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@dan123 Thanks for your question. It's not uncommon to see applicants who applied to med school a few years ago apply to PA school. If you have a solid reason as to why you have decided to pursue PA school that's always a plus. Things that I've heard applicants say that have hurt them when they talk about their reasoning (and I'm not assuming you would say this, but it's been said on more than one occasion) are statements or references such as:

  • The applicant didn't get into med school a few years back so he/she implies that PA school is a second option. Even if that's true, you need to say this in a very tactful and non-offensive way.
  • PA school is easier than med school
  • PAs are friendlier than physicians or PAs spend more time with their patients--remember your audience. Some admissions committees have physicians on the committee. You don't want to offend them, but most importantly you don't want to stereotype anyone. 

So bottom line is to frame your responses carefully and tactfully so you don't imply any of these above. Hope this helps!

@paadmissions

I was just wondering how it looks to admissions committees if I previously applied to med school a few years ago. I will be applying to some of the same schools that I initially applied to for med school. If I get interviews I have the perfect answers why I changed to PA and all my ECs can back this up (shadowing PAs etc). I just want to make sure I get that opportunity to explain and not get auto screened because of that.

I might just be overthinking it. Thanks

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@garyfoley Thank you for your questions. We don't base any decision on age, only what you bring to the table in the interview process. You obviously have a strong clinical and academic background and that should work in your favor. However, we all have interviews to decide how one would fit into the program, how he/she would interact with classmates, instructors and preceptors, and ultimately how he/she would fit into the profession. So your performance during the interview will be judged very carefully, as is everyone else's. Hope this helps!

paadmissions,

 

I am applying to PA school this cycle and I feel I am competitive with all of my scores.  I am a 52 y.o. male who has over 8500 hrs of HCE (former paramedic) and 25+ years of leadership, management, work and life experience over most PA applicants.  As an outlier from the general PA demographic, I was wondering is how much weight does this carry with the Admissions Committee?

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@mwb25 If the programs have no preference where the retakes are taken and you do well, as the counselor has implied, your changes will hopefully help your application. I know with our program, we recommend at least a 3.2 in the prerequisites to be considered (this includes at least a 3.2 or higher in the biology and chemistry requirements)...but typically applicants who are in a range of 3.4-3.6 in prereqs are going to be the most competitive. Grade replacement will always be a program preference so that answer varies from program to program. Hope this helps some and answers your questions!

@paadmissions,

 

As of now, that is the highest grade received. I am retaking A/P and Biology over the next year to get As in those. As for post-bacc work, that is my Respiratory Degree (associate degree). My post-bacc credit hours is 80 total right now (Respiratory and General chem courses I retook). I went through the RT program at a community college in the area due to the fact that I was working while in school. As for now, I am taking these biology courses at a local community college as well because it benefits my work schedule the best and it's easier financially. I know university grades are probably weighed heavier than CCs. I have talked to one admission counselor at a school I'm interested in. He said I will be competitive as long as I improve on these upcoming classes (why I am waiting until next year to apply so I don't waste my money). My main conern was if they did grade replacement for pre-reqs, or if they did it the CASPA way. I know my first two years of college is going to hinder me, and I know I will have to explain it in my essay/interview (if invited). Is there any other way to make my weak spot in my application any better?

 

Thank you again.

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@medicalanthropology Thanks for your questions. From an academic standpoint, I can assure you that you're probably exceeding selection factors. Your hours will depend on the programs' requirements. Just because Duke and WFU are in NC I'm somewhat familiar with their HCE requirements. WFU is 1,000 and Duke wants to see at least 1.5-2 years of experience. So you may fall maybe in the lower quartile of hours although you've maybe exceeded or come close to meeting what they're looking for. For example, our program requires 500 hours, but most competitive applicants tend to exceed that number by having close to 1000-1500 hours.  However, if for some reason you don't get in this cycle I would assume it would be due to hours. I' m assuming though you'll get strong looks based on academics and a solid number of hours. Some programs do take into consideration where you completed your degree and some do not. That's always program specific. I would prepare well for your interview as that will be the deciding factor as to whether or not you're accepted. Hope this helps!

