how to write an essay for pa school

Write The Perfect PA School Personal Statement [With Examples]

Filling out your PA school application is exciting and overwhelming. You’re beginning the first steps to your career goal, but it includes so much!

You’ll need to complete your application through the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants ( CASPA application). The application includes letters of recommendation, service hours, and a personal statement.

Your personal statement is one of the most important pieces inside the CASPA application. A PA personal statement is really a personal essay that offers you a time to shine.

The goal is to pique the admissions committee’s interest in you, in hopes they will contact you for a school interview.

Your PA school wants to learn more about you and your past experiences. If you’ve kept a journal of your healthcare experiences, it will make the process a little easier. If not, take a week to think through your past medical experiences, patient interactions, and shadowing experiences.

Your goal is to be accepted into a PA Program, become a PA student, and join the PA profession . To get there, you have to complete your application essay. So, let’s get started!

What Is the Purpose of a Physician Assistant Personal Statement?

Your PA personal statement might be the toughest part of the application process. Ultimately, your application essay is a sales piece about you, and that can be difficult to write. Inside the application, your PA school sees an academic background that talks about what kind of student you are.

Your work history tells them about what you’ve done professionally. Your letters from your PA evaluators show what others have to say about you. This is the only time in your PA school application that you hold the pen.

The American Academy of PAs recommends you pay attention to a few dos and don’ts as you consider what to put in your personal statement. Remember there is a 5,000 character limit. This means you have 5,000 characters, not words, in which to complete your essay. Often, this will come out to be about 800 words.

In your essay, clearly state why you’re pursuing the PA profession while demonstrating your knowledge of it. Communication skills are a necessity in the PA profession, and this is a chance for your communication skills to shine. Use your personal essay to communicate why you’re up to the challenge.

Don’t be vague, don’t use abbreviations, and don’t use informal language like contractions. Instead, write formally and identify the theme that brings the whole essay together.

Be sure to make every word count. Most importantly, do not make your personal statement a reiteration of your application. The admissions committee has already read your application. This is time to make yourself unforgettable.

As you are brainstorming, outlining, and writing your application essay, keep your audience in mind. Admission committee members are physician assistants, and they’re looking for good future PAs.

They’re interested in your desire to be part of a growing profession and your passion for patient care. Communicate this through your application essay.

Your PA School Wants To See You Shine in Your Personal Statement

Your personal statement is your unique story of why you want to become a physician assistant. To tell your story well, it’s important to do your homework on your audience. Start by investigating the physician assistant school and take note of their mission, ideas, and values. You can find most of this information on their website.

Look for the emphasis the school places on primary care or specialties. Do they encourage out-of-state applicants? What’s their vision for the future of education? As you find these answers of the PA program you hope to attend, ask yourself—How am I a match? Answers to these questions will help you as you write your personal statement.

Each week, skim through the articles that pop up in your news feed to get to know your intended school. The key word here is “skim;” it’s not necessary to read each word. You only need to read enough to find information to include that will help set yourself apart from other candidates.

Unless you’re perfect, you likely have had to overcome some challenges in your education or your personal life. Recount these challenges in your application essay and identify how you’ve overcome them. Above all, be human in your essay so the admissions committee connects with you and is excited about meeting you.

Prepare, Then Write Your PA Personal Statement

Let’s begin at the beginning. Don’t procrastinate! Some prospective PA students put off writing until they feel inspired or they feel the deadline is disturbingly close.

Sadly, this only feeds the anxiety that often accompanies writing a physician assistant personal statement. If you avoid procrastinating and instead use the process below, it becomes easier. The process includes brainstorming, outlining, and finally writing. But first, let’s start with the structure of the personal statement.

Anatomy of a Physician Assistant Personal Statement

The first thing you need to understand is the structure of the document. Once you know that, it’s easier to brainstorm the type of information you’ll need to write it. A PA personal statement includes an opening statement, a body, and a strong conclusion.

Opening Statement

Your opening statement sets the tone for the rest of your essay. It must grab your reader’s attention and make them want to stay along for the ride. This is where your research into the school comes in handy. Some schools prefer a straightforward statement while others are looking for a compelling story that sets the stage for your desire to become a PA student.

Opening statement stories can recount:

• When you were cared for by a physician assistant.
• What you learned from your personal medical experiences.
• What you discovered from a friend or family member in the healthcare field that touched you.
• Your volunteer experiences.
• What it was like to live in a medically underserved area.

Providing a personal experience helps the admissions committee decide if they want to invite you to a school interview. Be sure to brainstorm multiple personal experiences to use in your opening statement. That way, as you move forward and start writing your first draft, you can change the opening statement to fit the flow of the rest of the essay.

Body of the Essay

This part of your essay tells the admissions committee why you decided to apply to their physician assistant school. Include in the body of your essay how you built an understanding of medicine and what drove you to want to become a physician assistant.

For instance, shadowing other healthcare professionals, reading, healthcare experience, and personal experience are ways of showing your knowledge and passion for the medical field.

It may also help to touch on why you chose to be a physician assistant and not a nurse practitioner or an MD . Remember, you’re speaking to PAs who already know what a PA does . Instead, address what it is about being a physician assistant that speaks to you personally.

Mention specific skills that make you a great PA, such as teamwork, communication, compassion, and your desire to work as a healthcare provider.

If you were faced with challenges and obstacles during your high school or college career, address them and discuss how you’ve grown from the experience. Don’t make excuses; just take ownership of the situation and address it honestly.

Strong Conclusion

You’ve finally finished the body of your PA school essay. This last paragraph of your personal statement should reemphasize your desire to attend physician assistant school, and, specifically, that school’s PA program. In your last paragraph, let your empathy, passion, skills, and dedication shine through.

Make a Personal Statement List, Then Check It Twice

If the process makes you feel overwhelmed, be assured you’re not the only one. However, taking these next two steps can make writing the essay much easier and less intimidating. Let’s start with a personal statement list from which you will later write an outline.

Schedule a date for when you’ll start writing your first draft. Mark this date in your calendar so you won’t forget or procrastinate. Then, on your calendar, mark one week before your “start writing” date. This is your brainstorming date.

On your brainstorming date, make a list of points you want to cover in your application essay. Because this is a brainstorming session, you don’t consider the character limit, it does not need to be in logical order, nor does it all have to follow the same theme.

