rlp14 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 So I'll try to make this brief- I applied this past application cycle and did not get into any schools. So now it is time to prepare for the next time I apply because I still know PA is what I want to do. I am 21 and I will be graduating with a BS in Exercise Physiology in May. My general stats right now are a 3.9 Science Gpa, 3.87 Overall Gpa, 250 hours of direct patient care in cardiac rehab at a hospital/neurology rehab program at my university, 30 hours of shadowing in the er (not that it matters). Right now I need to make a decision and I would really appreciate some input, especially from the experienced people on here. Should I strategically apply this upcoming cycle to schools that are a good fit for me and that I meet the requirements for? Do you think I could get in? Or should I work for the next year and apply in one year. Its looking like I may be getting a promising job offer in pulmonary rehab as an EP at a practice I will be interviewing at for a second time next week. What do you think? thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpcDlo Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 If you are absolutely certain that this is what you want to do, then keep working hard and good things will happen my friend. If it makes you feel better, it took me 3 years of applying and I FINALLY got into not 1 but 3 schools! Your grades are great, I got in with a 3.2 overall (graduated with honors however) and 3.4 science. I did have significant amount of direct patient contact hours as a 911 medic and shadowed several different PA's in multiple settings. Also, it's important to show that you are committed to serving others via community service volunteer hours. You should find something you enjoy, for instance, I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity (we built homes for low income families and did costly repairs to homes etc). Apply every year....who knows you might get in on your second try! If you are a hard worker and persistent, you will get in....just a matter of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlp14 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks for the advice, how important do you think volunteering is? I didn't have any the last time I applied so that was definitely a week point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 It looks like your lack of significant HCE hours held you back, possibly along with your age. I say take that job offer and work for a year, then re-apply. You're GPA is fantastic, I'm jealous of your GPA and your youth :) Hopefully you are able to apply to several schools and are in a position to relocate to wherever you get accepted? Hopefully you have not forgotten some required class like maybe statistics? Double check everything, then take that other job for a year. I'm sure you will get in next year or the year after that. So jealous of you right now! :) Great job on that GPA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlp14 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Yes, I think my case goes to show that HCE is the most important thing when applying to schools, gpa is more of a supporting factor. I wouldn't be jealous of my gpa because obviously it wasn't worth much to schools, so you can easily be just as good of a candidate if you have good HCE. I only got one interview outta all the schools I applied to lol. Thanks for the input, I guess it would be smartest to take the time to get experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I think some schools look more at GPA and some more at HCE. Many require a minimum of 1,000 hours of HCE. Once you make those hours, I believe your high GPA will get you an interview. Your high GPA is not worthless; your application may have been tossed simply because you didn't meet HCE expectations (the school may expect you to have higher than the bare minimum HCE hours, same with GPA). Hopefully some more people will chime in on this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 In addition to HCE and volunteering, make sure to write a great PS. Have other people read it over, especially if you can get a medical professional to read it. I notice you said "week" when you meant "weak" in a previous post, so be careful of errors like that in the PS...I'm sure you're more careful when writing the PS vs posting on a forum :) Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted February 25, 2012 Moderator Share Posted February 25, 2012 I think it may be a combination of things. HCE being the biggest. I had a good GPA but a low GRE, and some specifically mentioned they over looked that since I had been a RN for 4 years. Without seeing your PS and LORs, I would assume the next factors are volunteering and applying to narrowly. Do make sure you have a good PS. Say something that makes you stand out. LORs are equally important, IMO. I'm sure my LORs, while not specifically mentioned, we're a huge factor. Get people who are going to write you a really good one. My international medical missions seemed to get several positive nods from interviewers, especially when I told them I was going back again. I think it's important, whatever you volunteer for, that you do it multiple times. The number of times depending on the hardship it imposes on you to do it. Leaving the country, a few times. Pouring soup down the street, continuously. Not that one is less important than the other, but it's easier to do two weeks at the soup kitchen than two weeks out of the country. Apply to schools you meet the requirements for. Websites haven't not been a great indicator for what