how to write a good personal statement for occupational therapy

Occupational Therapy Personal Statement Examples

Introduction.

Want to become an occupational therapist? You’ll need to apply to graduate programs. When it comes time to read the paper, among the most difficult parts of the process is drafting a fantastic personal statement tailored to OT school.

You will be required to submit a personal statement when enrolling for an industrial therapy program, whether through UCAS or directly to the universities of your choice. 

Make sure you take your time building this; a good idea is to explore ideas upfront so that you have a clear direction and focus while developing the application.

You can take ideas from otcas personal statement examples .

It’s Good To Know: How To Title A Personal Statement

The Process

To write a personal statement occupational therapy, you may need to do the following:

• Reflecting 
• entering something on the screen 
• experiencing writer’s block
• becoming sidetracked 
• taking a break 
• correcting it
• inputting some thoughts
• deleting those ideas
• having it proofread
• reading it aloud
• making more tweaks
• and you’re done! 

Set-up and Preparation

1-begin early.

Start composing your statement as soon as you feel ready. Don’t put off writing until the last minute. Editing, re-reading, getting proofread by somebody else, and making more modifications are all required for personal statements.

2-Comfortable Place

It doesn’t have to be a silent library to be effective. It just must be what works. Go to the coffee shop if it’s one. 

Write at a location that you associate with positive work (but where you won’t be easily sidetracked, such as a kitty cafe) similar to your favorite study space.

3- Download Grammarly

For incorrect spellings and grammar checks, we utilize Grammarly as a browser extension. It’s great at identifying errors as you go, as well as the free edition is all you’ll get to get started with basic editing. 

This frees you up to concentrate on the writing rather than the spelling. If you struggle with typing in general, software such as Grammarly can help. While it might offer corrections for errors, the material must be written by you. We’re not quite there yet with AI, but we’re getting there!

4-Backup System

Losing all of your hard work would be a major setback. These days, you may effortlessly store your data on the cloud using Google Drive/Docs. This applies to both your statement and your graduate school application files, which include notes, deadlines, resumes, and other information.

 All it takes is a spilled cup of coffee on your laptop to wipe out all of your hard work, as my OT classmate discovered. Better yet, make a backup of all of your crucial data. Lectures, recordings, and homework are all available.

5- Plagiarism And Cheating

Do not plagiarise or cheat. Take help from others or you can approach us to help you out by providing you with the best occupational therapy personal statement examples or write a statement for you.

 6-First Attempt Isn’t Perfect

After all, you’re presumably writing something like this for the very first time, with a unique combination of experiences to impress the OT’s admissions panel. Artists may find it challenging to create art, music, or a book in a single sitting. So don’t worry about it!

• In your writing, you should be sincere. Allowing your positive feelings and enthusiasm to shine through is encouraged.
• All of your writing should be in the same tense and person (“I,” first-person is appropriate).
• Discuss why you are 100% committed to becoming an occupational therapist. You want the programs to know you’re serious about making this choice. You aren’t applying because you don’t know what else to do with your life.
• Demonstrate your understanding of OT and why it’s significant in some way through your writing.
• To emphasize why you’ll be a fantastic fit for their program, highlighting distinctive qualities that will set you apart from the competition.
• Do mention your shadowing, volunteering, and employment experience in the field of occupational therapy. If you talk about some of the examples you saw, make careful to keep patient information private.
• If you know and understand OT terminology, such as interventions, therapies, occupations, goals, proof, functional treatment options, and so on, feel free to be used it.
• Make a connection between your statement and your resume. If you make multiple separate arguments, strive to tie them together for the reader to show that you’ve given the broader picture a lot of thought.
• Would have had at least two individuals read and proofread the final text of your statement and the more for, the better. This might help you come up with new ideas and guarantee that your application is free of errors.
• Keep it to no more than 1-2 pages. You want it to be succinct and to the point. After the last read-through, if any sentence or paragraph appears to be extraneous, remove it. OT personal statement length is usually between 600 and 800 words long.
• Follow the prompts and guidelines for writing a therapist personal statement . To be sure, read it multiple times. Don’t go above the word limit if one exists. Before submitting, double-check everything.
• Emphasize only what is relevant rather than an autobiography. It could be included if something you did in high school or perhaps elementary school encouraged you to become an occupational therapist. 

