General Advice for PA newbies

[ohsnapPA]

1) Apply early (april/may)!! I can't stress this enough. Most schools are on a rolling admissions basis, so the earlier you apply, the better chance you have in getting into schools. A lot of schools may not even get to your application if you apply late in the cycle (july/august). If you are applying late, shoot for the non-rolling schools (ie: Cornell, LeMoyne). Some people have mentioned that this is helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Getting-Physician-Assistant-Edition/dp/007163973X.

 

2) Apply for PA shadowing months in advance (it's a long process). You need to know what a PA is to be a PA. Almost all schools require shadowing experience, and require a PA for one of your references. 

 

3) Give at least a month's heads up to the people who are writing your recommendations. Make sure they have time to write a good, and not rushed recommendation! Also, obtain their cell phone number and e-mail address, for contact purposes! Shoot for 1 PA, 1 professor, 1 coworker for your 3 recommendations. 

 

4) Write a moving CAPSA essay. Start the essay as early as possible, and make sure to share your essay to as many people as you can who can give you constructive criticism. In your essay, use your medical/personal experiences to show, NOT state how they affected your outlook on the PA profession. Save explanations of your weaknesses such as low GPA, low HCE hours for your interview, not your essay. The main focus should be why you want to be a PA!

 

5) Practice for your interview! I strongly recommend purchasing this book: http://www.amazon.com/How-Physician-Assistant-School-Interview/dp/0615480721

-Girls/Guys: wear a suit! 

-read main faculty bio pages to see if you have any similar interests that you can talk about during the interview!

-be concise, to the point, honest with your answers! Don't be vague (ie: i want to "help" people).

-bring a PENCIL...a lot of schools offer only pens during the essay portion of your essay, and it saves time and makes your essay look a lot cleaner

-bring WATER....you're bound to get thirsty during the interview with all the talking

-Show your personality. Your CAPSA application proved yourself worthy for the interview. Now, you just need to impress them on a more personal level.

-Use the "tell me about yourself" question as an opportunity to talk about something unique or quirky about yourself, your general interests outside of school, a way to break the ice and be relatable 

-Have 6-10 life experiences in mind for the behavioral questions.

-Have questions in mind for the interviewers

-Get your interviewers/students/secretary (any person that has helped you during the application process) contact information and write a thank you card mentioning them after the interview.

-RELAX, take a deep breath, and don't let the nerves get to you!

 

6) From @ProspectivePA, in addressing lower GPA:

1. I acknowledged the issue

2- I gave a frank reason for it, but tried not make it sound like an excuse at the same time - "ex, I honestly was not as commited to my academics back then" or "it was a rough semester. I had .... going on during that time," etc.

3- I verbalized what lesson I learned  

4- I verbalized what actions I put in (ex: I quit my job or I devised a schedule to allot a specific time for studying) to mitigate the issue

5- I let them know the positive result (my GPA consistently increased since, etc)

6- I verbalized that this was a great learning lesson for me and I now have the experience to prevent this from happening again.

 

7) Also from @ProspectivePA of what are red flags that interviewers look for:

1- does not know the PA career/role 

2- does not know the school well/seems to be just applying anywhere without strong reasoning

3- thinks PAs are the best - you may think so, but do not denigrate any of the other health professions as we are all a TEAM, which brings to #4

4- does not seem to work well as a team - you should make it known that you are a strong team player  

5- does not accept criticism/discipline well - you should make it known that you are humble and open to correction. - I think one of the most common questions I got was "give me an example of something you did wrong, how you found out and what you did" or "what stresses you out and what do you do about it" 

6- that PA school is plan B (if you didn't get to med school or you are just "testing the waters") 

 

8) Bring a portfolio to your interview! If you are lacking in HCE hours , be sure to bring an updated version listing all your HCE hours. If you have any outstanding prereqs, bring proof of your registration status. If you think you have a weak recommendation, bring an extra recommendation from an appropriate person. Always bring some extra copies of your CAPSA in case something goes haywire. I put everything in laminated sheets and in a portfolio folder, and it made me stand out from other applicants.

 

Good luck to you all. Just wanted to share my two cents on things I've learned in the PA application process. Feel free to ask me any questions!

 

If anyone else has any advice on the application process, feel free to comment below.

[mguns116]

When asking for recommendations do they need to be electronic copies for caspa or hard copies to be sent directly to the schools?

[ohsnapPA]

If your PA school is using CAPSA, then it's all electronic. You have to get your recommender's e-mail address for CAPSA to send the electronic form they need to fill out. In it, they need to fill out a survey rating your personal/work skills and then a space to write the recommendation letter.

[jtmathew]

All Letters of Reference are submitted to CASPA electronically. In this section, you must enter information for THREE references.  CASPA is not responsible for verifying an evaluator’s identity. If a discrepancy is found, CASPA reserves the right to contact the applicant or evaluator to investigate. CASPA reserves the right to share the discrepancy without comment to all CASPA programs

 

REMEMBER: NO PAPER LETTERS OR FORMS SHOULD BE MAILED TO CASPA. References must be completed entirely online.