Would it be smart to include this answer for a interview question?

[Caligal]

Hello everyone!

I have an interview coming up in a few weeks and I'm really excited but nervous at the same time! The dreaded question I know will most likely be asked is "Why do you want to be a PA?" I think I have a pretty good answer to this question, but I wanted to ask, would it be smart to include something in the lines of "I like that I wouldn't have to be in school for such a considerable amount of time.." The reason I ask is because I learned about the PA profession kind of late during my time in college (senior year to be exact). So would it be smart to explain that? Or should I just all together leave that part out?

Thanks

[DarcyJ]

Leave it out. It tells the adcom nothing about who you are and why you deserve a spot there other than that you don't feel like going to school very long. (Assuming you're a traditional undergrad student, this sounds even more unattractive because you aren't making a career change after ten or twenty years and a spouse and a few kids, etc.)

My first-choice school selects about half of the interviewees to matriculate. So, with a one-in-two chance of acceptance, do you think telling them that the short program length is why you want to be a PA would win you that spot?

Not trying to sound harsh, just putting it in simple terms.

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[PA2020Candidate]

I feel that anyone getting to the interview stage should easily be able to answer "Why do you want to be a PA?"

 

[UGoLong]

While the length of the program is shorter — and may be a consideration — hopefully it isn’t your primary motivation.


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[SilentPA]

Leave it out! There are a few things you shouldn't say during a PA interview and I feel like this would be among the top 3.

[moleashish]

It depends on who you are. Unless you have a compelling argument, like others have suggested, leave it out.

I responded with one of the factor being that the programs are shorter compared to med school but then I am on the scale of older candidate, not as old as UGoLong when he started school but still over 30. Of course that wasn't the only factor. This will depend on the delivery as well. 

I disagree on the length of the program being short as a factor being the top 3 things not to bring up during an interview.

Because every individual is different. I had a good reason and I felt I had a good delivery method to include the length of the program as one of the factors that I chose PA school over med school.  It worked out for me. 

[boli]

I agree with moleashish. I'm an non-traditional applicant and the fact that school was considerably shorter and doesn't require a residency/fellowship was a big reason I picked PA over other professions. I included it as part of my "Why pick PA" answer and I got in this cycle. 

The question "why PA" is really two questions... 1) Why did you pick medicine? and 2) why out of all the medical careers did you pick PA?

The shorter schooling (and less debt) etc falls IMO under the second question. 

[Guest HanSolo]

However you choose to answer this, just remember to be honest. There’s no “right” answer to this question or any interview question really. Having participated in group interviews, you can identify the canned and rehearsed answers.