Nontraditional student application

[amk204]

Hello. My senior year in college I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated, so I went to law school. I am now thirty-one years old and have been a divorce attorney for the past six plus years.  I hate every second of it.  I have always regretted not going to medical school instead, but at this point I already have too much debt to take on a residency.  

So I have been contemplating applying for PA school. I think I could take Anatomy/Physiology I&II, Biology, Chemistry I&II, and Microbiology this spring and summer at the local community college.  Unfortunately, I would not be able to take Organic Chemistry until the fall. My only "direct patient contact" has been working as a pharmacy technician for a year while I was in college (2004-2005). That was about 750+ hours, but it was a long time ago.  So I am not sure if that would count. While I am enrolled in the prerequisite classes, I think I am going to accept a job working only part-time as a legal aid attorney.  So maybe that will reflect well. Additionally, a family friend is a PA and runs a practice dedicated to underprivileged members of the LGBTQ community, so I am going to ask him if I can volunteer there and shadow him.

Do you think it is worth it for me to quit my current job with the hopes of being accepted into a PA program? I do not know what the admissions board will think of my nontraditional background.  Additionally, my college GPA was like a 3.01 (too much partying). The LSAC (which is CASPA but for law school) calculated it for law school admissions as a 2.98. However, I graduated with honors from law school with a 3.46 and expect to get all A's in the prerequisites. I have never taken the GRE's, but got a 1460 on the SAT's (out of 1600), 172 on LSAT (top 1.5%), and top 5% of PA exam bar takers. But I am worried because it has been over five years since I have had to study or take a test!  DeSales is my first choice and Penn State is my second.  Thank you!

[UGoLong]

I think you should prepare for a longer game. Start taking some prequisites, shadow some PAs, and see what the possibilities are for jobs with patient contact. You may be able to do that without quitting your job (I was) but every siuation is different.

I once went to a midlife career changing seminar. There was no occupation represented there that was a majority, but there were more lawyers than any other profession.


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[ciethekid]

You have a solid plan going, just needs some adjustments to make you a more qualified candidate.

 

If you plan on apply to both schools (which you definitely should), be sure that you take all the required pre-reqs for both schools.

From looking at their requirements, it seems like you have enough "patient-care hours" (min. 500 hr for both schools), however, if you are going to quit your full-time job for a part time one, I would look into something geared toward the medical field. You could get your CNA, which would bulk up your PCE.

You'll still have to the GRE. But I am sure there are great study guides out there you can utilize that will set you on the right track.

 

GOOD LUCK!