Personal Statement Advice for PT School STAND OUT WITH THIS STRATEGY!
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Dr. Liv for Change Justin Lee offers seven practical tips to help students stand out in their physical therapy school applications. He emphasizes the importance of answering the prompt specifically, knowing your 'why', sharing experiences, connecting extracurriculars to the physical therapy journey, being unapologetic about your goals, revising your essay, and ending with a strong conclusion that ties back to your aspirations.
Takeaways
- 📝 The PT cast application cycle for 2021-22 has just opened, and it's crucial to address the specific prompt for your personal statement effectively.
- 🎯 To stand out, follow seven practical tips provided by Dr. Liv for Change Justin Lee, a physical therapist and coach for PT school applicants.
- 📖 Make sure to answer the prompt specifically, comparing different healthcare professions and explaining why you chose physical therapy.
- 🔍 Define 'confirmed' in the context of the prompt to highlight the experiences or events that solidified your decision to pursue physical therapy.
- 📏 Stay within the 4500 character limit for the personal statement, and make the most of this space to convey your story.
- 💡 Know your 'why' for wanting to become a physical therapist, as it is the core of your personal story and must be clearly communicated.
- 🌟 Share experiences that demonstrate your passion for physical therapy, rather than just stating it, and be unafraid to highlight your achievements.
- 🧶 Dig deep into your extracurricular activities and find connections to your journey towards becoming a physical therapist.
- 💪 Be unapologetic about your aspirations as a future physical therapist, and clearly communicate your future plans and desires.
- ✍️ Read your essay out loud and revise it multiple times, seeking feedback from others to ensure clarity and flow.
- 🎉 Use the final paragraph to reiterate your goals and aspirations, tying them back to how attending physical therapy school will help you achieve them.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video?
-The main focus of the video is to provide seven practical tips to help viewers stand out in their physical therapy school application, specifically in their personal statement.
Who is the speaker in the video?
-The speaker in the video is Dr. Liv for Change Justin Lee, a physical therapist and high-performing physical therapy school coach.
What is the purpose of the personal statement in the physical therapy school application?
-The purpose of the personal statement is to share the deeper story that confirms the applicant's decision to specifically pursue physical therapy as their career.
What are the two main aspects the prompt asks applicants to address?
-The two main aspects are to compare different healthcare professions and explain why physical therapy was chosen, and to share the deeper story that has confirmed the decision to pursue physical therapy.
What is the character limit for the personal statement in the prompt?
-The character limit for the personal statement is 4500 characters.
Why is it important to know your 'why' in the personal statement?
-Knowing your 'why' is important because it helps you communicate clearly why you want to be a physical therapist, based on your experiences, role models, or events that have influenced your decision.
What should applicants do to showcase their passion for physical therapy in their personal statement?
-Applicants should share specific experiences and not just state that they are passionate. They should describe what led them to want to become a physical therapist and how their past experiences relate to their career choice.
How can extracurricular activities be connected to the desire to become a physical therapist?
-Extracurricular activities can be connected by finding the common thread or how they relate to physical therapy, such as demonstrating service, community involvement, or skills that can be applied in a physical therapy setting.
Why is it important to be unapologetic about what you want in your personal statement?
-Being unapologetic about what you want shows your determination and clarity of purpose, which can help make your application more compelling and memorable to the admissions committee.
What is the recommended approach for revising the personal statement?
-The recommended approach includes reading the essay out loud, revising multiple times, and seeking feedback from others. This helps improve the flow and clarity of the essay.
How should the conclusion of the personal statement be structured?
-The conclusion should reiterate the applicant's desire to become a physical therapist and how getting accepted into physical therapy school will help them achieve their goals, creating a memorable and impactful ending.
Outlines
📝 Introduction to PT School Application Tips
Dr. Liv For Change Justin Lee, a physical therapist and coach, introduces a video aimed at helping students craft their personal statements for the PT cast application cycle. He outlines seven practical tips to stand out in the application process and emphasizes the importance of watching the entire video for a comprehensive guide, especially for the final tip on summarizing the personal statement effectively.
🎯 Addressing the PT Application Prompt
The video script delves into the specifics of the PT cast application prompt, urging applicants to go beyond surface-level reasons for choosing physical therapy over other healthcare professions. It stresses the need to share a deeper story that confirms the decision to pursue a career in physical therapy. Additionally, it advises applicants to adhere to the 4500-character limit and to utilize the entire allowance to convey their story fully.
🔍 Discovering Personal 'Why' for PT Career
This paragraph focuses on the importance of understanding one's personal 'why' for wanting to become a physical therapist. It encourages applicants to reflect deeply on their experiences and events that have led them to this career choice. The script suggests that a clear and compelling narrative is essential for a strong personal statement that communicates a genuine desire to join the physical therapy profession.