 

I'm an incoming senior applying straight out of undergrad with about 1100 paid HCE.  
GRE: 165 V, 160 Q, 4.5 W.
GPA: 3.91;
Major: Global Health, Minor: Women and Gender Studies.  
Right now I'm applying to Northwestern, Rush, Rosalind Franklin, UW Madison, UC Davis, Yale, MCPHS (Boston), Wake Forest, and Duke.  I know a lot of these are like the most competitive schools you can apply to.  Should I be casting a wider net?  Or is my age (and resulting low HCE) seen as a potential positive?  

Also, what impact does the reputation of your undergraduate institution have on admissions, if any?

 

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@paadmissions

 

How do PA schools views applicants that went to med school but ended up dropping out? This applicant has good grades (3.7 GPA) and 1000+ hours of solid HCE along with shadowing multiple PAs in primary care, general surgery, and ortho. I initially I wanted to be a PA my sophomore year of college but my family put a lot of pressure on me to go the MD/DO route. Since then I have talked to a lot of PAs and I'm confident that I would genuienly enjoy a career as a PA. Would it be difficult to get into PA school?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm on a waitlist and I was told that all the deposits have been paid. Hopefully someone gets a better offer and forfeits their deposit to go to a different program, but the chances of that are probably slim. I would guess my best chance of starting this fall would be if the pa program added an extra seat. Does this ever happen????? How could this be possible?

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@paadmissions, 

 

Hi I wanted to get an idea of how competitive of an applicant I would be this year. 

 

Undergrad: Top 25 University, Double Major (both science related)

Grad School: Completed MPH

cgpa: ~3.5

sgpa: ~3.5

gpga: ~3.6

PCE: ~1600 hrs (mostly ER Tech hrs, volunteer EMT, other various hands on experiences) 

HCE: ~ 2000 hrs (Scribe)

GRE 310

Misc: Research for several years, other various experiences/activities. I also did a DIY post-bach (gpa of 4.0) to re-take classes I received low grades in during undergrad. 

 

My application is currently in process to be verified. I live on the west coast and plan to cast a wide net, but wanted to get a feel for how competitive you think I would be for some of the highest ranked programs around the country (i.e. Duke, GW), as well as some of the other more competitive programs (i.e. Drexel, Baylor, Boston, Northwestern, USC, any other school in this caliber). Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!  

 

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@sabsaf123 Thank you for your questions and sorry for the delay. Our program and I'm sure other programs have accepted students who withdrew from med school to pursue PA school. Factors we look at are:

  • Did the student perform well in med school, meaning they were not dismissed for professional or academic reasons. If they were dismissed they are not eligible to admissions to our program.
  • Does the student come with good recommendations from a former instructor or dean of the med school. I think a very smart thing to do is to have your advisor or the dean of the program (who knows your reasoning behind you withdrawing) write a letter of "good standing" to support that your academic performance was solid and he/she has spoken to you regarding your decision to pursue PA school.
  • You should consider addressing your reasoning behind withdrawing from medical school in your personal statement. I've seen some applicants ignore the fact that they wd'ed from med school, which leaves a lot of room for assumption.
  • And of course the obvious undergraduate/prerequisite coursework performance and other requirements would be evaluated. 

Typically, if these things are addressed I think you have supported your stance more appropriately. Hope this helps!

 

@paadmissions

 

How do PA schools views applicants that went to med school but ended up dropping out? This applicant has good grades (3.7 GPA) and 1000+ hours of solid HCE along with shadowing multiple PAs in primary care, general surgery, and ortho. I initially I wanted to be a PA my sophomore year of college but my family put a lot of pressure on me to go the MD/DO route. Since then I have talked to a lot of PAs and I'm confident that I would genuienly enjoy a career as a PA. Would it be difficult to get into PA school?

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@ssmith Thank you for your question and sorry for the delay. In most instances with a waitlist, you will have to wait until an applicant forfeits their seat. The number of seats available are limited by our accrediting agency, ARC-PA. That means that if a program has a class size of 40, they cannot go over that limit without approval from the ARC-PA (there is an aggregate # of students allowed in the program and only special exceptions can be made to surpass this number..e.g. if a student who was already enrolled had to repeat the program). This approval process does not happen quickly. If you are still waiting for a seat, I would encourage you to at least consider starting a new CASPA application for this cycle so that you stay ahead of the ballgame if you had plans to reapply. It does not hurt our waiting list applicants to submit a new application just in case a seat does not open up. I hope this helps!