If you or a family member received OT services as a youngster, mention it. Include it if you overcome a difficult situation as a child. Leave the extra stories out if you don’t need them.

• Don’t use sentences that are too similar to each other; instead, utilize alternative terms. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t use a thesaurus to search up words. Consider what point you’re attempting to make.
• Cliches should not be used to begin your essay. Omit them entirely from your statement. “I’ve always tried to support others,” for example, is something they hear all the time.
• Plagiarism is not tolerated. You can find many personal statement samples on the internet to help you with your writing. Do not copy and paste them verbatim.
• In your statement, don’t try to be funny.
• Avoid talking in great depth about your dislikes, bad viewpoints, or personal issues. If you have a low GPA or little experience, don’t bring it up unless you can spin it in a favorable light.
• If you’re writing an OTCAS personal statement , don’t name any specific programs in your comment. It will be sent to every school you apply to. Thus it is pointless. If you’re applying to a school that isn’t on OTCAS , be sure to specify the school and why you’re interested in their program.
• Don’t assume that everyone’s experience in diverse contexts is the same as yours. A skilled nursing facility, for example, differs from a hospital, a pediatric clinic, and a school setting. This could backfire, revealing your lack of understanding of how wide occupational therapy can be. 

Questions To Address Or Reflect on

• In your pre-OT journey, how have you interacted with people from different origins and societies?
• How did you figure out that OT was the right fit for you? Why don’t you try PT? (Think about that, but don’t respond directly.)
• Who or who were the influencers?
• What role did monitoring play in your decision to pursue a career as an occupational therapist ?
• What do you want to do after you graduate from OT school?
• What obstacles did you face before starting OT?
• What distinguishes you from the competition? Why should I choose between you and person A or B?
• If you’re applying to a particular course, explain why you think you’d be a good fit for the batch, training course, school, or academic staff. What kind of person are you? 

Recommendations

• Discuss why you want to become an occupational therapist, but not merely to “help” people. How? What kind of people/community/background do you have? Conditions? Why?
• While you should avoid making comparisons to other programs, strive to emphasize why occupational therapy is distinctive as a career and why it appeals to you above all others.
• Demonstrate your awareness of what occupational therapists perform, as well as how your narrative and examples led you along the route to becoming an OT. Your story may work for a doctor, a nurse, or a psychiatric nurse, for example. As a result, you’ll have to wrap everything up to fit OT.
• Use occupational therapy language or phrases if you feel comfortable, and don’t go overboard, such as occupation, therapy, treatment, activities of daily living, proof, cooperative, multidisciplinary, customer, holistic, functional, and so on. You will not have to sound like a journal article; plain English will suffice.
• Describe why you’d be an excellent candidate (fit) for their program. Consider not only your experience but also your personality and qualities. What are some examples of innovation, leadership, patience, resourcefulness, and dependability?
• Demonstrate why you will succeed in the program and not “drop out” by telling tales or sharing experiences. Perseverance.
• Finish strong and with a bang. Consider physical therapy personal statement examples and end your statement in that way using excellent words.

To help you get started, I’ve designed a template. Of course, this isn’t a unique template that fits everyone, and it wasn’t produced for kids by any OT institution. Copy and paste this into your preferred word processor and start writing.

First Paragraph

Topic Sentence : An attention-getting sentence. Enter your narrative with a spark.

Supporting sentences : Provide details of the aforementioned story.

Last line : Expressing why you choose (or maybe a good OT).

The Middle Or Body Part

Opening sentence :  When I was a, I [did this or that] at [business or school].

Supporting sentences :(use transitional devices in this section)

Strengthen your narrative in the first sentence with connecting sentences. Otherwise, create a new paragraph if these sentences vary from the opening sentence’s theme or story. 

The final sentence(s): sum up the story and, if desired, insert a transitional device.

Ending Paragraph

1st line : Repeat why you’ll be a competent OT in the closing paragraph.

Supporting sentences : Begin closing things up with supporting sentences. A broad view. If you’re applying to a specific program, think about why you’re interested in it.