🌟 Showcasing Passion Through Experiences
The speaker advises against merely stating passion for physical therapy and instead recommends sharing concrete experiences that demonstrate this passion. Applicants are encouraged to be unafraid to highlight their achievements and experiences, as these personal anecdotes will provide evidence of their suitability for a career in physical therapy.
🔗 Relating Extracurriculars to PT Journey
The paragraph emphasizes the relevance of all life experiences, even those seemingly unrelated to physical therapy, in shaping one's desire to pursue the profession. It suggests that every experience, from working in fast food to being a wildland firefighter, can be connected to the decision to become a physical therapist, illustrating the breadth of skills and perspectives that can contribute to the field.
💪 Being Unapologetic About Career Aspirations
The speaker encourages applicants to be bold and unapologetic about their career aspirations within the personal statement. It's important to communicate a clear vision of one's future as a physical therapist and how acceptance into a PT school will enable them to achieve their goals and make a difference in the lives of others.
✍️ Revising and Refining the Personal Statement
The script highlights the critical nature of revision in the essay-writing process. It suggests reading the essay out loud and seeking feedback from others to improve flow and clarity. The importance of being open to criticism and making multiple revisions is underscored, as is the value of utilizing resources like university writing centers for professional feedback.
🎉 Concluding with a Memorable Impact
The final paragraph of the script discusses the importance of concluding the personal statement in a way that leaves a lasting impression. It advises reiterating one's aspirations and how attending physical therapy school will facilitate achieving them. The speaker provides an example of how they tied their personal goals to the benefits of PT school, emphasizing the desire to make a difference in the community.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Personal Statement
💡Physical Therapy
💡Healthcare Professions
💡Character Limit
💡Why
💡Experiences
💡Extracurriculars
💡Revise
💡Conclusion
💡Unapologetic
Highlights
The PT cast application cycle for 2021-2022 opened last month, providing access to this year's prompt for personal statements.
Seven practical tips are provided to stand out in the physical therapy school application process.
The seventh tip involves summarizing the personal statement effectively for a memorable impact.
Dr. Liv introduces herself as a physical therapist and coach for PT school applicants.
The PT cast application prompt requires going beyond initial interactions with physical therapy to explain the choice of career.
Applicants must address why they chose physical therapy over other healthcare professions.
The prompt emphasizes the need to share a deeper story that confirmed the decision to pursue physical therapy.
The character limit for the personal statement is 4500, not words, which is approximately a page and a half of single-spaced text.
Understanding one's 'why' is critical for clarity in communicating the desire to become a physical therapist.
Applicants should share experiences that led to their passion for physical therapy rather than just stating passion.
Extracurricular activities can be connected to the journey towards becoming a physical therapist.
Being unapologetic about one's aspirations as a future physical therapist is encouraged.
Reading the essay out loud and revising it multiple times is recommended for improving flow and clarity.
Using a university writing center or seeking feedback from others can provide a fresh perspective on the essay.
The final paragraph should reiterate the applicant's desire and how PT school will help achieve their goals.
Dr. Liv offers an online course and personal statement writing assistance for those applying to PT school.
The video concludes with an encouragement to lift weights, others, and oneself as part of a holistic approach to life.
