Applying to PA school is a more significant undertaking than most aspiring PAs anticipate. It takes time and dedication to gather your academic records and experience details, slog through the data entry, and whip up an essay that sounds halfway decent.
So after all that work, it can be deflating to not get into PA school. To face another round of replicating much of the work you’ve done once before.
But, as a veteran applicant, you’ll be bringing valuable knowledge gained through the experience of your prior cycle. You’ll have insights that you didn’t have the last time around.
And if you join that new perspective and interim experience with a more refined application, you can come out as a stronger and more successful PA school candidate in the next cycle.
Here’s how to polish your CASPA application to shine with your next submission.
As a first-time applicant learning their way around the CASPA application, you might miss or overlook a few things as you pop in and out of particular sections, as the online CASPA portal forces you to do.
But being able to glimpse your complete application at once, rather than in a piecemeal view, can help you identify what I often see when reviewing applications of inexperienced or unsuccessful candidates — typos, irregularities, and inconsistencies.
So for your first step in creating a more polished application as a repeat PA school candidate, you want to get eyes on your prior work and see it all in one place. To do this, get into your CASPA portal and download a PDF copy of your application (you can choose any PA program version as the main application will be the same).
Once you have your download, skim the file and mark any section where you need to include an update, make a correction, or add something new.
Along with identifying any mistakes or areas you prefer to change, note sections where new details, like a class you’ve completed or a new PCE role you’ve started since your prior submission, will be added.
After completing an initial assessment, it’s time to focus on the specifics of your Experiences, including everything from extracurriculars to patient care work to non-healthcare employment.
First, with your now more experienced perspective, determine whether you’ll include each entry from your prior application in the next.
As a new applicant who was insecure or uncertain about what to include, some “filler” entries may find their way into your activities. Consider cutting unrelated or very old experiences to create a more value-dense presentation this time around.
Next, review each entry for accuracy in “Experience Type” and ensure each is appropriately categorized, particularly healthcare experience and patient care experience. Not following the CASPA guidelines on this can make it appear that you’re trying to pull a fast one on PA programs, and that’s not an impression you want to make, especially the second time around.
Next, verify that each “Status” (full-time, part-time, temporary, per diem) is accurate and that you’ve used them consistently across your experiences. First-time applicants often make choices with this section that feel all over the place, which can confuse a reviewer when paired with your total weeks or hours in a role.
So with each entry in front of you, see if the statuses chosen allow for straightforward interpretations. If not, update these for accuracy.
Lastly, examine your “Experience Details” for your entries. These descriptions need not be uniform in length — noteworthy and relevant experiences will take up more space than simpler ones.
But the style, whether done in paragraph format, short phrases, or bullet points, should feel similar from one entry to the next. Being consistent with the style of these short narrative sections will help your application feel professional and organized, making it easier for a review to follow and digest.
For anyone who’s risen to the challenge of putting their “why PA” story in writing and somehow managed to whittle it down to the 5000-character limit, the only thing worse than doing it once is having to do it all again.
And aside from the labor of creating and polishing a new essay, repeat applicants often question how they can change the content yet retain authenticity.
If your motivation for wanting to be a PA, evolved slowly over the years, hasn’t changed, how much could the essay possibly be modified?
Rest assured, your reasons for wanting to be a PA can remain the same. You don’t have to scrounge around for brand-new motivations.
However, you can keep your reasons genuine and consistent while also composing a narrative that feels fresh to a reader. And it can still be stronger than your first one.
This article can help you make your reapplicant essay plan.
Some PA programs requiring supplemental applications offer an essay prompt specific to repeat applicants.
This essay prompt asks some variation of, “If you’ve applied to this program previously, please share what experience you have gained in the interim.”
Your response in this essay gives you a chance to direct attention to the application areas you want to be noticed. Additionally, a reply that focuses on the value and quality of what you’ve gained, rather than the quantity (i.e., number of additional hours), can help you convey the importance of your work and your insight about its impact.
If you are retargeting a school that incorporates supplemental essays as part of its application, you might stick with what you wrote the last time or try something new.
Unlike the main essay, you don’t need to rewrite a supplemental response if your ideas and content hold true. But a prior essay may deserve a tweak if some extra time and experience have influenced your take on a question.
Finally, take a look at the folks who acted as your references in the prior cycle.
As a group, would the perspectives they have to offer round you out as a candidate? Are they all connections from the same job, or do they represent diverse elements of your work and background?
Do some or all hold the same title, or are they representatives of different roles?
First and foremost, the people acting as your references should be able to speak knowledgeably and favorably about your attributes as a future PA. But after that, your evaluators should show the variety of your experiences and skills and, perhaps, even help fill gaps in your application with their endorsements.
Your evaluators — and their letters of recommendation — can be exactly the same year to year. No changes are required if you feel they represented you well and will continue to do so with the next cycle.
However, if the individuals you selected didn’t know you well or provide much variety, you can consider subbing in a few new supporters for this coming round.
Inexperience and rushing to meet deadlines that arrive unexpectedly fast can impact the content and presentation of your first PA school application attempt.
However, if you take time to build upon your work and use the knowledge you’ve gained since your prior shot, you can selectively and skillfully revise your CASPA application and be seen as a more professional, confident contender with your subsequent submission.
If you’d like an easy-to-follow method to organize a more effective application, check out my on-demand workshop, Application Head-Start, and learn my top techniques in just about an hour’s time.
