magicdock Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Delete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicdock Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I wouldn't mention it.. Even if you're sincere, it still seems like PA is your backup plan. They'll hit you hard with many questions about your path to choosing PA, be ready. Also, prepare your next backup plan because PA school is just as hard, if not harder to get into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 ^^^Agree. The personal statement is something to show WHY you want to be a PA. If you 'humblebrag' they are just going to question why you didn't choose PA until AFTER you were rejected from dental school and also why, when you are so proud of your scores that resemble the MCAT, you aren't going to med school. You'll also probably still have to take the GRE as I doubt DAT scores are accepted (even MCAT scores are rarely accepted). Sure, your situation is unique - very few PAs were formerly pre-dental students. But schools may see it as 'your first path didn't work out so PA is your fall back' which sadly, isn't so unique. Just want you to be prepared. PA schools have so many students to choose from they can be choosey. Also, as an aside, I know July 2015 is a typo, but keep in mind that the application for next year will open in April 2016 for schools that are starting in 2017. You've missed the cycle for this year, basically. Just so you know what timeline you're working with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicdock Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Guys please read carefully... It's not that PA was a backup choice, it's that I was young and naive about my future so I didn't put much thought into enjoying the career itself and more emphasis on the money and lifestyle of a dentist even though I didn't enjoy dentistry itself. If I knew about PA when I was a freshman in college I would 100% be on the PA path and not dental. I could have easily been accepted to dental schools as my scores were very competitive to get me interviews at every school I applied to. If I were to reapply with just a bit more shadowing and volunteering hours and applied to like 10 schools in 100% sure I would have gotten into a dental school. Except I decided to forego that and get the thousands of hours of HCE, more volunteering, shadowing, and research of PA schools and the profession itself NOT BECAUSE ITS MY BACKUP PLAN but because it's what I actually want to do July 2015 isn't a typo, I said I started learning about PAs in July of 2015 after going through a "wtf am I doing with my life crisis" and researching all the other health careers Now this is my honest to god life story of how I stumbled upon PA... Should I REALLY not include this at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicdock Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 ^^^Agree. The personal statement is something to show WHY you want to be a PA. If you 'humblebrag' they are just going to question why you didn't choose PA until AFTER you were rejected from dental school and also why, when you are so proud of your scores that resemble the MCAT, you aren't going to med school. You'll also probably still have to take the GRE as I doubt DAT scores are accepted (even MCAT scores are rarely accepted). ith. I also have good answers to both of those questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicdock Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Getting into a med school probably would be easier for me than getting into a PA school since I'm really good at standardized testing. I could study for the mcat for 2 months and not have to do a year of full time HCE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cop to pa Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 See that, right there, was another humblebrag. If you want to be a PA, then go be a PA. There is no need to discuss what you could be. Not here, not on your application, not in your interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicdock Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 If anything maybe I'll just talk about it in the interview and not the PS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicdock Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 True. But they are probably going to ask what I was doing from age 18-22 when I didn't do anything PA related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicdock Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 See that, right there, was another humblebrag. If you want to be a PA, then go be a PA. There is no need to discuss what you could be. Not here, not on your application, not in your interview. I'm not discussing what I could be but rather my proficiency in science since admissions are looking for people that can pass the PANCE...also you're basically telling me to become the generic "I want to be a PA because of some medical revelation I had while shadowing" applicant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I'm not saying PA is your backup plan, just that it could easily be construed that way by admissions. No one is going to show up to PA school saying 'Yea this was my backup, too bad XYZ didn't work out'. Therefore admissions committees are on the look out for that possibility. You can tell them otherwise till you are blue in the face and that doesn't change the fact that telling them about your DAT scores will set off some alarms for them. Let your GPA and GRE speak to your proficiency in science and testing ability, not an arbitrary test that isn't required for PA school. If they cared about that, they would just require the MCAT for all applicants. Not a single school asked me what I did during college. If you truly have a strong app and HCE established, they aren't going to wonder why you didn't decide on PA at 18 y/o. PA is a second career for plenty of people, granted we had prior jobs in healthcare, not just HCE jobs, and all they wanted to know was 'why be a PA?' not 'why didn't you decide this sooner?'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicdock Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 I'm not saying PA is your backup plan, just that it could easily be construed that way by admissions. No one is going to show up to PA school saying 'Yea this was my backup, too bad XYZ didn't work out'. Therefore admissions committees are on the look out for that possibility. You can tell them otherwise till you are blue in the face and that doesn't change the fact that telling them about your DAT scores will set off some alarms for them. Let your GPA and GRE speak to your proficiency in science and testing ability, not an arbitrary test that isn't required for PA school. If they cared about that, they would just require the MCAT for all applicants. Not a single school asked me what I did during college. If you truly have a strong app and HCE established, they aren't going to wonder why you didn't decide on PA at 18 y/o. PA is a second career for plenty of people, granted we had prior jobs in healthcare, not just HCE jobs, and all they wanted to know was 'why be a PA?' not 'why didn't you decide this sooner?'. Ok I see what you're saying. I'm just a little worried because my gpa is only 3.4 with a slight downward trend and I don't have any EC as of yet. Thank you for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACdan Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 I'd also make sure you have a genuine interest in medicine in general. Dentistry is a little more specific for people to get excited about (I wouldn't be able to), but don't just find some medical pathway unless that's what you want. Put the tiger parents in a cage if they're being too pushy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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