Your list should include from 3 to 5 experiences that demonstrate the path you’ve taken to become a physician assistant. Patient interaction, academic experience, shadowing, clinical experience, and volunteering all fit the bill. If you have a particular story that you would like to weave throughout the essay, then include that on the list as well.

If you’re considering beginning your application essay, with a story, it’s helpful to brainstorm multiple ideas. A good opening story will build the structure of the document, so add all potential ideas to the list. Again, this is brainstorming, so there’s no need to nail down your opening story right now.

Now, put the list off to the side for at least 4 days. This will give you a chance to mull over your ideas without pressure, so when the time comes, the essay flows naturally.

Create an Outline of Personal Experiences

After 4 days, pull out the list of your personal experiences and begin to structure your essay in the form of an outline. An outline can help you organize your thoughts, so your content flows together.

Remember, there is a 5,000 character limit, so the outline will help you stay on track as you write on the proverbial paper (because you’re writing it on the computer, right?). .

Most pre-PA students write their essays in chronological order. And, truth be told, this is also the best way for the admissions committee to absorb the information. If you do choose to flashback, make it clear so your reader isn’t confused.

Do not try to be perfect—neither in your writing style nor in how you portray yourself.

Your ability to be vulnerable about your challenges makes you more of a real, relatable person. Set aside 2 or 3 days to nail down the outline for your personal statement. Not 2 or 3 full days, but 2 or 3 days to write, mull, and contemplate over the structure, stories, and theme you’ll use.

Start Writing Your Personal Statement: It’s Time to Put Pen to Paper

It’s time to start writing. Set aside quiet time when you won’t be interrupted, and find a space where you can relax. Turn off your phone notifications and shut the door. Take time during the process to do what helps you to calm the butterflies. Simple exercises, music, prayer, and meditation are all popular methods of quieting your mind.

Then start writing using the outline. As you write, remember this is a first draft; you’ll spend time editing, rearranging, and proofing later. Writing your first draft might be one of the fastest steps in writing your personal essay. This is because you’ve already put in the time and effort to develop the ideas. Now is the time to depend on them.

If you feel stuck, many writers find freewriting loosens the creative juices and helps the words flow.

Freewriting is the practice of continuously writing the thoughts that come to you. It was discovered by Peter Elbow in 1973, and it’s been found to help “un-stick” content development. Plus, since you’re using a keyboard, this technique is much easier for you than it was for Mr. Elbow using pen and paper.

After you write your first draft, you’ll need to edit it. One editing technique is to speak your essay out loud as if you were telling it to someone. Use a recorder so you can playback your thoughts—especially those well-worded statements you can’t seem to recreate later.

Seek a Personal Statement Review

Once you’ve polished your personal statement to the best of your ability, it’s time to seek a personal statement review. This is a review process undertaken by an expert, licensed PA who can help improve the flow of your essay and guide you to produce your best possible personal statement for PA school.

Your PA school essay should not be the area of the application process that limits your acceptance.

Potential PA students do well to have a personal statement review, so they don’t get lost in a sea of applicants. The admissions committee is not looking for a cookie-cutter essay, but rather your strongest response to their prompt.

Some PAs that do personal statement reviews also offer services to review CASPA applications. Consider this when choosing a PA to perform your personal statement review. As you weigh your options, costs, and timing, remember the importance of the personal statement to your PA school application and ultimately getting a school interview.

Examples of a PA School Essay

It’s always easier to understand how to write your essay after you’ve read several examples. The PA Life published and analyzed 31 examples for you to read through. At the end of each of these real-world examples are brief comments to help guide the writer to produce a better essay.

The first time you read through a personal essay example, you may miss some points, so be sure to read through examples multiple times.

Here are two short examples using different perspectives to help you determine what the best option is for your personal statement. Neither of these meets the 5,000 character limit since the objective is to offer you different options in the way they could be written and not to develop a full physician assistant program essay.

Personal Statement: Example One

I was seven and my mother was once again giving me cough syrup. I took it standing over the toilet because the cherry flavor made me nauseous, and I was sure I would throw up. This went on for years.

Years of springtime coughing and cherry cough syrup. Years of coughing all night and well into the day. Years and years—until as an adult, I realized I had allergies. In those years, I was cared for by my family physician who was gentle, caring, and took the time to talk with me and my parents.

Over the years I have been treated by nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians. Thankfully my lungs have healed well, and I use my inhaler once every two to three years.

But in those years, I grew to have an understanding of the different roles of mid-level providers and physicians. And, from that understanding, I grew to appreciate the flexibility, professionalism, skills, and abilities that a physician assistant brings to their practice each day.

During my hours of healthcare experience as an EMT, I have also had the privilege of working alongside physician assistants who have demonstrated the unique combination of communication skills, teamwork, and compassion that I believe I also hold.

My desire to practice as a physician assistant is driven by my own healthcare experiences as well as those I have witnessed at work.

Over the past five years, I have volunteered at homeless shelters and nursing homes, while working as an EMT. In that time I have come to realize I am driven to help others, and being a physician assistant is the best way for me to fulfill that life mission. [Character count: 1588, Word count: 281]

Personal Statement: Example Two

In the past three years, I have held the hands of children as they died, comforted their parents, and watched their siblings mourn. For three years I have watched the doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in our hospital work to save lives, and I have seen the difference they make.

As a nurse, I had always assumed I would go on to become a nurse practitioner, so I could see my own patients. But, in the past three years, I have had the chance to see these professions in action, and I have come to realize my goal is to become a physician assistant.

Growing up I lived in a medically underserved area of our large metropolitan city. I saw first-hand the injustices that led to the loss of life or permanent disability. Today I am a nurse in a large city hospital serving those same people, the people from my neighborhood.

In these years I have developed strong communication skills that have served me well as I teach my patients how to care for themselves at home. My experience has been that positive patient outcomes rely on patient understanding and a belief in their necessary care.

My patients and colleagues have taught me the meaning of teamwork, compassion, and understanding of cultural differences. In watching the practice of different medical professionals, it has become obvious that physician assistants are the embodiment of the kind of care I want to offer my patients.

Each medical professional comes from different backgrounds, with different perspectives. I know that my perspective has been impacted by the neighborhood and community of my childhood.

I believe this impact has been a positive one, as it has driven home the need for people who are sensitive to cultural differences, have the time and desire to work with patients, and who have the skills and knowledge to care for them. These characteristics describe me, and I believe they are a deep and integral part of the physician assistant’s practice.

