Personal statement writing tips

[jen0508]

I enjoy editing applicant’s personal statements, but often see the same errors over and over again....

 

Pre-PAs, please note:

1. PA written out is “physician assistant”; not Physician Assistant or physician’s assistant or Physician’s Assistant or Physician assistant
   
2. Define an acronym before you introduce it. Example: “Then, I met a physician assistant (PA) named Ssdfsdf, who worked in the cardiology unit. The PA was very blab bla etc etc”
   
3. NEVER bash another profession in your personal statement. You don’t need to put down physicians or NPs to explain why you want to be a PA. (Don’t do this: “I realized I did not want to be a doctor because they are not compassionate and they don’t spend much time with patients or explain things to them.”)
   
4. PA's don’t magically have more time to spend with patients (granted there are many that do as compared to their supervising physician) but there are also a lot who see the same patient load as their physician (and have the same amount of time to spend with patients). The myth that “PAs spend more time with patients” is NOT universally true
   
5. PA’s also don’t magically have more time to spend with their family than physicians. There are PAs that spend all their time at work and never see their family, just like there are physicians that work part time and spend 4 days a week with their family. IT VARIES! THIS should never be in a personal statement: “I want to be a PA because I want to someday raise a family and be able to spend time more with my family” or "I decided to become a PA because they have more free time than doctors."
   
6. It’s totally fine to explain bad grades / bad GPA but don’t devote half the essay to it
   
7. Don’t use slang in your personal statement. It should flow and be easy to read, but should not sound like a conversation between you and your buddies at the bar
   
8. Avoid using contractions (say “I did not” instead of “I didn’t”)
   
9. Stay in the same tense
   
10. Brush up on basic grammar rules, such as when to use a coma, when to use a colon, when to use a semi-colon, etc.
    
11. Try to organize your writing. Example- spend one paragraph on your EMT job, spend one paragraph on the PAs you shadowed, spend one paragraph on your undergrad career, etc.
    

If you suck at writing or are at a loss on what to write about, get the book “Getting into the physician assistant school of your choice,” which devotes a chapter to Essay writing.

 

If anyone has anything to add, feel free to add to the list :)

 

oh, and good luck guys :)

[Sparkles9708]

All of the tips above and have SEVERAL people look over it, including an english professor if you can. It took numerous drafts before I came up with one that accurately portrayed my own story. This is the only other way besides your basic facts on your CASPA application that the ADCOM can get to know you and your motivations for becoming a PA.

 

Good Luck its a hard process to go though, especially with all the waiting, but its well worth the acceptance and knowing the journey is just beginning :=D:

[Just Steve]

I do not believe that an apostrophe is needed when noting multiple PAs. Please correct me if I am mistaken.

 

I believe that personal statements should be about you. They should not be about Grandma being treated at the clinic or how you witnessed a PA doing a great job performing their job. Your complete and well constructed application to the school is proof that you are motivated to be there. An anecdote trying to explain why you are applying to be a PA is a waste of space that could be selling yourself. It doesn't matter if you got your inspiration from reading a Yahoo! news article or that you witnessed some PA laying hands on the crippled and seeing the little boy toss away his crutches forever. I believe the school needs to know that you have a firm understanding what the field of physician assistant is about and why YOU are a kick butt candidate for their program and to eventually become a peer of the AdComs. Witnessing great care doesn't make you a great candidate nor does it give you a firm understanding what being a PA is all about. Tell the school what steps you have completed to furthering your understanding of the profession and give examples of things you have completed that show you are a good match.

[rev ronin]

* Cut 50% of the "I"s out of your first draft.

* Use your "A game" vocabulary. Not necessarily big words, and not ones that an Adcom will be unfamiliar with, but those take-it-up-a-notch words that everyone with a college education knows, but hardly anyone remembers to use. Do not go thesaurus-diving for words, however--that's an invitation to use something unfamiliar less than maximally appropriately. That's foot-shooting territory.

* Do not use passive voice. Kill it with fire, leaving only whatever cannot be phrased actively in the final product.

* Show off your tense changes. If you're going to change tenses, do it well, do it boldly, and use perfect tenses whenever appropriate.

* You're not writing a novel, but when you need description, do it well: use the most descriptive words possible so you convey the best picture with the fewest words.