Concluding Lines : Finish forcefully by emphasizing that you want to be an occupational therapist. It’s worth mentioning because it’s relevant to your long-term objectives. Consider concluding everything with the words “physical therapist” (identification), for example, “…be a successful physical therapist” OR “physical therapy,” for example, “…to pursue a degree in occupational therapy.” 

Here are some occupational therapy masters personal statement examples that will help you out in writing statements.

I’ve always wanted to work in the healthcare field, and after completing several work experience positions, I’ve concluded that Therapeutic Communication is the right career option for me.

As part of my work experiences in school, I shadowed various employees, including pediatric physical therapists, on a pediatric ward.

I saw firsthand how various therapeutic techniques, including art therapy, may be blended with a person’s care plan to provide them with as regular a life as feasible. This placement provided me with great insight into the day-to-day activities of an occupational therapist and confirmed that I was choosing the appropriate career choice.

During my undergraduate years, I worked part-time as a kitchen assistant in an aged care facility. This allowed me to become acquainted with one of the contexts in which occupational therapists can find themselves. My experience at the care home also allowed me to observe how various types of specialized technology and therapy can be used to make a significant difference in a patient’s life.

My time at college and university, and also my part-time employment, have allowed me to enhance my communication and collaborative abilities. I enjoy communicating with other individuals and meeting new folks. I’m also fascinated by how the human brain functions, which is why I studied Psychology and Sociology at A-Level.

I’m hoping that my time at university will allow me to have a better understanding of how people interact with one another and to build the necessary skills to become an effective occupational therapist. I’m excited about the new difficulties that university life will bring.

I was hired as an EMT at [employer] in [city] for a small business that sounded similar to our own [company name]. As an EMT at [company], I was responsible for caring for it and treating the ill and injured, which included CPR, patient comfort, and advocacy. As an EMT, I was once again a valuable asset to the company due to my ability to communicate in Spanish. Patients and staff members pushed me to my limits and put my patience to the test. My encounters with patients in the field were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about the realities of the healthcare industry. Many EMTs “burned out” and quit as a result of the job’s physical rigors and high-stress environment. I admit that I considered resigning, but I found the relationships with my patients to be far more satisfying, and I worked as an EMT for nearly two years. Working very closely with any of these patients taught me to be aware of each individual’s unique circumstances. As an EMT, I honed my critical thinking abilities by adapting the surroundings to my clients to safely transfer care and inform students on how to avoid further injuries. Hearing my clients thank me personally for my childcare convinced me that I’m on the correct track to assisting them in resuming their everyday activities and achieving their objectives.

I did a lot of thinking after graduating in terms of the profession I wanted to follow. Is it true that I wanted to please my parents by pursuing [career]? Should [company name] be expanded and taken to the next level? I knew I wanted a job where I could serve people daily, but none of those options fit the bill. I witnessed my [family member’s] anger and lack of personality after she broke her arm and has been unable to come back to work or help at home. Our family’s financial situation deteriorated significantly. When my [family member] finally met an orthopedic surgeon, I encouraged her to follow her care plan’s exercises, and she eventually recovered forearm function. My [family member’s] resilience encouraged me to pursue a career as an occupational therapist, where I can assist people in developing, recovering, and improving the skills they need to function in daily life, work, and lead active lifestyles.

FAQ and Self-Doubt

“I have no idea where to begin…”

That’s fine; start writing about an event or incident you’ve been thinking about and expand from there. Begin to write in the middle, as introductions and endings are notoriously tough to write.

“My statement cannot be proofread by anyone.”

Consider attending a writing class, visiting an institution or library, or using other better programs. You won’t have to pay for a basic Google search.  

“After writing all of this, I’m not aware what Therapist do anymore”

Watch online OT lectures and videos on YouTube.

Will my statement for OT be perfect?

Of course! it will be perfect if you write it according to the instructions and do not plagiarize.

• Take help from the internet and see occupational therapy essay examples . If you don’t find any useful information, ask for help from people who have written a personal statement before. 
• Don’t stress while you are writing a statement. Just focus on your statement. Grammatical mistakes and others can be fixed later.
• Write at least drafts and compare both to choose the best one. 
• Read it again and again and make changes if needed.
• Don’t just rely on these tips from your instructor or supervisor too.
• Do search for Occupational therapy personal statement reddit; you will see people’s views about ot personal statements.

