MT2PA

Loans suck. They do. And there aren't really scholarships for PA school. There's NHSC but that's even more competitive than PA school. You already know the dilemma and frankly, you're the only one who can ultimately decide if the cost is worth it. There is NO clear answer. For some, it's a no brainer and worth it (as evidenced by the HUNDREDs of students taking out loans in that amount). You know the risk: decline and reapply (I would assume to schools that only fit your desired cost budget this time). Likely that means either fewer schools (decreasing your chances) and likely more that are just as far or further away from your family (I only mention this because you did). You also should consider the lost salary intake by declining (i.e every year you don't get in is a missed PA salary, arguably 2x or more what you're making now). So do you wait and reapply to save 50k when that's another year you would make 50k+ less than you would as a PA? ( I realize this is not a one-to-one exchange given investing and loan interest but you get the idea). Honestly, if you're stressing over the decision this much I'd say it seems like you're looking for someone to tell you it's okay to turn down a sure thing.

Unfortunately I think if you apply with the application you described you will just be wasting money. Let's set aside the VERY good point that UGoLong made above, which is a whole new can of worms for you to consider. Your required courses are expiring. Very few programs will actually allow an exception. I was actively working in healthcare and a program wouldn't honor a 6 yr old course for me. Frankly, programs don't need to make accommodations or exceptions. They have thousands of highly qualified applicants each year that perfectly meet all the requirements. You have little to no HCE/PCE. While you may be applying to programs that don't require any, you are competing against applicants who likely have thousands of hours (because they can apply broadly). As above, programs don't need to make exceptions. I also imagine no shadowing hours? You don't mention your GPA so maybe it's not an issue, but again, something you should consider when evaluating your own application and determining your suitability for schools. It sounds like you have a very small pool of schools to apply to: Require no HCE/PCE and/or accept intern hours, older courses allowed, no GRE (I assume, those scores are only good for 5 years if I remember correctly). You're putting some very questionable eggs in a very small basket. If you really want to go to PA school, take the time to do it right, no short cuts.

If two schools require it I'm not sure I understand the problem - you need to take it. Unless you would consider not applying to those programs.

I don't think UF is one of the programs that directly looks at last 60 credits GPA - therefore they will evaluate your overall GPAs. With that said, you have an uphill battle for UF. Low GPA. Average PCE. With stats like that you need to apply wisely. I'm not saying don't apply to UF. Just that you're not a shoe-in.

You don't specifically mention what your job is on the peds unit. Depending on what that role is, that could be an additional area to improve in addition to classes to improve your GPA.

Let's be clear. Your time with the DPT was shadowing. Just because he/she let you do things does not count as PCE. You weren't really working. The hours for your CNA cert will not count either (as UGoLong stated, hours as part of a certificate/degree program do not count). So you have 0 hours of HCE/PCE. Frankly, I wouldn't plan to apply in 2020. I'd get a PCE job and plan to apply in 2021 if you still find this to be a route you'd like to make a career. Your grades are average and that won't compensate for little to no HCE/PCE even if you start a MA/scribe job in the near future and have a few months under your belt when applying.

Also consider that just because the deadline for the programs is January doesn't mean they haven't already received hundreds/thousands of applications an are possibly already in the interview/offering acceptances process. All that is to say, despite the deadline, it is still pretty late to apply to them and you may experience a very small return on investment of rushing to apply to more programs.

That's unfortunate. I'm pretty sure my entire graduating class had their employer reimburse them for their DEA fee. I expect mine to pay/reimburse my renewal as well. OP re: the fees. Just ask if they will pay/reimburse for licensing fees. You pay DEA, state, and PANCE licensing every few years. Can't tell you anything about health insurance, personally that's a deal breaker for me. CME at LEAST $1500 annually with 3-5 days for conference. If you can use your sick days as PTO you're essentially looking at 3 weeks. meh. It's okay. 4 weeks would be better. You're likely going to have to pick your battles. A small practice likely won't budge on all of these.

The salary is just fine. It's the rest that needs work if you think you can negotiate any of it. I'd recommend researching what insurance for you will cost on the market or through private companies to have an idea if 7200 is reasonable. PTO is light. May be less of an issue if you get paid holidays off separate from that. CME is low, definitely try and negotiate that, ideally with time off (5 days). You need to find out about who is paying licensing/DEA/ect fees. Those add up. Make sure malpractice has tail if it's claims based. 401k after a year is the least of the problems here. Not ideal but not worth walking away for.

Seems like a lot of extra work (and tuition) to do both. If you're getting a B.S, you could consider doing a 4+1 and just get certified as a medical technologist (better pay than an MLT, more opportunities). If your end goal is PA school, I'd get the LPN, work and get direct hands on patient care experience, and then once you are financially able take the upper level science courses needs to beef up your PA school application. If lab work really interests you, I'd strongly suggest you consider your end goal. Being a lab tech and a PA are ENTIRELY different. Just make sure you know what you're getting into with PA.

Anywhere you wear scrubs: just wear comfortable tennis shoes, surgery included. Business casual/formal - as a female I got away with a few pairs of flats from target for the year. I'd personally avoid black tennis shoes unless you have some underlying foot problem that requires support, but that's just me.

Of course it's possible. Hundreds, if not thousands, of students do it every year.

No need to post this twice, it's already in the professional PA thread. I'm sure a mod can move it here to the contract thread as that makes more sense.

This is true, you CAN, but as someone who DID, I wouldn't recommend it. OP you will likely have to do multiple things (jobs, shadowing, etc) to get exposure to both fields. PA work is almost exclusively clinical. MHA is largely administrative. Sure you can do both and some folks opt to take on more admin after years of purely clinical work. But it sounds to me like you should get some experience and pick one or the other.

Just as an FYI there are multiple BS/MS PA programs. You spend 3 years getting your BS (frankly it can be done easily) as well as meeting certain PA school admission requirements (volunteer experience, health care experience, etc) and then 2 years for the PA masters degree portion (plenty of 24 month stand alone programs out there). If you don't meet the PA school admission requirements in your first 3 years, you don't get to do the PA program. It's all on the up and up. Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it's shady. However for EXACTLY the reasons the OP is struggling is the reason I would never recommend such a program. You're 18 making career decisions. That's usually what undergrad is for - taking a variety of classes and figuring that out.