Your personal statement is your chance to demonstrate maturity, address any weaknesses, and showcase your continued dedication to becoming a PA. By making thoughtful revisions to your personal statement and highlighting your progress, you can strengthen your application and increase your chances of acceptance.
Logistics of Writing Your Personal Statement
This blog post was taken from The Physician Assistant School Personal Statement Guide. You can purchase this guide here on our website or on Amazon!
While the prompt for the personal statement section can vary slightly between cycles, the change typically isn’t significant. The main idea remains: Why do you want to be a physician assistant?
There are possible variations of these questions:
Explain your motivations for wanting to become a physician assistant?
In the space provided, wrote a brief statement expressing your motivation or desire to become a physician assistant?
Discuss your motivations for becoming a physician assistant.
Do you see a theme? The majority of PA schools use a universal application service called the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) where you will directly enter your essay in text form. The character limit is 5,000 characters, including spaces, translating to roughly one page and a paragraph single-spaced size 12 font. Obviously, that’s not a ton of space to convince someone you are the best applicant for a spot in their program, especially considering this is the most important narrative you will ever write.
In order to meet this non-negotiable requirement, you must be direct and concise. A ton of descriptors are not necessary to get your point across. Including stories is important, but the focus should remain on you. Since spaces, grammar, or punctuation cannot be sacrificed to get under the character limit, the space must be used wisely.
Once your application is submitted to CASPA, your essay CANNOT be edited. I want to say that again. After you have officially turned everything in, you will NOT have the capability to edit anything about your essay. This is important to note once your get to the editing stage, and also why your essay is not school-specific. Supplemental essays allow you to expand on topics and program-specific points.
In order for your essay to potentially reach the hands of an admission committee member, the minimum requirements of each program must be met. Every school has its own process for how they choose which applications to review and how they are evaluated, but ultimately CASPA algorithms are in place to weed out applicants who don’t yet check the boxes of what schools are looking for. While your essay may be amazing, if your GPA is 2.97 and a school asks for a 3.0, it most likely won’t be read. To put this simply, if your GPA, grades, experience, or test scores don’t fit the minimum, your essay won’t be reviewed by that particular school!
While it seems unfair, with thousands of PA school applicants, the school need a way of separating the masses. They don’t have manpower to evaluate applications of candidates who simply aren’t qualified. A finished CASPA application is typically 25 - 35 pages long, and that’s a lot to comb through! Use due diligence in making sure your application is as complete as possible before submitting.
Since schools use different processes for evaluating applications and essays, it’s possible the person who reads your personal statement hasn’t seen your entire application. Avoid reiterating everything in your app (you don’t have the space), but provide enough background and detail for your reader to understand what you’re referencing without searching for the information. The application may not be readily available.
WHY YOUR ESSAY IS SO IMPORTANT
On a positive note, once you meet the numerous requirements, you’ve cleared a large hurdle. At that point, the admissions committee is left with a smaller number of applications to evaluate and a group of people who fit their criteria, meaning your chances have improved greatly. Your essay will be the factor to set you apart.
Since PA school has become so competitive, most everyone has considerable experience and an impressive resume on paper. While there will always be someone with more hours or better grades, it doesn’t mean you are any less qualified or deserving.
The PA school essay is an opportunity to chronicle the unique details of your journey and express your passion for becoming a PA. I’ve certainly seen subpar essays result in interviews, but a thoughtful personal statement could be the difference in your acceptance.
Similar to the interview process, don’t focus on what you think the admissions committee wants to hear, but actually, tell them about you. Your story may not be dramatic, but it is unique. The best essays I’ve read are the ones that help me understand who the person is by the end of the essay.
THE WRITING PROCESS
Starting with a blank space is intimidating. I can only speak for myself and offer ideas in regards to the process that works best for me, and coincidentally it’s why my first book (the PA School Interview Guide) took three years to complete! Don’t worry about having a perfect essay from the beginning. Your first draft will definitely not be the last, and you may end up changing everything before it’s considered ‘finished’. Grammar, wording choice, and punctuation can be edited after the fact. For that matter, flow and organization can be rearranged as well. Don’t let roadblocks stop you from putting initial words on paper to break the ice.
Let’s review how to best use this book, The first section covers the logistical basics needed before starting on your essay with some tips for reapplicants. In Section II, we’ll dive into essential content matter necessary for a strong personal statement, followed by mistakes you should avoid. Next, you’ll firnd a chapter called “Brainstorming” consisting of worksheets to help stimulate your thoughts and organize ideas that may (or may not) make it into your essay. Think of this chapter as a guided thinking exercise.