I'm on a waitlist and I was told that all the deposits have been paid. Hopefully someone gets a better offer and forfeits their deposit to go to a different program, but the chances of that are probably slim. I would guess my best chance of starting this fall would be if the pa program added an extra seat. Does this ever happen????? How could this be possible?

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@paed29 Thank you for your questions. I would assume that you're fairly competitive with the applicant pool at most programs. Typically, applicants who fall in the GPA range of 3.4-3.6 and 300 or higher GRE scores are competitive applicants. Outside of the stats you've listed below, factors that I would assume programs would consider further are: LORs, personal statement, leadership/volunteer experiences, and if you've completed their coursework requirements by the deadline. Hope this helps and best wishes!

@paadmissions, 

 

Hi I wanted to get an idea of how competitive of an applicant I would be this year. 

 

Undergrad: Top 25 University, Double Major (both science related)

Grad School: Completed MPH

cgpa: ~3.5

sgpa: ~3.5

gpga: ~3.6

PCE: ~1600 hrs (mostly ER Tech hrs, volunteer EMT, other various hands on experiences) 

HCE: ~ 2000 hrs (Scribe)

GRE 310

Misc: Research for several years, other various experiences/activities. I also did a DIY post-bach (gpa of 4.0) to re-take classes I received low grades in during undergrad. 

 

My application is currently in process to be verified. I live on the west coast and plan to cast a wide net, but wanted to get a feel for how competitive you think I would be for some of the highest ranked programs around the country (i.e. Duke, GW), as well as some of the other more competitive programs (i.e. Drexel, Baylor, Boston, Northwestern, USC, any other school in this caliber). Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!  

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Hello paadmissions,

 

My question is about HCE:

 

I have 3-years paid experience in behavioral health; I have worked as an intake clinician at a free-standing psychiatric hospital, I have worked as a crisis-counselor at the ED of a medical hospital, and I currently work as the Utilization Reviewer for the behavioral health wing of a medical hospital. All of these jobs have allowed me to have direct contact with PTs, and my current job has me staffing with psychiatrists, nurses and therapists on a daily basis.

 

Will my experience be good enough, or do I need actual MEDICAL experience--not psychiatric?? I have been contimplating getting an EMT-B certification and working that job for a while, but if I did that fulltime I would loose approximately 50% of my salary (I currently make $30/hour and EMTs around here make an average of $14/hour)

 

Can I ask how you would proceed with this scenario if you were in my shoes? I am 38 and have a Master's degree in Psychology and a BA in Philosophy. MY GRE is very competitive and I have a 4.0 GPA so far in my science prerequisites. I plan on shadowing and volunteering soon as well.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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Hi Paadmissions, thank you for all of your help in the forum so far! Your responses have been a great help to my application process thus far. I was recently invited to interview at a program, and the invitation for the interview came with the chance to sit in on a class the day before the interview. I am definitely interested in this opportunity, but I'm not sure how to dress/act while I'm sitting in on the class. Would you suggest formal dress? Should I bring a notebook/bag with me? Thank you for your help again! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

@UMtoPA Thank you for your questions and sorry for the delay. You'll need to run your experience by the programs that interest you. I would assume that your hours may count for some, but I'm sure they may recommend that you consider at least shadowing PAs to balance out your hours. It is great to work in an interprofessional setting, but based on your description I know we would want to see quality time with PAs. If the programs that you're interested in do not count the hours and will not accept shadowing you will need to find a way to obtain acceptable hours. Hope this helps.

Hello paadmissions,

 

My question is about HCE:

 

I have 3-years paid experience in behavioral health; I have worked as an intake clinician at a free-standing psychiatric hospital, I have worked as a crisis-counselor at the ED of a medical hospital, and I currently work as the Utilization Reviewer for the behavioral health wing of a medical hospital. All of these jobs have allowed me to have direct contact with PTs, and my current job has me staffing with psychiatrists, nurses and therapists on a daily basis.