Transcripts
the pt cast application cycle from 2021
to 22
just opened up last month and you just
got
access to this year's prompt for your
personal statement
now as you're reading it some of you
might be like uh i have
no idea how the heck i'm supposed to
write this
so in this video i'm going to give you
seven practical tips that you can
implement
today to make you stand out in your
physical therapy school application
so that your application and you as a
whole
will look irresistible and make sure you
watch this video all the way to the end
to hear the seventh one
because in that tip i'm going to show
you how to sum
everything up in a nice little bow so
that you
can have a memorable personal statement
so let's get into this lego
hey everyone what's going on my name is
dr liv for change
justin lee physical therapist i'm a high
performing physical therapy school coach
and i help students get accepted into
physical therapy school
and once you get accepted i coach
students to live abundantly
and intentionally through the physical
therapy school
experience so if any of that resonates
with you feel free to check out my other
videos
comment below or reach out to me i'd
love to connect with you so
to the 2021-22p cast application prompt
for your personal statement asks you
to answer this question every person has
a story that has led them to a career
since there are a variety of health
professions that help
others please go beyond your initial
interaction or experience with physical
therapy and
share the deeper story that has
confirmed
your decision to specifically pursue
physical therapy
as your career so we're just gonna jump
right into tip number one make sure
you're
answering the prompt specifically
and stay within the guidelines so
this prompt i believe has two things
that you
need to address number one it says
that since there are a variety of
healthcare professions that help
go beyond your initial interaction with
physical therapy
so it's asking you to compare the
different healthcare professions right
so whether you wanted to be maybe a
cairo
or a physician assistant or an exercise
physiologist whatever it may
be why did you choose physical therapy
they want to know that reason so you do
want to address hey you know what i
thought about doing this or i considered
this blah blah blah
but i chose pt instead secondly
they are asking you share the deeper
story that has and on the prompt it is
bolded so this is super important that
has confirmed
your decision now confirmed let's look
at that word
if we look up the definition confirmed
the definition states
to make firm or firmer
that means you might have had an
interest
or maybe just a little idea of like oh
that kind of looks cool about physical
therapy
but what experience or what happened in
your life
to make it where it's like yes
this is what i want to do for the rest
of my life
so those two things need to be addressed
in this year's prompt
compare and what has confirmed
secondly make sure you stay within the
guidelines you're given 4500 characters
don't make the mistake of writing 4500
words
like i did and then before it's due i
was like oh my gosh you got to re-change
everything
it's 4500k
and my advice to you try to use up as
much as you can
sure you can get to the point as quickly
as possible and you might write it in
like 3 000 characters
but my advice to you is use up as much
as possible
4 500 is not a lot it's about a page and
a half of not
of a single spaced essay so
make sure you use all that okay
we're going to go into number two and
this kind of relates
to the first part the first tip that i
mentioned is to know
your why now i know this is cliche and i
know you hear this
all the time but this is absolutely
critical
your why is your story and if you don't
have
clarity in your story you cannot
communicate
why you want to be a physical therapist
so what experiences in your life what
people
in your life what role models or what
events has
happened to confirm
your decision to become a physical
therapist
now think about this everything that
they're asking in this prompt
is literally asking why do you want to
be a pt
why do you want to be a pt so i really
encourage you to
dig deeper through all the things that
has happened in your past
and it could be one event two events
five events whatever it may be
and try to relate it back to pt you
always want to keep that at the focus of
your mind
to answer that question why do you want
to become a physical
therapist this is absolutely critical
okay tip number three share experiences
and not just say that you're passionate
now a lot of times when i read personal
statements or people tell me why they
want to be a pt they say
i'm passionate about physical therapy
i'm passionate about exercise i'm
passionate about health and wellness
and you know that may be true and you
but you gotta showcase your experiences
as to what led you to want to become a
physical therapist
right what can you communicate into
words into your prompt
as to what you did in your past what
mistakes you made
what have you learned to eventually
open your eyes to the world of physical
therapy so this is
absolutely critical in making sure that
you're portraying this
you got to make sure you share your past
experiences
and tell them don't be afraid to brag
this is your time this is your personal
statement this is your resume
if you're trying to be humble and kind
of leave things out because you're like
i don't care if they i don't know if
they're gonna like this
don't do that make sure you share
all the related experiences in your life
and show them write it down why
those these are the reasons why i want
to be a physical
therapist okay number four oh it's
getting hot in here because
these tips are fire okay number four
dig deep with extracurriculars and how
it relates to your physical therapy
journey
now i know this kind of sounds redundant
with sharing your experiences and not
just say you're
passionate but i want you to know this
every experience that you've had in your
life
whether you've worked at mcdonald's
worked at a yogurt shop
worked as a server a busser whatever it
may be
can definitely be spun spinned
spun spun spin spun to why you want to
be
a pt for example i
was a wild land firefighter how does
that relate to physical therapy
you better believe that being a wildland
firefighter is impressive so i really
wanted to portray that area
of my experiences and i used the area of
service how wildland firefighters
serve the community and help prevent
further catastrophes by being
preventative
to serve the community so that they can
live
a full life and a better quality of life
knowing that they're safe
knowing that someone that is a
professional is around them
and someone that can build rapport with
people so this is how i
spun my experience that is totally not
related to physical therapy
into becoming a physical therapist and
you can do this with
