Worth even applying if I have the minimum HCE?

[chai-latte]

Is it worth applying to a OSHU if I have the minimum (2,000) HCE hours? My average GPA falls within their average, so not spectacular. Thanks. 

[Glorious_Ignoramus]

Email the school's admissions dept. and ask them directly.

 

paprgm@ohsu.edu

 

Say something like: "Hi, I am ready to apply but have just one question.  I have xx number of HCE hours, this meets the minimum requirement [you may or may not give a very, very brief explanation if you feel you have a valid reason for only meeting the minimum] but I am unsure of whether or not to submit the application."

 

Or ask if the average accepted student has significantly more hours, if you are within an acceptable range with respect to accepted applications, etc.

 

 

You can keep it generic by using an email address not linked with your CASPA application.  You may or may not get a reply, but no one on this forum can answer the question any more conclusively than the program can.

 

My own personal thoughts:  be aware that you are competing with applicants who have HCE hours in the 5-10,000 range.  Military medics, paramedics, techs, etc. who have all worked as professionals for a living for a number of years before applying.  If your grades are average or higher for the program (3.5ish I believe) then I would say apply.  If your grades are significantly lower, then your HCE...no HCE...will make up for the deficit.

 

Best of luck to you.

[chai-latte]

Hi,

Thanks for your insight. I have this dilemma with a few other schools. I see that their average class HCE's are well above mine. My GPA falls in their average range, but then I don't have much that will make up for the lack of HCE. 

[Glorious_Ignoramus]

In this case, it's a crapshoot.  You have a question to ask yourself:

 

Re-applying can be a bit of a burden, are you willing to risk rejection and re-application for the sake of possible admission?

 

Does the benefit outweigh the risk?

 

In the pre-med world, applicants are often told this mantra: don't apply until you have the best application you could possible have.  You are not applying to medical school but this mantra might strike you in such a way as to affect your decision, one way or the other.

[UGoLong]

One thing for sure is true: People who don't apply don't get in!

[rev ronin]

In the pre-med world, applicants are often told this mantra: don't apply until you have the best application you could possible have.  You are not applying to medical school but this mantra might strike you in such a way as to affect your decision, one way or the other.

While the difference between PA school and Med school--at least in terms of applicant demographics--appear to be fading, I don't think that applies for multiple reasons:

 

1) PA school is more competitive than medical school.  Anyone med school applicant can always go DO or Caribbean if they want it bad enough.

 

2) Which PA school you attend doesn't matter very much, at least in comparison with med schools, which have a longer history and more regimented stratification.  There are clear lists of which medical schools are 'safety' schools, but other than general rules, we really don't have that much stratification where the PA school from which you graduate affects your future career.

 

3) Which is because we don't have to compete for residencies.  They're scarce and optional, not required and competitive, so our residency training is an entirely different critter than MD/DO residencies.  Step 2 scores and school of origin mean a lot in the match... but there is no equivalent for PAs.

 

4) Medical school is so focused on undergraduate record that the vocabulary heavily favors traditional age students--gap year? I didn't have a gap year, I had a 20 year career in IT!  PA students are still very diverse--at least those that aren't 22 year old female biology majors with CNA experience. So, the focus of an Adcom has to be on the whole package, not what fits into nice, neat little boxes like most MD/DO programs can get away with.  If you're only recruiting 20-25 year olds, there's a big difference than what you'll find on CASPA.

 

So... apply away, if you think you can get in the first time.  Lots of people, myself included, applied more than once before being admitted.

[dndandrea]

Not all HCE is created equal. Your 2000 hours might be better than one's 5000 hours. I only had 1300 HCE hours at the time of my application. It was below the national average and my GPA was a bit below the national average. I had no problem getting into PA school. HCE and GPA is only part of an app, not the entire thing.

[ToppDog]

Besides, if you haven't applied anywhere before, the experience of going through the process will be very useful in the future... and, who knows, you might actually get in somewhere on the first try.

[Nonlegit]

Besides, if you haven't applied anywhere before, the experience of going through the process will be very useful in the future... and, who knows, you might actually get in somewhere on the first try.

 

Not to derail OP at all, but this could be relevant anyhow - Don't adcoms look slightly more favorable at reapplicants, especially if they have continued to improve weak areas of their app (Ie HCE hours should OP reapply next cycle)? Essentially, it wouldn't hurt to get an application cycle going because it would show committment next time around, should you not get in this time.

[ilovelost]

Are you applying to other programs too? I'd think 2,000 hours is competitive for many other programs that only require 500-1000. I only had about 1,300... 

 

But I know that there are a handful (esp.  older programs) that will only accept applicants with like 5,000 hours or more. 

 

If your heart isn't set on one particular program, I'd recommend looking around for schools that are a good fit for your stats. Do lots of research before applying and save yourself the headache/time/money of having to apply again. My stats were mostly below average (like, all my stats across the board lol)... but I researched the heck out of every school I applied to and marketed myself well. I was semi-determined I didn't want to apply a second time if I could help it.