During my freshman year of undergraduate school, my grades faltered as I was learning how to live away from home and control my own schedule. By my sophomore year, I understood what was needed to get the grades I desired, and I achieved high marks through the rest of my education.

To achieve my goal requires my diligence, focus, and ability to absorb and utilize knowledge. I believe I have demonstrated these characters in my undergraduate degree and during my work experience. I am confident in my ability to successfully complete my education and close the gap in healthcare as a primary care provider. [Character count: 2,562 Word count: 444]

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Subscribe to our Blog

Follow us on facebook.

[elfsight_facebook_feed id=”1″]

• Nurse Practitioner 9
• Physician Assistant 26
• Physician Assistant / Nurse Practitioner 9
• Physicians 1
• Resources for Healthcare Providers 11

Popular Post

• Nurse Practitioner vs Physician Assistant [Key Differences] February 6, 2020

Recent Posts

Sign up to our Newsletter

Pa school personal statement: complete guide + examples.

Reviewed by:

Akhil Katakam

Third-Year Medical Student, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University

Reviewed: 11/6/23

If you’re applying to a Physician’s Assistant program, you will be asked to write a personal statement. Continue reading as we outline the dos and don'ts of your PA school personal statement. 

Are you wondering how to write a unique, stand-out personal statement for PA school? We’ve got you covered with our complete guide to writing a stellar personal statement. 

This one document has the power to set you apart from the competition, giving admissions committees a deeper understanding of who you are beyond your academic achievements and test scores. 

In this guide, we'll walk you through the dos and don'ts of crafting a compelling personal statement that will leave a lasting impression. 

Get The Ultimate Guide on Writing an Unforgettable Personal Statement

How To Write a Strong PA School Personal Statement

The first step is understanding what a personal statement is. A personal statement is a piece of writing that shares who you are to admissions committees. Many programs like humanities and social sciences ask applicants to write personal statements to learn about the applicant on a more intimate level. 

Unlike a statement of purpose, a personal statement focuses more on you and your interests and hobbies rather than academic achievements and accomplishments. 

A personal statement is usually less formal and may take a storytelling approach as you share how your experiences have shaped you and led you to apply to the specific program. 

While the tone is less formal than a statement of purpose, make sure your personal statement is well-written and engaging to your reader. You should proofread and edit your writing multiple times before submitting it. 

When writing a personal statement, think about answering some of the following questions: 

• Why did you pick this program?
• What experiences do you have that makes you a good candidate for the Program?
• What can you bring to the program?
• What can the program bring to you?
• What achievements are you proud of?
• What setbacks or challenges have you overcome?
• What are your career goals, and how does this program help you achieve them? 

As most personal statements are about 500 to 600 words, or two pages double-spaced, you won’t have the space to answer all of these questions. Pick a few to focus on. 

Now that we have a pretty good understanding of the expectations and tone of a personal statement let's discuss how to write a strong personal statement for PA school. 

The first thing to do before you begin writing is to read the school’s instructions carefully. Different schools may ask you to include specific pieces of information in your statement. The key to impressing the admissions committee is to demonstrate that you are detail-oriented and have actually read through the instructions. 

Admission committees for PA schools want to know if you are right for the field before admitting you into the program. If they think you won’t make a good PA, then they most likely won’t accept your application. 

Your personal statement for a PA school should demonstrate why you want to be a Physician Assistant and why you would make a good PA. When writing your statement, highlight specific attributes and characteristics that make up a good PA. Some specific traits to highlight may include:

• Attention to Detail 
• Compassion 
• Confidence 
• Problem-Solver
• Emotional Intelligence 
• Commitment 
• Professionalism  

All of these traits make up a successful Physician Assistant . Use specific examples from your personal experience to show off your great traits. As the saying goes, show, don’t tell. Pick a couple of examples that demonstrate you possess one or more of these traits for your personal statement. 

Successful PA essays are not about job experience; in fact, you should think of a well-rounded approach to medicine. For example, think of extracurricular activities that have shaped your interest in medicine and helped you grow as a person. 

Make sure to work on your personal statement well in advance of submitting your application. This will help ensure you have ample time for revisions, meet the application deadlines and can present the best possible version of yourself to the admissions committee.

What To Avoid In Your Personal Statement for PA School

There are a lot of tips on how to write a good personal statement for med school that you can use for a PA personal statement. However, it is important to know what to avoid doing as well. 

Don’t be dishonest and disingenuous in your personal statement. Admissions committees read thousands of personal statements and can spot those who feel off or insincere. 

You don’t have to be a perfect person or perfect applicant to get accepted; be yourself and be honest. In fact, acknowledging challenges or setbacks that you have faced and overcame is a great way to demonstrate your resilience and problem-solving skills that make you a stronger candidate! 

Also, avoid generic clichés and overused quotations in personal statements. This can include statements such as “I want to be a PA because I love helping people.” General statements such as this are overdone and come across as dull and impersonal. 

Also, steer clear of fixating on salary details. Focusing too much on the money aspect might make it seem like your main motivation for becoming a Physician's Assistant is financial gain, rather than a true passion for patient care and healthcare. Instead, let your personal statement shines with your real-life experiences and genuine enthusiasm for this profession.

Instead, try some suggestions for engaging ways to start your PA personal statement from Hamilton University: 

• Standard: Simply state what you will be talking about in your paper, basically like a thesis statement. 
• Creative: Find a creative and unique way to begin your personal statement. For example, you can start your piece with a relevant quotation that speaks to you and relates to your experiences. 
• Action: Begin in the middle of a story to draw your reader right into the action. 
• Personal: Start off your statement by revealing something personal about yourself that has led you to your interest in medicine. 
• Informative: State a fact that leads into your personal experiences. 

Avoid academic jargon or overly complicated language in your personal statement as well. Keep it simple and easy to read. Being over-dramatic can be off-putting and impersonal. Your personal statement should reflect who you are, so be authentic and genuine. 

It can be difficult to write something intimate about yourself for strangers to read. It can also be hard to balance between humility and boasting. If you need some extra help, you may find some tips on how to write a recommendation letter for yourself helpful. 

While a personal statement is not the same as a letter of recommendation, there are some core similarities. 

PA School Personal Statement Example

Now that we have discussed the components of a personal statement for PA school, let’s check out some essays that were accepted for PA programs to give you an idea of what a good personal statement looks like. 

