ksraftery Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Hi everyone, I have an interview for both Western University and USC. If I get accepted to both schools, I don't know which to attend. Please help. USC is clearly a stronger school; however, the cost of attendance is more than double that of Western University. Is there a clear winner here? Thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 30, 2013 Moderator Share Posted December 30, 2013 "USC is clearly a stronger school; however, the cost of attendance is more than double that of Western University. Is there a clear winner here?" yes USC is the clear winner hands down. the question is whether or not you are willing to pay more to attend a better program. this is a Harvard vs U. of KY kind of comparison. did you apply to other schools as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksraftery Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 I only applied to three schools: Loma Linda, Western, and USC. I didn't have the desired amount of patient care for Loma Linda, but I think Western and USC liked that I have extensive hours working in medically underserved areas (Mexico and Haiti, primarily). I live in San Diego and chose schools close to home. And yes, I would certainly be willing to pay more since I am taking out loans regardless. Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloo Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Personally, I'd go with the more reputable program and school (i.e. USC) while you may pay more in the short term I'm guessing that you'd be able to open more doors and have a greater degree of flexibility when it comes to jobs in the future. Also, should you ever decide to leave beautiful southern california (I have no idea why one would) USC is known and highly regarded nationwide while Western is much lesser known across the country. I know that sounds superficial, but in reality if you were to move someone looking at your CV that says USC is going to instantly form a good opinion about you due to the school's well established prestige and may give you a leg up on applicants who went to lesser known programs. Just some food for thought, congratulations on your acceptances though this is one of those good problems to have for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freudian_Slip Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Go to Western. It is also an extremely reputable school and is less expensive and shorter than USC. I had the same dilemma and thought: when all is said and done i'll still be a PA.. why would I want to pay more and go to school longer? I wanted to start my career quicker and start making money quicker. Not the opposite.. More loans, more debt, less life to live. USC is ranked really low on the TOP PA schools too. Lower than western I think and Loma Linda. At any rate.. good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoB Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 What are your career goals? How do the programs' PANCE pass rates compare? Are you well-researched on what your debt load could look like coming out of PA school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 16, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 16, 2014 USC is ranked really low on the TOP PA schools too. Lower than western I think and Loma Linda. At any rate.. good luck! those ratings are not worth the paper they are written on. do a bit of research into the ratings system, it's just a popularity contest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoB Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 the only ranking I've seen that might be worth anything: http://shrp.rutgers.edu/dept/primary_care/paweb/documents/NovelRankingSystem.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I would never trust ANY ranking system that puts a school with a program with their most recent first time PANCE pass rates in the Mid-low 80s and a negative trend in the top 50 PA programs over a program with a 95%-100% first time PANCE pass rate over 6 years. Get out of here with any of those rankings. Go to the program. Find what you like about them. Get rid of bias and ask yourself which program fits your style of learning and which faculty you want to learn from. Also ask yourself which one gears its education towards your professional goals. Know that your goal is to pass the PANCE and to get a job after that. All schools are going to be standardized as to what they have to teach you. So essentially you are going to learn the same exact thing. The difference is which one is investing in you more as a student and will better set you up for success later on. If cost is something that you are worried about then you shouldn't have applied to USC (or even consider Touro CA for that matter). If you're ok with large class sizes (98 students) and a focus on primary care with a group of students that are selected purely based on grades and previous medical experience is discouraged among its applicants then Western is the school you're looking for. Look at the first time PANCE pass rates below. Its a good indicator on which school will set you up for success the most. Samuel Merritt 99% (Last 2 years was 97%-100%)http://www.samuelmerritt.edu/files/physcian_assistant/mpa_2011_last_5_years.pdf Touro CA 98% (Last 2 years was 94%-97%)http://cehs.tu.edu/paprogram/aboutus/Past%205%20Years%20-%20All%20-%202008-2012.pdf UC Davis 97% (Last 2 years was 98%-96%)http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/nursing/pdfs/102013_PANCE_PassRate.pdf University of Southern California 96% (Last 2 years was 98-100%)http://keck.usc.edu/en/Education/Academic_Department_and_Divisions/Physician_Assistant_Program/~/media/Docs/Departments/Physician%20Assistant%20Program/NCCPA%205-year%20Pass%20Rate%202013.pdf Loma Linda University 93% (Last 2 years was 92%-100%)http://www.llu.edu/assets/alliedhealth/documents/pa/papassrates.pdf Stanford / Foothill College 89% (Last 2 years was 93% - 94%)http://pcap.stanford.edu/program/pance.html Western University of Health Sciences 89% (Last 2 years was 84-85%)http://www.westernu.edu/allied-health/allied-health-mspas/allied-health-mspas-indicators/ San Joaquin Valley College 84% (Last 2 years was 71%-89%)http://static.sjvc.edu/_downloads/docs/PA_NCCPA_5_Year_Summary.pdf Riverside Community College 81% (Last 2 years was 70% - 92%)http://www.mvc.edu/files/pa-nccpa-pass-rates.pdf And in the surrounding states (since we threw in Nor Cal and its basically the same travel time) Midwestern 97% (Last 2 years was 96%-99%)http://www.midwestern.edu/Documents/AZ%20PA/5-year%20Pass%20Rate.pdf AT Still 91% (Last 2 years was 94%-96%)http://www.atsu.edu/ashs/programs/physician_assistant/pdfs/5-Year-PANCE-performance-report.pdf Touro Nevada 89% (Last 2 years was 92%-90%)http://tun.touro.edu/wp-content/uploads/TUN_NCCPA_PANCE_PassSummaryReport.