If you’re a pre-physician assistant student who’s planning to apply to PA school, you have the option to write a CASPA COVID essay. Now this essay is optional, however, if you follow us we say this is NOT optional for you. You are going to use every single opportunity in your PA school application to stand out!  In our years of assessing CASPA applications to decide who to interview, we never understood why applicants would not use every single opportunity to write about themselves, what they’ve accomplished, how they have overcome obstacles, etc. We know essay writing does not win any awards for fun, but your COVID essay goes to every school you apply to and is just another chance for you to highlight your strengths or explain potential weaknesses in your PA school application. So, if you are on the fence about whether or not to complete this essay, please take our advice into account. We have worked in PA education for years, we have sat on PA admissions boards for years, and when we say this is such an easy way to stand out from other applicants and is another chance to shine, you should definitely take this advice to heart and take advantage of your CASPA COVID essay.

So what is the actual purpose of the COVID essay? As you know, COVID impacted every single person on the planet in a variety of ways, and this is especially true for students in any part of their path to higher education. CASPA has kindly provided a space for you to explain what personally happened to you and how COVID impacted your path. The COVID essay question is: “Please describe how COVID-19 has impacted your pathway to becoming a Physician Assistant.” Then, they offer a few examples and categories to guide you, including academic, professional and personal.

As a pre-PA student, you likely experienced significant changes in your academic, professional, and personal life as a result of the pandemic. Admissions committees want to know how you’ve responded to these challenges, and how you’ve adapted. The CASPA COVID essay is your opportunity to share your experiences and demonstrate your resilience and adaptability.

There are a few reasons why PA schools are really interested in your answer to this. One, we are genuinely interested in how your path to applying to PA school was affected by the pandemic  and how it may have had a negative impact on your competitiveness, in addition to how you responded to it. For example, did you have PA shadowing lined up and plans to accrue a significant number of hours, then COVID happened, your shadowing was dropped, and now you may not be as competitive in that category as you had hoped or as competitive as your peers? Schools want to know how COVID impacted your plans.

And – this is so important – they also want to know if and how you can overcome obstacles or resistance. Did you demonstrate resilience and perseverance? Did you keep trying even when doors kept closing? Do you have determination and grit? Yes, we can gather all of this from your COVID essay. And if you listen to this advice, THIS is where you can stand out! We want to know you can overcome hurdles and not give up in the face of difficulty. We want to know that you want to be a PA so much that you will persevere even when challenges block your path. We want to know that if another pandemic happens, you will not shy away from helping your community and you will be able to handle the adversity that comes your way. Not only does this help us glean how much you want to be a PA and how much you truly want to serve others, but it also gives us an idea of how you will respond to the rigors and struggles that come with being a PA student. 

As you are writing your CASPA COVID essay, it’s important to be honest and authentic. Admissions committees are looking for students who can communicate effectively and who are willing to be vulnerable. This doesn’t mean that you have to share your deepest secrets, but it does mean that you should be willing to talk about the challenges you’ve faced and the lessons you’ve learned.

To make your essay stand out, describe how the pandemic impacted you AND – this is super important – how you adapted and overcame that particular situation. How did you overcome these challenges? What strategies did you use to stay motivated and focused during difficult times? What lessons did you learn about yourself and your priorities? These are the kinds of questions that can help you craft a powerful and memorable CASPA COVID essay.

You also want to be specific. Use concrete examples to illustrate your experiences. For example, let’s say you were in school when COVID shut everything down and your university transitioned to virtual learning. You can absolutely talk about this in your COVID essay, especially if you struggled with the abrupt transition. You could write something like this, then write about how you overcame this. Did you learn new study techniques, did you rearrange your schedule to focus on time management, did you meet your peers online for virtual study groups? All of these things are great to include because it shows you are able to adapt and persevere, not to mention the new things and skills and techniques you learned make you a better, more well-rounded student. And this is how you will approach each conflict you bring up in your COVID essay. Also, Make sure you backup what you are writing about. Instead of saying “I’m resilient,” show how you’ve demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity. Again, be specific in how you have improved as a person, student and candidate.

In summary, the CASPA COVID essay is an important part of your PA school application. It gives admissions committees insight into how you’ve been impacted by the pandemic and how you’ve responded to the challenges it has presented. By sharing your experiences in a compelling and authentic way, AND specifically stating how you persevere and overcame the challenges in your path, you can make your essay really stand out.