Maynard Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Decided this thread was a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktheshark89 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Philadelphia University Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACdan Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I received this in an e-mail from Elon University's PA program: The Admissions Committee certainly recognizes the quality of your work and commends you for this fine record. Unfortunately, at this time, all of our interview spaces have been filled. I got this e-mail on December 17th. I had submitted my secondary in mid-November. Elon's application deadline is January 15th. I know a lot of people here would agree when I say that this is incredibly frustrating. You pay all that money, jump through the hoops of the secondary, and then find out you were doomed before you started. I know one program director said her school has gotten a number of frantic calls from people asking if she had any seats left. The reason? They had thought that they had applied to enough schools that they could get into one of them, but then found they didn't have a shot at a number of these programs because the seats had already been filled. CASPA is not going to put up notices for schools that have their seats filled because CASPA gets more $$$ when you end up having to apply to more schools. It would be very beneficial for the next cycle of late applicants if they knew which schools they should check with first before submitting an application. I imagine that, collectively, the members of this forum know what those schools are. So if you want to add to the list, do tell, and when we're done I'll edit this post with a full list. It is frustrating. It is also a game. But, read the wording carefully; "at this time" and "interview spaces". All their seats have not been filled, as they may still issue new interviews after that round. Are you competing for less than the maximum number of available seats? Yes. Is every seat filled? No. So they still continue to accept apps as you still have a shot. It's gonna be a long shot though, unless you're a stellar applicant. So it's best to apply as early & often as possible. Sent from the Satellite of Love using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maynard Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 I didn't include the whole e-mail for space reasons, but they did mention that they would put me on an interview wait list. Yes there were more interviews to be had, but all the interview slots had been filled. Their last interview is this Friday so I can pretty much say I'm done there. I don't think I would have shelled out that money (I'm on CNA wages) if I knew I was going to be competing with two months worth of applications for a chance at maybe having my application reviewed for the possibility of an interview, if someone cancels their interview. I would have applied to another school instead. At any rate, for the purposes of this thread, if they filled up "slots" (whether the slots be seats or interviews) before the deadline then I think they belong on the list. I couldn't agree more with applying early and often, but due to reasons I won't get into, applying early wasn't really an option for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACdan Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I understand and you do have a valid complaint. I would love more transparency in education when it comes to application scenarios such as this. Sent from the Satellite of Love using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 This is why you should submit your app right when the cycle opens. Rolling admissions. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyM2 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 One thing that should be clear is that the PA Programs are in the catbird seat while applicants, with little or no guidance about each school's admission process, have to devine how to best market themselves. We know, of course, that high GPAs, GREs and hours of HCE all make applicants more competitive but, for most schools, there is little or no info on how these items are weighted. Then there are LORs, the PS, volunteer activities, shadowing, etc. Applicants have no idea how these items are scored or weighted. Finally, if you get that far, there are the interviews. How do interviewers score the applicants? It isn't hard to eliminate some really poor candidates based on the interview but, are all the others who don't get accepted substandard candidates or do many good candidates lose out because the program was looking for different qualities that they don't publish? Schools benefit from the big GAP between supply and demand for seats in each class. They can pick and choose so all but the very strongest applicants need to spend considerable time, effort and money applying to multiple schools, hoping their application will satisfy at least one of the programs. It would be nice to think those who are rejected are either poor candidates or are just not yet ready to become PAs. Evidence suggests this is not the case as some applicants may apply to 6 or 7 schools and get accepted into half of them. If you can get accepted into 3 or 4 programs, you must be a good PA candidate, but what about the other 3 or 4 programs you applied to? Is it possible that some very excellent candidates are getting rejected each year due to the vagaries of the admission process? Probably. There are several take away lessons offered in many posts on this site, 1. Do everything you can to maximize GREs and GPAs. 2. Get as much HCE as you possibly can and volunteer as much as possible. 3. Manage your LORs. MAKE SURE those who write them address what would make you a great PA, not just a good employee. 4. Avoid anything that could mar your record. (DUI or any other misdemeanor or felony. These can be the kiss of death) 5. Read at least a few dozen PSs from applicants who have been accepted. Then write yours and scrub it over and over. Learn how to get a lot across with limited words. Get other people to critique your PS. 6. Learn how to come across well in interviews. Think: would the interviewer want me to be his/her PA? Most interview questions are less about getting the right answer than about evaluating how you think, how you communicate and how you present yourself. 7. If you get rejected but still think you are a good candidate and really want to be a PA. Apply again. Best of luck to everyone navigating the PA admissions minefield. Sent from my Kindle Fire HDX using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.