If you aren’t starting your essay in the immediate future, make a phone note or Google doc to easily store ideas from random thoughts, patient encounters, or shadowing experiences. Not everything on your list will make it into your essay, but a running list of memorable and pivotal moments can provide invaluable inspiration when the time comes.
Once you are ready to write, set yourself up for success. Choose a particular spot as a “writing area”. Leave your home to go outside or visit a coffee shop, cafe, or library to remove temptations of your surroundings. Get your head in the game. Turn off the TV, close all of your browsers, and set your phone aside. If that seems daunting, set a timer to give the writing undivided attention for a set period of time. If typing your essay is a struggle, consider writing by hand journal style to determine if the words come easier. My writing typically starts like a journal entry from a stream of consciousness and eventually turns into a cohesive paper others can comprehend.
Another option is to speak out loud using transcription to begin your essay shouldn’t sound like something you would speak out loud, but I find this technique helpful for writing blog posts. One suggestion is Otter, a free app that provides fairly accurate transcriptions. Think of this strategy as “interviewing” yourself to get started initially. Use the questions from Brainstorming in Chapter 5 as a starting point.
My goal is to turn this writing process from a stressful worry into an enjoyable task. In preparing your application, the essay gives you the chance to revisit your passion and examine why you started on this path to begin with. Through all of the requirements and hurdles, it is easy to become jaded or discouraged by the long process of applying for PA school, but don’t lose sight of why you committed to this journey. Try to experience the feeling of excitement you initially had for the prospects of being a PA.
HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE?
That’s a subjective and personal question. From literature classes throughout your education, you may have an idea of how long the writing process takes you. However, this essay is quite different because it isn’t something you can research. Your personal statement requires soul searching too, and it’s so much more personal. Writing about yourself makes it more difficult, but you won’t have to worry about citations.
Having dedicated writing time daily/weekly/monthly on your calendar will ensure you are allotting adequate time to focus on your essay in order to complete it by your deadline. Your timeline will depend on your writing skills. Outlining and brainstorming to enter the process with organized thoughts will contribute to a more complete draft from the beginning.
SAVE YOUR WORK
Save your work!! I cannot emphasize this enough. As someone who started this book, was half way finished, and lost all of my writing, I empathize with anyone who has experienced a technical difficulty or lost an essay,.
Here are the places you do NOT want to save your essay: loose sheets of paper, Word document on your computer, in CASPA.
Better choices: Google Drive, Word document with an external hard drive that backs up often, possibly a note on your phone (still a little risky).
Save and back up your work often. Email your essay to yourself occasionally and save it in multiple places. Hopefully, a backup won’t be needed, but do it for your own peace of mind. You won’t regret it!
WHEN TO HIT SUBMIT
Speaking of deadlines, I strongly suggest setting a date to declare your essay finished. It’s quite possible to continue working on your essay forever and never feel like it’s complete or good enough. Look at your calendar and goals to pinpoint an ideal date you would like to have your essay finished. Early-mid April is a recommended timeline if you’re shooting for submitting CASPA soon after the application cycle opens.
WRITER’S BLOCK
At some point during this process, undoubtedly, you’ll feel frustrated and tempted to delete your essay and start over or wait until next cycle. Or possibly, you won’t know what to say or how to portray. yourself on paper. Mixed emotions are completely normal and happen to everyone during this process.
Revisit this chapter as often as needed to refocus on what is important for your essay. If feeling stuck, try an alternate writing technique or a new setting. It’s okay to take a few days off, or even a couple of weeks in order to come back to your essay with fresh eyes.
If you need additional guidance and accountability to get a draft complete, CLICK HERE for a FREE two-week email course that will instruct you through the brainstorming phase to a complete first draft in 15-30 minutes a day.
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Steps to Writing a Personal Statement
Your personal statement is one of the most important essays you will ever write, no stress, right? Today I am breaking down the steps to writing your personal statement so it isn’t quite so daunting. I also have a FREE Two Week Personal Statement Challenge to help you get your first draft on paper.
LOGISTICS: The essay is 5000 characters, including spaces. This trips up a lot of people when they finish writing their essay and enter it on CASPA; it will end up over the character limit because of not accounting for spaces. 5000 characters including spaces comes out to a little over a page, single spaced, regular 12 font.
