What Reviewers Look For in the PA Program Secondary — Diversity / Perspective
This rubric looks for a lived experience that gives you a specific perspective, then shows how that experience changed the way you communicate, interpret situations, make decisions, or act. A strong response stays focused on your own role and evidence rather than relying on identity labels, broad claims, or a general discussion of diversity. It should also answer the program's exact question and, when asked, describe a concrete contribution you would make.
What We Check
Judge whether the response grounds its perspective in at least one bounded lived experience — a role, place, period, practice, sustained interest, or obligation the applicant actually lived.
Judge whether the narrated experience produced a stated effect on how the applicant interprets, communicates, decides, or acts — a consequence the reader can trace to events on the page.
Judge the contribution only to the extent the local question asks for one: what the applicant would concretely do, say, or make available, to whom, and in what kind of situation.
Judge whether the response answers the supplied program question rather than delivering a stockpiled diversity essay.
Mistakes We Flag
- Leading with a list of labels
- Demographic or biographical labels alone do not show where your perspective came from. Ground one part of your background in a specific experience, with a role, place, or period of time.
- Describing heritage without your own experience
- Listing traditions, languages, food, family history, or community membership does not show what you personally did or learned. Show yourself participating in a particular event or responsibility.
- Making a broad lesson claim
- Saying an experience “opened my eyes” or made you empathetic is too vague by itself. Explain what changed in your thinking, communication, decision-making, or actions.
- Promising vague contributions
- Statements such as “I will bring diversity” or “I will connect with every patient” do not explain what you would actually do. If the prompt asks about contribution, name an action, who it would serve, and the situation.
- Using a generic or recycled response
- A general argument about why diversity matters can miss the question about your own perspective. Make sure your response matches the visible prompt and does not contain conflicting program references or placeholders.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to write about a protected identity or hardship?
No. Your perspective can come from a role, place, period of life, practice, sustained interest, or obligation you actually lived. The key is showing the experience and its effect on you.
What should I show beyond the experience itself?
State how the experience affected how you interpret, communicate, decide, or act. A specific, ordinary experience can work when the connection is clear.
Should I discuss how I would contribute to a PA program or patients?
Do so when the program's question asks for contribution, patient interaction, or a similar connection. Then describe a concrete action rather than only promising traits; if contribution is not requested, do not force a class, patient, or PA-training connection.
How long should this essay be?
The rubric's design guidance gives a range of 150 to 500 words. If the program provides its own limit in the prompt, follow that limit.
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