"urgent" need an advice on my sop....applying for school/ developmental psych

[ceeceeroni]

Hello! 

I need an advice on my SOP because I cannot think of a way to connect my diverse educational background. 

 

I first majored in BS/MS Physician Assistant studies (to be a PA) and dropped out of the program right before rotations started due to personal issues. I finished all the didactic phrase well except I failed one course in Pediatrics.

At that point, I just felt that PA was not my thing because I was just not eager to learn more about medicine so I changed my major to psychology with minor in political science. After changing to my major to psych, I had plenty of  professional teaching experiences and experience with kids and youth. I worked at two different labs, one in cog psych and one in developmental psych. 

 

Now, my question is whether to discuss about my PA experience or just leave it out from my sop and focus on my research + job experience. I mean since I did not graduate with the degree, I don't think it would be highly necessary to mention because I might have to explain what my personal issue was...(to be honest, i'm afraid to say it on my SOP) 

 

What do you think my best bet is? i appreciate all of your input! 

 

plus, how long is your SOP? One of my friends wrote 2.5 pages when my other friend only wrote a page. Just curious! 

[Lisa44201]

It doesn't seem like the PA studies are really relevant for your Psychology apps. So no, don't mention it.

 

Different schools will have different lengths for the SOP. Sometimes that's two pages, sometimes that's three pages, sometimes that's 500 words. Check the program requirements.

 

Your SOP should explain why you are a perfect fit for XYZ program and Dr. Awesome's lab. That's it.

[PsychGirl1]

If it's on your transcript and application package, you should probably mention it. As in, one or two sentences. You don't need to explain your personal problems- you said you felt like it wasn't a good fit, so just tell them that in one or two sentences- how you realized it wasn't your passion, and then you discovered psychology and realized that was your passion. When I went through the process, I found that discussing my past career paths (yes, there were multiple) was actually an asset, since it showed that I had tried other things and really come to realize what I wanted to do and why.