A strong personal statement can help you stand out from the crowd in your dietetic internship application. Take our advice to put your best foot forward!

The personal statement makes everyone nervous

You aren’t alone. This is one of our most FAQs! “How do I sell myself? How do I brag without sounding like I am bragging? How do I stand out? What do I even write about? Where do I begin?”

Personal statement prompt

DICAS states that you must answer the following questions in your personal statement:

-Why do you want to enter the dietetics profession?

-Discuss experiences that have helped to prepare you for your career.

-What are your short-term and long-term goals?

-What are your strengths and weaknesses or areas needing improvement?

-What other information do you consider important for the selection decision?

Reminder: A maximum of 1,000 words may be entered for the personal statement section on DICAS. Some DI or RD programs may have different character and word limits, so make sure to double-check before submitting.

Why it’s important

The personal statement is arguably the most important part of your application when applying for dietetic internships. DI programs want to get to know you, and why you would be an asset to their program. Personal statements are a place for you to showcase your talents, focus on your strengths, and set yourself apart from the crowd. It can help you get one step closer to landing the dietetic internship or RD program of your dreams! It’s not easy to begin, but making a strong personal statement is a key to success. 

After helping thousands of people write personal statements, we have the recipe you need to help yours stand out.

Sign up for the FREE Dietetic Internships Toolkit to get the Personal Statement Checklist.

Here’s a preview of how to break down the personal statement:

1. Why do you want to enter dietetics? 

• -Do not say you want to help people, this won’t help you to stick out
• -Do not use a super personal story where you could be judged unfairly for it
• -Introduce your niche that you will focus on
• -What you are interested specifically? “Clinical” is not specific enough.
• -How you became interested in this (experiences, personal, etc.)? Talk about that  story
• -How can the program meet that interest? Say this briefly to set the stage for why it is a fit

2. Discuss what has prepared you for a dietetic internship. 

• -Choose a leadership experience. It’s very important to show you were a leader and how
• -Choose an experience in your interest area in dietetics, in the same realm of goals, if possible
• -Choose an experience in any work experience where you had management skills or a lot of responsibility; Use numbers to emphasize the impact you made in that position
• -Use the STAR method to describe your experiences

3. What are your short-term and long-term goals?

• -Short term is 5 years and long term is 15-20 years
• -Look at established RD’s biographies online – your goals should be almost as specific as how they describe their career and accomplishments
• -Include leadership and professional development, including dietetic practice groups, local dietetics associations, etc

4. What are your strengths and weaknesses. 

Strengths: If you are going to say what you are good at, you need an example to prove it

• -Leadership- an organization’s accomplishments, project outcomes
• -Communication – oral, verbal, written skills
  (publications, blog, presentations)
• -Time management – part time job, good
  -GPA, other commitments
• -Where do you have the most impressive experience/accomplishment? What strength did you use to achieve this?
• -Read it to yourself and ask if you are impressed?
• -Avoid listing off qualities without using examples
• -Avoid saying the synonyms of the same types of words (rambling!)

Weaknesses: Have a weakness you are actively improving or improved. Think areas of GROWTH, not LACK.

• -GPA- retake classes? Note: A coach can really help you decide how much or how little to talk about your GPA; Everyone’s story is different. It can honestly make or break your personal statement
• -Spanish- are you proficient, but want to be fluent?
• -Lack of experience- Will you improve this in or before the internship?

5. Why are you applying to this program?

-End your letter with a paragraph on why this program matches your experience and goals.

• -Reason should not be geography
• -Focus on the program’s uniqueness
• -Test: can you say this reason for any other program? If yes, then be more specific.
• -Talk about unique rotations related to your goals.
• -Choose a couple of rotations to highlight
• -What can you do during the elective rotation?

Feeling stuck on your last paragraph?

Don’t fret! In Jenny’s personal statement webinar, she is sharing the strategies our Get Matched Coaching clients use to write a powerful conclusion paragraph for your dietetic internship personal statement. Using these strategies you can be sure you will “wow” the selection committee.

Ready to dive into DICAS? Work with a coach to bring your application to the next level.

Get an expert coach in your corner helping you through every step of this confusing application journey. You’ll get the exact roadmap, personalized advice, application reviews, accountability, and confidence that will bring you one step closer to becoming a dietitian. Learn more about Get Matched Coaching here.