Here is an example of a well-written personal statement: 

“Hey Doc, you might want to have a look at this.” On my computer rested a radiology report for a patient I saw with my rural preceptor. She came to the office with left upper quadrant pain, early satiety, and abdominal distention. Due to the patient’s age and family history, I was worried that her vague symptoms could be related to ovarian malignancy; thus, I enquired to my preceptor if he thought ultrasonographic imaging would be appropriate. He readily agreed with my rationale. This report reflected my gut feeling that something was wrong: “There are multiple solid masses in the liver…dominant mass measures 17.0 x 12.9 x 18.1 cm. Follow-up CT recommended.” Although it may sound strange, reading those words convinced me I wanted to become a radiologist. 

I wanted to be the person to give an answer for that patient. I wished I could have performed the patient’s ultrasound examination and subsequently analyzed the findings. One of my family medicine patients suffered mortal complications from the rupture of a massive basilar artery aneurysm, and I used his tragic CTA findings to give insights on how to understand the Circle of Willis and how its anatomy explained the patient’s unfortunate condition. 

I had done research one summer centered around using microbubble contrast-enhanced ultrasound to characterize indeterminate renal lesions. I began the project as someone who was incapable of understanding what those series of words actually meant, but by the end I was trying to explain the various septations and wall patterns of lesions suggestive of malignancy to my exasperated, but thankfully supportive, parents. It is this constant teaching aspect of radiology that attracts me to the field. The most obvious instruction one gives as a radiologist is assisting physicians with disease diagnosis and pathology localization, but I see a burgeoning, ever-questioning group of pupils waiting ahead for radiologists: their patients. 

As society becomes increasingly tech-savvy, there will be an increasing desire from patients to access their medical images digitally. With that, there comes the concurrent expectation that radiologists will have to be responsible in disseminating this information, as well as explaining the abnormalities. As this latter role has traditionally been in the hands of primary care physicians and/or specialists, radiology will have to adapt and rise to this challenge. 

I am looking for a residency program that wants to prepare its students for this inevitable future. Such a program would obviously need to be strong in giving its future radiologists extensive breadth and depth in commonplace and emerging image modalities with distinguished skills in fostering student independence. As part of that independence, the program must have a strong emphasis on how best to explain radiologic findings for both physicians and laypeople. Additionally, I hope for ample opportunities for resident research, as well as strong mentorship from both upper level residents and faculty.”

Why this personal statement works : The student clearly outlines their goals and how these goals relate to the PA program. The student also clearly demonstrates how their background and personal experiences support their career goals which shows the reader that they are capable of being a great candidate for a PA program.  

Here is another excerpt from a statement that shares a personal story: 

“Do you think we can take in a 2-year-old?” Unsure if my wife was joking, I stopped midway up the steep hill on 19th Street in Birmingham to catch my breath, which was now short for reasons other than the strenuous walk. My wife went on, explaining that her niece, Gabby, needed a home. Nobody else in the family was able to help, and if we didn’t, she would likely end up in foster care. Though we later discussed it at great length, my mind was made up before I submitted the hill. My parents, who worked at a children’s home in Alabama for most of my life, showed me the impact a loving home could have on a child’s life. I couldn’t imagine saying no to this little girl. Less than a month later, we received full custody of Gabby and it became the three of us (plus the cat). It was my first year of medical school, my wife worked full-time, and we were the sole caretakers of a toddler. Through all the stresses of those early times, one thing stands out in my mind as perhaps the most stressful of all—her nighttime cough. That cough kept us awake at night. Each time Gabby let out a string of coughs, I crawled down to the edge of the bed and put my hand on her chest to make sure she was still breathing. We had been told that she might have asthma, but that was all we knew. We didn’t have any of the documentation most places required for care. We had no Medicaid information, Social Security number, birth certificate, or medical history—only a piece of paper signed by a judge that said we were responsible for her. My wife and I were at a loss—how could we care for this child if we could not get her most basic healthcare needs met? Thankfully, we stumbled upon Christ Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health center (FQHC) in Birmingham. 

Christ Health Center was exactly what our family needed. In addition to caring for Gabby’s needs when most other places would not, I saw there a model of the sort of clinical work I intend on doing after residency. I was so impressed I signed up to do an elective rotation with them between first and second year. Prior to that, I was fairly certain I wanted to practice family medicine and work with the underserved in some way; after my first day at Christ Health Center, there was no doubt left in my mind. My draw to family medicine in general, and FQHCs in particular, is the potential for community change. At Christ Health Center, patients often came in with their entire families and everyone in the room had an issue to address, medical or otherwise. I learned some of the nuances of working with a community and gained skills necessary to help meet these needs. Usually, it was just a word of reassurance; other times, it was patient and family education; and occasionally, it was setting them up with resources for food and housing. 

The lessons of those few months are often in my mind as I see patients. During my family medicine clerkship, I was tasked with doing the H&P for three different children in the same room. Inside, I found a frazzled mother completing paperwork while the kids scrambled about the room. She tried her best to calm them as I started on the histories, but to little avail. She grew more and more dispirited as she continued answering, “I don’t know.” Finally, on the verge of tears, she said, “I’m so sorry. I just got custody of all three of them and don’t know anything about their histories.” I paused, remembering Gabby’s nighttime cough. Finally, I said, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of them. I know exactly how you feel.” 

Why this personal statement works : This student takes a slightly different route than the first example but is also an effective way to write a captivating personal statement. 

This statement reads more like a story, and the reader gets to know the student on a closer level. 

By creating this sense of intimacy, the student demonstrates that their empathy and their ability to overcome personal challenges makes them a great candidate for a PA program. 

Both examples are strong, so the route you want to take is up to you.

Still have some questions? Keep reading as we answer some of your frequently asked questions. 

1. What Should Be In A Personal Statement for PA School?

You should highlight some of your traits and experiences that make you the right fit for the program and the field. Make it personal and make it about you, but remember to also be genuine and humble. 

A personal statement is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions committee. Think about how you want to present yourself and what you want the admissions committee to know about you. 

2. How Do You Write A Unique Personal Statement for PA School?

The most important piece to writing a unique personal statement for PA school is to be yourself and write from your heart. 

3. How Long Should a PA School Personal Statement Be?

This all depends on the school and their instructions. However, most personal statements range from 500 words to 1,000 words. Unless stated otherwise, they should never be longer than 1,000 words. 

