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Reusing Personal Statement


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Quick question. I applied last application cycle and got waitlisted at a few schools. I really like the personal statement I wrote last year and feel like it encompassed why I want to be a PA well. With getting ready to reapply do you think with a few tweaks and updated experiences I could use the same personal statement from last year? Or would it be better to completely start over?

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If it were me, I'd want to give myself the best shot at getting in the second round and that means looking at ALL aspects of your application and improving anything/everything that you're able to. You could hazard a guess that if you got interviews, it probably wasn't your personal statement that was a problem. But can you say for sure that you wouldn't have gotten more interviews with a different PS? Nope. I'd start over. 

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I would not completely reuse your PS. I don't think COMPLETELY rewriting it is necessary, but I would take a look at it and see if there are any pieces which you can omit. For example, there may be some "fluff" you included which can be cut for more elaboration on any new PCE or achievements you gained this last year. If the schools you're applying to do not have a supplemental question asking what changes you've made as a re-applicant, it might be worth touching on these things in your PS (since they will know you're reapplying anyway).

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I would add something to the PS to summarize what you've done in the past year to strengthen your application. It's what the schools that considered you last year really want to know;  they're unlikely to pull up your old application and compare it with your new one.

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4 hours ago, UGoLong said:

I would add something to the PS to summarize what you've done in the past year to strengthen your application. It's what the schools that considered you last year really want to know;  they're unlikely to pull up your old application and compare it with your new one.

I think it depends on the school. Where I interview, the prior application, letters, essay and all are included in the package. So, it might be worth changing it a bit so that it doesn’t look like a carbon copy of the prior essay.

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