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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.

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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]

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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?

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Crafting Your PA School Personal Statement – A Comprehensive Guide

• September 20, 2022
• Sharjeel Shaw PA-C

A personal statement allows you to share the integral details of your pre-PA journey with admission committees. It’s a chance to showcase attributes that are not already included within your CASPA application. It should be genuine, memorable, and honest.

It should demonstrate your strengths and convince the reader that you have what it takes to become an outstanding Physician Assistant. A rock-solid personal statement can be the one thing that sets you apart from other applicants with similar stats.

It’s your opportunity to catch the attention of admission committees and make them want to meet you in person. A well-crafted personal statement can be your ticket to an interview.

BRAINSTORMING

Write down anything and everything that comes to mind. Think bullet points, not novels. And remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are personal statements.

• Think back to the moment you decided you wanted to become a physician assistant. Where were you? What were you doing? Did the decision come easy? Or did it require a lot of time and reflection?
• When was your first encounter with a physician assistant? How did you first hear about the profession?
• What experiences have you had along the way that have solidified your career choice? Was it a patient encounter, an experience with a family member, or a day you spent shadowing a PA? Think about experiences that spark emotion.
• Why did you choose to pursue a career in healthcare?
• Why did you choose to become a PA over all other healthcare careers? What aspects of the profession are most appealing?
• What personal attributes do you possess that make you a qualified applicant? What experiences have you had that prove that you exemplify those traits?
• What qualities do you possess that will make you a successful PA student and successful practitioner? What experiences have you had that prove that you exemplify those traits?
• Why you vs. the thousands of other applicants? What makes you unique?
• What obstacles have you overcome?
• What are your goals? Describe the type of practitioner that you aspire to be.
• What morals and values do you uphold?

WRITING A FIRST DRAFT

Try free writing first before you start to worry about formatting or flow. Getting your ideas down on paper is the first step. There’s no need to write your entire first draft in one sitting. If you’re experiencing a writer’s block, take a break and come back to it.

     Logistics

• 5000 characters
• Tabs, italics, and bold will not convert when uploaded to CASPA
• Hit return twice between paragraphs

     FORMATTING

• Introduction with a hook or catchy story
• Multiple body paragraphs – each with a separate story or theme
• Strong conclusion that ties in information from intro/body paragraphs

     CONTENT

• Don’t rewrite your resume – demonstrate your attributes with stories
• Demonstrate your knowledge of the profession – specific to PA school, not healthcare in general
• Be authentic – let your personality shine through
• Consider including an overarching theme to tie everything together
• If you chose to address applicant red flags, don’t make excuses – demonstrate growth and improvement

     PROOFREADING

• Use thesaurus.com if you find that you’re repeating a word or phrase frequently
• Read it out loud in order to assess flow and pick up on grammar/spelling mistakes
• Have 2-3 trusted peers/mentors look it over – input from too many sources decreases authenticity

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The 2-Step Prep for Your PA School Personal Statement

Starting a PA school personal statement can seem overwhelming. After months or years of hard work, the CASPA application tasks you with summing up your story in just 5000 characters (around 700-800 words).

Most applicants wait until they are ready to sit down and knock out the entire essay to start writing. However, this approach usually leads to weeks of procrastination until the “right” time (or a looming application deadline) comes along.

There is a better, less pressure-filled way to set about the personal statement. It is an approach that has some built-in procrastination in the plan. By design, it allows you to start working on your essay without writing a single sentence.

In this post, we will outline the two steps that will help prepare you to write your essay. These steps are pressure-free. They allow you to take the time you need to design your most effective PA school essay.

Follow these 2 steps, and much of the hard work of your essay will be done before you ever start writing.

1. Make a list of what you want to include in your PA school essay, then stop there

One week before you start writing your essay, make a list of the key points that you want to cover in your statement. These do not need to be in a logical order, a simple list will do for now.

Your list should include around 3-5 experiences that demonstrate your work towards becoming a PA. These might include direct patient contact or healthcare experience roles, volunteering, academic experience, and shadowing. Check out the Experience Idea List if you need help with this.

If you have a story from one of these experiences that you want to cover in your essay, like a particular patient interaction from your PCE role, include it on the list as well.

Once you have decided on what experiences you will include, consider how you will open your essay. You may want to use a specific story from one of your experiences, or tell about how you first became interested in a career as a PA.

Your opening story will be used to build the backbone of your essay. You will definitely use it again in the conclusion, and may even weave it into the body of the essay if it is appropriate.

You do not need to nail your opening story down just yet, but add potential ideas to the top of your list as they come.

Making this list in advance will help you to decide what is most important to you to include in your essay.

Remember, the essay is short, so you have to curate your content. Be selective so you can be sure to spend enough time highlighting your strongest experiences.

After you have jotted down your list, let it sit for at least 4 days.

Mulling over your ideas for a few days without putting any pressure on yourself to write is essential if you want your essay to develop naturally.

During these few days, spend your time doing things other than completing your CASPA application. The space you give your brain will help you gain clarity on what you want for your essay.

2. Make a rough outline for your personal statement, then walk away

Two to three days before you start writing, start developing your list into a more formal outline.

Do not be tempted to dive into writing just yet. Developing the structure before you start writing will help you to create an essay that flows rather than one that seems disconnected or forced.

The outline should begin with your narrative opening story and transition through your experiences, with the goal of demonstrating your commitment and desire to be a PA.

The most natural way to do this for the majority of applicants is chronological. Some experiences may overlap, but in general you can arrange the flow of your essay based on the sequence of your experiences.

One way to structure the flow is outlined here. If you would like to structure your own experiences into a similar flow, download the personal essay outline worksheet to help you get started.

Your outline does not have to be perfect, especially on the first try. The idea is to start ordering things in your mind so you can see how the flow of your essay can develop naturally.

Once you have your preliminary outline, let it sit for a couple of days. Give your mind some space again to work on this while not under immediate pressure to write your essay.

Preparing for your PA school personal statement a week before you actually start writing can give you significant clarity with what you want to include.

Spend less than an hour on two occasions during that week, and you will set up your brain to work on and improve your essay structure in the background of your day.

By following these two simple exercises, you can be prepared to write your PA school essay without the pressure or guilt that procrastination can bring.

Know what else can take the pressure off of writing your PA school essay? Having your essay reviewed and edited by someone who has been in your position. Whether you are starting from scratch or already have a first draft, getting holistic application and essay guidance with one of my Application Bundles can help you create an essay that PA programs will notice.