Final Thoughts

A personal statement is a key piece of your application. Like your interview , it’s your chance to introduce yourself to the admissions committee and really stand out amongst other applicants. A PA school personal statement is also a great opportunity to show off your writing and communication skills. 

Remember to read through the instructions posted by the school, keep it personal and honest, and proofread and edit before submitting. Follow these key steps to write a personal statement that will impress admissions committees.

Schedule A Free Consultation

You may also like.

How to Craft the Perfect Medical School Letter of Intent

How To Get Into UCSF Medical School: A Guide For Applicants

Which program are you applying to?

Accepted Admissions Blog

Everything you need to know to get Accepted

January 26, 2024

Writing Your PA School Personal Statement with Impact [Including a PA Personal Statement Example]

There are approximately 300 accredited PA (physician assistant) schools in the United States. In the most recent application cycle, these schools received more than 27,000 applications. The matriculation rate for PA schools hovers near 30%, which is lower than the approximate 40% matriculation rate for medical schools. Is becoming a PA a competitive process? Yes! Is it impossible? No!

For you to stand out in this crowded applicant pool, your  personal statement for your PA application  has got to shine from the first sentence to the last. It needs to tell a compelling story that focuses on your sustained interest in the field, while at the same time building a case for your qualifications. It should not rehash your CV, be loaded with clichés, or focus solely on a story that portrays you as a victim.   

The character limit for the CASPA (Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants) personal statement is 5,000 – which includes spaces ! Some people at first believe the limit is 5,000  words  and end up having to severely cut back their overwritten drafts. Don’t let this happen to you! 

The following successful essay responds to the question, “Why PA?” After reading this essay, you’ll understand why the candidate was accepted into a PA program.  The individual has given permission for their essay to be shared publicly. All personal identifiers and details have been removed to protect their privacy.

PA School Personal Statement Example

I was nine years old and in the middle of Mrs. Russell’s third grade class when my stomach began to itch uncontrollably. I remember thinking to myself, “Did I get bitten by a bug?” Completely distracted by the incessant itching, I asked Mrs. Russell if I could go to the nurse’s office. When the nurse lifted my shirt, I saw the biggest “bug bites” I had ever seen covering the majority of my stomach. She quickly called my mom, who took me to several different doctors as the “bug bites” continued to spread all over my body. None of the doctors could figure out what was wrong with me until I saw a Dermatology PA. He immediately diagnosed me with a delayed allergic reaction. He gave me a medication that almost immediately made the hives disappear. I no longer struggled to open my eyes! It was like magic! To this day, I still have no idea what caused that allergic reaction, but I am grateful for this experience, because it introduced me to a PA who continued to touch my life and cultivate my interest in medicine and healthcare.

Year after year, my love of learning continued to flourish. I began taking gifted classes in math and science in the fifth grade and continued to take honors and advanced placement classes when I reached high school. In addition to my studies, I also began to play volleyball and softball. Through these sports, I learned the skills that a textbook could not teach me, such as accountability, integrity,  teamwork , and leadership. Through my academic achievements, active participation in numerous school clubs, and leadership role as the captain of my volleyball team, my high school nominated me to participate in a National Youth Leadership Forum in the summer of ——. I attended lectures by a PA, a nurse, a chiropractor, a veterinarian, and several physician specialists. In addition to the lectures and countless group activities, I visited several medical facilities. In one of the labs, I saw a table displaying human organs infected with different diseases and cancers. To my surprise, I was eager to touch them and learn why the people they once belonged to could not have been saved. From that experience on, I became determined to pursue medicine.

My  interest in the PA profession  quickly became a driving force in my life after my mom was diagnosed with Stage IV Melanoma in February —— and quickly passed away in October of that year. I was devastated upon hearing her diagnosis. How could this happen when she went to the Dermatologist every three to six months? The same Dermatology PA who had healed me with his “magic pills” spent a significant amount of time with my mom after her diagnosis. He met with her and my dad following a long day of seeing patients, to determine if he had missed something in her regular exams. He also made himself available to my entire family and recommended specialists and experimental treatments. He explained everything we did not understand along the way. It is because of the compassion, sincerity, and care he provided to my mom and my family during this difficult time that I became certain I wanted to pursue my love of medicine as a PA.

Throughout my undergraduate career, as well as the time since I graduated, I have continued to explore the medical field to learn as much as I can about becoming a PA. Through countless hours of  shadowing and volunteering  as a medical assistant at —— Dermatology, I have learned how crucial teamwork, effective communication, detailed note-taking, and compassion are for effective patient care. There have been numerous instances where doing a simple and nearly painless biopsy could have turned into a serious and most certainly uncomfortable medical situation. By taking thorough patient histories, accurately noting any allergies, and verbally communicating these notes to the practitioner, I have been able to ensure that patients receive the best care possible while averting any avoidable crises.

Every challenge and opportunity that I have encountered since I was the itchy little girl sitting in Mrs. Russell’s class has brought me to this decision. My mom’s passing has only made me more passionate about this profession and has given me a new appreciation for life that I hope to share with my patients and community. With my love of learning and helping others, as well as the skill set I will gain from a PA program, I am certain that I will have the tools needed to become a valued member of a larger care team. I am eager to see how these opportunities will positively impact not only my life, but also the lives of others.

What makes this PA personal statement outstanding?

This essay shows that the writer invested the question “Why PA?” with a great deal of thought. It is exceptional for the following reasons:

1. The writer specifically explains “why PA” from the first paragraph to the last.

She writes with honesty and skill, directly responding to the essay prompt. Each paragraph illustrates an additional reason that becoming a PA is the only profession for her. She builds her case by discussing her academic achievements (advanced placement and honors classes in math and science), shadowing and volunteering as a medical assistant, and learning to appreciate the essential “soft skills” of compassion, sincerity, and care in a PA, which convinces the reader that she is grateful for, dedicated to, and thirsts for knowledge in the field of medicine. For these reasons, the candidate was  invited to interview  and received an acceptance.

2. The writer demonstrates a longitudinal pattern of behavior and involvement that supports her educational goal.

In my experience,  past behavior predicts future behavior . This candidate’s pattern of behavior aligns with the work and responsibilities of a PA. With a love of learning and teamwork, as demonstrated by the experiences she chose in the medical arena, the writer proves through her long-term involvement with medicine that she will seamlessly fit into the role of PA. It is clear how much effort she has invested into preparing for this career.

