kko0403 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Hi everyone, I am applying for the 2018 2019 cycle and at this point, all "paperwork" is in- transcripts, resumes, references, verification of hours etc. However for the past 3 weeks I've been struggling with my personal statement. I've read tons of them online to see what other people were putting into them. I write well- scored 93rd percentile on writing section of the gre. I'm mostly struggling with content- I don't want to just restate my resume and I want to avoid platitudes/generic language. Additionally, I didn't "always want to be a PA" and actually started out in PT school first... so I don't have any particularly defining story or moment that influenced my decision. Is anyone else struggling? Do you have any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearDown Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 10 minutes ago, kko0403 said: Hi everyone, I am applying for the 2018 2019 cycle and at this point, all "paperwork" is in- transcripts, resumes, references, verification of hours etc. However for the past 3 weeks I've been struggling with my personal statement. I've read tons of them online to see what other people were putting into them. I write well- scored 93rd percentile on writing section of the gre. I'm mostly struggling with content- I don't want to just restate my resume and I want to avoid platitudes/generic language. Additionally, I didn't "always want to be a PA" and actually started out in PT school first... so I don't have any particularly defining story or moment that influenced my decision. Is anyone else struggling? Do you have any advice? Its a tough assignment. My advice is people running the programs (NP/PA/MD/DO) - they typically don't like drawn out personal stories. Keep it to the point and cite specific examples from your experience that lead you to the PA role. Accompany that with how those experiences will allow you to grow as a clinician and function at a high level as a PA (tactfully writing that you truly understand the PA landscape.). Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtpnw Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I also struggled with writing my personal statement. I think I ended up with a pretty solid PS and have received positive feedback on it. Here is what I did: It was helpful for me to start with free writing. I would keep a running note on my phone of ideas and stories. Sometimes I would be at work and something would happen and I would write it down. Other times I would be out and about or at home and think of sometime interesting that I wanted to convey and I would add that. Once I had a good amount to work with I pasted it all in a word document and bulleted each idea/statement/paragraph. At first it all felt unrelated and I ended up with a LOT more material than I used. I sifted through everything and found the really strong points and tried to expand on those. After expanding and editing each little idea/paragraph I started to rearrange things in a way that felt more like a story. I arranged my thoughts along a timeline with things progressing in chronological order. Your journey to be a PA happened in real time, so I think arranging things in this way allows your story to progress more naturally in a way that make sense. Eventually I started paring everything down and finding the main points that I wanted to get across about myself and why I am pursuing this profession. At this point I added transitions and started getting other eyes on my PS to see what could be cut out. This would be the point where you could utilize a paid service, but you can also reach out to professors or this forum for editing. I found professors tended to really focus on mechanics, word choice, grammar and mechanics while feedback here is more on ideas. Both of these perspectives I found really helpful. From here keep making edits. I went through at least 3 or 4 drafts, maybe more. The big thing is just starting and working on it as much as possible. It doesn't need to be perfect from the very beginning, so please don't be discouraged! Writing is a process and everyone's first draft kind of sucks. That's why editors exist. If this is really your passion, a narrative will come through if you devote your time to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panglossian Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I started by answering three questions: 1. Why you want to pursue medicine? 2. What makes you a good candidate? 3. Why you want to be a PA? Then, like hmtpnw, I free wrote about different life events or stories. Using that document I found a good hook for an intro and then a underlying theme for my essay. I incorporated my answers to the above questions and had a solid first draft. Feel free to send me a draft! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kko0403 Posted June 1, 2018 Author Share Posted June 1, 2018 Thank you so much for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyJ Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 On 5/31/2018 at 8:08 AM, hmtpnw said: I also struggled with writing my personal statement. I think I ended up with a pretty solid PS and have received positive feedback on it. Here is what I did: It was helpful for me to start with free writing. I would keep a running note on my phone of ideas and stories. Sometimes I would be at work and something would happen and I would write it down. Other times I would be out and about or at home and think of sometime interesting that I wanted to convey and I would add that. Once I had a good amount to work with I pasted it all in a word document and bulleted each idea/statement/paragraph. At first it all felt unrelated and I ended up with a LOT more material than I used. I sifted through everything and found the really strong points and tried to expand on those. After expanding and editing each little idea/paragraph I started to rearrange things in a way that felt more like a story. I arranged my thoughts along a timeline with things progressing in chronological order. Your journey to be a PA happened in real time, so I think arranging things in this way allows your story to progress more naturally in a way that make sense. Eventually I started paring everything down and finding the main points that I wanted to get across about myself and why I am pursuing this profession. At this point I added transitions and started getting other eyes on my PS to see what could be cut out. This would be the point where you could utilize a paid service, but you can also reach out to professors or this forum for editing. I found professors tended to really focus on mechanics, word choice, grammar and mechanics while feedback here is more on ideas. Both of these perspectives I found really helpful. From here keep making edits. I went through at least 3 or 4 drafts, maybe more. The big thing is just starting and working on it as much as possible. It doesn't need to be perfect from the very beginning, so please don't be discouraged! Writing is a process and everyone's first draft kind of sucks. That's why editors exist. If this is really your passion, a narrative will come through if you devote your time to it. Great advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TopShotta Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Honestly you should try a writing service. I had great experience this cycle with one that really turned my PS into a work of art no lie.. Im actually going to make a video about the benefits of using one sometime next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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