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How to Get into PA School: The Ultimate Guide

A step-by-step guide to help you get into your dream physician assistant program.

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: how to apply to pa school, part 3: pa school application components, part 4: pa school personal statement.

Being a physician assistant is the best healthcare job in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report . It boasts a six-figure median pay at $112,260 a year, and it receives better ratings under “stress” and “work-life balance” than being a dentist or a physician do.

But how do you become a physician assistant? How do you get into physician assistant school? What grades do you need for admission? How much prior healthcare experience is required? Do your volunteering activities matter? And how do you write that personal statement? 

This guide will tackle those questions and more. First, we’ll detail what PA programs typically entail, how you can choose the one that’s best for you, and what resources exist to help you finance the degree. Then we’ll explain how to master the admissions process, complete with a personal statement example and a timeline to help schedule your work. 

How do you become a physician assistant?

Physician assistants take on many of the same functions as doctors. They diagnose and prescribe, act as a patient’s main healthcare provider, and even perform some surgical procedures (though always under some sort of doctor supervision). 

So, given the scope of their responsibilities, the requirements to become a PA are fairly strict. You’ll have to pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), a five-hour test with 300 multiple-choice questions covering medical and surgical material.

You’ll also need a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from a program approved by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Some states, like New York, require the degree explicitly, but it’s also a prerequisite to even sit for PANCE. 

PA programs take two to three years, half of which are dedicated to clinical rotations (around 2,000 hours worth) and half to courses in biology, policy, medicine, critical thinking and interpersonal skills. 

Once you’ve cleared those two hurdles, you’ll have to apply for licensure from a specific state, some of which will have their own particular requirements. 20 states, such as California and New Jersey, require you to be co-signed to a physician who’ll agree to supervise your work. And Texas requires you to pass its Physician Assistant Jurisprudence Examination, which will test medically relevant legal knowledge.

Once you receive your PA license, you’ll also have some work to do to maintain it; namely, you’ll need to complete 100 hours of continuing medical education credits every two years and receive a passing grade on the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Exam every 10 years.

Which PA schools are right for me?  

Most PA schools don’t report their admissions statistics, so deciding where to apply isn’t as easy checking out their acceptance rates and putting together a “safety,” “target,” and “reach” list. Some programs—like Yale and Boston University —do report their stats, however, and you should plan according to their admissions and academic averages where available. Nationally , the average matriculation rate is around 7 percent—about as competitive as getting into an Ivy League school for undergrad—and the average successful GPA around 3.58.

You should also make sure that your list includes a few schools from your home state, since most schools prefer in-state applicants, as they receive funding from state governments who want graduates to practice within their borders.

But since admissions statistics are so sparse, your main consideration when creating your PA school list is to find the programs that will best kickstart your career. That means taking the following factors into account.

First, only apply to schools that have ARC-PA accreditation, because many do not—and if you graduate from an unaccredited institution, you’ll have serious problems converting your degree to a PA license. You’ll find a list of accredited schools here .

Second, consider tuition rates. PA school can cost anywhere between $25,000 and $100,00, with most well-regarded schools falling somewhere in the middle. Whether your degree falls in the high or low end of the scale will make a world of difference when you’re juggling your career and your debts. (We’ll talk about loans, bursaries, and scholarships later on.)

Next, make sure your schools offer decent quality of instruction. The U.S. News PA school ranking is a good guide to this, as their methodology surveys deans, administrators, and faculty at accredited programs regarding each school’s academic reputation. And while it’s unlikely that differences in a program’s position will mean huge disparities in how well you learn, the fact that a school is ranked near bottom should prompt you to do your own research before you apply there. Duke and the University of Iowa top the list.

Also consider the programs’ scheduling requirements—their length, whether you can take them part-time, and whether they have an online option—and ask which best suit your lifestyle.

Finally, take a look at whether the schools offer any concentrations that match your interests. For example, Stanford offers concentrations in policy, community health, and clinical research, whereas most other programs do not. If you wish to delve into any of those areas of study, dedicated concentrations can make a huge difference to your educational experience. 

What financial resources are there for PA students?  

Though your PA salary should help you cover the costs of any loans you may have to take to finance your degree, the more frugally you live, the better. So, be sure to check your preferred programs’ websites or call them directly to ask about their financial aid resources, and check out our scholarship master guide for more helpful information. 

There are also a number of scholarships specifically for PA students. The PA Foundation and a number of organizations for specialist PAs—such as the Association of Physician Assistants in Oncology —offer thousands of dollars in scholarships for PA students every year. These will typically require you to be currently enrolled in a PA program, and award their prizes based on both academics and personal characteristics.

A complete PA school application will almost always include the following components:

Proof of bachelor’s degree completion

Completion of prerequisite courses

Transcripts from all postsecondary institutions attended

Short descriptions of relevant activities

3 reference letters

Completed personal statement

Interview (invites are usually granted months after the application deadline) 

Prerequisite courses vary, but schools will usually ask you to have completed postsecondary credits in chemistry, anatomy, microbiology and other scientific disciplines, and sometimes in the humanities and social sciences. Some schools, such as Boston University, will also ask you to complete a supplemental application once you’ve submitted your first, but these typically will not include any time-intensive secondary essay questions.

Around 90 percent of schools require you to file your app through the online Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA), which opens in the spring—but deadlines vary from school to school. Many, like George Washington University, close October 1st, whereas others, like the University of Utah, close around August. Some schools also accept applicants on a rolling basis. 

You’ll therefore want to start preparing for your applications as soon as possible, partly to make sure all the rolling seats aren’t taken and partly so you don’t miss any deadlines amid the chaos. It’ll also help you get through the enormous amount of work that PA apps require, since you’ll want to apply to numerous programs—we recommend applying to 12 or more.

In the next sections, we’ll guide you through each application requirement. The timeline below, however, will give you an idea of when and for how long you should be working on each. We’ve used the August CASPA deadline so that you can be among the early applicants.

