wesr_gordon Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 To those applying or that will: I have a very average GPA, both science and cumulative, with very average test scores. Since I had to support myself through college I also had very little volunteer experience. My medical experience is mainly as a scribe (about 1200 hours), with just six months of medical assistant experience. I have shadowed three PA's for about 20 hours each. It's only mid-September and I've been offered admittance into two programs and still have interviews scheduled. I wrote this because I often felt by reading these boards that my GPA wasn't enough, my volunteering wasn't enough and my work experience wasn't enough (or would not even be considered based on the naysayers about scribing). I didn't think I had much hope of ever getting in. All those things landed me interviews, but what I think has mattered most during this time is personality. My advice: Don't let sky high GPA's scare you. Don't think there is some magic number of HCE hours. Don't waste time comparing yourself to applicants on here, there is so much variation based on interviews I have gone to. Do spend a lot of time on your personal statement, it was mentioned in all my interviews. Do spend time on your supplements, let them get to know things about you your CASPA hasn't already told them. If you do get an interview, be yourself and be totally honest. I told a school I was just admitted to the other day that places emphasis on underserved populations that I had no specific interest in the underserved until a few months ago. Point is, if you have the passion keep going for it. Your application will start to resemble your passion and schools will see that. You will be your own worst critic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 A lesson learned the hard way: Any time any one tells you that there is only one way to do something, a little red light should go off in your brain. Congrats and good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 So there is hope! I was kind of hesitant about applying for a scribe position after reading a few comments here. I went ahead anyways and applied, and will be supplementing this with a MA position so I can get the best of both worlds - Charting skills + patient care/communicating with patients. Congrats on your acceptances, I'm confident you'll be great wherever you end up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesr_gordon Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 So there is hope! I was kind of hesitant about applying for a scribe position after reading a few comments here. I went ahead anyways and applied, and will be supplementing this with a MA position so I can get the best of both worlds - Charting skills + patient care/communicating with patients. Congrats on your acceptances, I'm confident you'll be great wherever you end up. Before I applied I emailed all the schools I was going to consider about their opinion on scribes. More than 30+ schools stated they not only consider it direct patient care but that it was very high quality experience to have, that some of their best students have been scribes. One interview I attended, half the applicant group there were scribes. It's a great way to get letters of recommendation and I often felt my experience scribing was more pertinent to questions they asked during interviews. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 17, 2014 Moderator Share Posted September 17, 2014 congrats on your acceptance! I wish you all the best on your PA journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dream2pa Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 do you mind sharing which schools you applied to ? congrats and good luck on your future endeavors :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASASM92 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Absolutely agree. I have average scores, and have received 3 interview invitations thus far. My recommendations were stellar (I think) and I spent a lot of time on my essays. Don't be discouraged. Be passionate, go for it! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreenmansaidhi Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 This is exactly what happened to me! So glad there are other success stories like mine out there. I've been accepted to two programs and have more interviews lined up. I was so discouraged by what I read on some of the posts on this forum that I applied to way too many programs to try to compensate. Lesson learned, I was offered so many more interviews than I expected, and even had to decline a few. Don't let what others say discourage you! Just let your determination and passion guide you. Congratulations to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Empowred Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Congratulations and good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Congrats!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Before I applied I emailed all the schools I was going to consider about their opinion on scribes. More than 30+ schools stated they not only consider it direct patient care but that it was very high quality experience to have, that some of their best students have been scribes. One interview I attended, half the applicant group there were scribes. It's a great way to get letters of recommendation and I often felt my experience scribing was more pertinent to questions they asked during interviews. Good luck! Some folks on the boards have a very narrow idea of what they consider to be appropriate HCE, but it's not in line with what the majority of adcoms will accept. That's why most people recommend calling schools and getting the answer straight from the horse's mouth. Congrats on your acceptances. Now it's time to join your state org and PAFT if you haven't already! Welcome to the profession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Congrats and GL on your journey. That being said, is this GPA really that average? It would awesome if you report back after interviews with the number of schools you got in to. Cum GPA 3.5 Science GPA 3.35 GRE 306, analytical 5.5 HCE 2000ish hours as scribe and MA Shadow PA 100ish hours Volunteer 50ish hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megpvb2 Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I like this forum, I've been looking for some success stories! Those with these "average GPAs" when did you get interviews? Were the schools rolling admissions? A couple schools I've applied to have already had 2 interview sessions and some people have already been accepted, so it's pretty hard not to be discouraged Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbattle1 Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Thanks for the encouragement. I let other posts discourage me, I became really down & depressed about returning for a masters degree in Health Sciences, to become a PA. After reading this I got my fire back. I have only six science classes to go before applying to the PA program, after I send my daughter off to college Fall 2015, I am returning back to finish my degree. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesr_gordon Posted September 27, 2014 Author Share Posted September 27, 2014 I like this forum, I've been looking for some success stories! Those with these "average GPAs" when did you get interviews? Were the schools rolling admissions? A couple schools I've applied to have already had 2 interview sessions and some people have already been accepted, so it's pretty hard not to be discouraged Hey there! I've been invited to five interviews thus far starting back in July through early September. The schools have all been rolling admissions. I will say timing is everything. My CASPA was verified May 28th and I've had all my supplementals done by beginning of August. I am still waiting to hear on the majority of schools I applied to but will likely turn down most other interview invites at this time. Again, don't be discouraged. Someone put it to me this way, if you get an interview invite you still have a chance for a seat that hundreds and maybe a couple thousand who applied didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyM2 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Before I applied I emailed all the schools I was going to consider about their opinion on scribes. More than 30+ schools stated they not only consider it direct patient care but that it was very high quality experience to have, that some of their best students have been scribes. One interview I attended, half the applicant group there were scribes. It's a great way to get letters of recommendation and I often felt my experience scribing was more pertinent to questions they asked during interviews. Good luck! I believe PA school adcoms have changed a lot over the years. Some on this forum would like only "hard core, direct patient contact for multiple years" to be acceptable HCE. Many, perhaps most, schools no longer seem to see it that way. Perhaps the transition took place when schools upgraded their programs to masters degree. I suppose I am still old fashioned enough to feel that some HCE should be required, though I know that there are programs out there with no HCE requirements. I wouldn't want to see a program with all scribes any more than I would want to see all paramedics, but I wouldn't say that either would be wrong. My daughter is in a program with several experienced emts, a few students with essentially no hce and a lot of in-between. They seem to be able to contribute a lot to each other and that is all for the good. I don't think there is any HCE that offers any assurance of acceptance, success in school, success on the PANCE, or success as a PA and, once you have been a practicing PA for a few years, your prior HCE, unless really extensive, probably matters little if at all. Sent from my Kindle Fire HDX using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaurusRampage Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thank you for sharing this! My gpa is something that has been frightening me so much. Yet I want this career and I will see it through to get my hat in the ring. Congrats to you! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.