Several years ago, I published a blog post titled 31 Physician Assistant Personal Statement Examples, which has been viewed over half a million times. The chance to read other people’s PA school essays proved so enticing that we even wrote a book about it. It’s called 101 CASPA PA school personal statement examples and is […]
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31 Physician Assistant Personal Statement Examples
Below, are 31 PA school application essays and personal statements pulled from our FREE personal statement and essay collaborative comments section. This is an unedited sample of PA school essay submissions, meant to provide you with some insight into how other applicants are approaching their CASPA personal statements. Real World PA School Personal Statements These […]
What’s Your #1 Personal Statement Struggle?
Are you struggling to write your PA School personal statement? Are you afraid your essay doesn’t stand out, it’s over the character count, or worse yet, it doesn’t even answer the simple question: “Why do I want to be a PA? Well, you are not alone! This year, as part of our PA school collaborative […]
The Physician Assistant Essay and Personal Statement Collaborative
Are you ready to get started? Choose your package, and we will begin today! Single Edit One-on-one Service Supplemental Essays Your success is our passion. (See just some of our 100’s of testimonials and comments below). We are ready to help. Our current PA school essay editing service status (): Accepting New Submissions (Photo: Me circa 1987 […]
Mind Mapping: A Tool for Personal Statements, Supplemental Essays, and Interviews
Are you struggling to come up with ideas for your PA school personal statement or supplemental essays? Are you finding it hard to keep your message consistent as you prepare for your PA school interview? Try mind mapping! Mind mapping is a great way to organize your thoughts and produce new ideas. Plus, it’s a lot of fun! I’ll show you how it works.
The #1 Mistake PRE-PAs Make on Their Personal Statement
What’s the #1 mistake that potential PAs and pre-physician assistant students make while drafting their PA school personal statement? A failure to outline and plan! Outlining your personal statement is like following a proven recipe. Although strong personal statements do not all follow the same format (nor should they), there is a certain formula for success that will […]
Meet the World’s Sexiest PA School Applicants
From GPA to GRE, PCE and HCE check out the latest PA school applicants you need to meet this application cycle. Learn what makes PA school ADCOMs swoon and want to “swipe right” on these PA school applicant CASPA profiles.
How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement The Book!
Admissions Directors and faculty share their expectations for your PA school personal statement and we teach you how to write it! What Makes This Book Unique? We have worked with 1000’s of applicants through our Personal Statement and Essay Collaborative and have interviewed PA school faculty and Admissions Directors from 12 top ranking PA […]
PA School Reapplicants: How to Rewrite Your PA School Essay for Guaranteed Success
Are you reapplying to PA school after not gaining acceptance last round? What will you do with your old personal statement? Toss it completely? Change a few details and cross your fingers? The answer is somewhere in the middle. What should you do with your original PA school personal statement as a PA school reapplicant? […]
ChatGPT Answers the Top 46 PA School Applicant Interview Questions
Just be yourself! This is the one piece of interview advice we have all heard a gazillion times. Maybe you heeded this advice but failed to get into PA school. Or, maybe, like many, advice to “just be oneself” while examining one’s greatest weaknesses doesn’t’ bode well for confidence? Be myself? But who’s that exactly? […]
How to Deal with Bad News in Your Personal Statement
Don’t panic. Here’s how to reframe those negatives on your CAPA application as positives. So, your life hit a rough spot or two on the way to this moment in which you find yourself writing a personal statement to get into PA school. Maybe your journey has included a couple of plot twists. You’re wondering […]
13 Provocative PA School Personal Statement Expressions
Highlight Your PA Shadowing Experience in your CASPA Personal Statement How do you know you’ll be a good PA unless you’ve seen one in action? By shadowing – taking the time to follow a physician assistant through her day to observe what her work is really like. When we interviewed admissions directors for our book “How to Write Your Physician […]
7 Questions to Ask Yourself While Writing Your PA School Personal Statement
Here are seven questions that you should ask yourself (and answer) while writing your PA school personal essay + FREE worksheet 1. What are you passionate about? You should be able to answer this question and if you’re not sure what you’re passionate about start thinking about it and make a list right now. Start […]
Physician Assistant Personal Statement Workshop: “To say I was an accident-prone child is an understatement”
In this latest installment of the personal statement workshop, we continue to pull essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission process and provide you, and our users, with a more detailed analysis of their essays. This submission is by Katie, whose life experiences combined with a traumatic injury at the age of 13, […]
12 Secrets to Writing an Irresistible PA School Personal Statement
In our book “How to write your PA School personal statement,” we interviewed twelve PA school administrators from twelve top-ranking PA programs across the country in search of answers to a simple question: What do PA school administrators want to see in your PA school essay? The results of this search, summarized in the first […]
9 Simple Steps to Avoid Silly Spelling and Grammar Goofs in Your PA School Personel Statement