PA school application timeline

3–4 years (or more) before August CASPA deadline of your application year:

Put together list of PA schools

Begin (or make plans to begin) completing unmet course prerequisites (if bachelor’s already completed, take classes at a local university or community college)

Begin (or make plans to begin) accruing patient care hours

Pursue other healthcare activities

1 year before August CASPA deadline:

Complete at least 2,000 patient care hours

Complete course prerequisites

Continue extracurriculars

Register, study for, and complete the GRE

Identify 3 potential references

6 months before August CASPA deadline:

Approach 3 identified references

Write personal statement

Continue pursuing patient care hours and other activities

1 month before August CASPA deadline:

Submit CASPA (including references)

Order transcripts from all postsecondary institutions

Post-August deadline:

Continue pursuing patient care hours and other extracurriculars, in case of rejection and a need to reapply

Submit materials for later deadlines (at least one month in advance)

(Suggested reading: PA School Requirements: The Ultimate Guide )

What grades do I need for PA school?  

To get into PA school, you’ll want a GPA of at least 3.58—the average GPA of accepted applicants in 2018–2019 . While nearly every school lists a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0, the average GPA of those who were NOT accepted in 2018–2019 was actually higher than that at 3.28.

The mean accepted GRE score, meanwhile, was 306.2 (verbal and quantitative reasoning combined), and the mean analytical writing score was 4.1.

(Suggested reading: What Is a Good GRE Score? The Definitive Guide )

Keep in mind, also, that PAs are expected to perform many of the same activities as doctors with comparatively less education—so your schooling in the sciences will have enormous weight in the admissions committees’ decisions. A C in Russian lit will, for example, hurt you far less than one in biochemistry. 

But that also means that you shouldn’t shy away from advanced science courses. First, because the average successful GPA in biology, chemistry and physics courses, at 3.49, was lower than the average successful GPA overall, there’s obviously some margin for error.

Second, a lot of your competitors probably took advanced science courses during college with the expectation that they would later apply to medical school, before switching over to the PA track. So, a record of tackling advanced material is necessary to prove your aptitude, interest, and dedication to the science of medicine, vis-à-vis those other applicants.

Our advice is to find a balance between ease and erudition to prove that you’re not just good at playing the school game but are a serious medical scholar as well. 

How many patient care hours do I need for PA school?

Physician assistants have an enormous amount of responsibility, and the scope of their duties is growing. The burden on the healthcare system has increased, the number of physicians hasn’t risen to meet that demand, and PAs are being asked to take on even more of the tasks once reserved, legally, for MDs.

In rural and underserved communities, they’re often even required to act as primary care providers because physicians are only occasionally present, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics .

So, PA programs need to be able to trust that their graduates will be able to meet the demands of medical practice—be they technical, such as dealing quickly with a major wound, or psychological, such as fluctuating hours, sudden emergencies, or the need to have difficult conversations with patients and their families.

As a result, the single most important aspect of your PA school application may be your number of patient care experience (PCE) hours because they’re the most reliable way for a school to know that you have the qualities needed to care comprehensively for your patients.

If you’re looking at CASPA right now, however, you may be confused because it asks you to list your PCE and healthcare experience hours in different sections. 

The difference is this: PCE hours are time you’ve spent being directly responsible for a patient’s care. You were performing procedures or designing treatments, for example. On the other hand, healthcare experience hours are time you’ve spent in a healthcare setting without being directly responsible for a patient. Maybe you were cleaning rooms, taking vitals, scribing, or keeping records, but weren’t asked to direct a whole aspect of the patient’s treatment. 

In 2018–2019, successful PA program applicants had, on average, 3,240 hours of patient care experience, which amounts to a little over 1.5 years of full-time work. Some schools explicitly require a minimum number of PCE hours, from 500 to 2,000 hours, in the case of Emory University. 

You should make sure that your major sources of PCE hours are accepted by your preferred programs. Some schools, such as Northeastern , provide a list of activities that qualify as PCE. If your schools don’t, call them and ask what activities they’ll accept. In general, PCE activities include the following roles:

Registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or certified nursing assistant

Physical or occupational therapist or aide

X-ray or radiologic technologist

Emergency room, EEG, or EKG technician

EMT or paramedic

Combat medic

Phlebotomist

PCE typically does not include the following:

Clerical work at a hospital or medical office

First-aid responsibilities as, say, a soccer coach

Medical training, for example, as an EMT

Deciding which path you’re going to take to build your PCE hours depends on where you are in your life. 

If you’ve completed your undergraduate degree and are already working in one of these professions, then you’re already well on your way to completing your PCE requirement.

But if you’re still in or have yet to finish college, with no PCE hours completed, then you have a major decision to make. Your first instinct might be to figure out which of the jobs above will get you the most PCE hours with the least amount of work. Avoid that.

For one thing, most of these jobs (such as working as a technician, EMT, or phlebotomist) require at least a year of training. 

For another, not all PCE hours are equal. A nurse or even an EMT will have had far more and far more diverse interactions with patients than, say, an X-ray technologist. And if you pick a job that bores you because it seems easy, it’s going to be a lot harder to translate your experiences into an impressive reference letter or an inspiring personal statement.

So, research each of these jobs and find the one that strikes the right balance between personal interest, rigor, and ease of financing. Time should be a factor, but not the most important one.

What other experiences do I need for PA school?

In 2018–2019, the average matriculated PA student had 215 shadowing hours , 719 community service hours, 1,791 non-PCE healthcare hours, and 2,315 non-healthcare work experience hours.

However, keep in mind that many PA school applicants have worked in a healthcare profession for at least a few years, and some apply with as many as 25,000 PCE hours—that’s about 12 years of full-time work—which can skew averages somewhat. That’s why it’s helpful to also consider the median numbers of hours logged by successful applicants: 98 shadowing hours, 334 community service hours, 1,396 non-PCE healthcare hours, and 1,594 non-healthcare work experience hours.

Here’s what we recommend to be competitive, in addition to 2,000+ PCE hours:

Shadowing : 1–2 experiences, 200+ hours

Community service : 2 major activities, 250+ hours each

Non-PCE healthcare hours (research, scribing, etc): 1,500+ hours

Other work experience : Depends on where you are in your career 

Overall, non-PCE experiences are also extremely important for your PA school application, because they further demonstrate you’ve developed the personal qualities necessary to provide comprehensive patient care.

An applicant with 3,500 patient care hours but very few other experiences is at a disadvantage because, while they probably got a lot of important PA qualities on the job, they got them from one place. An applicant with a better balance can point to a range of sources that prepared them to become a PA, each compounding or adding fresh angles to the lessons of the others.