3. An appealing balance of personal motivations and professional goals are represented in the essay.

From her childhood experience of being successfully treated by a PA to appreciating the clinical skill and sensitivity of PAs she encountered over the years, this writer’s motivations are a perfect blend of the personal and the professional. She writes convincingly about why this career path will be so meaningful on multiple levels. By drawing on both her personal contact with the profession and her preparation for it, she convinces readers of the variety and depth of her commitment. Each paragraph builds from personal to professional motivations, culminating in a conclusion where she ties the two threads together.

The profession of PA continues to grow in stature and popularity. When submitting your CASPA, remember you will be evaluated on the competitiveness of your holistic portfolio, with the personal statement being a critical component. Take time to craft your narrative, leave yourself additional time for reviewing and editing your drafts, and ensure that the statement you submit will captivate the admissions committee!

As the former assistant dean of student affairs and career development at the William Beaumont School of Medicine, Dr. Valerie Wherely worked directly with the dean of the School of Medicine, the associate dean of student affairs, the associate dean of clinical curriculum, and the assistant dean of admissions, as well as with Year 4 students on both residency application reviews/critiques and mock interview preparation. Work with Valerie! Schedule a free consultation today!

Related Resources:

• How to Get into Physician Assistant Programs , podcast Episode 515
• Reapplying to PA School: Tips on Polishing and Refining Your NEW Application
• Why Should I Consider Allied Health Careers?

About Us Press Room Contact Us Podcast Accepted Blog Privacy Policy Website Terms of Use Disclaimer Client Terms of Service

Accepted 1171 S. Robertson Blvd. #140 Los Angeles CA 90035 +1 (310) 815-9553 © 2022 Accepted

PA School Supplemental Essay Examples

Writing can be difficult, even with practice and training, and oftentimes, reading over PA school supplemental essay examples can help you with your own forays into that realm.

Prompts will change from year to year, and from school to school, but you can expect to find certain prompts generally repeated, albeit with slightly different wording. These prompts are fairly common, and not just in physician assistant programs ; these prompts can be found in applications for medical school secondary essays , as well.

Each essay you write should be a finely-crafted sample of yourself that shines through, tells your story, and showcases your best side to the admissions committee. It can be tricky to know how to throw in your story, along with pertinent information about your academic accomplishments, or the best extracurriculars for PA school , but if you study these examples, you’ll see how to go about this task.

Below, we give you several examples of likely and possible prompts that you will encounter, as well as answers to those questions. Studying these will help you craft your own answers, showing your schools-of-choice how you meet the PA school requirements for their program.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 11 min read

Why do you want to be a pa.

My first memory is, literally, playing with my father’s stethoscope. I was fascinated by it. While this is hardly the first step on my journey to medicine, I like to imagine that there has always been something in my DNA or my psyche which has demanded that I pursue healthcare as a vocation.

I was sick a lot as a child and was in and out of the hospital, finding myself needing help with allergies, asthma, and the occasional broken bone. This early exposure to healthcare, as well as my father’s profession as a doctor, made me familiar with what went on in a hospital.

One day, my dad let me come with him to the hospital to see what it was he did. I was still as fascinated with the trappings of the medical field as I was as a child with that stethoscope. Because of my fascination, he let me come along. I sat in the balcony of an operating room, watching my father carefully controlling the anesthetic to keep the patient unconscious, but alive – safe.

Allow me a moment to talk about another passion of my life: sports. I’ve always been an avid sportsman, enjoying soccer and baseball as a boy. What I love most about sports is the teamwork: the offense and defense working in tandem, under a team captain’s plan, to win the game. What I saw in the operating theater was exactly the same kind of teamwork, with nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals operating together to heal their patient.

That interest in the complete healthcare team got me researching the different positions and kinds of medical experts there were – and I looked up everything from anesthesiologists to x-ray techs. Along the way, I discovered the physician assistant. This resonated with me. It seemed like this role had something special to offer their team. They were versatile, worked under doctors to provide a variety of care, and seemed like they could help a lot of people.

Your program has a strong emphasis on patient interaction and foundational knowledge. I love the former, and know I will need the latter.

Patient interaction is my favorite part over any other aspect of healthcare. I love bringing somebody a smile and peace as much as a medical cure for their condition. I recognize that medicine is a holistic process and know that a big part of that whole is making sure that the patient is taken care of as a person.

Because your program gets PA students together with patients sooner than other programs, I was immediately drawn to it, knowing that I would feel useful, and like I was making a difference faster than at almost any other school.

Foundational knowledge is also important to me. Rather than rushing into new techniques or fads, your program emphasizes having a strong knowledge of the basics. I know that building on those basic techniques will allow me to place newer ideas on a firm foundation, and help me navigate the strange realms of human physiology and healthcare.

Although foundations are important in your program, that hardly means you are living in the past. You have some of the most state-of-the-art laboratories I have seen. It’s nice to know that I will be able to learn with advanced techniques and the latest elements of medicine.

The obvious answer is “physician assistant,” but of course, there are so many aspects to that job, and I will go into some of my top choices for what kind of PA I want to be and what kind of life I hope to lead.

My ideal situation would be to practice under the auspices of a hospital in a small town, or even out in the country. I have always loved open places and nature, and I think that living in such a community would bring me great personal satisfaction.

On a professional level, assisting with a smaller hospital or a family practice out in the country would maximize the use of my skills – in my opinion. Staffing is an often-encountered hurdle in such small communities, and a PA – or several – would be of tremendous use in a rural area. Since doctors are scarce, being able to add staff members who can assist those physicians would be giving a small community an amount of healthcare that would really make an impact.

Additionally, getting to know a smaller community would be satisfying and allow me to understand my patients a lot better than in a larger city with more distance and less personal contact.

The philosophy of medicine has fascinated me for some time, and I would like to continue my studies in this area. The culmination of these studies would occur after practicing for a short time. At that time, I would like to get my master of physician assistant studies (MPAS), and dedicate some of my time to teaching up and coming PAs and other healthcare professionals. I believe in giving back to my community and offering a helping hand up to the next generation of healthcare professionals.

I didn’t like the first years of my life. Bounced around from foster home to foster home, it took years before I had found my adoptive parents and was finally, permanently accepted into a family. That acceptance meant the world to me, and showed me that you can choose your family and choose to find love and acceptance in even the direst of circumstances.

