Completing Prerequisites

[Jason Garrison]

Hi, all!

 

I am glad to stumble upon this website. I will start by giving a little background about myself, and then ask the typical questions.

 

I completed my bachelor's and master's degrees in Psychology (specifically Research-based) from the Univeristy of Oregon in 2006 and 2010. I graduated undergraduate with a 3.56 GPA and a 3.71 GPA in graduate school. To no avail, I couldn't find employment for this area and contemplated going back to school. After several years working as a Caregiver and Mental Health Therapist, I decided to start taking the prerequisites to go back to school for a Master's in Physician Assisting Studies.

 

I have read a few different things on school websites, one that being a Mental Health Therapist does qualify as hours to get into a program and others saying that it doesn't. I want to make sure I have the right kind of experience, so that it will qualify and meet this requirement.

 

Here are a few questions that I have:

• Is there a standard list of types of work that qualify and count toward the hours needed to apply to a Physician Assistant program, or is it dependent on the school?
• All of the schools state that one or more of your letters of recommendation should be from a PA od MD, is this a recommendation or requirement?
• Is there a demographic list anywhere that shows GPAs/previous experience that people that have been accepted have?
• In undergraduate, I took a year-long sequence of general chemistry, but did not take the labs that went along with it. Should I retake it with the labs?

 

Thank you all for your time - I really appreciate it!

 

All best,

Jason

[iseewholewheat]

HCE is very school dependent, so this will probably need to be a factor in deciding which schools you apply to.  Also, the LOR requirements are different for each school, but generally it is best to have one from a PA or MD/DO.  In regards to stats, most schools have a little break down on their website of previous classes (including, GPAs and such,) but you can also look on the accepted stats sticky and you can get an idea of the kind of people each school accepted.  I found that forum in particular incredibly helpful.  Also, chemistry is school dependent, but I do not remember one in my research that would accept chemistry without labs.  

[Diggy]

To feed off of iseewholewheat; you will have to find and save all the schools that accept your MHC/MHT experience. Don't go applying everywhere because that is expensive.

 

Use how the school (or email them directly) states what LORs are needed; recommended vs required - should vs must. This should give you an idea what they want.

 

Schools usually have a "current students" section that shows the demographics of those previously admitted/matriculated.

 

Yes retake it. Of the 10+ schools I am looking at, all require 1 year of chem w/ associated labs. If labs are not required for the entire year, it will say something along the lines off 2 chemistry courses + 1 lab is required.

[Glorious_Ignoramus]

The best thing you can do for yourself is to visit the PAEA directory, find which schools you would apply to, and email these questions to each respective admissions department.

 

Generally, there is no standard HCE; yes you'll need chem labs.

[MT2PA]

One thing to note also, because I had this issue, is that some schools require the pre reqs be completed within 5/7/10 years of beginning the program. So if you took chem/bio/anatomy early in undergrad you may need to retake them purely for time limit issues. But yes, definitely take with labs this time around.

[ilovelost]

Is there a standard list of types of work that qualify and count toward the hours needed to apply to a Physician Assistant program, or is it dependent on the school?

Unfortunately it's dependent on the different programs. Most have a list on their website of what they will accept. Your mental health experience could qualify for some programs. I know a few girls that were accepted while working at psychiatric facilities as observers. Definitely explore that though... I think quite a few programs would love your mental health experience, especially at the graduate level. There's a growing need for psych professionals - I think you'd really stand out at the right programs. 

 

All of the schools state that one or more of your letters of recommendation should be from a PA od MD, is this a recommendation or requirement?

It depends on the program. Some require a PA letter while most will just say "healthcare provider" or MD, NP or PA required. If you have a choice, I'd go with the person who knows you best. 

 

Is there a demographic list anywhere that shows GPAs/previous experience that people that have been accepted have?

If there is, it would be on the school's individual websites. I don't believe there is a book or anything with all the programs like there are for medical programs. I think it's because the PA programs are so different - there are few universal standards. As a general rule, I'd aim for all GPA's above 3.2, GRE's above 300, and 1,000-2000 hours HCE upon submitting an application. 

 

In undergraduate, I took a year-long sequence of general chemistry, but did not take the labs that went along with it. Should I retake it with the labs?

You might have to, because your chemistries might be expired. Most programs want all science prerequisites between 7-10 years ago, if not sooner. 

[ddisilvestro]

I would like to offer my two cents here as well. 

 

1. No, every school will be different in what they expect and accept. 

 

2. Unless a program specifically states they need a letter from X, Y, & Z, everything is recommended. If it is recommended, you should try to get it. 

 

3. You can view 2014 matriculating class data here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4hkbqg6adwufsxx/AADxrmB69EOA1LGa7AnL0wJHa?dl=0. Applicant reports for the 2014-2015 CASPA application cycle can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hvp174d8uo23bjh/2013-2015%20Applicant%20Data%20Comparison.pdf?dl=0. 

 

4. If the program(s) you plan to apply to require the lab, then you will have to complete the lab.