The most impressive activities are the ones that touch upon your interpersonal qualities and mental discipline, rather than scholarship. Research is great, but being a PA is about treating people—and treatment requires more than scientific knowledge. 

Thankfully there are all sorts of activities to prove you have those qualities, as long as they’re intense and involve working with other people. Working as a sexual health advisor at your college might have taught you about how to make a patient who is somewhat embarrassed comfortable and ready to communicate. Volunteering at a retirement home might have shown you how to deal with a patient’s distress.

And non-healthcare activities could do the job as well: one PA applicant described how her sailing team taught her how to collaborate with others, all while juggling a vast mental to-do list and dealing with enormous stress.

That doesn’t mean, however, that you should avoid activities that increase your medical knowledge, as long as that knowledge is somewhat rare within the applicant pool. Very few PA applicants, for example, understand the complex medical problems in American food deserts (areas where fresh produce is scarce), and a first-hand volunteer experience in such a place could set you apart from the pack.

You’ll have a better idea of what sorts of activities to pursue once we discuss the personal statement, and the particular qualities that PA schools want from an applicant. 

How do I write my CASPA experience descriptions?  

CASPA asks you to list and write a brief description of all the experiences that are relevant to your application under nine categories: patient care experience, healthcare experience, non-healthcare work, shadowing, research, extracurricular activities, teaching experience, and leadership experience.

Aside from the difference between patient care and healthcare experience, which we’ve already covered, most of these categories are self-explanatory (though you can find a description of each here ). PCE and healthcare experience are by far the most important; the others only matter inasmuch as they can be spun to speak to some particular PA quality.

Keep that principle in mind when you’re deciding how many activities to list and how much to write about them. Yes, CASPA puts no limit on the number of activities you can add, and gives you 600 characters (around 100 words) to write about each. But spare a thought for the bored, tired admissions committees who have to go through all these applications, and will probably zone out if you add unnecessary information.

So, while you should probably mention the fact that you run marathons (since it demonstrates perseverance, mental discipline, etc.), you don’t also need to mention your CrossFit class, since both activities prove fairly similar things.

We’d also suggest that you use all 600 characters for your PCE and healthcare experiences and only around 300 for the others (though if you’re limiting yourself to around eight activities overall, you can afford to use the full 600 characters for each).

When writing each description, your style should be factual, since you don’t have much space and you need to make sure that the admissions committees know what you actually did in each activity.

Detail is especially important for your PCE activities, because if you don’t describe your responsibilities in detail, they might be reclassified under the healthcare category, and PCE are far more important. We recommend that you mark these PCE responsibilities out explicitly.

However, this does not mean that you can’t mention that an activity taught you about an important PA personal quality (i.e. empathy)—just that you have to do so without the narrative trappings that you’d include in the personal statement. 

We’d also recommend that you:

Use bullet points

Avoid fancy diction and transition words (i.e. “but,” “furthermore”)

Use partial phrases instead of full sentences

Keep phrases active, so don’t write: “Gershwin Medical is a large hospital system.” Instead, write: “Worked as an EMT for Gershwin Medical Hospital System, the largest in the region.”

Here are two examples—one healthcare related and one not. 

Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

Patient care activities include: cardiopulmonary resuscitation incl. using defibrillator; treatment of shock; hemorrhage control; bandaging; immobilization of painful, swollen, or deformed neck, spine or extremities.

Listening to and managing patient’s medical complaints such as psychological crises, respiratory, cardiac, diabetic, allergic reactions, seizures.

Calming down and reassuring distressed patients and family members.

Working closely in high-stress situations with ambulance team; taking direction from paramedics and medical experts.

Captain of sailing team

Juggling diverse, physically demanding tasks in high-stress environment.

Communicating with and directing team members clearly and respectfully.

Maintained motivation and commitment to excellence among self and team mates.

Finally, if one of your schools does not accept as PCE an activity that others do, we’d suggest that you put it under PCE anyway and let that individual school itself decide whether they want to move it into the healthcare bin.

Who should I ask to write my PA school reference letters?

CASPA allows you to invite three to five people to write your references, though most schools ask for and will accept only three. Obviously, all of your references should have a thorough knowledge of your personal characteristics and aptitudes, and should be connected to the medical profession or sciences. 

But the pressure placed on admissions committees to sign-on stellar future PAs means that many have specific demands for who your references are. Boston University, for example, asks that one reference be written by a professor in the sciences, one by a physician or PA for whom you’ve worked, and one from another employer, preferably in a medical sitting. 

Other schools may have their own requirements, so we recommend that you check your preferred schools’ individual websites. If they don’t list specific reference letter requirements, don’t fret—the pattern listed by Boston will satisfy just about any institution. 

As we mentioned in the timeline section, start identifying your references at least a year in advance, and approach them at least three months in advance. That way you won’t be caught out if a candidate declines to write your reference, or is too busy to finish your letter promptly.

Remember that, overall, they need to speak to the same qualities as your personal statement: that you understand the day-to-day tasks of being a PA and that you’re responsible enough to handle them.

How do I prepare for PA school interviews?

Most PA schools require interviews, sending invites to promising applicants a few months after the initial application deadline. Every school does things a bit differently, but most use some combination of one-on-one and group interviews.

If you’re invited for an interview, your school will probably give you a brief description of what you can expect. If they don’t, call; you need to know at least the length and general format of the interviews so that you can practice.

And don’t forget that the main goal of your answers is the same as that of the general PA app: to prove that you have the qualities of a fantastic physician assistant.

How do I pick my PA school personal statement topic?

At first glance, the CASPA personal statement prompt might seem like a breeze: in 5,000 characters (~750 words), “write a brief statement expressing your motivation or desire to become a physician assistant.” And without a doubt, thousands of aspiring PA students, every year, will send in essays talking about how working in medicine has been their dream since birth; how they’re ever inspired, even after the longest day of work, by the prospect of helping other people.

Don’t do this.

Instead, look at the prompt again. It asks why you want to “become a physician assistant,” specifically. Adcoms want to know why this job, and not all the others inside and outside healthcare that involve helping other people, is the one that suits you. 

In other words, the prompt is trying to assess whether you understand the roles of a physician assistant and whether your personal qualities and motivations set you up to ace them.

The reason is clear. PAs, as we’ve stressed throughout this guide, have a huge set of responsibilities and often have to substitute for doctors. On any particular night, they might find themselves understaffed and inundated, or have a patient who’s in a conflict with their family, or need to help a patient who, coming from a marginalized background, might not trust the healthcare system or its practitioners.

