believed to be my most significant creation at that time. After days of exhaustive work and sleepless nights sneaking away from my parents to build a Lego truck, I managed to interpret the instructions in the manual and produce the masterpiece without anyone’s help. Just as I had promised my dad.

Coming from an unprivileged background, my father had no idea that his son would be able to show the same commitment to an idea at such a young age. However, that was different from where my story ended. I needed to build again. It became a hobby, a devouring passion. As I grew up, I realized that the architecture was missing something: animation. There was no movement, no life, no action, nothing. This disappointed me, and I decided to change that.

I researched how to add motion and life to my legos. Then, after reading books and watching videos, I used my savings to buy the necessary equipment. Instinctively, I took apart a crane to locate the exact structures where I could attach a battery, a motor, wiring, and LED lights. After a few hours, I finally got everything to work. Voila! I had a running crane.

The crane was moving; the wheels were turning, and the lights were flickering. I could not be happier. I was so overjoyed that I burst into tears and went to hug my dad. That hug changed my life. Then, I told my dad: “Papa, I want to see life; I want to see everything moving with life.” I didn’t know how deeply ingrained this moment of revelation would remain inside me. Over the years, as my figures became more complex, I realized my passion in life: fixing, bringing, and restoring life to things.

By the time I entered high school, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up: a doctor. Essentially, a doctor follows a manual of instructions and uses his determination to bring life to a part of the body that felt like giving up. And so grew my passion for the medical field. Ever since I have volunteered at different hospitals. Not because I must but because I want to and love to do so. I want to change lives, I want to fix the ill, and I want to make a difference.