 

Will my experience be good enough, or do I need actual MEDICAL experience--not psychiatric?? I have been contimplating getting an EMT-B certification and working that job for a while, but if I did that fulltime I would loose approximately 50% of my salary (I currently make $30/hour and EMTs around here make an average of $14/hour)

 

Can I ask how you would proceed with this scenario if you were in my shoes? I am 38 and have a Master's degree in Psychology and a BA in Philosophy. MY GRE is very competitive and I have a 4.0 GPA so far in my science prerequisites. I plan on shadowing and volunteering soon as well.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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@spflynn4 Thank you for your questions and my apologies for the delay. I would assume to dress in business attire, but it does not hurt to ask. You will find some programs may have a business casual dress code, for example, and you definitely don't want to come in under dressed. We provide this information to applicants, however, if this info has not been provided to you, I would follow up with the admissions rep (or whomever you have the most contact with) and ask. Hope this helps and good luck on your interview!

Hi Paadmissions, thank you for all of your help in the forum so far! Your responses have been a great help to my application process thus far. I was recently invited to interview at a program, and the invitation for the interview came with the chance to sit in on a class the day before the interview. I am definitely interested in this opportunity, but I'm not sure how to dress/act while I'm sitting in on the class. Would you suggest formal dress? Should I bring a notebook/bag with me? Thank you for your help again! 

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@kamper Thank you for your questions and sorry for the delay. If there was an obvious decline or rough start at the beginning of your college career, I don't think it's hurtful to briefly mention why. I certainly would not recommend going on and on about it and should you choose to leave it out, it's not the end of the world. The feedback you received sounded as if clinical experience was the weak point of the application, which you've improved upon. Usually, I advise addressing academic hiccups in a personal statement, but if there is a strong upward trend (that is obvious) sometimes it's not worth mentioning.  A word of advice, if you are accepted to a program, please be sure to alert the program director or didactic coordinator of your condition so that you're receiving appropriate accommodations for testing from the very beginning. 

 

Hi paadmissions,

 

I am in need of advice on whether or not to discuss my ADHD diagnosis in my personal statement. Here’s my situation (I apologize for the length)…

 

I was diagnosed with ADHD during my junior year of college. A period of sub-par grades (not terrible, but not at all representative of how hard I worked or how well I knew the material) is what pushed me to seek medical help. Sure enough, my grades improved dramatically as soon as I started taking medication, receiving extra time on tests, and developing more effective studying habits with the help of a counselor. I made the Dean’s list every quarter thereafter.  I can truly say that I have learned to thrive despite having ADHD. I only wish I had sought help sooner.

 

I am a reapplicant. I applied to a few schools last year but did not receive any interviews (though I did get put on the waitlist for interviews at two schools). This year, I now have ~2,200 patient care experience hours as a CNA in a hospital, while I only had ~650 last year. I “retook” Human Physiology this past year at a different school and earned a 4.0 (I had taken mammalian physiology before the ADHD diagnosis and only earned a 2.9) and also took Medical Terminology, in which I also earned a 4.0.  In addition, I more than doubled my number of PA shadowing hours from last year to this year (~45 hours to ~105 hours).

 

Here are my stats from last year (I doubt the two 4.0’s raised my GPAs that much):

 

Double-degree - B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Psychology

Overall GPA: 3.34

GPA: 3.17

GRE: V – 158, Q – 156, W – 4.5

 

I asked for feedback from the schools who rejected me last year, and the biggest issue they mentioned was my low number of clinical experience hours. Some also mentioned my grades being on the lower end of the competitive range, but that increasing my patient care hours would help offset this for next cycle.

 

Going back and reading my last year’s essay, I realized it just really wasn’t that good (lots of fluff and big words without truly explaining my motivations for wanting to be a PA).  It should be noted that I DID discuss my ADHD in it last year.

 

This year, I wrote a completely new personal statement and am very proud of the piece I have come up with. I have had multiple peers, coworkers, and PAs (that I’ve shadowed) give me feedback on it during the drafting process. They all praised the final product. I chose to still disclose my ADHD in this year’s essay, but I did so much more concisely, while also explaining how it plays a huge part in why I want to go into medicine and how it has shaped my goals as a future PA.

 

I was planning on turning my application in tonight, but then my uncle who is an MD called me and strongly urged me to hold off. He said I needed to remove the part about ADHD as it is a red flag and automatic deal breaker for admission committees. (I am very frustrated he waited until an hour before he knew I was planning on turning in my app to share this concern with me, but that is a rant for another post).