Author & Editor Team: : Adila Zakir, Alexa Smith

Our review panel has been working in academic and non-academic writing for more than 1 decade.

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Complete Personal Statement Guide for Pre-OT Occupational Therapy School Programs

Introduction.

This detailed guide will provide you with tips, do’s, don’ts, examples, and other helpful things along the way to write your personal statement for OT school.

You may be thinking:

• Where do I even start with writing a personal statement?
• Maybe I can look for some more examples online.
• My story does not seem as exciting as these examples.
• These examples don’t really relate to me.
• I don’t like the writing style or “feeling” that these examples give me.
• How do I even go about this?

Or maybe you didn’t have any of these thoughts and you are just looking for some extra tips to polish up your personal statement before you send it to the world. This guide will still help!

While this guide was written with Pre-OT’s for occupational therapy personal statements in mind, it of course can apply to other professions such as physical therapy, speech therapy, PA, RN, even undergraduate programs.

I am not part of any admissions committee or affiliated with them in any way. However, as a graduate of an occupational therapy program, I also read and edited many other personal statements for friends and family. This guide is not a guarantee that you will get accepted or a guarantee that you will produce the best personal statement. This is just my opinion and unfortunately, the writing is all up to you!

Fortunately, you already have the hard part done – building your education, experiences, personal character, and goals!

Not quite there yet, that’s okay too – this guide will give you a preview of how to prepare to write your personal statement.

The Process

The process of writing a personal statement may involve something like:

Reflecting, getting something typed on the screen, getting writer’s block, getting distracted, taking a break, editing it, reflecting, typing some ideas, deleting those ideas, repeat, have it proofread, reading it out loud, reflecting, make more edits, and you’re done! While this sounds like a lot, it’s doable.

Set-up and Preparation

Start Early

When you feel like you are ready to write your personal statement, start writing! Don’t wait until the last minute to write. Personal statements require editing, giving it some time for your mind to clear to re-read, having it proofread by someone else, and making more edits.

Install Grammarly

We use Grammarly as a browser extension for its spellcheck and grammar check. It is really good at catching mistakes as you go and the free version is all you really need to get some basic editing done. This allows you to focus on the writing and not the spelling. Software like Grammarly also helps if you especially have a hard time with writing in general. While it can suggest edits for errors, it is up to you to write the content.  AI is not quite there yet, but we are close!

Cheating & plagiarizing

I just have to say it. Don’t cheat or plagiarize. Don’t hire someone to write for you. I hear stories of students cheating here or there, so it must still be happening. Grad school is not the time to jeopardize all the hard work you put in.

Have a back-up system for your document

It would be a huge set-back to lose all your hard work. These days, you can easily use the cloud such as Dropbox or Google Drive/Docs for storing your files. This goes for your personal statement document as well as your graduate school application files such as notes, deadlines, resumes, etc. All it takes is a coffee spilled on your laptop for you to lose all your hard work (it happened to my classmate in OT school). Better yet, back up all your data that is important to you. Lectures, recordings, assignments.

Write in a place you feel productive

It doesn’t have to be a quiet library. It just has to be what works. If it’s a coffee shop, then go there. Write in a place you associate with positive work (but also don’t get distracted too easily, e.g. a cat cafe) – like to your favorite study area.

It’s okay if it doesn’t seem perfect or even good at first

After all, you are writing something like this probably for the first time, with a unique set of experiences for a specific intention of impressing the OT’s admissions panel. It can be difficult for artists to create art or music, or write a book in one session. So don’t stress it!

