Is it ok to apply or am I too late?

[letmein]

Hi I am Dee. Long time reader first time writing a post. I wish to apply to MUSC PA Program, but i need 3 Pre-requisites that are Biochemistry (online)+ Biology (UC Berkeley online) + General Chemistry. I am enrolled in CC for summer full semester that ends on 08/05/2017. I am scheduled to take GRE June 26. I am also a parent and work 12/shifts on weekends. I wanted advice on whether or not shall i apply this cycle before September 2017? I want to know from prior students who applied and got accepted if i will be realistically meeting the timeline and have a good chance in getting accepted or at least an interview or would i rather take my time fulfilling these and other pre-requisites this year and waiting to apply next year in 2018? This way i can also save some money.

 

Any input will be highly appreciated.

[panglossian]

Applying early is always better with rolling admissions. How much HCE do you have? Are the programs you are interested in okay with applicants having some outstanding prerequisites?

 

If you take the GRE June 26th you will get your score back 10-15 days later in mid July. You could apply in July, given that you apply to programs that allow outstanding prerequisites and you have enough HCE to be competitive. However that premise would rely on you getting a good GRE score. If I was in your position I would wait and have everything ready for next cycle so I could apply early and with confidence.

[letmein]

Applying early is always better with rolling admissions. How much HCE do you have? Are the programs you are interested in okay with applicants having some outstanding prerequisites?

 

If you take the GRE June 26th you will get your score back 10-15 days later in mid July. You could apply in July, given that you apply to programs that allow outstanding prerequisites and you have enough HCE to be competitive. However that premise would rely on you getting a good GRE score. If I was in your position I would wait and have everything ready for next cycle so I could apply early and with confidence.

I am a RN with bedside nursing experience over 2 years so i am not at all worried about HCE. MUSC is where i am applying to since for USC-SC I need to retake all my pre-requisite which is unrealistic at the moment. MUSC do not have rolling admissions, but need all coursework to be finished before September 1. I lack in General Chemistry II, BIOCHEM and General Biology. Not to mention writing my personal statement, finishing up CASPA and trying to get in by September 1st. I am really scared since its been like 8 years since i took this much course load. Since i am taking Anatomy & Physiology II and General chemistry II this summer (10 week). I do not wish to try and take it all and end up messing everything up. Although on other hand i do not wish to waste another year waiting to apply next cycle and regretting my decision. 

 

Other option I looked into was trying to apply to other colleges where they have late application deadline like Nova Southeastern university December 1. But they use rolling admissions. But i can have pending course work till December 1 (meaning i can take Biochem + Gen BIO in fall) Haven't researched this option much other than gather information about it. What are your thoughts on it? P.S I have a son and work weekends 12 hour shift. Spouse is not very much happy about applying to out of state university. 

 

If you know any other program that might suit my needs i would appreciate that. But in the mean time i am trying to accept the fact that its going to take Miracle to get in MUSC this cycle. 

[MusicalPA]

My husband applied on the Oct 1st application deadline to about 7-8 schools. He was taking 1 or 2 prereqs at that time and still needed 1 more in the spring time. He got interviews in Nov-Feb to five  of the schools, one rejection right off the bat because they had already filled their class, and one school didn't even contact at all, no rejection letter or anything..weird. Of those 5 interviews he was waitlisted for 4 of them and 1 acceptance(top choice). Later, after the acceptance, one of the schools wanted to take him off waitlist and give him a spot 3 weeks before classes started. Most of these schools are rolling admissions, so it is possible to apply "late" and get a spot. 

 

With the whole spouse thing, don't apply to schools out of state if they aren't fully on board. Family always comes first, and you need to decide together what is best for your family.

 

For us, we were willing to go practically anywhere, so our school selection was higher. Wait another year to apply if need be. Don't kill yourself trying to juggle finishing prereqs, family, and work.

[letmein]

My husband applied on the Oct 1st application deadline to about 7-8 schools. He was taking 1 or 2 prereqs at that time and still needed 1 more in the spring time. He got interviews in Nov-Feb to five of the schools, one rejection right off the bat because they had already filled their class, and one school didn't even contact at all, no rejection letter or anything..weird. Of those 5 interviews he was waitlisted for 4 of them and 1 acceptance(top choice). Later, after the acceptance, one of the schools wanted to take him off waitlist and give him a spot 3 weeks before classes started. Most of these schools are rolling admissions, so it is possible to apply "late" and get a spot.

 

With the whole spouse thing, don't apply to schools out of state if they aren't fully on board. Family always comes first, and you need to decide together what is best for your family.

 

For us, we were willing to go practically anywhere, so our school selection was higher. Wait another year to apply if need be. Don't kill yourself trying to juggle finishing prereqs, family, and work.

 

Thanks for the reply and a through breakdown. It is good to know that even after applying late it's possible to get a spot.

I am curious to what are your husbands stats during application?

For the spouse being on board is my difficult part. Which is why and what limits me to applying to only two schools ????????

But I am also looking into those states like Fl, and Texas where even if spouse has to move will be ok with.

Thanks for the support. It is very hard to juggle family responsibilities and taking care of a toddler son along with being a full time student. That is why I am trying to keep up my science gap write know by taking only course load that I can handle.

[MusicalPA]

I don't remember off the top of my head. His sgpa calculated from caspa was pretty high 3.8ish. He had around 1,500 healthcare hours and hundreds of hours of unpaid experience through student clinicals for athletic training. His GRE was like 310.

 

We were last minute appliers. In June he figured he was going to apply to med school the next year, but then changed his mind and we would "just see" what would happen if we applied to PA schools that year. We had a slightly limited pool, because we were applying later, and only applied to schools with the prereqs he had or was going to have pretty quick. Took the GRE pretty quick, didn't really study much for it. Then had to get all the LORs and did his personal statement the night of the application deadline.(Not recommended). I believe God was on our side for sure. Reading about people not getting in after a few cycles, and spending a lot of time on their personal statements. It just amazed us that he got in with us rush applying. PA school was the right decision over med school for family reasons. He is doing great in PA school even though it is hard and stressful.

 

Good luck with  the whole process!

[PA-C-to-be]

You're really juggling a lot and I commend you on your dedication! If the schools you're applying to don't do rolling admissions and you can get all of this done and are satisfied with what you'll be sending your schools within that time frame, I don't see why you shouldn't apply especially if you don't want to wait another year. It won't be easy only applying to 2 schools, but I totally understand how having a family and some roots planted already can play a big part in that decision. If you decide that it will work for your family to expand your options to other states, I know we have several programs developing here in NC and there are at least 2 schools here that I know for sure do a January start (I believe that's Elon and Lenoir-Rhyne, there may be more too) so if you decide to delay your application until the next cycle, going to a January start school may help you at least start PA school a little sooner than waiting until the following summer. Good luck!