Personal Statement- "Competitive" being good or bad?

[Hilde11]

Hi guys,

 

I am working on my personal statement, and while many PA school admissions pages say they want competitive applicants I am writing something that may hinder my statement. I can't seem to deem this as inappropriate or appropriate.

 

"The physician assistant profession relies on collaboration and teamwork. I by nature have never been competitive, I spent a lot of my college years helping and building up my classmates. I view my peers as a collectivist, wanting everyone to succeed. "

 

Any feedback would be excellent!

 

Thank you!

 

 

[katesters]

I think by competitive they mean they want applicants with adequate gpa, hce, lor, etc. This does not mean you have to be competitive in nature.

[corpsman89]

BUT, you may want to reword that sentance so you dont admit not being competative.

 

"The physician assistant profession relies on collaboration and teamwork. I by nature have never been competitive (Put something else here), I spent a lot of my college years helping and building up my classmates. I view my peers as a collectivist, wanting everyone to succeed. "

 

Otherwise the sentance is pretty good I would say. 

 

*I am not saying that they want you to be competative, but rather that its somewhat unnecessary. 

[UGoLong]

It's the classic case of stating things in the negative or the positive.

 

You are collaborative, work well in groups, interact well with people at all levels, take criticism as a proactive force for change, etc.

 

In my first day of PA school, the program director told us that the competition was over; we were all in. Someday we would be referring patients to each other and the like. I think that's the attitude to go for. In our group interviews, rather than putting each other down, you find something that someone else said and extend it.

 

Get the picture?