How to Create a Great Personal Statement + 2018-19 PTCAS Essay

[PT_Student_123]

Good Luck on your 2018-2019 applications. This is fantastic resource!

https://register.gotowebinar.com/re...0333217785603&[email protected]

Bonus: 2018-19 PTCAS Essay
"Describe a meaningful experience in your life. Reflect on how that experience influenced your personal growth, such as your attitudes or perceptions." Responses will be limited to 4500 characters.

I got these from a UCSD pre-health advisor.

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[JustBeingPatient]

Thank you for sharing! I watched the webinar and it was extremely helpful. I liked that the last presenter offered up some ideas on how to brainstorm and start writing. I followed the process that she described- creating a web of words and then doing free writing. It was extremely helpful and I was able to suss out some experiences and traits that I wanted to focus on.

I would like to start my personal essay describing one event (a discussion I had with a stranger on a bus) that reshaped how I viewed my future career (I will obviously write about how my view changed). This paradigm shift started a chain of events, and using this new view I started "testing-out" different careers through internships, volunteering, and part-time work. In this essay, I would like to describe the important experiences and skills I gained during this time.

The prompt asks us to describe "a meaningful experience." I am wondering if discussing multiple experiences will not properly address this prompt. I plan to tie all of the experiences back to the specific "woman-on-the-bus" experience. Would approaching the topic in this fashion be smart, or should I try to find a singular experience (possibly my experience in Massage Therapy school) and focus on skills/knowledge/insights that I developed from this singular experience.

 

[Smile72696]

Thank you for sharing! I watched the webinar and it was extremely helpful. I liked that the last presenter offered up some ideas on how to brainstorm and start writing. I followed the process that she described- creating a web of words and then doing free writing. It was extremely helpful and I was able to suss out some experiences and traits that I wanted to focus on.

I would like to start my personal essay describing one event (a discussion I had with a stranger on a bus) that reshaped how I viewed my future career (I will obviously write about how my view changed). This paradigm shift started a chain of events, and using this new view I started "testing-out" different careers through internships, volunteering, and part-time work. In this essay, I would like to describe the important experiences and skills I gained during this time.

The prompt asks us to describe "a meaningful experience." I am wondering if discussing multiple experiences will not properly address this prompt. I plan to tie all of the experiences back to the specific "woman-on-the-bus" experience. Would approaching the topic in this fashion be smart, or should I try to find a singular experience (possibly my experience in Massage Therapy school) and focus on skills/knowledge/insights that I developed from this singular experience.

I am also wondering about taking the same approach. Not exactly sure how they define "experience" or if its left up to our interpretation. I.e. a singular moment or an all encompassing group of experiences that come from a common experience. Not sure!

 

[ACPTWannabe]

Thank you for sharing! I watched the webinar and it was extremely helpful. I liked that the last presenter offered up some ideas on how to brainstorm and start writing. I followed the process that she described- creating a web of words and then doing free writing. It was extremely helpful and I was able to suss out some experiences and traits that I wanted to focus on.

I would like to start my personal essay describing one event (a discussion I had with a stranger on a bus) that reshaped how I viewed my future career (I will obviously write about how my view changed). This paradigm shift started a chain of events, and using this new view I started "testing-out" different careers through internships, volunteering, and part-time work. In this essay, I would like to describe the important experiences and skills I gained during this time.

The prompt asks us to describe "a meaningful experience." I am wondering if discussing multiple experiences will not properly address this prompt. I plan to tie all of the experiences back to the specific "woman-on-the-bus" experience. Would approaching the topic in this fashion be smart, or should I try to find a singular experience (possibly my experience in Massage Therapy school) and focus on skills/knowledge/insights that I developed from this singular experience.

I'm like you. I had the idea to write about how a combination of experiences impacted my attitude towards dealing with adversity beginning with having to withdraw my admissions from my first-choice college and culiminating with two rounds of rejections from physical therapy schools. I included a line or two about how no one experience completely alters our perception instead our perceptions are formed by a combination of experiences. I don't know if it will be ok or not, but I have a draft done and am forwarding it to my pre-health advisor for review.

 

[JustBeingPatient]

I'm like you. I had the idea to write about how a combination of experiences impacted my attitude towards dealing with adversity beginning with having to withdraw my admissions from my first-choice college and culiminating with two rounds of rejections from physical therapy schools. I included a line or two about how no one experience completely alters our perception instead our perceptions are formed by a combination of experiences. I don't know if it will be ok or not, but I have a draft done and am forwarding it to my pre-health advisor for review.

I would love to hear what your adviser says about that approach. Would you be willing to give us an update?

 

[ACPTWannabe]

I would love to hear what your adviser says about that approach. Would you be willing to give us an update?

I'll share what she says. It may be a week or so. I know she's on vacation and I don't want to bother her.

 

[dptdiaries]

Good Luck on your 2018-2019 applications. This is fantastic resource!

https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/recordingView?webinarKey=8189520333217785603&[email protected]

Bonus: 2018-19 PTCAS Essay
"Describe a meaningful experience in your life. Reflect on how that experience influenced your personal growth, such as your attitudes or perceptions." Responses will be limited to 4500 characters.

I got these from a UCSD pre-health advisor.

Hi, does anyone know the prompt for 2019-2020 application cycle?

 

[alphakat]

Hi, does anyone know the prompt for 2019-2020 application cycle?

It should be the same as the 2018-2019 cycle. It usually stays the same for two years.