Personal Statement Advice for PT School STAND OUT WITH THIS STRATEGY!

Summary

In 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

00:00

📝 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.

05:01

🎯 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.

10:04

🔍 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.

15:04

🌟 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.

Keywords

💡Personal Statement

A personal statement is a written document that typically accompanies applications for higher education, such as graduate school. It allows applicants to express their motivations, experiences, and aspirations in their own words. In the context of this video, the personal statement is crucial for the physical therapy school application process, where the applicant is asked to articulate their journey and reasons for choosing physical therapy as a career.

💡Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is a healthcare profession that focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with physical disabilities, injuries, or health conditions that limit their physical abilities. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding why one wants to pursue this career, beyond just an initial interest, and how personal experiences have confirmed this choice.

💡Healthcare Professions

Healthcare professions encompass a wide range of careers in the medical field, including physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, and more. The video script mentions the need to compare and contrast physical therapy with other healthcare professions to highlight why the applicant has chosen physical therapy specifically.

💡Character Limit

The character limit refers to the maximum number of characters allowed in a written document, such as a personal statement. In this video, the character limit for the personal statement is 4500, which the speaker advises applicants to fully utilize to convey their story effectively.

💡Why

The 'why' in the context of this video refers to the applicant's motivation for pursuing a career in physical therapy. It is critical to understand and articulate this deeply personal reason, as it helps to communicate the applicant's passion and commitment to the field.

💡Experiences

Experiences, as discussed in the video, are the personal and professional events that have shaped the applicant's desire to become a physical therapist. These can include work, volunteer, or educational experiences that have influenced their decision and can be used to demonstrate their suitability for the profession.

💡Extracurriculars

Extracurricular activities are pursuits outside of one's academic curriculum that can provide additional insights into an individual's character, interests, and skills. In the video, the speaker encourages applicants to explore how their extracurricular activities relate to their journey towards becoming a physical therapist.

💡Revise

Revision in the context of this video refers to the process of reviewing and refining a written document, such as a personal statement, to improve its clarity, coherence, and impact. The speaker emphasizes the importance of revising and seeking feedback to ensure the personal statement is as strong as possible.

💡Conclusion

The conclusion of a personal statement is the final section where the applicant summarizes their main points and reiterates their suitability for the program. The video advises on how to craft a compelling conclusion that ties together the applicant's story and aspirations in a memorable way.

💡Unapologetic

Being unapologetic in this context means confidently expressing one's desires and aspirations without hesitation or doubt. The video encourages applicants to be open and assertive about their goals and how physical therapy school will help them achieve these goals.

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