Top 5 Tips for Writing Your PA School Personal Statement

When you’re applying to PA school, one of the most intimidating steps is writing your personal statement. It can be surprisingly difficult to write about yourself and why you deserve a coveted spot in PA school. Whether you’re on your first or twenty-first draft, these 5 tips will help keep you on track.

1. Remember the Fundamental Question: Why?

The personal statement prompt on CASPA's website reads, "Please explain why you are interested in being a Physician Assistant." The entirety of your personal statement should build toward answering this question. Many PA school applicants miss the mark of delivering an impactful personal statement because they are answering the wrong question. Including details about your life, background, and values is an excellent way to discuss who you are. Listing the many accomplishments and experience you have will effectively display what you have done. However, neither of these alone is sufficient to answer the key question of why you are interested in being a PA.

In order for your personal statement to answer the right question, you will need to give reasons. To make it easier, keep the word “because” in your mind as you write. The answer to a “why” question is a “because” statement. Be sure that each paragraph of your personal statement may be able to be summarized into a single statement that begins with the word “because.”  Obviously you’ll want to avoid overusing the word “because,” so be sure to reword your paragraphs later.

2. Don’t Linger

Reading a personal statement is much like riding a bike uphill. As an admissions professional would tell you, it’s not easy to pour over hundreds of essays in hopes of identifying the right candidate for a PA program. The last thing you would want is for your personal statement to not even be read in its entirety because parts of it were skimmed or skipped. That represents a wasted opportunity for you to connect with the admissions committee and plead your case for acceptance.

So what’s the key to riding a bike to the top of a hill? Momentum. Keep the story progressing forward. The most common reason PA school applicants begin to linger is because of emotional attachment to an element of their story or because it’s the “best part” of their story. This is commonly a personal or family illness or other significant challenge that was overcome in the applicant’s past. Make no mistake, these stories and motivations are essential to an excellent personal statement. However, it’s easy to get bogged down in the details. Do your best to keep the story direct and to avoid redundancy.  You want the most compelling part of your personal statement to be used as a springboard to the rest of your story, not as a speed bump.

3. Entertain Your Audience

As you write your personal statement, you should always keep your audience in mind. This is a story, not just a list of facts. Get all of the important information across, but also make sure it is interesting and enjoyable to read. There are 2 ways to easily make your personal statement more entertaining. 

First, don’t be afraid to incorporate humor. A humorous anecdote incorporated into one of your examples is a quick, easy way to engage your reader. It makes you more relatable and makes the reader want to continue learning more about you. Be cautious not to go overboard. If there are more than two or three moments within your personal statement that are intended to be humorous, it’s probably excessive.  Also be cautious regarding sarcasm. It is very easy to interpret sarcasm as cynicism, which is not a desirable trait for the admissions committees.

Second, show some emotion.  Eliciting emotional response in your reader is another way to keep them engaged with your story. Make a list of each of the examples used in your personal statement and assign each of them a single emotion that you wish to elicit. Emotions you are targeting could be sadness, determination, enthusiasm, etc. Then add vocabulary that supports that emotion.  

4. Show Me

It's not enough to simply state reasons for why you deserve to be accepted to PA school. It is vital to illustrate your points by giving examples. Personal statements with relevant examples are far more effective than those without. They allow you to connect with your reader, elevating you beyond just words written on a page.

It can be difficult to decide which examples to use in your personal statement. This is especially true if you happen to have a significant amount of work experience. High-value examples would include those that demonstrate you working on a team, providing patient care, overcoming personal or professional challenges, impacting your community, or direct interactions and mentorship you’ve received from a PA. 

When deciding which experiences to use to illustrate your point, this exercise may help. Make a list of all of the possible examples you could use. Try to identify the stories that demonstrate more than one attribute. For instance, an example about a heartfelt patient encounter demonstrating your compassion while you were working as an EMT demonstrates more positive qualities than a similar story that took place between you and a family member. You are telling the reader you are compassionate while also bringing to life the fact that you have direct patient care experience as an EMT. The efficiency of demonstrating more than one of your positive attributes within a single example allows you to truly maximize your impact on the reader in the limited amount of space.

5. Sell Yourself

This is not the time to be modest. This is your opportunity to present a bold, passionate, convincing case for why you will be an excellent PA student and eventual PA. Your personal statement should not simply suggest that the admissions committee consider you. It should absolutely eliminate all doubt about your qualifications and passion, making you a candidate they can’t pass up.

Here’s an exercise that will help you identify areas that are strengths you may mistakenly be leaving out of your personal statement. Imagine that despite being very confident in your application, you have received a rejection from your top choice PA school. In this scenario, you would possibly start making a list of your strengths that demonstrate why this is a mistake. Making your “but what about” list can be extremely helpful in identifying the parts of your story that can not be left out of your personal statement.

Articulate your strengths and do so in a direct way. It is a mistake to let your work experience, your GPA, or your letters or recommendation speak for themselves. You must highlight your best attributes and weave them throughout your personal statement. Members of the admissions committee are expecting this. It is not considered boastful or arrogant to speak highly of yourself in your personal statement. Consider the alternative. Why should the admissions committee think highly of you as a candidate if you don’t? No one can speak to what drives you and makes you a deserving applicant better than you. Take every opportunity to sell yourself.