Keep in mind, if you have to reapply, your personal statement does not carry over between cycles. That is one thing that you would have to resubmit. Once you've submitted your application, you cannot change your personal statement. Make sure that first submission has it exactly the way you want it. It also needs to be general and not specific to a program because you have one essay that goes to every single program. You may have supplemental essays that are specific for each program.
PROMPT: Usually, this is some variation of “Why do you want to be a PA?” Most recently, it was “Discuss your motivations for becoming a physician assistant, and explain why you chose the physician assistant career.” Keep this prompt in mind as you're writing. Your essay will be copied directly in CASPA. However, that should not be the only place you write it. I recommend using Google Docs online to save automatically instead of a Word Document. Save frequently so you can copy and paste it into CAPSA.
So let’s discuss! What does it take to have a really great essay?
BRAINSTORMING PHASE: First and foremost, for those who are not applying currently but may be applying in the next few years, you are in a “brainstorming” phase. Open a note on your phone or have a document somewhere – just jot down ideas. If you see a patient who leaves an impression on you and makes an impact, go ahead and write it down. A year, or two years from now, you may not remember those important encounters. Keep a running list so when it comes to write, you’re not staring at a blank piece of paper and feeling writers’ block.
PLANNING OUT THE WRITING PHASE: I recommend starting your essay no later than the January before you apply to PA school. The application opens up in April, and you don’t want to be scrambling in April, May, or June to get your essay done. You will have plenty of other stuff to do like entering transcripts and keeping up with letters of recommendation. Your personal statement ideally should be done before you get to the application. Give yourself time, making sure there are no errors and then get others’ opinions.
My favorite way to write and your preference may be difference. What works for me is just getting words on paper. It can seem more difficult if you are trying to write the perfect introduction and not feeling like you have anything to say. That may come later! Don’t feel like you have to write your essay in order, but just get some thoughts on paper. Pour out your words and passion about why you want to be a PA and then change it and edit later. Your first draft will definitely not be your last draft and may not even have the same main ideas.
Sit down for 30 minutes with no distractions, no computer, no email, no phone. If you want to type it, that's fine. If you want to write it, that's fine. Think about what has influenced your decisions, gotten you to the point of applying, and your other pivotal moments.
CONTENT: These are the questions that I'm looking for answers to in your essay.
What made you interested in medicine?
You need to show that this is not a last-minute decision; but something that has developed. You don’t need a dramatic story or event that made you interested in medicine. For me, I’ve always been interested in science. My sister had some health problems as a child, which exposed me to medicine. Honestly, I prefer the essays that are not as dramatic. You can read my personal statement here.
How did you find out about the PA profession?
To become a PA, you most likely considered other medical professions at some point, especially medical school, because they're so similar. I found out about the PA profession through my dad. He had a doctor's appointment for a cold and ended up seeing a PA. He thought she was great, and came back home and told me about it. You want to show how you found out about the profession and describe your journey through this process. It needs to relate back to the prompt!
What appealed to you about the PA profession?
Don’t feel like you need to compare med school vs PA school directly in the essay, especially because you are limited on space. Break down where your interests came from and focus on more than just the perks of the career. Talk about the day to day responsibilities of working with a physician, working as part of a team, and the job itself. Emphasized getting to take care of patients and being directly involved with their care. You can mention the flexibility and lateral mobility, but those should not be the primary reasons you want to be a PA; it should be about the patients more than your benefit.
Do you have a good understanding of what PAs do?
I want to know you have a good understanding of what PAs do, and this comes from your shadowing or work experience with PAs. If you read your essay and think you could have pulled the information from Google, then you are probably being too generic and general. Avoid generic and include things that are specific to you and what you saw. Anytime you can use a specific example or story in your essay, that's more effective. Show more than tell that you know what a PA is and what they do, and use those experiences to model the type of provider you want to be as a PA.
I've read so many essays that don't even say the phrase “physician assistant” or “PA” until the conclusion or the last two paragraphs. PA should be stated much sooner in your essay because that is the main idea and focus of your essay.
What will make you a successful PA student?
I want to know how you've prepared to be successful as a PA student. Keep in mind that you're currently applying for a spot as a PA student, not yet as a PA. Show the programs that you're academically prepared with your current history and GPA, upward trends, and strong time management skills needed to succeed as a PA student.
ORGANIZATION:
Ideally, the events in your essay should go in chronological order. Sometimes when I read essays, the events jump all over the place, and I can’t focus on the main points because it’s hard to follow. If you reread it and have a lot of questions, or someone editing has a lot of questions, that is a red flag! Admissions committees read thousands of essays. They should not have to try very hard to figure out what you are talking about.