anything maybe it's you as an athlete
maybe it's you with customer service or
dealing with people or maybe it's you
just trying to learn a different
language
or learn a different different art or a
different skill
whatever it may be you want to find the
common thread
with all of those things dig deep with
all your experiences and find the common
thread as to why you want to be a pt
so this is my strategy for you here
everything that you've done in your life
experiences resume work history all that
stuff volunteer
write it down make a list just write
what you did or write your title
and then where every one of those titles
write
the main thing that you've done and how
that relates to physical
therapy okay number five
be unapologetic about
what you want now
you want to be a physical therapist you
want to get accepted into physical
therapy school
you want to make a difference in this
world
you want to help people to advocate for
people
you want to be a movement expert and you
want
fill in the blank whatever that may be
portray that communicate that make sure
your reader knows
what exactly your desires are and what
your future plans are
as a future physical therapist do not
do not do not be afraid to talk about
this
you know readers love when you're
vulnerable readers
love when you share your story you know
you're a unique person there is your
fingerprint is unique to you and your
upbringing your culture your
adversities that you've experienced all
come together
to create who you are and what you want
as a future physical therapist so make
sure you're
unapologetically bragging
about those things okay number six
now this is a pretty common tip but a
very important tip
it is to read your essay out loud and
revise revise revise i remember when i
was writing my personal statement i had
to revise it probably about
five to seven times i've asked three
different people to
look at my essay and ask for their
opinion ask for their corrections
ask if my flow was good because you know
someone else's perspective is going to
be different from yours
and you should be vulnerable and
accepting of that
you know it's super scary for someone to
read your thoughts
your emotions something that you write
it's just like being on video it's super
scary because you're in a vulnerable
position
but what's going to hurt you more your
pride and your ego and say nah
i got this or you putting that aside
and accepting that other people might
have a point of view that is
different than yours and maybe more
constructive or better
so making sure that you get revisions
and over and over and over again
is going to be critical if you're at a
university you probably
have a writing center use that writing
center it's usually
free have the professional the
professional writer read it
and make some corrections and then i
mentioned
reading out loud there is something
about reading something out loud and
listening to it that makes the flow of
your
essay better makes it makes it where
you're like oh you know what i don't
want to use that word or
that sentence structure sounds a little
funky read it out loud
right if you can double bonus
ask someone else to read it out loud for
you a family member
whatever it may be or what you can do
record a video all of y'all got a phone
right
so record yourself it doesn't matter if
your face is on there you can just have
it mute or whatever or
have it like face down but just hearing
yourself
and hearing the words that you have on
that paper
is going to be super beneficial and i
know i know i know
that you are going to benefit from this
now before we get into the last tip
i would really appreciate it if you have
liked all these tips so far for this
year's personal statement cycle
or for the pt cast cycle i appreciate if
you give this video a like
and please help me subscribe and please
help me and subscribe to this channel
i'm so close to hitting 10 000
subscribers and it was my goal to hit
this in the middle of summer
and we are approaching the middle of
summer pretty soon so i'd appreciate it
if you subscribe if you're new
and if you have been here for a while
hit those notification bells so you
don't miss a video when it drops
and if you want to go above and beyond
i'd appreciate it if you share this
video to other
physical therapy students who are
applying this
year's cycle okay last but not least
the seventh tip now this one like i
mentioned
is a perfect way to write your
conclusion on your essay
so that it goes into a nice little bow
presentable bow
and then you deliver it nice and good so
that when they get it and read it to the
end they go ah
this is i feel good this is a great
essay
so this is the last tip
in your final paragraph you might have
mentioned this before
in your essay but you want to reiterate
maybe in different words with what you
want you want to be a physical therapist
or you want to get accepted into
physical therapy school
who you want to become you want to be a
physical therapist or you want to be a
difference maker you want to be somewhat
a community
community advocate right and how
physic getting accepted into physical
therapy school
is going to get you there so for example
when i wrote my
essay and talked about all my different
things what i
mentioned was that i said who i want
who you want to become and how pt school
will get you there i mentioned
that when with what i want is i want to
get accepted into pt school
so that i can make a difference in my
community so that when i work as a
personal trainer
i will have more more education to serve
my clients and my patients even more to
a greater degree
and so that i can build relationships
and actually make a difference in
people's lives
and improve their quality of life
so please accept me at pt school no i
didn't say that don't say any of that
okay so here are some good and practical
tips that i mentioned
in this video once again if you liked
all seven of these tips or maybe even
one of them
give this video a like and i'd love to
hear from you if you have any comments
or if any of these really resonated with
you
please feel free to comment below i hope
this video helped inspire you to really
gain some tips to write your pt
cast personal statement today and to
make sure that your
essay stands out and leaves a memorable
mark
into the reader's eyes guys i'm so
thankful for you and i appreciate all
your time
if you're having trouble trying to get
into physical therapy school i do have
an online course that teaches you
everything you need to know to get
accepted into pt school
and if you need some additional help
writing your personal statements and
revisions
i can be a part of that i do have that
service as well so feel free to email me
live4change gmail.com and we'll get in
touch
all right you guys every day is a great
day to lift weights
lift others and lift yourself up stay
lifting stay aloha
god bless have a great one
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