K2016 Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Hi! I was originally planning on applying next cycle but decided to give it a shot this cycle after encouragment from PAs and advisors. Even if I do not get any interviews I think the experience of applying will help make me a master of the process next cycle and by then I will have accumulated more direct patient care hrs. I know the main issue holding me back is my direct patient care hours. Here are my stats: Undergrad : BS Health Science (December 2016) Cumulative Undergrad. GPA: 3.98 GRE (taking tomorrow).. Honors/Awards Honors College member Presidents list (2 semesters) Dean's List (4 semesters) Provost Scholarship Officer of the Year 2015-16, Women's Lacrosse Club Completion of a 2 year leadership program Direct Patient Care: Volunteer CNA at a nonprofit clinic 100 hours Volunteer Hospital ICU Volunteer 40hrs Elementary School Volunteer 25 hrs YMCA volunteer 10 hrs Also a lot of little events (Field Day with children with special needs, Breast cancer fundraising carnival, Earth day clean ups) Shadowing: Emergency Medicine PA - 20hrs Ortho PA - 75 hrs Ortho MD- 30 hrs LOR: 2 PA's, 1 MD, 1 Clinic supervisor, 1 professor (science course) I played a club sport and was an officer (treasurer) for 3 years (1000+ hours) I don't really know where to put this information on my application. Thank you in advance!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 You have such a strong GPA - so as long as you get a good GRE, go for it! Apply to schools without PCE requirements.... and ones that aren't going to hold your age against you. I hear time and time again that 21 year olds and 22 year olds get grilled in interviews- trying to see if they are mature enough. Just be prepared to answer that question.... that is if you are a traditional student and finishing undergrad in your low 20s. If I were you, I'd look through the applicant stats page for people who got accepted with little to no PCE as well as get accepted in their low 20s. There are lots of students in PA students that went straight from undergrad - so it is definitely doable- just not to schools that require 2000+ hours PCE. Research those schools and see if you'd like to apply Good Luck! Oh and definitely work to gain PCE, who knows.. you may be able to earn a lot... honestly... if you worked at it, you could do a later application...September...(not ideal) but accrue 500 hours of PCE over the summer If you don't get in this cycle, all you will lose is money and time... so if you're cool with that, it's worth a shot. But if you apply, you have to remember you are at a disadvantage....so don't be totally bummed if you can't get in this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 I'm amazed that PAs and advisors encouraged you to apply when you have 100 hrs of PCE. This may be a huge issue so don't be surprised if you don't find success this year. Keep accruing the PCE hours and next year you'll be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 A good base academically. I would accelerate your healthcare experience -- like maybe full-time over the summer. Then send an update to the schools you have applied to showing more hours. I agree with the comment above about selecting schools that don't specify a minimum number of HCE hours. A 3.98 will get a look; have a great essay and hopefully your LORs are good. Best wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrabell Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Sorry, wrong are to post this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Hi all I'm nervous about my chances as well. I graduated from undergrad in 2002 with a 4.0 GPA and have been a dietitian since. I completed my grad degree in 2009 with a 3.94. I am worried that it has been so long since I was in school and my graduate GPA is lower than my undergrad. I have over 20,000 patient experience hours but I calculated them wrong on my application. I was so upset when I found that out. I contacted my schools and they were ok with that but it still worries me. Is this a joke? You say you have a 4.0 undergrad 3.9 graduate and 20,000 PCE. I think this is a joke- you say you are worried because you have a 3.9 in graduate school. What exactly is the problem? With 20,000 hours, why are you using OP's post about being concerned because lack of HCE? You should make your own thread especially since you have nothing in common with the OP's original post or adding to help his/her question Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K2016 Posted June 4, 2016 Author Share Posted June 4, 2016 You have such a strong GPA - so as long as you get a good GRE, go for it! Apply to schools without PCE requirements.... and ones that aren't going to hold your age against you. I hear time and time again that 21 year olds and 22 year olds get grilled in interviews- trying to see if they are mature enough. Just be prepared to answer that question.... that is if you are a traditional student and finishing undergrad in your low 20s. If I were you, I'd look through the applicant stats page for people who got accepted with little to no PCE as well as get accepted in their low 20s. There are lots of students in PA programs that went straight from undergrad - so it is definitely doable- just not to schools that require 2000+ hours PCE. Research those schools and see if you'd like to apply Good Luck! Oh and definitely work to gain PCE, who knows.. you may be able to earn a lot... honestly... if you worked at it, you could do a later application...September...(not ideal) but accrue 500 hours of PCE over the summer If you don't get in this cycle, all you will lose is money and time... so if you're cool with that, it's worth a shot. But if you apply, you have to remember you are at a disadvantage....so don't be totally bummed if you can't get in this year Thank you so much for you input and advice! Yes, the schools I am applying to do not have PCE requirements, it is recommended. I am a traditional student, 21 years old. I know a typical applicant has way more hours than me so I will not be surprised if I don't get in anywhere. I think what I will gain from this experience will only help me next cycle. The loss of money and time is okay with me. Submitting later is definitely something to consider as well. I appreciate the well wishes, and thank you for taking time to respond to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K2016 Posted June 4, 2016 Author Share Posted June 4, 2016 I'm amazed that PAs and advisors encouraged you to apply when you have 100 hrs of PCE. This may be a huge issue so don't be surprised if you don't find success this year. Keep accruing the PCE hours and next year you'll be good to go. I think the encouragement came more from a standpoint of having more to gain than to lose from the experience. Especially since the loss of money is not an issue for me. They did not give me false hope, I am very aware of how important PCE hours are. I will continue to get PCE hours and I will get in at some point--I am very determined to become a PA! Thank you for your input!