Don’t sleep on your conclusion. A distinct conclusion needs to sum up your strengths and reiterate why you are the best choice as a PA student in their program. Don’t skimp on the conclusion because of the character limit.
EDITING:
I want to see correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. With abbreviations, fully write out an abbreviation first, and then throughout the rest of your essay, you can write PA for example, instead of physician assistant. You would write “physician assistant (PA)” at first, and then you can use PA throughout the rest of your essay.
Look at content and make sure that everything relates back to the prompt of “Why do you want to be a PA?” In addition, the story needs to be easy to follow – can I figure out what is going on without too many questions or feeling confused?
Consider getting an outside opinion.
I do think it is important to have other people read your essay. You can read your own essay over and over, and you will never feel like it is done. Eventually, you will have to submit. By getting others’ opinions who know your voice or who do not know your voice, that can help ensure you have a strong essay. Friends and family can help make sure it sounds like you. However, the one caveat - if someone is not familiar with the PA school application process or profession, take their advice with a grain of salt because they may offer advice that is not applicable. For example, I don’t think creative writing stories are appropriate for this type of essay. In addition, try to have a PA read your essay. But again, if they aren't really involved in that process, they may or may not give you the best advice.
If you are in undergrad, look into resources at your school. If you have a writing center, or an advisor, or someone who can help you with your essay, take advantage. The PA Platform also offers essay editing services.
Warning! I definitely encourage you to join our pre-PA Facebook group. However, be careful of asking random people to read your essay. They may be writing their own essay and decide to “borrow” parts of yours if it’s very good. Brian has actually heard of that happening at a school where two people ended up turning in the same essay, which is terrifying to me. Definitely make sure that anyone you're letting read your essay that you trust them.
How do I bring up something that may be a red flag? Or should I? How do I talk about it? My rule of thumb is to only bring an issue up if you think it needs explaining and would prevent you from getting an interview. One or two Cs probably doesn't need explaining, but a full rough semester or an overall low GPA may need addressing to give you a chance to clarify. Supplementals offer the opportunity to go more in depth. If you have faced any legal issues, you do have to disclose those on your application. CASPA has a little spot to talk about them. However, if you feel like you need to go more in depth, be positive, get straight to the point, and be as direct as possible. Do not blame a teacher. Do not blame your circumstance. Just explain what happened, and how you can improve. The most important thing is that you own what happened and show improvement from the experience.
Here are some general mistakes:
“Physician's assistant” – If you put this in your essay, and I'm editing, you are going to get ALL RED, BOLDED TEXT. Make sure you know the name of the career you are applying for. There is no apostrophe s in the name. It’s just physician assistant. I don’t personally take offense to a misspelling like this, but you never know who will be reading your essay.
Confusion with timing and jumping back and forth – The writer will talk about working where they work now, but then go back to where they used to work. And then when they shadowed this one time. It's just hard for you to figure out how you actually made decisions with that type of format.
Grammar, punctuation and spelling again!!!
This is a big one. Taking the focus away from you. It's good to use stories and examples, But be cautious that you do not let the focus become on the subject of your story. If you're talking about a patient or your grandma, I should still learn more about you and your role in that story then I do about the person you are talking about. I don’t want to know more about Miss Smith than I know about you. Don’t waste that space on someone else, keep the focus on you
Quotes and clichés - Please don't start your essay with a random quote. It's just not effective and it uses space. Same thing with rhetorical questions and speech. It messes with the flow. Try to use different wording to avoid those types of situations. Also, you don't need to say to the reader, “Thank you so much for your consideration.” These types of phrases just aren't necessary in this type of formal essay.
Check out my Personal Statement Mistakes video on Youtube to help you avoid making some of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to writing their personal statement.
For Reapplicants → The reason why you want to be a PA may not change, but the personal statement should not stay the exact same as the previous cycle. Use some different examples or a different format. Also, if you do reapply to a program and met the minimums, but did not get an interview, really think about your essay and see if that may have been the reason you didn't get interviews.
Flashback to My Personal Statement
I decided to dig back into my e-mail vault the other day to try to find my personal statement from when I applied in 2011! There are definitely some things that I would change if I were to submit it again, but it surprisingly wasn't too bad. And it landed me some interviews, and I was accepted, so it did it's job. I wanted to post this so you could see what got me to where I am now. I'm not sure if this was my final edition that I submitted, but it was the most complete one I could find.