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoB Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 The avg. five-year pass rate for all accredited PA programs is around 91 percent, fwiw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 More importantly where is that average trending? You'll find some that are only at that average because of scores 4-5 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torshi Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Go to USC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopefulfor2014 Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 everyone is saying "usc" here.. but one is really saying why.. i get that the PANCE is EXTREMELY important.. but why else SPECIFICALLY??? anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 28, 2014 Moderator Share Posted August 28, 2014 everyone is saying "usc" here.. but one is really saying why.. i get that the PANCE is EXTREMELY important.. but why else SPECIFICALLY??? anyone? USC is a well established program and has one of the world's largest hospitals as their primary teaching site for rotations. They have developed a model 3 yr curriculum with 18 mo each of didactics and rotations that other programs are following and most programs will likely replicate within a decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrwhite Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 USC is ~150k not including cost of living.. There's no way I'd attend with that high of tuition, that's just me though, people are still fighting for those slots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NimbleMind Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Western had a 100% PANCE pass rate this year. So if that's the criteria of a good program, I guess we're one of the best, if not THE best in the country ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randito Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 I don't have the answer for you, but 2 things that I would look at that haven't been mentioned. 1) How do the quality and diversity of lecturers compare between the 2 programs? Do they both bring in guest lecturers that are currently practicing PAs or MDs in the topic of the day be it cardiology, GI, peds, ortho, etc. Or do they both have their own staff members lecturing on all topics regardless of their clinical background. I felt that in my program it was a fantastic opportunity to learn and ask questions to practitioners that really knew what there were speaking about and could give first hand examples and pro/cons of practicing in their specialty. 2) What are the quality of the rotations and/or do you set up your own rotations? Your clinical year is really going to influence where and how you practice as a new graduate. Whether that means that you actually find a job during your rotations, or you get to experience full scope practice in your desired specialty. In my program we had a large choice of sites which could be catered to individual interests. Interested in trauma surgery, inpatient peds, rural medicine or whatever it may be, can the program set you up with a rotation and a good preceptor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 10, 2017 Moderator Share Posted December 10, 2017 53 minutes ago, Randito said: 2) What are the quality of the rotations and/or do you set up your own rotations? Your clinical year is really going to influence where and how you practice as a new graduate. Whether that means that you actually find a job during your rotations, or you get to experience full scope practice in your desired specialty. In my program we had a large choice of sites which could be catered to individual interests. Interested in trauma surgery, inpatient peds, rural medicine or whatever it may be, can the program set you up with a rotation and a good preceptor? this is key. a wide array of quality rotations helps make or break a program. I was able to sign up for trauma surgery, peds em, etc off the regular rotation list at my program. definitely made a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest polishedpas Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 On 12/9/2017 at 11:16 PM, NimbleMind said: Western had a 100% PANCE pass rate this year. So if that's the criteria of a good program, I guess we're one of the best, if not THE best in the country ;-) Just out of pure curiosity, how many students started and how many actually took the PANCE? 100% is definitely an impressive stat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHU-CH Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 You have to use some caution before writing off programs with lower PANCE pass rates. On the basis of their program's mission, some of these programs are trying to recruit diverse students who may have lacked some of the educational opportunities that other students were afforded. When you draw from this population you will have some candidiates who may struggle with the PANCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 28, 2017 Moderator Share Posted December 28, 2017 agree with above. there are programs with 100% pass rates whose grads I won't even interview and some with 85% pass rates who get an interview every time. passing pance means you know how to pass a written test. it has very little to do with your ability to practice medicine, much like passing usmle. we all know docs we wouldn't let within a mile of our family members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoB Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 find out attrition rates of programs and what they do to help students succeed. Some have low tolerance, and thus get to report 'great' first time PANCE pass rates. Other programs more willing to help stragglers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UciGirlPA Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 If you don’t mind me asking what we’re your stats? I also applied to those two schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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