Chances For Medex

[RealWayPA]

Hi All,

 

Perhaps a current student or alumni can speak to this one. I'm looking to apply to it next year and was wondering if anybody could speak to my chances, or if there is anything glaring I need to improve on if I realistically want a shot at an interview.

 

The following stats are "pro-rated" to reflect what I'll have about 10 months from now:

 

cGPA: 3.1

sGPA: 3.6

HCE: 5,000+ paid hours as an ER Tech, EMT and CNA, plus another 750 as a volunteer EMT

1400 hours of community service (all of it relating to health care and wellness)

About 200 hours PA shadowing including 50 urology, 40+ emergency department and 100+ primary care

Really stellar LORs (already was given copies of them and they're all awesome down to the letter)

A well-crafted narrative about why I want to be a PA and what I want out of the PA profession.

Took some advanced health care classes (ACLS, etc.) for personal enrichment/knowledge enhancement

 

If it makes a difference to MEDEX, which I'm hoping it does, rural and primary health care experiences are a big part of my professional background and my personal life story as well, and I want to pursue a PA career doing...(you guessed it)...rural primary care on the Indian reservation in South Dakota where my family is from.

 

 

Given these stats, do I have a chance at interviewing? Do I need more HCE? Better GPA?

 

Any and all input is greatly appreciated!

 

[Scoped]

You appear to be in the wheel house for everything MEDEX is looking for (GPA , you did give a projected GPA and assuming you don't bomb and your projections hold true you look good, HCE) Check out the MEDEX 2014 acceptance stats. I would make sure the providers that wrote your LOR’s still have those files because they need to be submitted to CASPA by them.

MEDEX2014.pdf

[ktcan10]

Obviously, none of us are on the admissions committee so all opinions are ours and ours alone, but do know that MEDEX prizes patient care experience but NOT at the loss of personality or other qualities. Your volunteer work looks great, you can always use more HCE hours for MEDEX. I came in with about 20,000 and there are several people in my class with even more than that (frickin' overachievers...just kidding). 

 

In the meantime, I would make sure you have things to talk about at the interview...in other words, make sure that your volunteer work is something that you're passionate about, not just a box checking exercise. If it was (no shame, I had plenty of that myself), go find yourself a volunteer job that you're really passionate about, EVEN IF ITS NON-MEDICAL.

 

MEDEX isn't really looking for med-bots that get perfect grades and talk about medicine all the time. One of the greatest values of the physician assistant profession (and MEDEX in particular) is that we come into it with life experience and diverse backgrounds. I was a theatre major before I became a PA student. One of my favorite volunteer jobs was as a rape crisis advocate and I talked about that in the interviews extensively, even though it was non-medical. 

 

Hope this helps. :)

[LESH]

I was a theatre major before I became a PA student.

If I'm not mistaken so was Ruth Ballweg wasn't she? Or at least that was an interest of hers.

[siskiyoufire]

Your HCE is sub par in my opinion

[RealWayPA]

@siskiyoufire: Sub par because of quality or quantity?