They’ll do this for less pay and less social credit than doctors, which means your ego can’t be an issue. Plus, dealing with such complex situations requires interpersonal skills, mental discipline, and a sensitivity to the diverse backgrounds of patients—stuff that PA schools cannot teach out of a book. So, to make sure that their graduates don’t crumble when they enter practice, they look for students who already have those traits.

One useful reference for the qualities of a successful PA school applicant is Johns Hopkins Physician Assistant guide , which cites 

Understanding of the role of a PA from direct personal contact

Care for fellow human beings and their welfare

Personal traits such as maturity, stability, integrity, responsibility, trustworthiness, leadership, enthusiasm, etc.

Ability to communicate with varied populations

Ability to deal effectively with those of other cultural backgrounds

Your personal statement should prove you have these attributes by describing a personal experience. Experiences prove more than philosophizing can, because you were in a real situation, actually being empathetic, stable, responsible, etc. They also give admissions committees a story to remember you by as they sift through a mass of apps.

Now, that doesn’t mean that the most successful apps are all about some crazy anecdote in which a student’s shining character came to the fore—because the truth is that the most shocking experiences don’t necessarily prove the most. They suggest that a person has some quality, but they don’t show, stage-by-stage, how an applicant developed that quality over time—and real evidence exists in detail and progression.

So we’d suggest that you try to figure out, not which of your experiences were the most exciting, but which taught you the most about:

Why PAs are important, and what makes a good one

Problems in the medical system which good PAs can remedy

How to deal with stress and juggling tasks

How to empathize and communicate with patients

You’ll want to do this, of course, while answering the prompt and explaining why you want to be a PA.

You could discuss, for example, how you shadowed a PA who was able to lead a team of nurses and medical professionals, because she was respectful of each of their abilities and insights. 

Or you could talk about how, as a nurse, you often worked with a negligent PA, who didn’t take a patient’s discomfort seriously and therefore never relayed it to the doctor—motivating you to make a difference.

Or you could talk about how as a therapist, you realized that you were great at interacting with patients one-on-one—keeping them comfortable and earning their trust—which you knew would serve you well as a PA. 

Generally, we’d suggest avoiding stories about a family or personal illness in which a PA did or did not save the day—it’s too common. But if you’ve had an experience in your non-professional life which shows that you have somewhat more rare knowledge, then go ahead and use it. 

For example, you could talk about how, coming from a rural area, you realized that there was a pressing need for PAs willing to stay in one place and help those communities—as doctors are forced to bounce around from town to town.

Finally, if you have more experiences or accomplishments—other than your obvious achievements on your resumé—that you really want to include in your essay, try to weave them in subtly. But make sure it doesn’t distract from your main goal: to prove that you know why PAs matter and that you would make a really good one.  

How do I write my PA school personal statement?

Aside from proving that you’d make a fantastic PA, your personal statement also has to keep your committees engaged. Admissions season is, frankly, a bore—and when officers pick up yet another application which is clunky, hyper-formal, and clichéd, they zone out and forget what makes that applicant different from all the others.

You’ll avoid that, as we’ve discussed, by clearly highlighting one experience and really developing it—but also by writing well. And that means writing:

Clearly and concisely

With smooth transitions, either by making the first line of each paragraph respond to the last line of the paragraph before it, or beginning paragraphs with a conjunction (i.e. “but,” “yet,” “nevertheless,” “however”)

With a thesis statement that explains explicitly why you think PAs are important, what attributes you think make a great PA, and how your experience developed those values—making you want to become PA

With a clear, stage-by-stage account of your thought process as the experience you’ve chosen taught you about the above

The structure below will help you do all of those things effectively. Below it you’ll find a personal statement example demonstrating what these ideas look like in practice.

PA personal statement structure

Introductory paragraph

Write an opening sentence to make us wonder what’s to come. “I entered the office” is boring because it has no mystery. “I shouldn’t have been there,” by contrast, engages because it makes us ask questions. Where are you? Why shouldn’t you have been there? What happened to you afterwards?

Summarize, in general, what happened: who was there, what happened, and why did it matter. In magazine lingo, this kind of paragraph is called the “billboard paragraph” because it blasts the key information without diving into the nuance yet; save the details for the body paragraphs.

Add your thesis statement.

Body paragraph(s)

Explain your goals and viewpoint prior to this experience—because to prove that an experience changed you, you have to explain how you were different before.

Explain the bare-bone details of the experience.

Explain the insight latent in the experience—that is, the lesson about patient care that the story already spells out, because of the chain of events that led to the good or bad treatment outcome. And remind us how this insight was different from what you thought before the experience—that is, how you changed.

Add any other experiences or accomplishments which you think are relevant—either here, to show how the experience changed your future, or at step 1, to add color to your description of who you were in the past.

Concluding paragraph (if necessary)

Tieback to thesis statement (what the experience taught you about importance of PAs, their ideal attributes, your qualities). 

PA school personal statement example

The essay below, written by a student named Joseph, responds to the CASPA prompt asking why a student wants to become a physician assistant. We’ll analyze each section as we go along.  

The patient was back in the hospital a week later—and I knew that it was our fault. As a Licensed Practical Nurse, I had always trusted all my colleagues—but seeing that old woman’s body break down all because her PA hadn’t taken her warnings seriously made me want to shoulder some of those responsibilities myself. Every patient needs a PA who is willing to listen to them, as the liaison between the doctor and their disease—and I believe that I can fulfill that role.

Joseph’s first line is engaging because of all the questions it raises. Which patient? Why was she back? And how did they cause it? He then sets out the actors involved—himself, the patient, and a PA who wouldn’t listen—and goes straight to his thesis statement, which checks all three boxes that we’d outlined prior. He explains what the role of PAs is (liaising between doctor and patient); what attribute is necessary for that (listening); and that he learned this trait through his experience.  

My team at the hospital was fantastic, and what made us that way was mutual respect. If I felt a patient was in serious discomfort, I knew I’d be listened to; and if a doctor or a PA thought that, for whatever reason, I was mistaken, I would accept their decision and they would explain it to me later on. We took each other’s ideas seriously and the patients benefitted from that. Problems only emerged when patients weren’t treated with the same level of respect.

