What are my chances?

[eddyl]

Age: 25

 

Degree: BA Environmental Studies, University of Colorado at Boulder

 

Baccalaurate GPA: 3.33 cumulative, 3.79 junior/senior year

 

Post-baccalaurate GPA: 3.9

 

Science GPA: 3.8

 

Applicable Courses: GenChem I/II, Bio I/II, A&P I/II, OChem I, GenPsych, DevelopmentalPsych, Nutrition, Microbiology, Statistics, Medical Terminology

 

Experience: 350 hours medical assistant volunteer in third-world medical clinic (Ecuador)

                    100 hours volunteer EMT-B

                    1500 hours nursing assistant in hospital telemetry

                    2000 hours patient care tech in hospital

 

Certifications: EMT-B, CNA, EKG tech

 

Other: fluent Spanish - I am caucasian/non-hispanic and learned from scratch in South America

 

Goal: Serve underserved spanish-speaking populations, eventually practice internationally in developing world

 

Weaknesses: No single regional focus - have worked in PA, AZ, and abroad - will schools see this as a possibility I won't serve their region?

                      Took 5 months off to bike across Africa - personally fulfilling, but demonstrative of slight lack of career commitment?

                      Failed a 4-credit Australian Ecology course while studying abroad sophomore year - irrelevant?

 

Still maybe a year out from applying. In general, do I have a chance?

[Simplify]

Cast a wide net and you have a good chance. FYI- pretty hard to practice internationally as a PA currently.... Many countries don't have an equivalent. If international work is your main goal you may be disappointed.

[Z PA-C]

Spend some time shadowing PAs, write a killer personal statement, get great LORs, continue accruing HCE and as Simplify stated above apply broadly and I think you've got a good shot.

[Wet Dog]

To second Simplify, declaring your desire to work internationally might work against you since its really not possible as a PA. While the knowledge and experience you get as a PA are great, you can't really use them overseas unless you are a PA in the military (and serving your military population). Your numbers are good  and your desire to help under-served populations is great. There are a lot of communities here in the US, such as at the US Mx border, that could use someone like you.  

[Will352ns]

My question is why are you even asking?  All it takes is a quick look at the applicant stats page and you will see that you have a better than average package as long as there aren't any skeletons in your closet and you apply broadly.  Having 3500 hrs HCE should offset the apparent slow start you had in undergrad.  A quick look around this board and that should be evident.

 

So, why the self doubt? Real question, not trying to be abrasive.  Having the right mix of confidence and humility is one of the attributes that make a provider (Doc, PA, NP) good at what they do. 

 

Are you confident?  If so...be confident and apply to the right schools that YOU have researched and decided would fit.

[cinntsp]

You should go to med school or NP school if you want to do a lot of international work.

[Pbuonocore]

Some programs have options for international rotations during your clinical phase so those may be good programs for you to apply to. Some are offered in undeserved regions such as Uganda while others are in more developed countries.

 

As long as your personal statement and references are good I don't think you'll have an issue getting interviews. The key will likely be your ability to interview. During my interviews I came across a number of academically brilliant applicants who were somewhat awkward and inept when it came to holding a conversation (and you could see it on their faces when they came out of their respective interviews). As anyone who has interviewed can tell you, being book smart isn't what gets you through an interview successfully. 

[eddyl]

Thanks for all the help. I'll keep my hopes up and continue to pursue my dream!