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My chances on getting in and any advice?


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I made this thread previously but in the wrong section so I apologize. I have been feeling really depressed because I really want to get into PA school but I don't know what my chances are. I have a BS in Biology. My overall GPA is a 3.4. My science GPA is a 3.3. I took post-graduation classes like A&P 1 & 2 and made an A+ in both. And I took 3 other biology classes post-graduation and made an A in all of them. So my post-graduation GPA should be pretty high. I don't have any PAID HCE but I have lots of unpaid HCE's like PA shadowing, MD shadowing, I've been volunteering at a hospital since I was in high school, I have been volunteering at a clinic since 2012. I have been doing clinical research in a clinical setting for 1 year now. And I'm planning on taking 5 months aside to study for the GRE and make sure I do extremely well on it. I'm a pharmacy technician, I get paid for that but I'm not sure if that is considered an HCE. What else should I do in order to get into PA school and make my application competitive? I want to apply this April. Should I try to get a paid HCE before applying? What is the quickest paid HCE I can do? Thank you in advance!!

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Pharm tech has a better chance of being considered HCE than PA/MD shadowing does.  Shadowing is....shadowing.  Programs don't consider it HCE.

 

So you need to find programs that count pharm tech as HCE  and/or get more paid HCE before you apply.  You'd be better served using 5 months working at getting HCE hours than studying for the GRE.

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Pharm tech has a better chance of being considered HCE than PA/MD shadowing does. Shadowing is....shadowing. Programs don't consider it HCE.

 

So you need to find programs that count pharm tech as HCE and/or get more paid HCE before you apply. You'd be better served using 5 months working at getting HCE hours than studying for the GRE.

Thanks for the advice!!!
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Well, a 3.4 isn't bad in my opinion. But the fact that you don't really have any strong PCE is going to give you a hard time. Look into becoming a CNA/PCT, EMT, etc. I have a similar gpa, and I don't plan on applying until I have 3000 hours of PCE.

Thanks for the feedback!

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I can tell you that your GPA is slightly better than what mine was, but I did have a very strong GRE.  I got an interview at every school I applied and was accepted to every school I interviewed at.  I don't mean that to come across as bragging, but more to give you confidence.  It seems you have a lot of the required stats, and even beat me in some.

 

As others have said, the biggest thing you are missing is paid HCE.  Some programs might count pharm tech, but the majority will not - or at least it won't rank very high when they compare you to other applicants.  My advice, become a CNA or something similar.  I went from being a teacher to a CNA in just under a month and worked hard to get as many HCE hours as possible.  I also shadowed multiple PAs in multiple areas of medicine.  But make sure to including your experience as a pharm tech in your personal statement and explain how that time helped you realize you wanted to follow through with PA school.  Your personal statement is not just a "I want to go to PA school because PAs are awesome."  It is a narrative - what led you to this decision, what has driven you to be successful, what have you struggled with and overcome to get where you are now, etc.

 

Get past the depressed thoughts, that will only hurt you.  You must have confidence to be successful, especially PA school - and any admissions committee is going to look for that confidence in your application and even more so during you interview.  DO NOT BE COCKY, but do be confident and make sure you know you belong!

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Wow, I completely missed the 5 months for GRE...goodness!!!  The GRE is supposed to be over things you have already learned.  Yes, everyone forgets pieces of it, but if you are that worried sign up for an actual GRE review course.

 

In reality, my best suggestion is to take a practice exam to find out your deficiencies.  For example, I did much better on the verbal compared to the quantitative - even though I'm much better at math.  This was due to completely blanking on the formula for the circumference of a circle.  I spent a long time on one question trying to remember/derive it and wasted so much I barely finished the section.  Unfortunately I had a total of 8 or 9 questions throughout the exam that required that formula and unless I guessed well I got them all wrong.  If I could have remembered that one stupid formula I would have had pretty close to a perfect score on quantitative (if not an actual perfect score!!!).

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