Unfortunately, editing services weren't available when I was applying, but the service would have benefitted me a ton. The only person who edited my essay was my mom, and she's great at grammar, but she's not a PA or that well-informed with what PA admissions are looking for. You can use code FUTUREPA for a discount on The PA Platform services!
If hard work, determination, and focus assure one of success, a career as a physician assistant is within my reach. Strong work ethics, as well as persistence, have directed my actions. Whether it was a small thing like learning to ride my bike or making a career choice, I know what I want to accomplish and will passionately strive to obtain this goal. My aspiration is to be a physician assistant that is compassionate, detail oriented, and conscious of each patient’s needs.
My younger sister, Hanna, began having monthly fevers exceeding 102 degrees shortly after birth. Many of the medical professionals who were consulted concluded that her condition was mysterious, but not life threatening. One doctor stands out to me because of the interest he took in my sister's condition. Two years after he first saw Hanna and after many hours of extensive research, Dr. Miller diagnosed her illness as PHAPA, a rare disease with many unknowns and no clear treatment.
This exposure to healthcare encouraged me to pursue a career as a professional who holds a genuine interest in a patient’s well being. My father first introduced me to the physician assistant profession during my junior year of high school. During the next two years I devoted time toward researching options available in the medical field and asking myself what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. I sought advice from health professionals, family, and teachers. My greatest strengths are determination, an interest in the intricacies of the human body, and compassion for helping people. As a physician assistant, I will be able to utilize those characteristics in a field that is both challenging and rewarding. After having made this decision, I was challenged to step out of my comfort area of literature and social sciences to begin a degree in Biology.
For the past four years at the University of Georgia, I have immersed myself in rigorous classes, observation, CNA training, and volunteering to help better prepare myself for a career as a physician assistant. During Spring semester 2011, I drove to Atlanta every weekend for three months in order to complete the Certified Nursing Assistant program while I still maintained a full time schedule at school.
With my Certified Nursing Assistant license, I have gained further insight into patient care and interaction. Patients value someone who cares and takes the time to explain procedures and complicated medical jargon. Being a CNA before going into a profession as a PA has provided me with valuable insight into the team aspect of medical care. At the hospital, I have worked with many different nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and doctors to ensure quality care for the patients. Each member has his or her own role, but recovery occurs quickest for the patient when everyone works together to provide the highest quality of care.
To further enhance my understanding of PA responsibilities, I have shadowed in various fields, allowing me to observe both patient/PA and Physician/PA interactions and procedures, including surgeries. The ranges of independent levels among the PAs and the professionalism exhibited during stressful situations have been impressive. There was one incident when a diagnosis of a small cyst was actually an aneurism. A dangerous situation was quickly averted because of the quick actions and judgment of the PA.
I have also participated in international volunteer trips with Wesley Foundation, a campus ministry, to Amsterdam and Jamaica. I now see a need for medical care in other countries, and I hope to utilize my knowledge and skills as an international medical provider. For example, the project I worked on in Jamaica was to construct a three-room home to replace the leaking, dirt floored shack occupied by a mother and her five children. She showed her gratefulness with food and tears, while the children showed their excitement with hugs for everyone. This was a small step toward providing this family with a healthier environment. Eventually, I hope to contribute actual healthcare to families such as these.
Flexibility, demand, and growth are all attractive aspects of the PA profession, but my interests go beyond these. As a PA, I will utilize my skills, intelligence, and compassion while I am helping others. Although self-sufficiency is important, I enjoy working as part of a team, which increases accountability. An accountability system in healthcare is essential to preventing mistakes, thus providing better care to patients. The possibility of working in different areas and specialties as needs change makes this career appealing. I am ready to learn and to prepare for my career as a physician assistant.
P.S. If you are struggling with your personal statement, check out our PA school personal statement editing services that can help you write a personal statement with purpose.
Other Posts About Personal Statements
Guest Post from Lorae the PA - The Do's and Don'ts of Writing Your Personal Statement
I'm so excited to share a post with you from Lorae Schafer, a PA student who is killing it on Instagram (@Lorae.the.pa) and Youtube. If you want to be encouraged and get some great tips, make sure you're following her on social media.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Your Personal Statement
Your personal statement is the ultimate balancing act. In 5,000 characters or less, you are asked to showcase who you are, highlight your strengths, elaborate on your experiences, and showcase why you would make a great PA. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to emphasize what makes you unique and explain why programs should want to turn you into a PA. The prompt seems so simple – yet navigating your response can be a challenging and overwhelming task.