We lived in a suburb, and the whole place seemed as quiet and tranquil as a Norman Rockwell painting on Prozac. Not unpleasant, just a little lethargic. That was okay. It gave me two important aspects of myself: a desire to explore, and a safe place to return to at the end of any adventure.

I remember one time biking along the train tracks with my buddy Rod. We had each received a new bicycle for our birthdays and knew that this was the most freedom a boy could get before he could get a driver’s license.

Rod didn’t see the train as quickly as I did, and when I yelled, he fell from his bike, and I dropped my own vehicle to race to him. I pulled him back from the edge of speeding death just in time. It was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life; Rod was another “family” member I’d chosen.

That brush with near-death was one of the reasons I have that made me want to make a career out of helping people. I knew what could have happened if I’d been slower, and I knew that people faced that moment down every day. When Rod and myself, breathless, returned to safe, secure, sedentary suburbia, I knew I wanted to stand with those that were facing death.

Ironically, it didn’t make either of us scared to try new things. Both Rod and myself go rock climbing. I think, in a counter-intuitive way, the incident with the train made both of us realize that we couldn’t control every outcome, but that we could always count on each other. I don’t know how many risks I’d take without Rod watching my back, but with his help, I feel more stabilized.

Whether through my adoptive family, my familial friends like Rod, or my quiet suburbs, I know that I can go forward on any adventure – rock-climbing or bike-riding, or learning about medicine – and have a safety net made of love at my back. I wouldn’t be me without those people or my joy in adventure and in the care of friends.

Explain Any Gaps or Deficiencies in Your Application

The hardest lesson I’ve ever had to learn was one I had to learn at the expense of some of my GPA. My first year of university was radically different from high school, in terms of its scope and the requirements it placed on me, as well as my response to it. In high school, I had been under the roof of my parents, and they kept me in a very strict environment. At university, I cut loose, like I was a rubber band pulled taut and finally snapping back.

I’m not blaming my parents for what I did, of course, I’m merely saying what led up to my failing my chemistry course in my first semester.

Winter break came, and I knew I had a major decision to make: change majors or press on. I decided to keep going, and with that dedication came great resolve. Over the break, other students spent their time reconnecting with friends and family after their first years away at school. For myself, I studied. In fact, what I did was study how to study.

By the time I got back to school, I arrived with a multitude of study guides, meditation techniques, and day planners with which I would set up a regimen of studying habits to ensure success. I added chemistry back onto my course load and re-took the course that semester.

I had learned a valuable lesson about how to spend my time, how to study, and how to seek out techniques to help me. I also learned not to ignore problems (like a poor grade on a midterm) but to confront my difficulties head-on and keep my goals in sight.

So, while you will see an F on my transcript for one semester’s chemistry class, I encourage you to look to the next semester, which has an A- for the same course. Now, don’t ignore the F, either. An F symbolizes failure, and an A- symbolizes passing, but both together show progress, perseverance, and lessons learned. Those two together are far more valuable than either alone. Because anybody can pass a course, but a true student learns and grows.

My mother is an architect, and I remember invading her home office one day, as a child, staring at her draughts papers and having her explain to me about how she needed to compensate for structural weight, materials, and the terrain the building was being built on. Without a solid foundation, perfect design, and the right materials, the whole structure would collapse. Every element was necessary.

I don’t want to get lost in the metaphor. I don’t want to declare the whole building an allegory with this profession as the materials and that profession as the foundation and so forth. What I want to stress is the essential elements of the team.

To me, a physician assistant, working with a doctor, is somebody who steps in to take burdens off of shoulders, lightening the primary physician’s load enough to allow them to focus on a wider area.

A physician assistant, of course, can step in and accomplish much of what an MD or GP can do. Their scope is limited, yes, and they report to – and work in collaboration with – an MD, but they can still take on many tasks for the MD to essentially extend the effective influence and scope of care of that MD.

I think of PAs as integral insofar as they can bridge a lot of gaps where a full MD isn’t needed, but the patient still needs heavy treatment. They are in the middle of the medical world, and that is a position which I think is as exciting as it is useful.

I’ve always enjoyed mediation and removing burdens from others. I think that is the best role for me, and I think working as a physician assistant will give me exactly that.

Wondering how to navigate your applications?

You have already made a great decision to research your essays before writing them, or while revising them. Professional physician assistant application help is a great choice to make, and we’re glad that you are taking your application seriously enough to study these examples. Apply this same process to the rest of your application, with your PA personal statement , for example; research, look at samples, and go for PA personal statement editing , and so on, with every aspect of your application to PA school.

You could run into anything, really, but generally-speaking, the essays you encounter will fall into a few, basic categories:

Personal, like “Tell us about yourself”

Professional, like “Why do you want to be a PA?”

Quirky, like “If you were a kitchen implement, what would you be?”

Other topics might include: What are your strategies for coping with the stressors of school; Tell us about your family; What books have influenced you in the past year; If you couldn’t be a PA, what other career would you want to have; or Where would you like to work as a PA. 

Follow any direct CASPA guidelines or guidelines issued by your school. Never go longer than the guideline; consider these as unbreakable rules.

If no length is given, aim for about 500 words; don’t go longer than 600, or shorter than 250. These are short essays, so you don’t need pages and pages on each subject.

Yes. Prompts like, “Why did you choose our program?” are obviously specific to an individual school, and you will need to tailor them accordingly. Others are more general or adaptive, such as, “Why do you want to be a PA?”

Check with each school or program to see what their requirements are. They will not all find it necessary to receive supplemental or secondary essays. Likewise, they might have topics which are optional depending on your personal application and background. If an essay asks you to comment on any gaps in education you’ve had, for example, you won’t need to fill that out if there are no gaps and no low scores or other discrepancies that require explanation in your application.

You can , yes, but depending on the essay, you shouldn’t skip it.

In the above example, you truly might just skip over an essay explaining a gap. If you don’t have a gap, you don’t have an essay to write.

But, if at all possible, write every essay. If you have a tenuous connection to the topic, brainstorm for a while and write something. Every essay is another chance to gain a point or stand out in the eyes of the admissions committee.

