How to interpret UCSF personal history statement?

[rkb397]

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Hello, I'm starting to get a bit worried that I'm interpreting the UCSF personal history prompt incorrectly? Specifically I'm worried about what they mean by "academic journey": here's what I want to talk about in this statement
- growing up in NYC and how that plus my own multiracial identity helps me connect with patients from other cultures (is this cliche?)
- being LGBT and that plus my partner's experiences with accessing healthcare informing my interest in women's health/pelvic floor PT to serve the gay/trans community specifically
- experiences with my grandparents informing how i connect with elderly patients (idk about this one but I wanna connect this to the values i grew up with, would that work?)
I just don't know if they're expecting me to talk about the classes I took that are somewhat adjacent to these (and I did take a couple random classes like japanese films and psychology of relationships) or my experiences in the clinic that relate to these. should I talk about all three? i feel like i have a better time connecting this to why i want to be a PT than my 'academic journey'...

 

[JMarcusDPT]

Those all seem like great topics to write about. It's clear you value diversity and have experience working with different people, which is what they're getting it. I've edited this essay a lot, and sometimes the opposite can ring true. It's inspiring your academic journey and taught you a lot, so that should work.

 

[rkb397]

Thank you so much for your feedback! I am also wondering though, like many others I have 1000+ hours in OP PT and so most of the experiences in my main essay were about experiences and conversations I've had with patients. Should I diversify in the UCSF essay so that it's not all about patients but about my personal life as well? i have bits and pieces of my life in there too but I was wondering if they want me to talk about things outside the clinic setting.

 

[JMarcusDPT]

Are you fully answering the prompt in the main essay if you're just talking about clinical experiences? I usually tell people to avoid writing too much about that because then the reader isn't learning much about who you are and what makes you unique.