As an applicant, I felt I had to create a strong, memorable personal statement to compensate for an otherwise lackluster application. My GPA was average. My patient care/healthcare experience barely met the minimum, and I wasn’t 100% confident in my letters of recommendation. Heck, my prerequisites weren’t even complete by the time I submitted my application. Overall, I felt like a total work in progress! My saving grace was my ability to write about what I felt made me worthy of PA school.
The personal statement is a powerful tool for communicating your individuality to admissions committees. That’s probably why there is so much pressure to make it perfect. But here’s the thing – you don’t have to be the greatest writer in the world to create a killer essay. All you need to know are the do’s and don’ts to create a solid framework for your personal statement. You can always build up from there!
DO…
Consider using a theme. Admissions committees read hundreds to thousands of personal statements every year. A theme allows you to tie your personal statement together by giving you something to bring all your thoughts back to. Even better, it gives your reader something to remember your essay by. Incorporating a positive theme can help increase your memorability as an applicant.
Draw in the reader. If your first paragraph is off to a slow start, you are setting the tone for an uninteresting essay and a blasé reader. Perhaps the most common way of creating a hook is with an interesting (and relevant) story. Whatever you decide – make the reader want to keep reading.
Be honest and transparent. Writing your personal statement isn’t about what you think the admissions committees want to hear; it’s about staying true to who you are. So, before you answer the prompt, make a simple list of the reasons why YOU want to be a PA – not things you found on the internet or heard from your mentor. Then draw on your own meaningful experiences to back up those reasons. By being honest, your personality should naturally start to shine through.
Edit, edit, edit. Continually revise your essay. Nothing ever comes out perfectly the first time around. Then ask your friends, family, colleagues, and/or mentors to look over your personal statement as well. This is useful in ensuring you have no grammar, punctuation, or spelling mistakes. It is also a great way to validate that your essay is genuine. The more eyes, the better!
DON’T…
Define what a PA is. The admissions committees are reading your personal statement to learn something about you, so don’t waste precious time and space explaining something they already know. Instead, ask yourself how you know you could fulfill those same duties – and why you want to.
Restate your resume. Again, this will not contribute to your application. This is what CASPA is for! Use your essay to explain the “how” and “why” behind your resume. Why did working as a CNA confirm that the PA profession was right for you? How does your experience as an EMT substantiate your capabilities as a future PA?
Detail your life story. Yes, the admissions committees want to know you – but primarily the parts of you that are relevant to PA school. Instead of walking the admissions committees through your path to applying step-by-step, focus on specific experiences. Keep personal details and family struggles to a minimum unless they contribute strongly to why you would make a fantastic PA. Even then, focus the majority of your writing around your non-familial life.
Dwell on mistakes. It is tempting to fill up space justifying a failing grade. You are better off briefly touching on issues like these in no more than a couple sentences. Don’t let yourself be distracted from the task at hand. Stay focused on responding to the prompt, painting a picture of your strengths, and maintaining a positive emphasis. Academic hiccups or other potential red flags in your application can be left to a more thorough discussion at your interview.
Remember – you CAN do this! Just think back on how far you’ve come to be able to apply to PA school. This is just one more challenge along the way.
Lorae graduated from the University of San Diego in 2015 with a degree in Behavioral Neuroscience. She worked as a medical scribe in women's health for two years and is currently a first year PA student at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina.
More on Personal Statements
Personal Statement 101: Editing
Writing a compelling essay for your physician assistant school application is no easy feat. It requires dedication, creativity, and a strong focus on editing. Once you have a rough draft, the real work begins as you refine your essay to perfection!
Editing for Content:
One of the first things to tackle during the editing process is content. You must evaluate whether your essay effectively conveys why PA without getting bogged down by unnecessary details and wordiness. Keep the focus on answering essential questions, leaving no room for imagination. Be concise yet informative, showcasing your experiences and aspirations with clarity and confidence.
Editing for Grammar:
A well-written essay is not only about its content but also about impeccable grammar. Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors can distract your reader and weaken the impact of your essay. Remember that this essay may be the most important 5,000 characters you ever write, and any carelessness in grammar can be detrimental to your chances of success. To avoid this, dedicate ample time to proofreading, and if grammar isn't your forte, don't hesitate to seek help from trusted sources.
Editing for Flow:
Your essay should be a smooth and enjoyable read. Achieving a seamless flow ensures that the experiences and ideas discussed align chronologically, making it easy for the reader to follow your narrative. A confusing essay can take away from the impact of your content, causing your reader to struggle with comprehension. Aim for clarity and coherence throughout your writing.