• Re-research the profession, job description, duties, etc. BLS.gov is my favorite go-to for profession research. We have a video on it here .
• Follow the personal statement prompt and instructions. Read it several times to make sure. If there is a word limit, don’t go over. Double-check before you submit.
• Pay attention to the file format that is requested from the programs. Word doc? PDF? Make sure your file actually opens after you upload it and is not corrupt, if possible. If you are uploading to a central application like OTCAS, make sure you meet those guidelines.
• Write in the same tense and person throughout (“I”, first-person is fine).
• Write in an order that makes sense and flows to the reader, e.g. chronologically.
• Write with a purpose. Each sentence should be there for a reason and not be filler. Exclude extra information or too specific of information that doesn’t contribute to your story.
• Example: Nowadays, I want to be an occupational therapist first and foremost because I want to help people and really make a difference in each of their lives.
• Better example: My goal is to become an occupational therapist who makes a difference in people’s lives.
• Warning : I wouldn’t you use this specific example in your personal statement because it’s probably been overused. Try to be creative by saying how you want to “help” people in  other ways .
• Be honest, try to copy an example’s voice, do not write over-the-top or fabricate the story.
• Be politically correct and culturally sensitive.
• My personal statement didn’t have big GRE words or fancy syntax. It told a great story that was (in my opinion) to the point, compelling, persuasive, and driven.
• Describe your values and goals while highlighting your strengths.
• In my opinion, it is best to talk about college, work, and other achievements and experiences in your “adulthood”.
• Even traveling experience (shows cultural awareness) as an adult is more noteworthy than say winning a basketball game in high school (less relevant to OT)
• Tip: think about when you first were motivated to become an OT and start from there, not earlier.
• Don’t use cliches or minimize them as much you can. Readers see this a lot and it does not make a big impact on their impression of you.
• Don’t use slang/informal speech, e.g. “sticking with it” -> perseverance.
• Don’t make jokes and be careful if you decide to use humor (what may be funny to you may not be to the reader). It’s safe to leave humor out and just get to the point.
• Avoid being sarcastic.
• Pay attention to your use of OT – it can be occupational therapy or occupational therapist, but personally, I get confused when people use “OT” interchangeably.
• In my final submitted personal statement, I only abbreviated “MSOT” and “EMT” and did not “OT” once.
• Example: I got accepted to shadow at [facility] and was observing observed patients do their rehab exercises.
• Pay attention to these verbs in sentences that run longer. Consider shortening them to make it less tiring to read, avoiding avoid run-on sentences. (see what I did there?)
• Don’t abbreviate or hyphenate too often or incorrectly . If you do it one way, be sure you are at least consistent throughout. e.g. evidence-based, not evidenced based.
• O ccupational therapist is capitalized like this correctly.
• However, an Occupational Therapist is not correct if capitalized like this.
• This is the correct capitalization for an occupational therapist.
• The same goes for the field of occupational therapy.
• O ccupational therapy is capitalized correctly in this sentence.
• Abbreviations are always capitalized, e.g. OT.
• Don’t write anything negative about anyone, organization, place, etc .
• Don’t write in a negative tone, be a “Debbie Downer”
• “OTs make a lot of money.”
• “I will be the best occupational therapist because…”
• “I am the best candidate because”
• “Since I am… , therefore”
• “Unlike others”, or
• “Other professions” talking down, avoid talking about other professions in general. No one profession is better than another, the same applies to OT. Think about why OT over other professions leading to your decision to become one).
• Think about how someone in another profession, say a PT would feel after reading your personal statement. They should not feel offended after reading your personal statement, but instead think, “wow, such and such would make a great OT.” Not that OT is better than PT, that kind of thing.
• When I become an occupational therapist. If I become an occupational therapist.
• Don’t repeat yourself, you only need to say something once in its context. Of course, the bigger message can be repeated, e.g. intro and conclusion. Just don’t sound repetitive.
• Don’t use the same phrases (especially close to each other), try using different words. That doesn’t mean you should just look up words in a thesaurus. Really think about what’s the point you are trying to make.
• Don’t use profanity.
• In everyday speech we say things like, “that’s crazy”. Someone with a mental illness who really is crazy could be offended. I had a teacher whose pet-peeve was people who said things were crazy . Remove crazy from your personal statement.
• “He probably was abused since he was in a recovery program/”
• I would avoid using “ normal” too. “Occupational therapists help patients get back to their normal.” This implies the patient was abnormal before. Better words: recover, improve, rehabilitate, strengthen, adapt, overcome, etc.
• Other labels: retarded, slow, crippled, mental, insane
• You can include a facility name, e.g. Standford hospital – as long as you don’t talk about it in a negative context.
• “Standford hospital treats a lot of poor patients.” Standford hospital is a valuable asset to the community for the underserved.
• Don’t include anything that can be seen as a weakness, e.g. low GPA, took a semester off, DUI, unexplained career changes.
• This is your chance to “say” what you want to say and include your story that is not apparent in the other pre-requisites. All the other candidates likely have high GPAs and had to take the same pre-requisite courses, but they did not shadow at your facility with your patient , so here’s your chance to distinguish yourself.
• What experience may be unique to you ?
• For example, I included my experience of being an EMT to make myself stand out.
• This could backfire and show your lack of research into how broad OT can be. Don’t forget about mental health too! OT’s study to be  generalists , not specialists.
• While it’s okay to want to work with a specific population as a goal, don’t accidentally make it sound like you think OT’s only do one thing. Hope this one makes sense.

