HCE during gap year

[mbh2]

After graduating this May with a B.S. in Biology, I am going to get my CNA certification to gain health care experience before applying for PA school.  I am wondering how this will work during the application process... I graduate May 10th, if I can find a class to be certified by June, then hopefully find a job relatively quickly, I will just be starting to gain hours by the time I will be starting my application.  I understand the advantages of submitting early, but after you submit are you allowed to update at all? This will be my first time applying and the process kind of confuses me but by November or so I (hopefully) will have much more HCE than in July/August when I hope to have my application in, and I would like to be able to account for those hours also.

 

Thanks for any feedback!

[Allegro]

From the CASPA instructions: https://portal.caspaonline.org/caspaHelpPages/frequently-asked-questions/e-submission-payment/updating-the-applicationacademic-update/

 

GENERAL UPDATES

Once your application is e-submitted, your application is locked and most sections cannot be updated for the remainder of the application cycle.The only sections which can be updated are:

1. Update/Edit Contact Information
2. Update/Edit Profile Information (username, password, security question, etc)
3. Add PA programs to apply to whose deadlines have not yet passed
4. Edit a reference whose status remains NEW or IN-PROGRESS

If you have any updates which need to be made to your experience hours, health related training, or other non-coursework information, you must submit these updates directly to your PA programs.

[mbh2]

Thank you for the helpful response!

[mbh2]

Would you or any one else know which would look better - waiting to turn in my application to show more HCE or turning it in earlier for the sake of getting it in as early as possible.

[Allegro]

This is a risk-assessment you have to make on your own depending on the schools you are interested in. Schools often get a lot of applications - enough so that they usually review them as they come, even if they are not technically on "rolling" admissions. As a result, the rule of thumb if you want to get a fair shot is to apply "in the Js" meaning June and July. For many schools, August is already too late. This is why many applicants apply with what they have and update their schools directly down the road.

 

That said, there is such a thing as applying too early. Some schools have strict requirements for coursework, HCE, etc, and if these are not met when you apply they will toss your application in the trash. Others don't allow you to update them about anything - they just aren't interested in considering you if your ducks aren't already in a row, because they have 100+ qualified applicants who've already gotten this stuff.

 

My advice is do a lot of research about where you're applying and make your decision accordingly.

[thegreenmansaidhi]

 

After graduating this May with a B.S. in Biology, I am going to get my CNA certification to gain health care experience before applying for PA school.  I am wondering how this will work during the application process... I graduate May 10th, if I can find a class to be certified by June, then hopefully find a job relatively quickly, I will just be starting to gain hours by the time I will be starting my application.  I understand the advantages of submitting early, but after you submit are you allowed to update at all? This will be my first time applying and the process kind of confuses me but by November or so I (hopefully) will have much more HCE than in July/August when I hope to have my application in, and I would like to be able to account for those hours also.

 

Thanks for any feedback!

 

 

I'm in the same boat as you (kind of)! I'd love to know what you're planning on doing. I've been stressing out :/

[mbh2]

I'm in the same boat as you (kind of)! I'd love to know what you're planning on doing. I've been stressing out :/

 

My current focus is surviving these last final weeks of undergrad BUT once I graduate on May 10th I will be focusing my efforts fully on CASPA.  My timeline is to be certified as a CNA by early June (my CNA class is May 19-30th) and get a job ASAP.  In the mean time I am going to be volunteering at an ED to maximize my exposure to health care while I complete the class and take the state test.  I will submit my CASPA as soon as I hit 250 hours of HCE (several schools, like ODU, have that as a minimum) and I am hoping to have it verified by September.  My #1 school (Toledo) does not have rolling admissions, so I am hoping this late submission will not hurt my chances too badly.  

 

Some of my schools don't require "minimum" hours of HCE... but having such a weak spot in my application does worry me.  However, the worst case scenario is I don't get in anywhere, if that happens I will just deal with it and go for round 2. The following year I will have a better understanding of CASPA, be able to submit the application MUCH earlier, have many more hours of HCE and more time to improve my application to the best of my abilities.  

 

Hope this helps! :-)

[thegreenmansaidhi]

My current focus is surviving these last final weeks of undergrad BUT once I graduate on May 10th I will be focusing my efforts fully on CASPA.  My timeline is to be certified as a CNA by early June (my CNA class is May 19-30th) and get a job ASAP.  In the mean time I am going to be volunteering at an ED to maximize my exposure to health care while I complete the class and take the state test.  I will submit my CASPA as soon as I hit 250 hours of HCE (several schools, like ODU, have that as a minimum) and I am hoping to have it verified by September.  My #1 school (Toledo) does not have rolling admissions, so I am hoping this late submission will not hurt my chances too badly.  

 

Some of my schools don't require "minimum" hours of HCE... but having such a weak spot in my application does worry me.  However, the worst case scenario is I don't get in anywhere, if that happens I will just deal with it and go for round 2. The following year I will have a better understanding of CASPA, be able to submit the application MUCH earlier, have many more hours of HCE and more time to improve my application to the best of my abilities.  

 

Hope this helps! :-)

 

Yes! Thanks for the feedback. And good luck :)