 

I get where he’s coming from, but being surmounting my challenges with ADHD is a huge part of my story and has played a significant role in my personal growth, and I honesty don't know how I could answer the prompt without including it. While having to deal with ADHD was not an ideal experience, I am not ashamed by it. My gut tells me I should keep it in my essay, but at the same time I don’t want to be foolish and not consider my uncle’s advice.

 

Do do have any advice on this? I would be willing to PM my essay to you if you felt like it would help you better understand my situation and the type of applicant I am.

 

Any insight offered would be SO appreciated. Thank you in advance!!

 

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@paadmissions: What kind of advice do you have for applicants with strong applications that don't interview as well as others? I'm more of an introvert so I don't generally walk into a crowd and mingle, but I have no issues with talking to a small group and have no qualms when dealing with patients. I also don't really get nervous, and I'm wondering if my comfort comes off as cockiness? I've interviewed at very prestigious programs so I know I'm competitive. What are your thoughts?

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Hi there , I have a question about letters of recommendation. I have been a physical therapist assistant for the last 5 years,mostly in acute and sub acute inpatient rehab. I have plenty of PTs willing to write me glowing letter of recs along with a couple nurses, who I work with on a daily basis. I also have a PA that I have been shadowing ,she knows me personally but can't speak to my clinical skill. Would it be better to get letters from people who can speak to my patien care, or the pa or both to cover my bases?

Thanks in advance for your reply!

Kim

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@dstillwagon Thank you for your question and sorry for the delay. From our standpoint, we don't expect every applicant to have an outgoing personality and do always have those "shy" or more reserved applicants in every interview we have; regardless, we do expect that applicants engage with others. Being a more reserved individual is not a bad thing, but being quiet or so reserved to the point where you appear to be stand-offish from the crowd can be perceived in a negative way. You don't have to be best friends with everyone, but you do have to show that you can fit in with your fellow classmates, preceptors and instructors. Hope this helps!

@paadmissions: What kind of advice do you have for applicants with strong applications that don't interview as well as others? I'm more of an introvert so I don't generally walk into a crowd and mingle, but I have no issues with talking to a small group and have no qualms when dealing with patients. I also don't really get nervous, and I'm wondering if my comfort comes off as cockiness? I've interviewed at very prestigious programs so I know I'm competitive. What are your thoughts?

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@kmtess Thank you for your question. I would recommend both a PT and the PA to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf. For example, our program likes to see 2 clinical references and an academic reference. I think having a PT who has seen your clinical ability and the PA who can speak to your interest in the profession, reliability, understanding of the role of the PA, etc will add value to your application. Because of your heavy involvement in PT, in my opinion, it's important to have the PA speak on your behalf to demonstrate that you have a desire to enter the PA profession and not PT. Continue to shadow that PA as much as possible to you're showing quality time in the profession. Hope this helps!

Hi there , I have a question about letters of recommendation. I have been a physical therapist assistant for the last 5 years,mostly in acute and sub acute inpatient rehab. I have plenty of PTs willing to write me glowing letter of recs along with a couple nurses, who I work with on a daily basis. I also have a PA that I have been shadowing ,she knows me personally but can't speak to my clinical skill. Would it be better to get letters from people who can speak to my patien care, or the pa or both to cover my bases?
Thanks in advance for your reply!
Kim

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Good evening! I love being able to constantly reference this thread - it is extremely helpful during this PA process. This is not my first question, so thank you again for your support, insight, and patience to this forum.

 

My question is related to work experience. I have been a medical assistant for 4 years, in both primary care and surgery, and I find myself particularly frustrated by the job. Although I have learned a tremendous amount, especially when working with PAs, I feel that I have exhausted the job and have mastered its necessary duties. Which is exactly why I want to become a PA!! Since I am still fervently working on attaining that goal, I am considering other work possibilities. Obviously, I would like to remain in the medical field, but I am looking towards surgical scheduling or a higher administrative position. I have thousands of hours of patient care experience, and therefore meet the work requirements for applications. So I would like to know what your opinion is concerning the work CHOICE, should I stay a medical assistant due to the direct patient care, or would it be okay to venture in to other medical positions??

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