Getting Feedback:
While self-editing is essential, getting feedback from others is equally valuable. Family members or friends can provide insights and help with grammar, but the most beneficial feedback comes from individuals who understand the profession you are pursuing. Consider having a physician assistant, someone you have shadowed or worked with, review your essay. Here on The PA Platform, we offer professional Essay Review Services that offer specialized input while preserving your authentic voice.
More on Personal Statements
Personal Statement 101: Getting Started
After you've taken some time to brainstorm what content you want to include in your personal statement, it's time to actually start writing! There's no denying this can be difficult. My advice is to just start writing. You can always go back and edit your essay later, but just get some words down on paper.
It's okay if you don't initially write your thoughts out in the order you'll use them in your essay, but take the subjects that you brainstormed and spend some time writing about them. Try to avoid lists, but describe your experience or story. Expand on what you've learned through that example, and how it will impact you as a PA student or as a future PA.
Once you have some rough thoughts on paper, try to put them in order. It's important that your essay has a good flow, and so think about the order of your story. How did you come to the decision of becoming a PA? If your essay is choppy or out of order, it will be confusing to your reader, and you will risk losing your reader. Usually, your most interesting or meaningful story will be your best bet for an introduction.
Try to make sure there are no unanswered questions. Even if you aren't able to go into as much detail as you would like to due to the 5,000 character limit, keep in mind that you may be able to explain further in supplemental essays or during an interview. To check on the character limit, use this Character Counter website. If your essay makes questions come up, that might also make your reader lose interest.
So here's your challenge - turn off your phone, set a timer for 30 minutes, sit down and write one full page about why you want to be a PA! Just let your words pour out, and see where it takes you.
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March Webinar - Crafting a Personal Statement for Your Application to Physician Assistant School
Welcome! This webinar was filmed on March 26, 2017, but the information is still relevant and helpful. If you're watching this as a replay, feel free to comment with any questions here or on the YouTube video!
For more personal statement resources:
Physician Assistant School Personal Statement Guide
Free 2-week e-mail course and personal statement checklist
More on Personal Statements
Personal Statement 101: Content
Please explain why you are interested in being a Physician Assistant.
This is an example of the type of prompt that is given for your CASPA essay. An open-ended request for you to explain how you've come to the decision of your future career in 5,000 characters or less (including spaces and punctuation), which is basically one page.
At this point you start to question what in the world you should write about. How do you start? Should you use a story? Or a quote? How do you convey that out of thousands of other applicants, you are most deserving of a spot? All valid and tough questions. The next challenge is fitting all of that information into a limited amount of space. As a pre-PA coach who has read thousands of personal statements, I hope to give you some direction on coming up with exactly what you need to put into your personal statement.
The purpose of your CASPA essay is to show who you are as a person while explaining your motivations for choosing the PA profession. From looking at your grades, achievements, patient care and volunteer experience, an admissions committee can tell whether you have the potential to do well in a PA program academically. They cannot tell if you are a compassionate person who truly understands the role of a PA and genuinely wants to serve others through medicine. They also do not know what experiences you may have gone through to get to the point of applying to PA school.
Some applicants overcome a lot of hardships on their journey to becoming a PA, while others haven't had those intense circumstances. That's ok. You don't need to feel inadequate in either situation, but embrace what you have done personally and use that to your advantage. I’ve come to realize that no one becomes a PA without some degree of sacrifice throughout this process, and schools will recognize your efforts and personal backgrounds. Once you have your essay completed, we have an amazing team of editors at The PA Platform and we would love to help make your essay shine.
BEFORE YOU START
Before trying to figure out how to start your essay or finish it, you need to take some time to evaluate what exactly you want to put in there and what you want to portray. If you need help with brainstorming, book a session with one of our pre-PA coaches to create a game plan for your essay. Your goals are to show:
What exactly made you decide to become a PA? - Any specific experiences you've had? How did you learn about the profession? Who was the first PA you met?
Why after deciding to become a PA, do you want to pursue it, and why does it fit you? - What have you seen while shadowing? What good or bad examples of PAs or other healthcare professionals have impacted your decisions?
Once you have brainstormed key themes and messages that you want to convey in your essay, you can generate a list of potential content for your personal statement and ensure that you have a well-rounded and compelling narrative. These stories will come directly from your own experiences, which makes your essay more personal and memorable.
