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Any chance of getting into a PA school


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Hi all,

This is my first post in this forum. I am 29 years old, female, currently working as a research coordinator at a renown hospital. I graduated with cell biology and have a cgpa of 3.59 and sgpa of 3.65. I have not taken the GRE yet.

Two years ago I failed out of a caribbean medical school. 

Will a PA school even consider my application?

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I wouldn't think so. Obviously they are going to ask the question at an interview, even if you address it in some manner in you personal statement. The question will more than likely be is PA school a backup plan for you med school attempt? So you may consider explaining what you learned and why you are now choosing PA school over the MD route.

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The answer is dependent on the program and can usually be found on the program's website. If not available, just call and ask. Taken from two different programs I applied to:

"No history of dismissal from a PA, medical, or nursing school for academic or disciplinary reasons."

"We do accept applications from individuals who started medical school but for a variety of reasons did not complete their training."

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55 minutes ago, PACrankset said:

I wouldn't think so. Obviously they are going to ask the question at an interview, even if you address it in some manner in you personal statement. The question will more than likely be is PA school a backup plan for you med school attempt? So you may consider explaining what you learned and why you are now choosing PA school over the MD route.

 

30 minutes ago, Aware said:

The answer is dependent on the program and can usually be found on the program's website. If not available, just call and ask. Taken from two different programs I applied to:

"No history of dismissal from a PA, medical, or nursing school for academic or disciplinary reasons."

"We do accept applications from individuals who started medical school but for a variety of reasons did not complete their training."

55 minutes ago, Jdabrowski said:

If they interview you, they will question the hell out of that and will want to see why you do, and how you would do better and if you have done anything to PROVE you will succeed. PA school is like compressed medical school but not as in depth with some of the basics in MS-1.

 

There were few mixed responses I read online before I decided to post this question so thank you all for the advice!

I will look further into individual programs! 

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You have decent stats and would have made a good candidate. But In my opinion, failing out of med school is a huge red flag. I understand its a Caribbean school but just like programs here, they give chances to redeem yourself when not passing a test or two. I do not want to discourage you because There might be a program that would take a chance with you but you gotta understand that a schools reputation is on the line when they accept students. This is why we all go through such a rigorous screening process to make sure their students pass the program and the boards. 

Like I said, there might be a school that will take the chance but you have to have some sort of factor that really sets you apart from the rest of the herd and it makes them want you. Good luck in your endeavors. 

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31 minutes ago, lccalbert said:

You have decent stats and would have made a good candidate. But In my opinion, failing out of med school is a huge red flag. I understand its a Caribbean school but just like programs here, they give chances to redeem yourself when not passing a test or two. I do not want to discourage you because There might be a program that would take a chance with you but you gotta understand that a schools reputation is on the line when they accept students. This is why we all go through such a rigorous screening process to make sure their students pass the program and the boards. 

Like I said, there might be a school that will take the chance but you have to have some sort of factor that really sets you apart from the rest of the herd and it makes them want you. Good luck in your endeavors. 

Hey thanks for your reply!

Being dismissed from a medical school is a big red flag which is the main reason for me being in this thread! I have exploited all my options including RN,NP, DPT, RN,APRN or simply changing my careee completely. I have tried sales position, tried teaching, even took a course in IT but nothing seems to be working out for me.While looking through masters options I came across PA program, it's something that is very much closely relates to a physicians profession without the abundant years of schooling. So, for a non-traditional student with family like myself this is definitely a much better option but with my academic history not sure how lucrative it will be to apply.

Thus, I decided to post here since there is a diverse cohort of students here who will be able to give both positive and negative reviews on this topic! 

 

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You should just take the GRE and apply broadly. I don’t think it will be that costly for you, plus you said you’ve been working for a bit.

some schools automatic reject any former medical students, some won’t mind, but may be cautious. There are other med students and even foreign doctors who’ve been in your shoes and gotten in.

Probably best to be as transparent as possible, since they will know about your med school record whether you tell them or not. 

:)

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9 minutes ago, LeQuack said:

You should just take the GRE and apply broadly. I don’t think it will be that costly for you, plus you said you’ve been working for a bit.

some schools automatic reject any former medical students, some won’t mind, but may be cautious. There are other med students and even foreign doctors who’ve been in your shoes and gotten in.

Probably best to be as transparent as possible, since they will know about your med school record whether you tell them or not. 

:)

Thank you, yes I definitely don't plan on keeping academic dismissal hidden because like you pointed out every school will know about it one way or the other! Plus, correct me if I am wrong,but I read that CASPA does have a question that asks for any academic dismissal in the past?

For now, I have to focus on doing exceptionally well on GRE then it should be one of the main cursor that will show some improvements academically. 

 

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