Joseph neatly describes the way he was before this experience—a member of a solid team which, at times, thought more highly of itself than of the people it treated. Notice that he doesn’t overly demonize himself or his colleagues. There’s no reason to do that! He just suggests that they were good practitioners who, like everyone else, had some room to mature.  

She was not an easy patient to deal with. Sixty years old with a limp, an aggressive tone of voice, and a thick accent that none of us were used to, she had a kidney infection and we had to deal with her endless demands for a week. After the first day, she called our PA an idiot for not attending to her fast enough.

Nevertheless, she knew her body. Repeatedly she told us that she had barely responded to antibiotics before, when she was in Armenia, and that she was worried about the effect that taking too many pills might have on her. I was concerned and I told the PA, who took on most of the responsibilities for her care while the doctor was juggling emergencies elsewhere.

She told me not to worry, that the patient was just a difficult person and that she had spent too much time on Google, reading about her condition. It was true that the patient was harsh. But she had been left alone at the hospital by her family, had been subject to an unending range of tests, and had hardly eaten. She was a vegetarian, and the kitchen kept sending her meat, despite my constant protestations. The fact that she was grouchy didn’t mean her judgement was always misplaced. 

We stuck with the doctor’s original prescriptions. A week after she was released, she came back with a new, antibiotic-resistant kidney infection along with sepsis, which can be fatal to the elderly. Fortunately, the patient survived. But it’s possible that her awful condition was a direct result of our treatment—and could have been avoided had our team actually discussed the patient’s reservations. 

He lists the bare-bones details of the case, in chronological order, remembering not to get into any analysis of his own emotions or ideas just yet. Doing so would only muddle the narrative. (Though, in describing all the factors that could be bringing down the patient’s mood, he does find some space to prove his ability to empathize with the ill and listen carefully to them.)  

Then as now, I had no desire to be a physician, because I knew that my interpersonal skills were well suited to developing a trusting, one-on-on relationship with a patient. Volunteering at a hospice and a suicide helpline had trained me to listen closely and speak gently without being overly credulous of a patient. And my Lebanese family’s constant complaints about the U.S. healthcare system have made me aware of the suspicions non-majority people often have of our hospitals.  

Here Joseph manages to weave a bunch of other experiences and accomplishments into the essay. The key is that he made sure that they all still proved, rather than distract from, the basic theme of his essay—that he has the listening skills necessary to be a great PA.

But the experience made me understand that stellar listening within a medical team means nothing if a every member of the medical team isn’t willing to listen to a patient—and that the PA is often the link that holds it all together. I wanted to take on more responsibility, to sit in that position where attentive communication matters. My skills can make a far greater difference in patients’ lives if I become a PA myself. I’m ecstatic to take this next step in my career. 

Finally, Joseph explicitly writes out the lesson that narrative already implies: that having a team who failed to listen led to a patient getting sicker. He also reminds us how this was different from what he thought before (that listening within a medical team was the most important thing), making it more believable that he has this quality by showing us how he developed it, stage-by-stage. And, since this paragraph clearly recalls his thesis statement, there’s no need for him to end the essay with a tieback.

Looking at the essay as a whole, it keeps us engaged not only because Joseph sticks to a simple narrative tied to a simple PA quality, but because he writes clearly and concisely, avoiding decorative or complex words when easy ones will do.

His paragraphs also transition smoothly because he begins them with conjunctions (“but,” “nevertheless,”), or makes the first line of his paragraphs respond to the last line of the paragraph right before them (“I told the PA … She responded that”). 

Final thoughts

The PA school application process is complex and requires at least a few years’ worth of healthcare experiences in order to be a competitive applicant. On top of this, it’s competitive—the national matriculation rate in 2018–2019 was 32.3 percent, lower even than medical school, while the average program’s matriculation rate was a mere 7 percent.

These sobering statistics underscore why it’s necessary to put your best foot forward when it comes time to apply to PA school. By starting early in order to rack up experience and taking care to excel academically and in all other aspects of your application, you’ll be well on your way to earning a coveted PA school acceptance.

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We Can Help You Get Into PA School!

Regardless of your background, GPA, healthcare experience, and test scores, you CAN get into PA school. Your personal statement can ultimately make the difference between a denial, a waitlist, and an acceptance. Applicants for PA school come from all different backgrounds, and each candidate has something that makes them unique. Our goal is to emphasize your strengths, regardless of the numbers, to ensure your essay is the best it can be. Everyone has something to offer. We make sure your attributes are highlighted and separate you from the slew of other applicants.

Don’t make the common mistake of submitting your application to CASPA without being completely confident in yourself and your essay. “Good enough” is NOT good enough! After submitting your personal statement to our service, you’ll have a much better idea of what admissions committees will think of you as an applicant.

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Reapplying to PA School?  Reapplicant Personal Statement Tips 

While it can be disheartening to not get accepted to PA school on your first attempt, it's important to remember that reapplying is an opportunity for growth and improvement. Your personal statement is your chance  to demonstrate maturity, address any weaknesses, and showcase your continued dedication to becoming a PA. By making thoughtful revisions to your personal statement  and highlighting your progress, you can strengthen your application and increase your chances of acceptance.

DO SCHOOLS LOOK DOWN ON REAPPLICANTS?

Reapplying to PA schools is actually a common occurrence, and many schools value reapplicants. It shows you are determined, committed, and have a strong desire to become a PA. It also shows continued interest in a program if you have applied there previously. However, it's important to demonstrate growth and improvement in your application between cycles as a reapplicant. You should address any weaknesses that may have contributed to your previous rejections and highlight the steps you have taken to improve. Schools want to see that you have learned from your experiences and have become a stronger candidate. So, while being a reapplicant may not be viewed negatively, it's crucial to show progress and maturity in your application if applying again. 

If you’re unsure of where your application needs improvement, book a session with one of our pre-PA coaches to create a game plan for your next cycle. 

DO I NEED TO COMPLETELY REWRITE MY PERSONAL STATEMENT AS A REAPPLICANT?

As a reapplicant, you don't necessarily have to start over and completely rewrite your personal statement. However, there are a few things you should consider. First, think about whether the schools actually read your personal statement in your previous application cycle. If you didn’t meet requirements or receive any interviews, there’s a good chance  they didn't and you may be able to make fewer changes. But if you received interviews or were waitlisted, it's a good idea to make some edits because they clearly read it and you want to demonstrate anything that has changed between cycles.