Question’s to address or reflect on

Reflect. Write. Take a break. Repeat.

• What is your experience with other backgrounds and cultures in your pre-OT journey?
• How did you realize that OT was for you? Why not PT? (Reflect, but don’t answer this directly.)
• What or who were the influence(s) or influencers?
• This is a rich opportunity to mention your specific OT shadowing experience at the stage in which you want to be an OT.
• I would include at least 1 example from this, 2 is better, but not too much either.
• Not just becoming an OT (graduating) but afterwards. e.g. 1 year post-grad, 5 years, where you see yourself 10 years out.
• What challenges did you overcome in your pre-requisite pre-OT journey?
• What sets you apart from other applicants? Why should I not pick person A or person B over you?
• Tip: research the school’s website for their mission statement, OT program background, etc. to get familiar with the specifics. If you can include and relate to some of this, even better!
• “My motivation to help others and my passion for occupational therapy will guide me to be successful in the [program].” or

Since [school] strives to “[OT program mission statement]”, I firmly believe that [school] will help me reach my goals of becoming a successful occupational therapist.

Recommendations

• Talk about why you want to be an OT, but not just to “help” people. How? Which population/community/background? Conditions? Why? Tip: three major categories of OT are: mental health, pediatrics, and adults/older adults. Nurses help people too. How is OT different for you?
• Hint: occupations ! meaningful, client-centered.
• Check out the OTDUDE Podcast and other podcasts for ideas; Episode 1: What is OT
• Reflection tip: other professions may be based on the medical model or helping people become healthy, but OT is different because…
• Check out AOTA.org for some phrasing of the profession to inspire you.
• If you are comfortable, use OT related terminology or phrases, but don’t go overboard, e.g. occupation, intervention, treatment, activities of daily living, evidence-based, collaborative, interdisciplinary, client-centered, holistic, functional. Plain English is fine, you don’t have to sound like a journal article.
• As mentioned, highlight why you would be a valuable candidate (fit) to their program. Think about not only your experience but your character and quality traits . Examples: creativity, leadership, patient, resourceful, reliability? Teamwork and communication?
• Show indirectly through your stories or experiences why you will be successful in the program and not “drop-out”. Perseverance.
• Psychologically, readers tend to remember the beginnings and end more than the middle.
• How will being an OT help you achieve your goals, career? Not just short-term, but think bigger. While this sounds cliche – OT is not just a job, it will become your life. A person’s job (and career) is a large part of their identity.
• The reader should feel like they read about a person they would want to meet in the program and in real life, someone who can contribute something to the cohort, school, faculty, alumni – long term relationship. You will not only graduate as a student but a colleague in the field of occupational therapy to the faculty.

Here is a template I created to get you started. This is of course not a magic template that works for everyone or neither was it created by any OT entity for students. Copy & paste this into your favorite word processing program and write away.

Paragraph 1

Sentence 1: Attention-grabbing sentence. Hook into your story.

Supporting sentences: Support the above story with specifics.

Concluding sentence: “Thesis statement” stating why you chose (or) may be a successful OT.

Body Paragraphs (2, 3, 4, 5, etc.)

Opening sentence: As a , I [did this, and that] at [place or company or school]

Supporting sentences: strengthen your narrative in the opening sentence. These sentences should not deviate from the opening sentence topic or story, otherwise start a new paragraph. Should answer a [ Question’s to address or reflect on] section (see above).

Concluding sentence(s): wrap everything in this story up, optionally include a transition sentence.

Concluding Paragraph

Opening sentence: restate why you will be a successful OT.

