High School Student Interested in becoming a PA

[MMGO212]

I am a high school senior who is interested in studying to be a PA in college. I definitely want to pursue this career. I consider myself a good high school student. I have a 95 GPA and I am in the top 5% of my class. I am good at math and science. All these factors considered, I still have self doubt and feel extremely intimidated. Honestly, half of me thinks I will do fine and the other half thinks I will fail in college. I understand nothing worth while is easy in life. But is PA school really the grueling, hell on earth major some people make it out to be. Do you have to be a valedictorian genius to make it through the coursework. I am very nervous and do not want to fail. Can anyone talk about the overall difficulty of PA school? I know it is intense but I am questioning whether normal hard working person can make it or must you be a medical prodigy. Thank you in advance! 

[DiggySRNA]

High school is nothing like College/University. I graduated HS with a 2.7 (that's a different story) and I'm managing to pull off a 3.4/3.6 major GPA at my University. 

 

It sounds like you're disciplined when it comes to studying, so that will serve you well when you make the transition. 

 

As for pursuing PA, just make sure this is what you want to be. Also, do understand that most programs are transitioning from Bachelors (undergrad) to Masters (graduate) studies. However, there are some BS programs left and you're going to need to see if you've met their admission requirements (GPA, sciences, extracurricular/community service, and direct patient care hours).

 

I'm neither a PA-S nor a PA, and just looking at the 2 year curriculum for most programs, it's 19-25 credits per semester WHICH IS CRAZY INTENSE. In 2 years - 3 years a PA student will have completed 100-120 credits (which is equivalent to 120 undergrad credits OR 4 years of medical school/content wise compacted into 2 years with no summer breaks). You don't need to be a "medical prodigy" to survive PA school. Perseverance and serious dedication is what will get you through in one piece.

[MMGO212]

Thank you for your insight!

[winterallsummer]

Get a job in health care and maintain as high a GPA as possible while still enjoying life. You may change your mind in a couple years. First year of college you just take the basics anyway so you'll have time to decide. Anyone can become a PA if they stay focuses and work hard at it. Just make sure it's what you really want. What most people expect medicine to be and what working in medicine whether as a pa md do rn etc are often very different from what people expect.