When revising your personal statement as a reapplicant, be honest with yourself. Consider whether your personal statement could have been a factor in why you didn't get accepted. Seek feedback from others, have them read your statement, and ask for their input. Additionally, you may want to reach out to the programs you applied to previously and ask for feedback on your application. This feedback can provide valuable insights and help you identify areas for improvement. 

Remember, your main reasons for wanting to become a PA will likely remain the same. Let’s think about baking a cake. If the cake comes out too dry or lacking flavor, you’ll likely tweak the recipe before baking the next cake. Maybe a little more sugar or less cooking time, but you’re still baking a cake. Your essay is the same idea. The main idea of why you want to be a PA is not likely to change, but the steps and lessons you’ve taken to get there could be different between cycles. The Physician Assistant School Personal Statement Guide has an entire section for Reapplicants along with tons of examples if you need more guidance. 

HOW TO DISPLAY GROWTH in YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT AS A REAPPLICANT

You can focus on reworking your examples and stories to highlight how you've grown and taken steps to improve since your previous application. The goal is to address any weaknesses or areas that may have hindered your previous application by showing the steps you’ve taken. 

Reflect on your previous application : Take some time to review your previous personal statement and identify areas that may have been weak or could be improved. Consider any feedback you received from programs and use it to guide your revisions.  Did you clearly convey your passion for the PA profession? Were your experiences and motivations well-articulated? Understanding the weaknesses in your previous personal statement will help you address them effectively in your reapplication.

Show growth and improvement : Highlight the experiences and achievements you've gained since your last application. This could include additional healthcare or volunteer work, leadership roles, or personal experiences that have strengthened your commitment to becoming a PA.  Emphasize how these experiences have shaped your understanding of the PA profession and reinforced your commitment to becoming a PA.

Address any weaknesses : If there were any weaknesses or red flags in your previous application, use your personal statement as an opportunity to address them. Explain how you have taken steps to improve in those areas or have gained a better understanding of them. This could include a lack of experience hours or diversity or academic struggles. 

Show perseverance and resilience : Admissions committees appreciate applicants who demonstrate perseverance and resilience. Use your personal statement to showcase how you have overcome challenges and setbacks since your last application. Discuss how these experiences have strengthened your resolve to pursue a career as a PA and how you have grown as an individual. How have you become a more mature applicant?

Be authentic and sincere : Your personal statement should reflect your genuine passion for the PA profession. Avoid using clichés or generic statements. Instead, share personal stories and experiences that demonstrate your unique qualities and motivations.

Seek feedback : Consider asking for feedback from trusted advisors, mentors, or PA professionals when revising your personal statement. Their insights can help you identify areas for improvement and ensure that your statement is compelling and well-written. We have an amazing team of editors at The PA Platform and we would love to help make your essay shine .

YOU GOT THIS!

Reapplying to PA school can be a daunting process, but with the right approach you can significantly improve your chances of an acceptance!  Remember, reapplying to PA school is a chance to demonstrate your resilience, growth, and commitment to becoming a PA. Use the experience as an opportunity to improve your application and showcase your dedication to the PA profession.

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PA School Personal Statement Editing: Your Key to Success

PA school personal statement editing services do much more than check your essays for spelling mistakes. In this blog, we'll tell you all about what they do and why it is worth the investment. Your  PA personal statement  is one of the most important application components you will submit. When done correctly, it can humanize your application and show the reviewer why you are a perfect fit for their program and a career as a PA, thus improving your chances of getting into your chosen program. On the other hand, a weak personal statement can make you a less attractive candidate and cost you one of those coveted acceptance letters. So, keep reading to learn more about PA school personal statement editing services. 

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

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How important is the pa school personal statement.

Whether you are applying to  Physician Assistant programs in Canada  or the US, you will likely need to write at least one personal statement or  statement of intent.  Unless otherwise stated, your essay should be 5000 characters (approximately 1000 words) or less. It is supposed to tell the person reviewing your application why you want to be a PA, what makes you a good fit for the profession, and their school. Admission committees want to understand where your interest in becoming a Physician Assistant stems from, how committed you are to becoming a PA, and what steps you've taken (besides the obvious) toward making this a reality. 

In other words, your PA personal statement is supposed to humanize your application by giving you a chance to talk to the admissions committee about your suitability for the program in your own words. This is especially important because PA programs are quite competitive. According to the Physician Assistant Education Association  (PAEA) , the profession seems to be getting more popular, which means that the level of competition is likely to keep rising. 

Let's start by clarifying that PA school personal statement editing services do much more than scan your essay for grammatical errors and syntax issues. There is plenty of software, and there are even plenty of people who offer that service, but the consultants who work on PA personal statement editing are not among them. They are actual human admission experts who know the process of applying to Physician Assistant programs inside and out.

However, it is also worth mentioning that PA school personal statement editing services do not write your personal statement in your stead. If you are hoping to pay someone to do the work for you, then a professional PA school personal statement editing service is not what you are looking for. We recommend that you avoid consultants who offer this service altogether because it is an unethical practice that can potentially cost you a spot in your chosen program.

Instead, PA school personal statement editing services review PA applicants' admission essays and use their knowledge and training to provide personalized feedback and guidance to help students revise and polish these essays. The aim is to draft and submit a personal statement that will be more compelling, thus increasing their chances of getting into their chosen program.

Want to know what the other requirements are for PA school? Check this out:

More specifically, PA school personal statement editing services help applicants with the following:

Proofreading, Editing & Polishing 

PA school personal statement editing services are typically offered by academic consultants, and while highlighting grammatical inconsistencies and spelling mistakes in your writing is not the only thing they do, it is one of the many things they can help with. It can be hard to proofread our own work. Not only because we are attached to what we write, but also because we've read it so often that we can easily miss little things like typos or bigger grammatical errors. 

The truth is that you only get a few chances to impress the admissions board, and your PA personal statement is the first of those chances. This means that your personal statement represents you to the admission board. Submitting an essay with grammatical errors and typos tells the board that you either did not care enough to review your work and edit it, or that you did not pay attention to the details enough to notice those errors when you did review your work. Either way, it is not a great first impression to make. 

Furthermore, not everyone is a gifted writer. And even gifted writers sometimes struggle to write about themselves or write in the appropriate format for personal statements. This is where PA personal statement review services come in. Consultants can thoroughly verify the grammatical syntax of your sentences, ensure that your essay is coherent and easy to follow; and, just as importantly, that it is free of grammatical or spelling errors.