For instance, if there is an optional essay saying asking you to show your relationship to an underprivileged community, you might think you need not fill it out if you aren’t part of an underrepresented minority group. But, if the essay just asks for your relationship to such a community, you almost certainly have a connection – a friend, relative, mentor, and so on – who fits that description. You can talk about that connection, or perhaps some volunteer work or politically rallies you’ve been to and how they inspire you and affect you.

CASPA is the Centralized Application Service for Physicians Assistants. It is a service of PAEA – the Physician Assistant Education Association, and allows application to multiple programs through one, centralized program.

Essentially, yes, but you’ll need to fit the answer to different places. Let’s take the prompt “Why do you want to be a PA?” and look at three examples.

In a larger essay, a primary application essay, you’ll likely be given a larger character, word, or page count limit to write out your journey. You can expand on ideas, give a little more of your personal story, and you will be expected to provide more detail commensurate with the increased size of the essay.

In the secondary essays section, these prompts will be, as detailed above, shorter and more to the point. You have less room and less detail.

If you encounter such a question in an interview, it is unlikely that your answer will be formally timed, however, the expectation is that it will occupy approximately two minutes of time, not much more or less. You also will have to cover the “bullet points” and fill in detail ex tempore , instead of writing out precise language and memorizing it.

Always ask yourself what the reader – the admissions committee – wants to know and make sure you answer that. “Tell us about yourself,” isn’t just a list of hobbies, it’s you showing your best, personal attributes – for example.

Want more free tips? Subscribe to our channels for more free and useful content!

Apple Podcasts

Like our blog? Write for us ! >>

Have a question ask our admissions experts below and we'll answer your questions, get started now.

Talk to one of our admissions experts

Our site uses cookies. By using our website, you agree with our cookie policy .

FREE Training Webclass: 

How to make your physician assistant application stand out, (and avoid the top 5 mistakes that get most rejected).

Time Sensitive. Limited Spots Available:

We guarantee you'll get accepted to PA school or you don't pay.

Swipe up to see a great offer!

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Letter of Recommendation

What I’ve Learned From My Students’ College Essays

The genre is often maligned for being formulaic and melodramatic, but it’s more important than you think.

By Nell Freudenberger

Most high school seniors approach the college essay with dread. Either their upbringing hasn’t supplied them with several hundred words of adversity, or worse, they’re afraid that packaging the genuine trauma they’ve experienced is the only way to secure their future. The college counselor at the Brooklyn high school where I’m a writing tutor advises against trauma porn. “Keep it brief , ” she says, “and show how you rose above it.”

I started volunteering in New York City schools in my 20s, before I had kids of my own. At the time, I liked hanging out with teenagers, whom I sometimes had more interesting conversations with than I did my peers. Often I worked with students who spoke English as a second language or who used slang in their writing, and at first I was hung up on grammar. Should I correct any deviation from “standard English” to appeal to some Wizard of Oz behind the curtains of a college admissions office? Or should I encourage students to write the way they speak, in pursuit of an authentic voice, that most elusive of literary qualities?

In fact, I was missing the point. One of many lessons the students have taught me is to let the story dictate the voice of the essay. A few years ago, I worked with a boy who claimed to have nothing to write about. His life had been ordinary, he said; nothing had happened to him. I asked if he wanted to try writing about a family member, his favorite school subject, a summer job? He glanced at his phone, his posture and expression suggesting that he’d rather be anywhere but in front of a computer with me. “Hobbies?” I suggested, without much hope. He gave me a shy glance. “I like to box,” he said.

I’ve had this experience with reluctant writers again and again — when a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously. Of course the primary goal of a college essay is to help its author get an education that leads to a career. Changes in testing policies and financial aid have made applying to college more confusing than ever, but essays have remained basically the same. I would argue that they’re much more than an onerous task or rote exercise, and that unlike standardized tests they are infinitely variable and sometimes beautiful. College essays also provide an opportunity to learn precision, clarity and the process of working toward the truth through multiple revisions.

When a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously.

Even if writing doesn’t end up being fundamental to their future professions, students learn to choose language carefully and to be suspicious of the first words that come to mind. Especially now, as college students shoulder so much of the country’s ethical responsibility for war with their protest movement, essay writing teaches prospective students an increasingly urgent lesson: that choosing their own words over ready-made phrases is the only reliable way to ensure they’re thinking for themselves.

Teenagers are ideal writers for several reasons. They’re usually free of preconceptions about writing, and they tend not to use self-consciously ‘‘literary’’ language. They’re allergic to hypocrisy and are generally unfiltered: They overshare, ask personal questions and call you out for microaggressions as well as less egregious (but still mortifying) verbal errors, such as referring to weed as ‘‘pot.’’ Most important, they have yet to put down their best stories in a finished form.

I can imagine an essay taking a risk and distinguishing itself formally — a poem or a one-act play — but most kids use a more straightforward model: a hook followed by a narrative built around “small moments” that lead to a concluding lesson or aspiration for the future. I never get tired of working with students on these essays because each one is different, and the short, rigid form sometimes makes an emotional story even more powerful. Before I read Javier Zamora’s wrenching “Solito,” I worked with a student who had been transported by a coyote into the U.S. and was reunited with his mother in the parking lot of a big-box store. I don’t remember whether this essay focused on specific skills or coping mechanisms that he gained from his ordeal. I remember only the bliss of the parent-and-child reunion in that uninspiring setting. If I were making a case to an admissions officer, I would suggest that simply being able to convey that experience demonstrates the kind of resilience that any college should admire.

The essays that have stayed with me over the years don’t follow a pattern. There are some narratives on very predictable topics — living up to the expectations of immigrant parents, or suffering from depression in 2020 — that are moving because of the attention with which the student describes the experience. One girl determined to become an engineer while watching her father build furniture from scraps after work; a boy, grieving for his mother during lockdown, began taking pictures of the sky.

If, as Lorrie Moore said, “a short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage,” what is a college essay? Every once in a while I sit down next to a student and start reading, and I have to suppress my excitement, because there on the Google Doc in front of me is a real writer’s voice. One of the first students I ever worked with wrote about falling in love with another girl in dance class, the absolute magic of watching her move and the terror in the conflict between her feelings and the instruction of her religious middle school. She made me think that college essays are less like love than limerence: one-sided, obsessive, idiosyncratic but profound, the first draft of the most personal story their writers will ever tell.

Nell Freudenberger’s novel “The Limits” was published by Knopf last month. She volunteers through the PEN America Writers in the Schools program.