PTCAS COVID-19 Essay

[samanthaaudrey]

Hi everyone,
This year there is an optional COVID-19 essay regarding hardships and setbacks caused by the pandemic. Most programs I've seen (including the ones to which I am applying) highly recommend completing the prompt. This may sound like a dumb question, but how formally are you all writing yours? I've finished my personal statement and I believe it is very well-written, but with only 2500 characters available for the COVID prompt, I'm finding it hard to be eloquent while explaining my personal situations.

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[DPTloans]

Hi everyone,
This year there is an optional COVID-19 essay regarding hardships and setbacks caused by the pandemic. Most programs I've seen (including the ones to which I am applying) highly recommend completing the prompt. This may sound like a dumb question, but how formally are you all writing yours? I've finished my personal statement and I believe it is very well-written, but with only 2500 characters available for the COVID prompt, I'm finding it hard to be eloquent while explaining my personal situations.

Where in PTCAS are you seeing this question? and what makes you think schools want ppl to do it?

 

[Gldnface]

Where in PTCAS are you seeing this question? and what makes you think schools want ppl to do it?

The Covid question is located in the "personal information" section of the PTCAS application. Some of the programs that I am applying to have added a similar question and require an answer for the Questions portion of their application to be considered complete.

 

[Gldnface]

Hi everyone,
This year there is an optional COVID-19 essay regarding hardships and setbacks caused by the pandemic. Most programs I've seen (including the ones to which I am applying) highly recommend completing the prompt. This may sound like a dumb question, but how formally are you all writing yours? I've finished my personal statement and I believe it is very well-written, but with only 2500 characters available for the COVID prompt, I'm finding it hard to be eloquent while explaining my personal situations.

I had the same issue, I wanted to be able to explain in detail how I have been effected but got caught up with the character limit. Mine wasn't that formal, I just made sure it was written well enough for them to understand my situation while keeping my answer concise.

 

[wiseOldPT]

Any written part is a demonstration of your writing and ability to communicate. If it is well-written and clear, then it will demonstrate both how COVID impacted you and that you can communicate.

 

[ljgissler]

I had the same issue, I wanted to be able to explain in detail how I have been effected but got caught up with the character limit. Mine wasn't that formal, I just made sure it was written well enough for them to understand my situation while keeping my answer concise.

Before I started writing, I prioritized the biggest changes/things that affected my PT career path (canceled internships, moving out unexpectedly, changing gre date, etc). It helped me organize my thoughts and I was able to mention everything fully. I hope this helped 🙂


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[samanthaaudrey]

I had the same issue, I wanted to be able to explain in detail how I have been effected but got caught up with the character limit. Mine wasn't that formal, I just made sure it was written well enough for them to understand my situation while keeping my answer concise.

Yeah, that's my issue. I know that I'm a great writer but honestly I can't fit everything in 2500 characters (my entire life kinda went up in flames, both directly and indirectly because of COVID) so although I have a strong voice, good vocab, and a continuous story, I can't exactly curate it in the same way as the personal statement. I also know that the essay is about what setbacks we've faced, but I don't want it to come off as a "woe is me" piece when I talk about how much I've struggled in the last few months.

 

[samanthaaudrey]

Where in PTCAS are you seeing this question? and what makes you think schools want ppl to do it?

It is in the personal information section. At least for my top choice (Duke) it says on their APTA page in all bold caps "WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND COMPLETING THE OPTIONAL COVID-19 ESSAY"

 

[JMarcusDPT]

Yeah, that's my issue. I know that I'm a great writer but honestly I can't fit everything in 2500 characters (my entire life kinda went up in flames, both directly and indirectly because of COVID) so although I have a strong voice, good vocab, and a continuous story, I can't exactly curate it in the same way as the personal statement. I also know that the essay is about what setbacks we've faced, but I don't want it to come off as a "woe is me" piece when I talk about how much I've struggled in the last few months.

For this type and length of essay, I suggest doing the opposite of "Show, don't tell." Just get right to the point and say how you've been affected. I've seen essays that go into a lot of detail explaining what COVID is, or what restrictions they faced (need to be socially distant, etc), and this is unnecessary because these are things the reader already knows.