* Bookend. Revisit the beginning in your ending, or foreshadow your ending in the beginning. Make it look like you planned it that way, vs. just simply ran out of space and/or things to say and quit.

 

That's what comes to mind at the moment.

[mackjacks]

I agree with Just Steve, tell them what you have done/are doing NOT what you saw someone else do. My mentor always said you want to make sure to show them four things: that you've worked (HCE), volunteered, studied, and shadowed (or done something else to understand PA roles, like working with PAs all the time).

[Guest hubbardtim48]

Good point Rev about the "I" in the PS. I was told not to have more than five "I" in my PS, so I went back through and took out at least 10 "I" and re-worded it to be more of a team effort than just my self.

[cinntsp]

1. Brush up on basic grammar rules, such as when to use a coma, when to use a colon, when to use a semi-colon, etc.

Agreed. :;;D:

[ToppDog]

Good points OP, but I will say that number one needs slight modification. When you first use a title, the words should be capitalized, then after that it is okay to use lower case. So, "Physician Assistant" should be capitalized the first time it appears in your writing, and from then on "physician assistant" would be okay to use.

 

Also, whether or not you would use "PAs" or "PA's" is not necessarily set in stone, so you can probably use whichever you like. Some feel that "PAs" is perfectly fine, while others contend that in this internet & computer age where there are often acronyms with a mixture of both upper & lower case letters, that it is important to use the apostrophe to signify multiples.

[Phieud]

What would be considered a cliche personal statement and should I avoid them?

[GatorRRT]

What would be considered a cliche personal statement and should I avoid them?

"I want to be a PA because I want to help people"- or any variation thereof.

"I want to be a PA because they can spend more time with pts" - they more times than not can't

"I've always wanted to practice medicine, and had a fisher price doctor bag" - so do most kids

.....there are tons of them, just try and be authentic and you'll be fine.

[cinntsp]

Good points OP, but I will say that number one needs slight modification. When you first use a title, the words should be capitalized, then after that it is okay to use lower case. So, "Physician Assistant" should be capitalized the first time it appears in your writing, and from then on "physician assistant" would be okay to use.

 

Job titles are only capitalized when part of a specific person's title. These are really the only situations in which it should be capitalized in a PS:

 

1. "While shadowing I had the opportunity to see Physician Assistant Smith do many procedures."

2. "While shadowing I had the opportunity to see Mr. Smith, Physician Assistant, do many procedures."

 

 

Also, whether or not you would use "PAs" or "PA's" is not necessarily set in stone, so you can probably use whichever you like. Some feel that "PAs" is perfectly fine, while others contend that in this internet & computer age where there are often acronyms with a mixture of both upper & lower case letters, that it is important to use the apostrophe to signify multiples.

 

PAs is the correct plural form. The PS is addressing people that understand the context of the writing so there should be no confusion.

[ToppDog]

Interesting. You're right Chris! I cannot find where it says to capitalize a title for the first time it is introduced in writing, but I know they used to teach it that way at some point. I'm actually glad that one seems to have changed, because it always looked awkward to me.

 

The apostrophe for multiples of an acronym is still more of a style issue than it is a universal rule, though; as there are many for & against it. So, to say "PAs" is the correct form is still debatable. I'm of the mind that either is correct as long as you are consistent. I do agree that in a PS it should be clear what "PAs" means though.

 

It's funny how things change over time. In my day you always used the masculine form when the sex was unknown, as in "The person elected to office should thank his constituents." But now some have thrown out the old rules in order to be more PC, & "The person elected to office should thank his or her constituents." is considered to be more correct.

 

Another funny one is the rule of how many spaces should be used between sentences. For as long as typewriters have been around it has always been two; but, with the advent of typesetting software used by publishers, & software that allows folks like us to post things on the internet, all of the sudden there is much screaming to have only a single space between sentences.

[mdebord]

This is easier if you use it in a sentence. For instance: I observed the PA's excellent attention to detail. The other PAs in the office were similarly thorough. See? There's an obvious difference. I know it seems like such a little thing, but I happen to share this pet peeve with a certain Program Director :;;D:.

[ToppDog]

This is easier if you use it in a sentence. For instance: I observed the PA's excellent attention to detail. The other PAs in the office were similarly thorough. See? There's an obvious difference. I know it seems like such a little thing, but I happen to share this pet peeve with a certain Program Director :;;D:.

 

That's a great example!