Autobiography - how personal to get?

[redrose424]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So one of my schools just wants an "Autobiography" the same length as the PTCAS essay for their supplemental. What I was planning was briefly skimming over my childhood (nothing to exciting their) but really having the bulk of the essay be about the past 3-4 years and culminate in how/why I've chosen PT and why I have a passion for it. And well, a lot of it has to do with my mental state over the past 3-4 years, medication, therapy (not physical), and kind of this epiphany. But I'm worried about a stigma that still exists around mental illness, that its all in your head or makes you weak. I don't want the admissions committee to view it (or me) that way, so I was wondering what you guys think? Should I go in this direction (it is a HUGE factor for me deciding to be a PT) or try to take it somewhere else?

 

[abynormal]

Did you incorporate the mental state in your PTCAS essay? If not, this may be useful there as it could speak to your understanding and empathy towards patients that you might see with a mental illness.

Also I feel that in society there is a stigma because people do not understand it and its not something visible to understand, however, you see a contrast to this in the medical world and its spoken by many health degrees requiring some kind of psychology class and for PT, Abnormal Psychology. And its your experience, your autobiography. Aside from describing your decision to do PT, what obstacles did you face and how did you overcome them, how have you matured over the years and how will that make you a successful student in PT school. How did you deal with stress or overwhelming feelings?

 

[redrose424]

Did you incorporate the mental state in your PTCAS essay? If not, this may be useful there as it could speak to your understanding and empathy towards patients that you might see with a mental illness.

Also I feel that in society there is a stigma because people do not understand it and its not something visible to understand, however, you see a contrast to this in the medical world and its spoken by many health degrees requiring some kind of psychology class and for PT, Abnormal Psychology. And its your experience, your autobiography. Aside from describing your decision to do PT, what obstacles did you face and how did you overcome them, how have you matured over the years and how will that make you a successful student in PT school. How did you deal with stress or overwhelming feelings?

I did not include my personal experience with mental illness in my PTCAS essay, although I did talk about the importance of having empathy and described an experience I had with one of the patients while I was observing. I felt like there was not adequate space for me to discuss it and also say everything else I wanted to say, there seems there will be adequate space in this particular autobiography though.

And you're right, I suppose I do equate the stigma general society has towards it while that is most likely different from the medical community. I am not sure how I would word it yet, but I would use it to explain my grade trends, then kind of me overcoming (well, controlling) the illness, seeking help, and how that has impacted my schoolwork, outlook on life, and ability to show compassion. I'd also talk about how its made me recognize the impact exercise has on all facets of your health and of course some strategies I've found for managing stress. This is probably a bad way to describe it, but I'm sure I could write passionately about it and connect it to all the ways that it would make me a successful PT student.