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K2016 Posted June 4, 2016 Author Share Posted June 4, 2016 A good base academically. I would accelerate your healthcare experience -- like maybe full-time over the summer. Then send an update to the schools you have applied to showing more hours. I agree with the comment above about selecting schools that don't specify a minimum number of HCE hours. A 3.98 will get a look; have a great essay and hopefully your LORs are good. Best wishes. Thank you for your input! I have been worried that despite my grades and other activities and awards schools may see my hours and immediately deny my application. I know that can happen, I am just hoping to get some consideration. The programs I am applying to do not require a specific amount of hours. Submitting an update to show more hours is a good idea! I am confident in my LORs...and still working on my essay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Thank you so much for you input and advice! Yes, the schools I am applying to do not have PCE requirements, it is recommended. I am a traditional student, 21 years old. I know a typical applicant has way more hours than me so I will not be surprised if I don't get in anywhere. I think what I will gain from this experience will only help me next cycle. The loss of money and time is okay with me. Submitting later is definitely something to consider as well. I appreciate the well wishes, and thank you for taking time to respond to me! Awesome! Don't let anyone discourage you from applying. Especially since you said money isn't an issue. I don't know why so many people on here advise people who aren't the MOST competitive, not to apply until they have a really strong application. If it is because people don't have the money or time to waste on application season and want to wait until they are really confident, great. But when there is nothing to lose, and a chance to start school a year sooner- why not? I've heard schools like repeat applicants anyways- so even if you don't get in... when you are applying at the ripe old age of 22 ;) the admissions people will know that this is something you are fully committed to- and I think that will help ease off some of the interviewers who think younger students don't know what they are getting into.. So all around, I think you are definitely doing the right thing. I know a gal who got into one of the local schools here with ZERO HCE and a 4.0. You have 100 CNA and 40 Volunteer ICU, so even though yours is small, you still had more than her. And 3.98 is soooo close to 4.0. I wouldn't be surprised if you are accepted this cycle. Especially with strong LORs. So how did the GRE go?!? Keep us posted on your journey. Oh- I posted in CASPA all of the developing programs. You may want to check them out. The majority are taking applications this cycle, and since they are brand new- most of them won't be as competitive as well established programs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K2016 Posted June 6, 2016 Author Share Posted June 6, 2016 Awesome! Don't let anyone discourage you from applying. Especially since you said money isn't an issue. I don't know why so many people on here advise people who aren't the MOST competitive, not to apply until they have a really strong application. If it is because people don't have the money or time to waste on application season and want to wait until they are really confident, great. But when there is nothing to lose, and a chance to start school a year sooner- why not? I've heard schools like repeat applicants anyways- so even if you don't get in... when you are applying at the ripe old age of 22 ;) the admissions people will know that this is something you are fully committed to- and I think that will help ease off some of the interviewers who think younger students don't know what they are getting into.. So all around, I think you are definitely doing the right thing. I know a gal who got into one of the local schools here with ZERO HCE and a 4.0. You have 100 CNA and 40 Volunteer ICU, so even though yours is small, you still had more than her. And 3.98 is soooo close to 4.0. I wouldn't be surprised if you are accepted this cycle. Especially with strong LORs. So how did the GRE go?!? Keep us posted on your journey. Oh- I posted in CASPA all of the developing programs. You may want to check them out. The majority are taking applications this cycle, and since they are brand new- most of them won't be as competitive as well established programs Thank you for the support! Your opinion is definitely helping to alleviate some of the anxiety I've been having. Wow that's awesome for her!! I've heard of a couple stories like that. GRE was okay.. V158 and Q 151. Not too happy with the quant score Also, I checked out your post with all the developing programs. Very helpful to have it all listed in one place! I'm going to do some research to see which schools I meet the requirements to add to the programs I am already applying to. I will keep you updated on my progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AspiringPA21 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Hello All, I thought I'd continue in on this post with my own stats. I hope I'm not butting in and would like some advice from everyone, please. Undergrad (Associates of Science in Health Science): Queensborough community college (Overall GPA: 3.27) Undergrad (Bachelors of Arts in Psychology): CUNY Queens College Overall (GPA: 3.01) cGPA (using CASPAs method) with both schools combined: 3.02 sGPA (using CASPAs method) with both schools combined: 3.01 (after I finish the current class, Neurology of Pain, and get an A, otherwise it's a 2.97) I have had 2 Fs from my freshman year in 2008 (Bio 1 and intro to chem) because I was immature. Cell Bio: C (never retook) Patho: B- First time I took Chem 1 I got a D (Lab A-). I retook it and got a C+ and this was due to sustaining a herniated disc (i was in severe pain so couldn't study) and then my grandmother passed away. Orgo 1: B Everything else (Everything was at a community college except Biochem): Bio 1 and 2: A- and B+ A&p 1 and 2: A- and B+ Microbio: A- Genetics: A- Chem 1 and 2: A and A Biochem w/ lab: A Intro to Orgo: A- Intro to Chem: A I've also taken a class called Professional Physician Assistant, which was a class explaining the roles of PAs (got an A) and I've taken Medical terminology, which I got an A in as well but I know won't be included in my sGPA. HCE: so far 3800 hours of volunteer EMT experience Shadowing PAs: So far 137 hours (75 at one hospital and 62 hours at another but both in the ER) Honors/Awards: Been on the deans list for 3 semesters Haven't taken the GRE and I know a professor and my EMT supervisor who will give me a LOR. I have to complete 100 hours at the other hospital where I have 62 hours to get a LOR from a PA. I will be applying next year but now I'm limited to schools since my 5 years of science class for Bio 1 and a&p 1 have reached and I don't have the GRE. What are my chances of PA school? What else can I do to better my application now? Thank you in advance for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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