How to write a meaningful personal statement

Personal statement is one of the most important parts of your application, definitely take your time to write about who YOU are. It is easy to get lost in the details of our stories that shift the focus away from US, the person writing the essay talking about their journey.

PA school personal statement prompt on CASPA:

Please explain why you are interested in becoming a Physician Assistant. [5000 characters, ~1.5 pgs single spaced]

“Weakness” paragraph can be used to address any weak points or any adversities you have overcome in life while completing your education. It is completely up to you whether you want to discuss something or not. Personally, I mentioned medical school and low GPA as those were a big part of my application. Some students may have gone through health issues personally or with family members leading to possible bad grades and making certain semesters as “weak” points of your application. Utilize this space to discuss anything from certain grades, semesters, GPAs, GRE or personal struggles. Be sure to check the school's requirements and make sure what you are about to mention in this paragraph applies to all schools you are applying to. For example, mentioning low GRE may hinder your application for schools that don’t require GRE. The goal of this paragraph is to show maturity and sense of accountability for what may have happened. To strengthen your application, state how you overcame the situation and grew as a person.

Basic things to keep in mind:

• It is physician assistant, not physician’s assistant.

• You can address PAs by: PA Patel-Joshi or PA Nidhi ;)

• PA’s (when describing something they do or how they are). PAs (when you group multiple PAs together).

• Definitely give examples of your shadowing experiences to back up what exactly attracts you about the field. Indirectly answer why not NP, MD, DO, bedside nursing, PT, etc.

• Don’t use common terms like lateral mobility or having a balanced life. Although these qualities may be attractive about the PA field, are you able to say why not any other medical field when answering why PA? Give examples and dig deep about why exactly PA and connect your shadowing experiences with the statements you make.

In a typical format, there'll be an introduction, body paragraphs (at least 2-3) and conclusion.