Supporting sentences: start wrapping things up. Big picture. If applying to a specific program, consider answering why this program (e.g. does its mission statement appeal to you?).

Final sentence: end strong stating that you want to be an OT. Mention because it is in your long-term goals.  Consider ending everything with the words “occupational therapist” (identity), e.g. “…be a successful occupational therapist” OR “occupational therapy”, e.g. “… to pursue a career in occupational therapy”.

Here are some examples. All identifying information and some facts were fabricated for example sake.

After graduation, I did a lot of soul searching in terms of the career I wanted to pursue. Did I want to appease my parents and pursue [career]? Should we expand [business name] and take it to the next level? I knew I wanted a career that could help people in my day-to-day, but none of those paths fulfilled that desire. After my [family member] injured her arm and was unable to return to work or help out around the house, I saw her frustration and loss of dignity. Our family took a significant financial toll. When my [family member] finally saw an occupational therapist, I motivated her to do the exercises from her care plan and she eventually regained upper arm function. My [family member’s] perseverance inspired me to become an occupational therapist to help people develop, recover, and improve the skills needed for daily living, working, and leading active lifestyles .

• This excerpt, although really did happen, sounds cliche with phrases like soul searching, take it to the next level.
• While the reflection part and figuring out what to do may seem important, it can be shortened to and still get the message across.
• Using the family member is a good example especially since it related to a story with an occupational therapist.
• The last two sentences highlight that I know what OT is (and why I want to become one) but can be cleaned up.

I was inspired by a personal experience with an occupational therapist when my [family member] suffered a rotator cuff tear and was unable to perform her activities of daily living . My [family member] became discouraged and did not do the recommended home exercises , but I saw the value in them and helped my [family member] complete them daily to recover. I learned the value of occupational therapy and how important it is to take a holistic approach by involving caregivers .

• Mentioning ADL’s shows I know what OT’s do.
• Shows my direct involvement with OT intervention.
• Shows my understanding of OT’s holistic approach.
• Words like “value” are strong. The word caregiver is often used in OT documentation.

I was hired as a EMT at [employer] in [city] for a small business that reminded me of our own [business name]. My role as a EMT at [employer] involved caring and treating for the sick and injured that involved tasks such as CPR or patient comfort and advocacy. As an EMT I again found that I was a valuable asset to the company having known how to speak some Spanish. Patients and staff members challenged me and tested my patience. My contact with patients out in the field was a unique experience that exposed me to the reality of what a healthcare profession involved. Due to the physical demands of the job and the high stress environment, many EMTs “burned out” and quit. I admit that I have thought about quitting, but I found the interactions with my patients far more rewarding and continued to work close to two years as an EMT. Working closely with these patients taught me to be sensitive to each person and their unique experiences. As an EMT, I developed my critical thinking skills to adapt the environment to my patients in order to safely transfer care, as well as educate patients on how to minimize hazards and prevent further injuries. Hearing my patients personally thank me for my care and education reassured me that I was pursuing the right career in helping patients resume their activities of daily living and accomplish their own goals.

• How would you improve this example?
• Lots of specifics can be taken out like employer name, city.
• Role as EMT is well-known, better to include more significant things such as experience, outcome, or relevance to OT.
• Being bilingual is nice, but more for a resume than a personal statement as it does not add to the story.
• Leave out specific thought process of thinking about quitting (weaknesses). Perseverance was also already shared in a previous example – talk about another quality instead, e.g. stress management, working with diverse population, fast-paced environment, patient education as an EMT and how it translates to OT.
• Reflect on how one story can share multiple strengths you have not mentioned so far in previous examples.
• The example does not translate or relate back to OT in a clear manner, but alludes to the qualities of one. This can be written to be more obvious because EMT and OT have very similar qualities that are needed to be good practitioners.

As an EMT, I developed my critical thinking skills with my patients in order to safely transfer care and educate patients on how to prevent further injuries. Hearing my patients personally thank me for my care and education reassures me that I am pursuing the right career by helping patients resume their activities of daily living and accomplish their own goals .

Much shorter, to the point, and use of effective words that highlight what OT’s also do – educate, doing it safely, prevention of disease and injury, and meeting client’s goals.

