Advice Please!

[Guest AshevillePA2]

So I'll be graduating coming up in May with a Psychology major and Poli Sci minor with a 3.8 overall and 4.0 science. I spent four years in the USMC (nothing healthcare related) and am getting EMT experience right now. I'm graduating from U of North Carolina and still need to get most of my science prereqs out of the way. Since I'm looking to get into a PA school in the Boston area, would it be crazy to move to Boston and take the prereqs as a post-bac at (for example) U of Boston? It would be a big move and my concern is both academic and social. What do you think?

[cinntsp]

I'm sure it will be more expensive with a higher cost of living so you'll have to do the math and figure out if spending more money is something you want to do.

[nweston]

I live in Boston right now and will tell you frankly it's a VERY expensive city (one CREDIT at Boston College is $1383). IMO, I would say take your prereqs full-time at state schools or community colleges where you can get in-state/cheap tuition (some schools require/strongly recommend prereqs at a 4-year institute but most others accept community college-- in terms of Boston, Northeastern strongly recommends A and P at a 4-year institute for example). You do not want to pay for Boston real estate AND a VERY expensive post-bac, when you can ultimately live in one state and apply to PA schools everywhere else. A post-bac is going to run you upwards of 60k, plus at least 1k per month for living expenses.

 

I'd say research the schools you are interested in to see what prereqs you will need, but most of them will be general sciences (A and P, Micro, Biochem/Orgo, Gen Bio/Chem) that you can take at undergrad/community colleges. They will not be offering General Bio at a Biomedical Sciences Masters post-bac program, if you see what I mean.

 

You've got a phenomenal GPA, you should be a very competitive applicant, so just be mindful about how you apply. PA school is an expensive investment so I'd be wise about spending that kind of money beforehand.

[ICRob0351]

Asheville - You and I have very similar backgrounds, I did 6 years in the USMC Infantry (got out as an E-5), graduated with a degree in Psych from UConn, and have been an EMT for four years. I'll be starting @ Stony Brook's PA program in June. I think it would behoove you to take your pre-reqs LOCALLY, and save your money, Boston is wildly expensive. Worry about the move when you get into school. Moving is a huge pain in the *** both financially and emotionally; I would recommend focusing on kicking *** in all your pre-reqs and getting your HCE done. I don't know if you were a grunt or not, but in the infantry we had the saying "Remember the 7 P's: Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance." Obviously your performance to this point has been outstanding, keep it up. I went through everything you're going through now, and it's a long road, but I have no doubt you'll succeed. PM me if you need any help or advice, we Marine Corps vets need to help each other out. S/F

[mhunter]

I recommend taking classes at Harvard Extension. The classes are held at night and on the weekends so they don't interfere with work. The price is about the same at the state schools. The PA schools consider this a 4 year school ( I talked to NU about it). All of the students are getting pre-reqs for Med school, PA, or other health related programs. The classes are difficult and the class size is large (sometimes lecture hall of 300). I also took summer Bio 1+2 at Merrimack and it was great.