afedewa Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 hello, I have worked as a registered dietitian over the past 3 years and I'm starting to look into PA school as an option. While there are many things about my job that I like, sometimes it's rather boring, and I think I need more of a challenge. Better pay would also be a plus, so I'm thinking about PA school. I've already completed many of the prerequisites that most programs require, however they were finished 5 to 7 years ago, so for some programs I would need to retake them. Is it better to complete these courses while I'm still working full time? If I take 2 classes per semester, it would take me at least a year to get these classes done, maybe longer. Is it better to become a full-time student in order to complete the necessary prerequisites more quickly? I graduated in 2012 with a 3.9 GPA. The only classes where I got less than a 4.0 were anatomy (3.5) Physics (3.5) Organic chemistry I (3.0) and organic chemistry 2 (2.5). Should I retake organic chemistry as well? I think I could get a better score under a different professor, but these classes are very expensive! I appreciate your advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 I chose to keep working ... and save money so that I could minimize the significant debt I'd incur becoming a full-time PA student. I also chose to take my pre-requisites at a community college since it was 1/10th the cost of retaking at a university (I already have MS and BBA degrees). You may also find that some courses are offered at times that allow you to take more than 2 a semester (if you're up for that challenge). I took some classes in "mini-mesters" - 2 weeks in May (I took some vacation time), a 4 week class online in a winter-mester (Dec-Jan); I took another class that met on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Keep working. There's never a guarantee you'll get in your first time and if you can start this summer or fall, you would be able to apply next cycle. Don't quit your job to take a full course load for a semester and then find yourself waiting or looking for another job while you wait for PA school. Also, if you're willing/able to move, many programs allow pre-reqs up to 10 years old or waive the time frame if you've actually been using the knowledge from the class in your career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianamendoz Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Hello All! Okay so, i'm a PA hopeful.. I have my BA is sociology and I didn't take any hard sciences in college. I will be going to school to become a CMA, then going back to school and getting prereqs for PA school out of the way. I know that it looks better on your PA application to have upper level science courses. Does anyone have any advice on how I should approach satisfying science prereqs, knowing that I have no science background? Thank you all in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8404PA Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Hello All! Okay so, i'm a PA hopeful.. I have my BA is sociology and I didn't take any hard sciences in college. I will be going to school to become a CMA, then going back to school and getting prereqs for PA school out of the way. I know that it looks better on your PA application to have upper level science courses. Does anyone have any advice on how I should approach satisfying science prereqs, knowing that I have no science background? Thank you all in advance! establish a strong foundation! When I took cell physiology (4000 level bio class) we had to already have a beefy working knowledge of several fundamentals. If you have a sparse understanding you'll more than likely struggle and over stress yourself. Perhaps meet with a pre-health advisor at your school and see what they can offer you for advice. Fortunately, most of the pre-reqs for PA school are a majority of the fundamental sciences - so by completing those pre-reqs and getting A's, you'll be able to navigate those "impressive" high-level courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 It may depend on the school where you want to take the courses. If you can get away with taking classes as a non-degree seeking student and just take what you need, they may not care if you have pre-reqs. That said, it will likely make the courses substantially more difficult for you compared to someone who has followed the path of bio, chem, A&P in sequential order and built their knowledge from the bottom up. If in the end you have to retake courses - the school gets your money so they might not care. Since most PA programs require 2 courses of bio, 2 courses of chem, etc as well as the upper level A&P, Ochem, biochem, etc....just start at the beginning and start plugging away at it. EDIT: My bad - didn't see that the above post wasn't the original. @dianamendoz - Just start an original thread for your question instead of hijacking multiple previous topics with the same post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8404PA Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 EDIT: @dianamendoz - Just start an original thread for your question instead of hijacking multiple previous topics with the same post. this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianamendoz Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 this Thanks for the response guys! Sorry about the whole hijacking.. I didn't think that I had to make my own thread if I'd already found a forum that was relevant to my question. I'm still getting the hang of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuxedosheep Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 hello, I have worked as a registered dietitian over the past 3 years and I'm starting to look into PA school as an option. While there are many things about my job that I like, sometimes it's rather boring, and I think I need more of a challenge. Better pay would also be a plus, so I'm thinking about PA school. I've already completed many of the prerequisites that most programs require, however they were finished 5 to 7 years ago, so for some programs I would need to retake them. Is it better to complete these courses while I'm still working full time? If I take 2 classes per semester, it would take me at least a year to get these classes done, maybe longer. Is it better to become a full-time student in order to complete the necessary prerequisites more quickly? I graduated in 2012 with a 3.9 GPA. The only classes where I got less than a 4.0 were anatomy (3.5) Physics (3.5) Organic chemistry I (3.0) and organic chemistry 2 (2.5). Should I retake organic chemistry as well? I think I could get a better score under a different professor, but these classes are very expensive! I appreciate your advice I think it's worth looking into PA schools that are okay with older prereqs. Your GPA is high enough that you would only be gaining the benefit of having newer prereqs, unless you feel like you need a full refresher. As an RD, you have plenty of direct patient contact experience, which will make you a likely candidate, along with your high GPA. This is all assuming you have already taken all necessary prereqs. So again, maybe look at schools that don't require prereqs within 7 years. The expense and stress of working full time and doing well in a class doesn't seem to outweigh the benefits unless you a FOR SURE that you want to go to that school that requires fresher prereqs. Just my opinion, though. :) good luck! Edit: Saw you haven't finished all prereqs. Echoing what others have said before, I would try to still work and take the classes one by one. You will probably need the money and on top of that, you'll be gaining patient contact experience, which schools love. But if you have more than a year's worth, maybe trying to work part time is worth looking into. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.