FAQ and Self-Doubt

Addressing negative self-talk and negative beliefs about yourself.

“This is my 100th time applying…”

Maybe it will be your 101st that you get in. You see this all the time with graduates taking the board exam who fail X number of times. Don’t give up!

“I was never good at writing.”

Writing takes practice. I never liked writing in grade school. Now I enjoy writing about OT. So use your resources, e.g. spell-check, someone to proof-read, reading other examples. You CAN do it.

“My experience is not that special.”

Not everyone did CPR on their patient, observed a miraculous rehab recovery, etc. It’s what you make of the moments, how you interpret it, become inspired by it, how it changes you, and make you want to be an OT. It’s all from YOUR perspective. You can take 2 people who watch the same movie. One person could be moved by it and the other not be interested, right?

“The more I read this, the more I feel like it is not good enough.”

Take a break, put it down, and come back to it. Have someone else read it and get their opinion. Sometimes, we get stuck in our own thoughts and they can trick us and lead us down a negative path of thinking.

“I have the opposite problem, I have too much to write about and not enough room.”

You can probably take our your younger experiences. Leave the “resume” stuff out. Try to pick the most “OT” related or healthcare moments. If you do not have these examples to draw from, choose ones that fit the characteristics of a good OT. Each example should not be a repeated theme of another and highlight something profound.

“Now I am not so sure what OT’s do anymore, after writing all this.”

Go on BLS.gov for OT’s, listen to OT podcasts (to become inspired), watch some YouTubers on OT.

“I am having doubts about OT vs. (other profession)”

Avoid reading forums, facebook groups, Reddit for OT. These are often skewed towards OTs who may be burned out (which could happen for any other profession on social media). Dig deep into why you wanted to be an OT in the first place! If still in doubt, maybe you should observe some more, talk to some more OT’s and listen to some OT podcasts (because they are positive about the profession usually). I would avoid YouTube as many who are burned out could make videos.

“No one can proofread my personal statement.”

Try writing workshops, a school or public library, or similar resources. A simple google search could help and you won’t necessarily need to pay. Avoid suspicious websites and  uploading  your work to avoid others from plagiarizing you. Use people or resources that you trust.

“This is my 100th draft, it’s not perfect yet”

Deadlines will often help with this. Don’t let them catch you off guard. Consider going back and making an outline and seeing if you covered everything you want to talk about. A timer may help. Get the approval of at least 2 readers to give you support for how awesome your personal statement is.

“I don’t know where to start in writing”

That’s okay, start writing about a story or experience you have in mind and build around it. Start in the middle as intros and conclusions can be very difficult to begin writing.

• Read some other examples online, but don’t stress about it. If possible, have someone who may have been accepted to a graduate program send you theirs. You can use it as a template or for inspiration to the types of stores, tone, conclusion paragraph used, etc.
• Set a timer (e.g. Pomodoro method) so you won’t stress out and remind yourself to take breaks, move-on, just get something out and fix it later. Exact grammar, spelling, and other “writing” can be fixed later – focus on content.
• Get into a habit of writing, set a schedule …or do it randomly, no-schedule (whatever works for you ). Maybe it’s writing every other day in the morning, after a nap, after playing video games, after a meal, after walking your dog, or whatever sets you up for success.
• Have at least 2 people read (and edit) your personal statement. Don’t take it personally and not all suggestions are necessarily correct.
• In the earlier stages of writing, if deciding between two stories or segments in your writing, consider having two drafts and see which one your proof-readers prefer.
• Read your personal statement out loud, spaced out, e.g. 1 week later (when it is no longer fresh and you forgot some of what you wrote). Make edits as needed.
• Candidates come from all walks of life, have different personalities (e.g. type-A vs. B), extroverted vs. introverted, outspoken vs. quiet – so some of these tips (or your editor suggestions) may not appeal to you or seem unnatural, etc. This can be your strength. Follow your gut. It’s not like OT schools are only looking for outspoken, extroverted candidates. It’s how you use those qualities to better the world with OT. This is what makes you unique, special, and distinguished. Highlight those features!
• Take care of yourself – eat well, exercise, manage your stress, breathe.

Thank you for reading this long guide. I wish you the best in your journey to becoming an occupational therapist (or whatever career). See you all in the field!