"Would you mind sharing your stats?": A Quiet Rant

[zoopeda]

Dear Applicants:

 

A very common question I see on this forum reads something like: "To everyone who received an interview, would you please share your stats with us (GPA, HCE, GRE)?"  Typically 2 or 3 or 4 folks respond, and the OP seems content.

 

I'd like to point out, first, that one of the most common prereqs for PA school is a Statistics course.  And statistics curricula teach us the significance of sample size (and quality) in determining any kind of trend or deducing anything about a larger group.  

 

When 100 or 200 applicants are offered interview, simply asking for 2 or 3 to volunteer stats means absolutely nothing, and serves to only temporarily palliate one's own anxiety about the whole application process.  Every school makes both minimum and average accepted stats available to applicants.  These statistics are both 100% accurate (no risk of misreporting compared with self reporting on PA forum) and include the entire range of all applicants (not just those who self-select to air their numbers on this website).  Finally, 2 or 3 or 4 is not an adequate sample size to conclude anything about the greater applicant pool.  You might get a few boastful 3.9 or 20,000 hours folks, or maybe just 2 or 3 completely random participants, to post.  But we know nothing of the quality of their healthcare experience, the eloquence of the PS, the LORs, the grade trend, the compelling personal story...  Often numbers are helpful, as examples, when expressing a larger context, but to just accept a few random (or not even random) stats as representative of the larger picture is just foolish. 

 

So in conclusion, basic statistical reasoning should lead us all to stop posting this question on PA forum.  And to stop answering it.  While it might seem palliative to grasp at such straws, the information that's revealed is, at best, insufficient, and, at worst, unreliable.  When in doubt, call or research each school for the most up-to-date and accurate admissions statistics.  

 

And that's all I've got to say about that.

[EMEDPA]

so, could you share your stats with us too?

:)

[zoopeda]

4.2 cGPA/4.1 sGPA
100,000,000 hours resuscitating babies (100% save rate)

LORs: President Obama, Dali Lama, Elvis

PS: n/a

GRE: 100%/100%/110%

MCAT: 45

LSTAT: 999

SAT: 1600

Height: 7'0"

Additional Info: I have infrared vision, invented velcro, and can dunk on a 20' hoop

 

Ya happy?   ;-p

[EMEDPA]

4.2 cGPA/4.1 sGPA

100,000,000 hours resuscitating babies (100% save rate)

LORs: President Obama, Dali Lama, Elvis

PS: n/a

GRE: 100%/100%/110%

MCAT: 45

LSTAT: 999

SAT: 1600

Height: 7'0"

Additional Info: I have infrared vision, invented velcro, and can dunk on a 20' hoop

 

Ya happy?   ;-p

so you are a pretty avg candidate then apparently :)

[Guest JMPA]

4.2 cGPA/4.1 sGPA

100,000,000 hours resuscitating babies (100% save rate)

LORs: President Obama, Dali Lama, Elvis

PS: n/a

GRE: 100%/100%/110%

MCAT: 45

LSTAT: 999

SAT: 1600

Height: 7'0"

Additional Info: I have infrared vision, invented velcro, and can dunk on a 20' hoop

 

Ya happy?   ;-p

although stats were acceptable, I'm sorry to inform you that you were denied because your 3 letters of recomendation were from irrelevant people.

[zoopeda]

Whatever. I can heal bones with my MIND. Also, pretty sure Elvis was a PA. So, touché.

[Guest Paula]

You forgot your MENSA score. 

[EMEDPA]

we're sorry, for the class entering in 2015 there are only several acceptable sources for LOR's:

1. winners of Nobel prizes in medicine

2. individuals listed in the PA HX society as founders of the profession

3. House, MD

4. Marcus Welby, MD

5. Hawkeye Pierce, MD

6. Mark Greene, MD

7. Atul Gawande, MD

8. Paul Farmer, MD

[arosswoods]

Love the humor and humility of the thread, but to the point the willingness to learn from one another and share info, good and bad has been a recurring trait I've seen in PAs.

[fakingpatience]

we're sorry, for the class entering in 2015 there are only several acceptable sources for LOR's:

1. winners of Nobel prizes in medicine

2. individuals listed in the PA HX society as founders of the profession

3. House, MD

4. Marcus Welby, MD

5. Hawkeye Pierce, MD

6. Mark Greene, MD

7. Atul Gawande, MD

8. Paul Farmer, MD

 

 

Who're 4-8?  

[cop to pa]

3-6 are tv docs. (It surprises me everyone doesn't know Hawkeye). I had to look up 7 and 8, so I may need to turn off the tv and pick up a journal or book...

[EMEDPA]

7 wrote The checklist manifesto : http://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right/dp/0312430000/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410736693&sr=1-1&keywords=the+check+list+manifesto

and is brilliant. he gave the keynote speach at aapa in Boston last year.

If you don't know who Paul Farmer is you should read " Mountains beyond mountains". great book:

http://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Beyond-Farmer-Random-Readers/dp/0812980557/ref=sr_1_1/182-5182268-2155348?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410736589&sr=1-1&keywords=mountain+beyond+mountains

The guy may single handedly slow the spread of infectious disease worldwide through his interventions against HIV, TB, Malaria, etc throughout the developing world. This should be required reading for anyone considering a career in health care.

[EMEDPA]

 (It surprises me everyone doesn't know Hawkeye).

The last episode of MASH aired before many current applicants were out of kindergarten...1983.....I was in high school and watched "goodbye , farewell, and amen" along with everyone else in the U.S. The final episode of MASH was the most watched TV show in history. I believe that record still holds today.

[Allegro]

I was 1 years old when MASH ended and I am shocked Hawkeye wasn't recognized. It's still on broadcast TV all the time in reruns.  I think it was one of the best shows on TV, ever, even though I didn't watch it until I was a teenager.

[PACdan]

we're sorry, for the class entering in 2015 there are only several acceptable sources for LOR's:

1. winners of Nobel prizes in medicine

2. individuals listed in the PA HX society as founders of the profession

3. House, MD

4. Marcus Welby, MD

5. Hawkeye Pierce, MD

6. Mark Greene, MD

7. Atul Gawande, MD

8. Paul Farmer, MD

Really sad that these guys got left off the list:

 

Kelly Brackett, MD, F.A.C.S., A.C.E.P.

Joe Early, MD, F.A.C.S., A.C.E.P.

 

And what about Patch! Come on, you gotta be down with the clown.

[EMEDPA]

Really sad that these guys got left off the list:

 

Kelly Brackett, MD, F.A.C.S., A.C.E.P.

Joe Early, MD, F.A.C.S., A.C.E.P.

 

 

I'm sorry, these guys are not residency trained in emergency medicine, they are grandfathered, don't know if that is good enough for World's best PA program (WBPAP)

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

I'm sorry, these guys are not residency trained in emergency medicine, they are grandfathered, don't know if that is good enough for World's best PA program (WBPAP)

Guess we'll have to go to Mt. St. Elsewhere PAP.

[ToppDog]

MASH was one of my favorite shows ever.  I even remember the couple spin-offs they had..I always imagined doing my rotations like Gonzo from Trapper John MD & living out of an RV to save $$$ :)

[True Anomaly]

The last episode of MASH aired before many current applicants were out of kindergarten...1983.....I was in high school and watched "goodbye , farewell, and amen" along with everyone else in the U.S. The final episode of MASH was the most watched TV show in history. I believe that record still holds today.

 

The MASH finale still holds the record for highest-rated scripted TV episode, but the most-watched TV program in history is actually this year's Super Bowl