As discussed earlier, your PA personal statement is meant to communicate quite a bit of information to the admissions board, but it can only relay the right information when it is done correctly. For example, if you use your personal statement to explain how you meet the different  PA school requirements , you are not providing any new information to the admissions board or convincing them that you are the right candidate. Doing so would be a waste because the admissions committee already has the rest of your application, so they know that you meet the school's  GPA requirements  and other admission criteria. 

Since PA school personal statement editing services are run by admission experts who have an in-depth understanding of the admissions world, they understand this and so much more about this process. For example, they are trained to decipher all the "admissions talk" on university websites, meaning that they can actually help you figure out what values and traits a specific PA program is looking for and ensure that you are highlighting those skills and qualities in your personal statement.

Furthermore, these consultants are objective third parties with expert knowledge, looking at the details of your academic background and experiences. That makes it possible for them to identify the activities and skills which make you a better candidate. For example, you may think that your love for nature or hiking is irrelevant to your PA application, but a consultant can help you understand how you can write about your experiences as a hiker in a way that will appeal to your chosen program.

Developing Writing Strategies & Improving Communication Skills

Writing a PA personal statement is no easy task, and often applicants are unaware that their essay writing skills may be lacking. Perhaps the last time you wrote an essay of this nature was when you were writing your college application supplemental essays, or maybe you have never written an academic admissions essay in the past. Unfortunately, most of us have not had lessons on writing academic admission essays or personal statements. So, even gifted writers like A+ English students don't have the tools to write a PA personal statement that will impress their chosen school's admissions committee.

Without personalized guidance, it is easy to write a generic essay that follows general tips from the internet and won't add real value to your overall application. But if you work with a PA school personal statement editing service, not only can they help you develop your essay writing skills, but they can actually teach you strategies and give you the tools you need to improve your written communication skills.

For example, let's say that you are working with a PA school personal statement editing service, and they determine that your essay needs a rewrite. Instead of writing this essay for you, consultants will help you brainstorm and teach you how to write a great original personal statement. Doing this will give you a chance to learn how to research, structure your essay better, and improve your writing abilities in general.  

Check out these PA personal statement examples for some inspiration:

How to Find the Right PA School Personal Statement Editing Service

If you decide that working with a PA school personal statement editing service is right for you, then you need to find a consultant or consulting company that is worth the cost and investment. How do you choose the best PA consultant with so many services and hundreds of five-star reviews? Starting with a quick internet search is a good idea, but that will reveal dozens of options. How do you sort through them to find the best PA school personal statement editing service for you? We suggest that you pay attention to the following: 

1. Choose personalized service

Admission essays such as medical school personal statements and, of course, PA personal statements are meant to be highly personalized. This is why following a standardized guidebook or general formula usually doesn't result in an outstanding essay. We recommend looking for a PA school personal statement editing service that works with students one-on-one and provides personalized feedback. This is the best way to ensure that the consultants are providing you with tips, strategies and guidance that are specific to  you  and that will strengthen  your  personal statement. 

2. Consider their qualifications 

You should take the time to research your potential consultants by navigating their websites and looking for reviews from students they have worked with in the past. You can use the following questions as a guide to determine whether they are qualified to provide this service:

"},{"number":"4.","title":"What is their academic background, and what are their credentials?","comment":""},{"number":"5.","title":"What is their success rate?","comment":""},{"number":"6.","title":"What do their past students have to say about their services?","comment":""}]">

Cost is an important factor for plenty of students. Tuition for PA school is already a big expense, and so are the application fees. If you're fortunate to have a scholarship or funding for your degree, you may be able to designate some money specifically for consulting services, but if that is not the case, then finding a PA school personal statement editing service that can work with your budget is even more important. We recommend looking for a consulting firm that offers various payment options, such as installment plans to help you shoulder this cost. 

Additionally, we recommend looking for a PA school personal statement editing service that offers some sort of guarantee. It is the unfortunate truth that sometimes, a student can follow all the consultants' guidelines, write a jaw-dropping essay, and still get rejected. In that case, what happens to the money you spent on their services? Here at BeMo, for example, we like to put our money where our mouth is, so we offer a money-back guarantee. Look for a service that offers the same or at least something comparable. 

Good consulting firms or private consultants will offer a free initial consultation. Use that free consultation to ask questions and learn about them to determine whether they are worth trusting with such an important application component.  ","label":"Bonus tip:","title":"Bonus tip:"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">

If you want to maximize your chances of admission to a Physician Assistant program in this increasingly competitive climate, then you need to do everything you can to take your PA personal statement from good to great. That is precisely what investing in a PA school personal statement editing service can do. The consultants who offer these services can help you highlight your strengths and address any potential red flags in a way that still makes you look like a strong candidate. Furthermore, working with a professional who knows this process inside and out will help you improve your overall communication skills. So take the time to research different editing services using the tips we've outlined above and invest in your future by getting this additional support from professional PA school personal statement editing services.

Physician Assistant programs are very selective and competitive. If you want to get into a PA program in the US or Canada, you need to submit an application that stands out. 

Your PA personal statement is one of the only application components that allow you to tell the admissions committee why you deserve a spot in their program in your own words, making it one of the most important parts of your application. Think of it this way, a candidate with a relatively low GPA can get into a PA program if they have a highly compelling personal statement, but good grades can't make up for a poorly written one. 

A good personal statement will show instead of telling the admissions committee why you are a good fit for their school and the profession as a whole. It will have concrete examples, a structure that is easy to follow and new information that contextualizes the rest of your application. Additionally, it will not have grammar or spelling mistakes. 

That depends on the school you are applying to. Generally, you will need to write at least one personal statement for your initial application, but several PA programs have a supplemental application with additional essay prompts or short answer questions that you will need to respond to. 

No, they do not! You should avoid any consultants or services offering to write your admission essays. Not only is this practice unethical, but it can actually land you in some muddy waters if the admission committee finds out or finds inconsistencies in your application.

It is a service offered by academic consultants where they review and help you edit your PA personal statement to ensure it represents you as a strong candidate, thus giving you a better chance of impressing the admissions committee and getting into your chosen program. 

They can be, but there are services offered at different price points. Look for an editing service that is within your budget and provides payment options to help you with the cost. 

Yes, they are absolutely worth it! Working with a professional can take your PA personal statement from okay to excellent, which is often needed to strengthen your overall application. 

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