jaaldana Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hey all- Just wondering if anyone has considered or has received a certificate from a post bacc pre-PA program? If I don't get into PA school this year, I want to increase my chances of getting in next year. I haven't been able to find statistics on how many post-bacc graduates actually get accepted into PA school. I need to know if it will be beneficial to enroll in a post-bacc program or if it will be a waste of time and money...? Please help! Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaaldana Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hey all- Just wondering if anyone has considered or has received a certificate from a post bacc pre-PA program? If I don't get into PA school this year, I want to increase my chances of getting in next year. I haven't been able to find statistics on how many post-bacc graduates actually get accepted into PA school. I need to know if it will be beneficial to enroll in a post-bacc program or if it will be a waste of time and money...? Please help! Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 You can take classes as a post-bacc student anywhere and accomplish the same thing. Focus on upper level sciences if past grade performance and/or your GPA are issues. Otherwise, mix some science with learning a new language or taking a couple extra psych classes. Make sure to continue racking up HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 You can take classes as a post-bacc student anywhere and accomplish the same thing. Focus on upper level sciences if past grade performance and/or your GPA are issues. Otherwise, mix some science with learning a new language or taking a couple extra psych classes. Make sure to continue racking up HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 If you applied this year, then you must have your pre-reqs done. Are your grades bad? Do you need to retake science classes? If you need to retake a large number of science classes then a post-bacc program might be worth a try. But there are two negatives, the way I see it. First, my own experience in a post-bacc program was that it was just a fancy title they slapped on a group of students doing what you can do anyway - take science classes. Most of the students were pre-med and wanted the committee letter, which you don't need as a pre-PA. You have to think about what you're actually getting out of it, and how a genchem class taken under the umbrella of "post-bacc" is any different than genchem taken at the same school by a non-program student. If it's not different, PA schools will be able to see that just as easily as you can. Second, most places with post-bacc programs are larger universities that charge a great deal of money per credit hour. If you don't need the classes, it's a huge waste. I don't think committing to a post-bacc program will make you a more competitive applicant unless you need to improve your grades. My program had you start from the ground up... you had to take a certain number of classes with the program to get the letter or whatever. Would you really want to take general bio again for no reason? If your grades are okay, you would be much better served by working in the field where you can educate yourself on the profession and network a little while getting more hours for next year. Also, take Spanish if you don't already know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 If you applied this year, then you must have your pre-reqs done. Are your grades bad? Do you need to retake science classes? If you need to retake a large number of science classes then a post-bacc program might be worth a try. But there are two negatives, the way I see it. First, my own experience in a post-bacc program was that it was just a fancy title they slapped on a group of students doing what you can do anyway - take science classes. Most of the students were pre-med and wanted the committee letter, which you don't need as a pre-PA. You have to think about what you're actually getting out of it, and how a genchem class taken under the umbrella of "post-bacc" is any different than genchem taken at the same school by a non-program student. If it's not different, PA schools will be able to see that just as easily as you can. Second, most places with post-bacc programs are larger universities that charge a great deal of money per credit hour. If you don't need the classes, it's a huge waste. I don't think committing to a post-bacc program will make you a more competitive applicant unless you need to improve your grades. My program had you start from the ground up... you had to take a certain number of classes with the program to get the letter or whatever. Would you really want to take general bio again for no reason? If your grades are okay, you would be much better served by working in the field where you can educate yourself on the profession and network a little while getting more hours for next year. Also, take Spanish if you don't already know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 If your grades are okay, you would be much better served by working in the field where you can educate yourself on the profession and network a little while getting more hours for next year. Agreed. Gaining HCE in the field will be a much better investment towards increasing your chances towards PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 If your grades are okay, you would be much better served by working in the field where you can educate yourself on the profession and network a little while getting more hours for next year. Agreed. Gaining HCE in the field will be a much better investment towards increasing your chances towards PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaaldana Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Thank you all for your input! I graduated with a degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry, so I have all the prerequisites completed for most PA programs. My GPA is about a 3.3 so it's not too bad. I think I will continue working on gaining more hours in direct patient care if things don't work out this year. Thank you all again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaaldana Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Thank you all for your input! I graduated with a degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry, so I have all the prerequisites completed for most PA programs. My GPA is about a 3.3 so it's not too bad. I think I will continue working on gaining more hours in direct patient care if things don't work out this year. Thank you all again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Well, the GPA isn't what's holding you back, for sure. Make sure you're looking for schools that are a good fit for your skills and experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Well, the GPA isn't what's holding you back, for sure. Make sure you're looking for schools that are a good fit for your skills and experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sockerkid9 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I just happened to see this thread.. would a post-bacc program be a good idea if you did have to retake science classes? I keep debating on whether or not I should look into a program rather than just retake the select classes to meet the minimum grade requirements to apply. I dont want to seem like I find it acceptable to just skate-by with the bare minimum, especially when caspa will avg grades together. I wouldn't be considering one except for the fact that I want to prove that I can do well at higher level classes than what I showed in my undergrad grades. I do have a b.s. in biology with a minor in psych, but my cgpa and sgpa arent exactly steller. I currently work in healthcare (have 1500+ paid hrs) and got certified as a cna to try to boost my resume a little. I have shadowed multiple PA's in a variety of specialities, and this is what I really want to do. Sorry to butt-in on the thread - i just needed some other opinions other than my own :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Look into what the requirements and expectations are of the programs you're thinking about. Find out what you'll be getting out of them (besides additional courses on the transcript, which you can get anywhere). I ended up jumping ship on the post-bacc program I was in and finishing off my pre-reqs at a community college because the cost/benefit ratio was too high, but that is a decision you have to make for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
med218 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Post-Bacc programs have their place, but if you decide to enter one you really do need to examine why you need the "program". I agree with a lot of what was said above, many of the pre-requisite biology and chemistry courses can be taken without being enrolled in such a program. The benefits that I took away from the program I finished was that it allowed me to enroll in certain upper level courses that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. At the time when I was in it there were also reserved spots for some post-bacc students in the gross anatomy class that the nursing/PT students took, but unless you were in either of those programs or a post-bacc student then you would not have been eligible to enroll. The program I was in also has linkage agreements with a couple of PA programs, which grants you an interview with them if you have completed the post-bacc curriculum meeting their requirements. I took advantage of one of their linkages for an interview, but ended up attending my first choice PA program. Work hard in classes and keep accumulating HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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