school would be a great fit for me at least. I was surprised more than once on how much I liked a school after seeing it in person and meeting faculty. So apply more broadly. Also, one interviewer asked me how many I applied to and when I told him the high number (13) he said "Some would think that you aren't researching schools, but in my opinion it shows you know how competitive this process is and it shows your dedication to becoming a PA. People don't spend that much money and time if they are doing something half hearted." Just food for thought because that may not be the prevailing mindset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natacha Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Did you apply early? What was your GRE score? Who were you LOR from? How many programs? I think these things also factor in as well as your PS... If I were you, I would not wait another year. You don't have much time to improve drastically, but you can do it if you really want to. And with your GPA, I don't think you NEED to improve drastically. 1) I would definitely look into community service hours. Find a local food shelter/bank, Ronald McDonald house, retirement home, anything you can start volunteering with right away that won't be too strict with your hours (Habitat for Humanity has more schedules and regulations in place, I think). 2) If your GRE score wasn't too high or you didn't take it, schedule an exam. (Double check schools for requirements, but some don't care whether you report your GRE on CASPA. Meaning that you can send off your CASPA and then send your GRE scores after. This way you don't delay sending your app out.) 3) Get that job or another for HCE and list it on your CASPA as current. Schools will usually take into account that you will accumulate more hours before matriculation. State this out in your description to make it clear. "I expect to accumulate X hours prior to enrollment." 4) Continue shadowing. The more PAs the better. You can also try to volunteer at the local hospital as a way of increasing volunteer hours (but you will still need community hours) this might help you get to know more PAs that would be willing to let you shadow. 5) Make sure your new personal statement AND LOR reflect your "time off". If you can, have a PA read it. Make sure it's well rounded. Post it on here if you'd like. I'm sure plenty of people would read it and the more eyes, the better. My PS said "Physician'S Assistant" in it! I still got into schools, but still... 6) Visit the schools you really want to go to. Try to establish rapport with the personnel there. If you can find alumni from the program that would let you shadow and write a LOR, I think that goes a long way. Keep in contact with the schools to update them on any new information that might not be on CASPA (More volunteer/community service experiences, maybe some new certifications, etc.) 7) Take classes that you may need to satisfy the pre-reqs at other programs. This is another thing that won't delay you sending out your CASPA but will extend your reach to other schools. 8) Start your CASPA when it opens and send it out ASAP! Update the schools later if needed, but don't delay sending it out unnecessarily... I think the hardest part here would be balancing that with LORs. I would ask two writers that you used this time (but make sure they write a new one/change the old one up a little) and then wait on the third for either a new employer, a new PA, or a new community service contact. This way you can send out your app with the first two and then add the third later, if you can't have them write it so soon. I think you have a very good chance of getting in your second time. But if you would feel more comfortable taking a year off, by all means do it. You are still very young. But I personally, wouldn't want to. So if you decide to try again soon, these are my tips for you. :) Good luck either way!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlp14 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 ^^Wow, thanks for taking the time to write that, it was really helpful. I may take your advice and apply this time around. I did apply kinda late in the cycle last year, but it was because I was still finishing some prereqs so that put me at a disadvantage. My gre scores were verbal 620 quant 550 and 4.5 analytical, which is about average. My lor's were from a science professor, a pa, and an MD, but I did not get a copy to read so I am unsure of the actual quality. At the time I wrote my personal statement it seemed like a good one and I was happy with it, but thinking back as the months passed i realized it could've been a lot better, so there is definitely room for improvement there. BUT, do you think if I start volunteering now it will look bad to adcoms because it is so late? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted February 25, 2012 Moderator Share Posted February 25, 2012 ^^Wow, thanks for taking the time to write that, it was really helpful. I may take your advice and apply this time around. I did apply kinda late in the cycle last year, but it was because I was still finishing some prereqs so that put me at a disadvantage. My gre scores were verbal 620 quant 550 and 4.5 analytical, which is about average. My lor's were from a science professor, a pa, and an MD, but I did not get a copy to read so I am unsure of the actual quality. At the time I wrote my personal statement it seemed like a good one and I was happy with it, but thinking back as the months passed i realized it could've been a lot better, so there is definitely room for improvement there. BUT, do you think if I start volunteering now it will look bad to adcoms because it is so late? Never too late and it will put you ahead for next year if you don't get in. I also would just use the PA letter or MD letter next time and get a job with HCE and have a coworker/supervisor who has worked with you a while to write the third. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 With that GPA you can always do MD and/or DA as backup. Anyway I'd say you need to really go over your LOR choices and personal statement. Get more HCE hours. Apply more broadly and to schools that focus on GPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natacha Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 ^^Wow, thanks for taking the time to write that, it was really helpful. I may take your advice and apply this time around. I did apply kinda late in the cycle last year, but it was because I was still finishing some prereqs so that put me at a disadvantage. My gre scores were verbal 620 quant 550 and 4.5 analytical, which is about average. My lor's were from a science professor, a pa, and an MD, but I did not get a copy to read so I am unsure of the actual quality. At the time I wrote my personal statement it seemed like a good one and I was happy with it, but thinking back as the months passed i realized it could've been a lot better, so there is definitely room for improvement there. BUT, do you think if I start volunteering now it will look bad to adcoms because it is so late? You're welcome! I really think you can do it and be successful next time. Just think of all you know now that you didn't know then. That's all info that you will use to your advantage. I don't think volunteering now will look bad. They know that we are doing these things to get into PA school. Plus you could always say that because you graduated and are not going to school full time now, you have more time for volunteering. And as someone mentioned before, sticking to one community service project is better than jumping around and only doing a few hours at different places. So find someplace you'd like where you can spend a lot of time there and rack up those hours! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Keep working towards HCE and reapply in this upcoming cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisemakl Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I would be interested to know which programs you applied to. Maybe the ones that you applied to strongly encouranges/ required HCE. I have stats similar/slightly lower than yours: 3.8 overall; 3.68 science 500Q; 530v; 4 writing 200 hours patient care as a research intern (barely; and i only had 50 accumulated when I submitted my app) 500+ hours of community service tons of leadership and involvement Bio major; exercise science and psych minor -21 and graduated in 3.5yrs Dec 2011 That being said, here were my results. I chose schools that really stressed community service and who didn't require or even preference HCE. University of Mount Union (OH): Accepted Marietta College (OH): Accepted and Declined University of Toledo (OH) Interviewed 1/11: they send results next week University of Southern California: Alternate List University of Colorado (CO): Interviewed and Denied Cleveland State University/Cuyahoga Community College (OH): Declined Interview Yale: Denied University of Utah: Denied I feel that one of the reasons I was not waitlisted or accepted at Colorado was because of my lack of HCE. But that being said, I was still accepted to more than one program. HCE isn't a deal-breaker, but you do have to choose the schools carefully. I would agree that you should start with some community service. Any type of service, even non-medically oriented is great. After all, as a PA your job is serving others. I think you should review your PS and LORs. Maybe the people who you asked didn't have concrete specific things to say about you. I gave all of my references a "Cheat Sheet" that included my basic stats, background information, interests, college involvement, and my rough draft of personal statement. I also encouraged each one to talk about a different part of me. I asked my Bio professor to talk about how I worked as a student, and about my campus involvement. I was a Lab-assistant (TA) for A&P. I had that professor talked about how I interacted with other students, my leadership abilities, and my community service. Then I had the PA talk about how I interacted with him and his patients, along with what we discussed about the career and my aspirations. This way I knew each part of me was mentioned. Of course, I asked politely, and I don't know what they actually said. If you check on those things, and try to add HCE. You will be an OUTSTANDING applicant. Then get to practicing for the interviews! Best of luck! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisemakl Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Ps. I wasn't trying to brag. I simply wanted to show that even though you are 21 and really dont have HCE, there is hope!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted February 26, 2012 Administrator Share Posted February 26, 2012 Remember: GPA averages, but HCE accumulates. If you're going to take more classes, get 4.0's. If you're going to get more HCE hours... good! In addition to the great advice above, practice timed writing samples and interview questions with friends who are willing to tell you when you suck. :-) You don't mention how many interviews you got, but if you didn't get in, you can still benefit from practice in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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