Personal Essays/Statements

[HIlife]

Does anyone else have trouble writing these? I have no problem writing research papers, essays, lab reports etc, but when it comes to writing about myself I find it hard.
Anybody have any tips and advice on how to get started?

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[UCLAbruin08]

i had trouble writing the personal statement, and im sure many others have as well. I guess one advice is to not be creative at first. I guess because its often hard to start of with something catchy and creative that you'd like to have. So outline the major points you want to say and add the little creative aspects later. Plus you're limited to a few thousand characters so its probably best you answer all the questions fully before adding anything else (assuming you're working through PTCAS). One advice I got from my professor was to think of an event or a time where you demonstrated leadership, maturity, responsibility, and growth (common aspects wanted in a graduate program). Once you find your own personal experience, tie that in with how that will help you in the future, and why those personality traits will benefit you in the future. Good Luck and Best Wishes!

 

[Akiramay]

You want to find a common unifying theme for your essay. It could be about how your diversity shaped you into your profession, how you were injured, needed physical therapy, and became interested in being a PT, or how all the activities you've done have given you characteristics and skills necessary for the PT profession. It really helps to have a PT or older adult revise your essay. Get a lot of different perspectives on it to make sure it's the best that it can be.

 

[artizzle]

Please please watch the length of your drafts. Although getting words on the paper is important, the personal statement is limited to several thousand characters, not words. It was really difficult for me to write all these pages and then cut paragraph after paragraph.

So my advice to you is to follow the directions of the previous two posts, but just bear in mind everything in your essay should have a purpose and directly contribute to the overall idea of the paper. I found myself repeating points, which added too much to the length of the paper. Pick the concrete, direct and simple examples.

 

[kdpt3]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=619602

I put my advice up on a similar thread (see link above). I would suggest NOT to write about getting injured and how going through PT for that injury changed you. I've heard from several people in admissions that it is not uncommon and they get tired of hearing the same story. If that's true for you, though, just make sure to find a way to stand out. So the biggest thing: be true to you, but make it pop!