CONTENT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT FOR PA SCHOOL
When it comes to the content of your personal statement for PA school, there are a few key elements to consider. Of note, you don’t need to come up with a “theme” because the theme is given to you in the prompt.:
Personal Story: Use your personal statement as an opportunity to share your unique journey and experiences that have led you to pursue a career as a PA. Highlight moments, encounters, or events that have shaped your passion for healthcare and the PA profession. Make sure to connect these experiences back to your decision to become a PA.
Motivation and Goals: Clearly articulate your motivation for pursuing a career as a PA and your long-term goals in the field. Discuss what draws you to the profession, such as the ability to provide direct patient care, work as part of a healthcare team, and make a positive impact on individuals' lives. Share your aspirations for how you hope to contribute to the field of medicine and the healthcare community.
Academic Preparedness: Briefly mention your academic background, including any relevant coursework, research experiences, or academic achievements that demonstrate your readiness for the rigorous PA curriculum. Highlight your ability to handle the academic demands of PA school.
Patient Care Experiences: Discuss your experiences in providing patient care, such as working as a medical assistant, EMT, or in another healthcare role. Reflect on these experiences and how they have influenced your decision to pursue a career as a PA. Emphasize the skills and qualities you have developed through these experiences, such as empathy, communication, and teamwork.
Personal Attributes: Highlight your personal qualities and attributes that make you well-suited for a career as a PA. This can include your ability to work well under pressure, your strong interpersonal skills, your dedication to lifelong learning, and your commitment to ethically and compassionately caring for patients.
Remember, your personal statement is an opportunity to showcase your personality, background, and attributes. Be personal, but also keep it professional and focused on why you are well-suited for the PA profession. If you need more guidance, the Physician Assistant School Personal Statement Guide has tons of examples and more guidance with developing your personal statement. When reviewing your essay, it should clearly answer the question of “Why PA?” with personal reasons and confidence!
More on Personal Statements
Personal Statements: Tips from a Reapplicant
I'm so excited to bring you guys an awesome guest post by Meghan from the PA blog, Meghan in Medicine! Enjoy!
Ah, the dreaded personal statement talk. Personal statements can be uncomfortable, strange, and odd to write. Writing or talking about myself has never been my strong suit, and always makes me feel awkward. There is a thin line between coming off confident, well balanced, and self-aware opposed to cocky, conceited, and arrogant in person, and this line is even thinner on paper.
I was a second time applicant to PA school when I got acceptance offers. I altered my personal statement in between application cycles to really encompass who I am, what I've been through that would make me stand out as an applicant, and who I want to be as a Physician Assistant. These are such vague ideas but they helped steer me in the right direction. I was not 100% happy with my first personal statement and am glad that I reached out to get opinions on revising it.
I was fortunate enough to visit with a PA-C who was formally on an admissions committee board for a PA school about my application during my off time. She told me some harsh words about my first personal statement. She told me to nix the dramatic introduction - something I've been told to include since undergraduate workshops, and really focus on 1. what makes me stand out as an applicant 2. what I can bring to a PA class in terms of diversity, and 3. what I will bring to the table as a Physician Assistant.
To help those that are needing some direction I am going to share some major points I made in my personal statement that corresponds with the advice I was given.
What I think helped me stand out as an applicant is that I am an African American woman in a health care field that is 3% African American. I touched on that in my introduction and I gave background on why I wanted to be in the healthcare field.
I bring diversity first in my ethnicity and second in my experiences. I have taken two Medical Service Trips that I am so proud of and am thankful for. The second one made the most impact to me due to an interaction with a citizen who said he'd "rather die" than receive help from the public hospitals around him. This trip was a moment where I realized I wanted to dedicate myself to serving the underserved in medicine and in my community one day.
This section was at the end and it included my goals as an aspiring Physician Assistant. Touch on the patient care you want to provide, the kind of provider you want to be recognized as, patient advocacy, health education, etc.
I really do hope this will help someone reading this because I know how awkward it is to write an essay about yourself. Try to be as honest and forthcoming as possible. Do not include things that aren't genuine because they will notice and will take note. Remember, these admissions committees read upwards of 2,000 personal statements per application cycle, and they know what they are looking for.
Make sure to check out Meghan's website, Meghan in Medicine, for more awesome Pre-PA advice, and you can e-mail her directly at Meghan.ross12@yahoo.com if you have any questions! I'm excited to hear more of her advice once school starts, and I hope you guys will show her some love in the comments.
If you are a reapplicant make sure to check out my Youtube video PA School Reapplicant FAQ - What You Need to Know to Reapply to PA School where I answer questions about reapplying.
Pre-PA