Did you spot my grammar goof? If not take a second look at the title. You have spent days, weeks, and months writing and perfecting your personal (not personel) statement. You have slaved countless hours in front of the computer screen trying to shed a creative light on your background and highlight your experiences. Don’t […]
Inside Out: How to use Pixar’s Rules of Storytelling to Improve your PA Personal Statement
Want a better PA personal statement? Inside Out can help! We explore Pixar’s rules for storytelling and how you can apply them to a strong personal statement. Riley is an 11-year-old girl whose life is turned upside down when her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco. Riley’s emotions try to guide her through this […]
You Have 625 Words and 2.5 Minutes to Get Into PA School: Use Them Wisely
The average person’s reading speed is about 250 words per minute. The CASPA personal statement allows a 5,000-character count (about 625 words). Therefore, a full-length statement would take an average of 2.5 minutes to read. If a PA program received 1,000 applications meeting or exceeding minimum screening qualifications, reading all of these personal statements would […]
Start at the End: Advice for your PA School Personal Statement
Not sure what to include in your personal statement? Start at the End! The conclusion should summarize your entire essay. Consider the structure of an elevator pitch to write the conclusion of your PA school essay and guide the content of your personal statement! Hi, I’m Deanna Matzen, an editor at the PA life […]
Ratatouille: A Pixar Recipe for PA School Personal Statement Success
Today we continue to explore Pixar’s rules for storytelling and learn how you can apply these rules to draft a winning PA school personal statement. If you’re like most PA hopefuls, you’ve been working on your personal statement for months. But do you know what makes a great PA school personal statement? According to the […]
7 Essays in 7 Days: PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 1, “A PA Changed My Life”
In this special week-long introductory session of the personal statement workshop, we are pulling essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission process and providing you, and our users, with a more thorough analysis of their essays. Since examples often make better teachers than words, pay close attention. You may find just the advice […]
PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 6, “That First Day in Surgery was the First Day of the Rest of my Life”
In this sixth installment of our special week-long personal statement workshop, we continue to pull essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission process and provide you, and our users, with a more detailed analysis of their essays. This sixth submission is by Lindsay. It starts with a story of her time spent […]
The Ultimate PA School Personal Statement Starter Kit
If you are struggling to write your PA school personal narrative, then this message is for you. Here’s why . . . PA school admissions teams have an uncanny ability (honed on the job) to detect when an applicant’s essay rings false. And you need to realize that there is a cost to writing a […]
How to Write a Personal Statement Intro that Readers Want to Read
You’ve probably heard the advice that you should open your personal statement with a story or anecdote. This story should “grab” your readers’ interest, tell them who you are, and help pivot to the main theme: what brings you to the PA profession. That’s a lot to ask of one anecdote, and choosing the right […]
PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 7, “I Want to Take People From Dying to Living, I Want to Get Them Down From the Cliff.”
In this seventh (and final) installment of our special week-long personal statement workshop, we continue to pull essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission process and provide you, and our users, with a more detailed analysis of their essays. This seventh submission is by Jordan and is a real cliffhanger. Jordan, a […]
PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 5, “Then Reach, my Son, and Lift Your People up With You”
In this fifth installment of our special week-long personal statement workshop, we continue to pull essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission process and provide you, and our users, with a more thorough analysis of their essays. This fifth submission is by Jacob. It is a wonderful personal statement detailing his life […]
7 Tips for Addressing Shortcomings in Your PA School Personal Statement
What makes the perfect PA school candidate? Someone with stellar grades from a top university, loads of patient care experience, countless shadowing hours, and a long list of community service endeavors, right? Oh, and Ms. Perfect Candidate probably also speaks four languages fluently, has had her research findings published in peer-reviewed journals, and travels abroad […]
10 Questions Every PA School Personal Statement Must Answer
There’s no one right way to craft your PA personal statement. In fact, it should be as individual as you are. However, there are basic things to include, that together, answer the question: “Why do you want to be a PA?” Here are 10 questions every PA personal statement needs to answer What brings you […]
PA School Reapplicant Personal Statement Checklist
Are you reapplying to PA school and wondering if you should update or rewrite your PA school essay? There are a few reasons to update your personal statement as a reapplicant. For one, AdComs at the schools where you’ve previously applied can compare your essay with the prior year’s personal statements. Secondly, after a year […]
PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 2, “I Want to Move Towards the Forefront of Patient Care”
In this second installment of my special week-long introductory session of the personal statement workshop, we are pulling essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission process and providing you, and our users, with a more thorough analysis of their essays. This second submission is by Justine. It details her progression from an adolescent overcoming a […]
