I'm so mad at myself because I cannot seem to get this done. I sit down and have started over ten drafts but cannot finish and always end up hating where I'm going with it. What helped you guys write your personal statement and what organization methods should I use? I feel like I just am rambling but on paper.
I'm so nervous and just keep psyching myself out. I dont know what I should include and what not. Important things I feel like that have shaped me as a person are:
>>My parents are from India and were immigrants here (I'm 1st generation) so I loved having Indian and American culture in my life
> My dad was an alcoholic and we had to face poverty growing up. My mom just wanted us to get an education so my siblings and I could have the opportunity to succeed.
>>I am an exercise science major. i know I also need to talk about why I'd like to do OT and my goals.
Do you think I should not talk about my dad being an alcoholic?
My gpa is 3.51, I have about 200 observation hours. I'm an Intern for a Certified Hand Therapist/OT clinic.
Please help guys, any advice would be liberating to me at this point. Thanks!!
Basic things to write about:
Why do you want to be an OT? (e.g., I have realized that OT represents the perfect blend of my interests, passions, and abilities).
What makes you qualified for graduate school and the profession of OT? (e.g., I have a strong academic foundation in kinesiology and biology).
Positive experiences that made you want to pursue OT (e.g., As an OT technician, I have found interacting with patients to be highly enjoyable).
Express your knowledge of OT (e.g., I find Occupational therapy appealing because of it's holistic and humanistic foundations. As an X student, I am wholly committed to these concepts, as I believe they are integral to providing high quality healthcare, etc.).
Eye opening experiences about the OT profession (e.g., observing Occupational therapists has given me a glimpse into the impacts of occupational deprivation and the importance of providing occupational therapy services so that individuals may live life to the fullest).
Your professional goals and interests (e.g., my goal is to become a highly competent, advanced-level practitioner specializing in X).
What makes you an exceptional fit for the program (e.g., I share clinical and research interests with X faculty member). This is extremely important, unless if you are writing an OTCAS personal statement. If it's for OTCAS,
avoid tailoring the personal statement to any individual program.
Things to avoid:
Always provide evidence. Never say (e.g., I am interested in research) without backing it up. Talk about your research experiences, and especially if it is relevant to the profession of OT or the research interests of faculty members. Never claim you are passionate about OT without saying what it is that you are passionate about. Talk about what it is that makes you passionate about OT.
Do not write about personal problems. If you need to, you should minimize it as you do not want to send a red flag to the admissions committees. You should also talk about it in a positive way (i.e., how it has influenced you to improve as a person).
Never write anything negative about yourself, other people, or other institutions. Do not diminish yourself or your capabilities. This can lead to immediate rejection.
Do not reiterate anything that can be found on your application or transcript (e.g., your GPA or amount of observation hours).
Do not write a long, drawn out story. You need to be succinct and sell yourself to the admissions committee within 1-2 pages, or however long the personal statement needs to be. You may be from India and this has shaped who you are, but this has little to do with graduate school, or the graduate program. It has to be relevant to OT and graduate school (e.g., you can talk about poverty if this led to an experience of occupational disruption or alienation. You can talk about poverty as it relates to social justice. You can talk about poverty if the school is specifically committed to serving under-served and marginalized populations. You may be able to talk about poverty if it has helped you become resilient as a person, as resiliency is an important personal quality for graduate school. However, poverty seems borderline off-topic unless if you can directly tie it into OT).
Avoid errors at all costs. Spell check and proof-read like your life depends on it.
Definitely:
Follow the specific guidelines on how the personal statement should be written for the individual program (or programs if using a centralized application system).
Tailor the personal statement to the specific program (unless it's for OTCAS). This means you will have to write multiple personal statements. Do not write a a generic body and than attach a personalized paragraph to the end. Admissions committees are smart and will tell that you did this.
Organizational methods:
The personal statement must have structure. If it lacks structure, it will irk the admissions committee. They will be reading and re-reading your personal statement numerous times as they decide who should be interviewed/matriculated. So it is important that your personal statement has structure, flow, and correct grammar/spelling.
The organization method I used was chronological. That is, I started out with the very first thing that got me interested in OT. Over time, I developed a greater interest due to my personal experiences, and so I wrote all of this down in a chronological order. It gave the personal statement structure, though it wasn't the most structured approach because the events weren't linear like a continuous story. So chronological might help, though it won't guarantee the best structure, IMO.
My best advice:
Do some free writing and free association without constraining yourself or getting frustrated. Just write what is in your heart, and then fine tune it later. Have an OT or Pre-OT adviser review it and provide you with feedback. Writing several drafts and extensive editing is normal, IMO.
