jchao23 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 I'm 28 years old and graduated from university with a degree in English Literature. I've worked all my life in marketing/advertising, and have grown to hate the industry. I've always been drawn to medicine/healthcare and have finally decided to pursue the dream. I'm just posting here for advice. - No pre-req classes since my major was english-lit. - No paid clinical hours or experience. - 2.6 overall GPA - No science GPA (obviously) How do I begin to reach my goal of becoming a PA? I'm thinking to take classes to fulfill pre-reqs/raise GPA for 2 years + working as an EMT for 2 years, and then applying to school. If i get in, i won't be graduating until i'm around 34 - 35 years old. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynPA-C Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 One thing to consider with applying to PA school is that the specific requirements for each school is different. I ended up making a spreadsheet help map it all out, and it made my life so much easier. If you're looking to register soon, it's a safe bet that wherever you want to apply will require 2 semesters each of Bio, Chem, and A&P (but again it varies from school to school). Other things to look at are # of PA shadowing hours, GRE (most school's don't require it, but again some do), # of hours of patient care (these can range from 0-2000), and some schools require specific classes (such as medical terminology or genetics). I was in a similar boat as you. I ended up taking 42 credits over 1 summer and 2 semesters while I worked part-time. You'll be surprised at how fast you rack up hours too. Even working part time for a year you can amass anywhere from 1200-1600 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 3, 2014 Moderator Share Posted February 3, 2014 sounds like a good plan- Do the EMT, get a full time job and rack up a few thousand hours of experience. at the same time take all the prereqs for the programs which interest you. it's worth just taking a class or 2 at a time so you can be sure of getting all As, which you need to pull your gpa up to 3.0, the cutoff for many programs. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHU-CH Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 There was a time - a long time, in fact - when you would have been a very typical applicant. The crowd has gotten somewhat younger but that should not dissuade you. One tricky thing about PA school admissions is that the pre-reqs vary much more than is typical among med schools. As suggested above, make a spreadsheet and see what courses will get you the most bang for your buck. Since you have no science, it is safe to start in the chems and bios - everyone will want them and they are pre-reqs for everything else... Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchao23 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Thanks so much guys! Do you think graduating around 34-35 is too late? I feel so behind my peers in terms of career, and if I fail at this, it will be just devastating putting in so many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 From the tone of your last post, it sounds like you view the time between now and when you go to PA school as “lost” and that everything you have to do in the interim as just a diversion. Three comments from someone who was a nontraditional graduate: 1. You will end up with the same PA-C as your younger classmates, but you will not be behind professionally. Nothing you have ever learned -- or done -- is ever lost. Especially your leadership, people skills, and problem-solving experience. 2. You should continue to live your life while you prepare for school. If you are able, keep your job, take night courses, and get HCE where you can. Over time, both the classwork and the HCE will build up nicely. If you have to change jobs to get HCE, try to consider it part of the adventure and a chance to learn something new. 3. Once you are close to finishing your classwork, visit some of the candidate schools and meet with the academic counselors. Depending on what you learn, consider applying early rather than spending additional years accumulating more HCE. The worst thing that could happen is that you won’t get in and, isn’t that where you are now? It took me 7 years to get ready for PA school and I consider it the adventure of my life. I’ve been practicing now for 7 years and am glad that I did this. That is, however, no guarantee for anyone else. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bklitsch Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Thanks so much guys! Do you think graduating around 34-35 is too late? I feel so behind my peers in terms of career, and if I fail at this, it will be just devastating putting in so many years. I made goal of becoming a PA when I was 27, and it's taken me the past 4 years to rack up the coursework (I was a Latin American Studies / Spanish major in undergrad), hours, etc to be competitive in the applicant pool. I was fortunate enough to get into my first choice school during this application season. You can totally do it. I'll be nearly 34 when I graduate, which allows me AT LEAST 31 years to practice before thinking about retirement. That's a good stretch of time! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Brake Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I was 27 when I decided to become a PA. My degree was in finance and I had been working in bank regulation. I had taken a few pre-reqs during my undergrad days like chem 1, stats, English, biology. I looked around at a handful of programs and picked some of the more common required classes and decided on which ones to take. All told it was 8 classes outstanding. I immediately quit my job and started working first in a PT clinic, then in the OR. By the time I applied I had 1200 hours of paid health care experience and just over 100 hours of PA shadowing. I am 29 now and was accepted by my top choice. Make sure you get A's in the rest of your classes to bring up your GPA. Low GPA can also be offset by high shadowing hours, high HCE hours, great letters of recommendation, and a great personal statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferraro Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 I started working toward PA school after graduation as well. I did the pre-requisite portion separate from my clinical experience, because for me it was difficult to do both at the same time due to financial restrictions. I think it is best to take the process slowly to ensure you do well in your pre-reqs to bring up your GPA even if it means you will be a little older when you apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Age is not a disadvantage in PA school. Besides making sure that you get good grades in your prerequisites, it's also better to take your time and enjoy your life along the way. The direction of your travel -- not the speed of the trip -- can make all of the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BARONEUS Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Plus you'll have more "street-cred" when you graduate. One of the main reasons I wear glasses instead of contacts to clinic is so I at least look smart. So, if you're already using reading glasses by the time you graduate, it could only help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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