CRC13 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 This may be a long post, please bare with me! I've done a ton of reading on here from others in a similar spot to myself. My ultimate goal is to work as a PA in an ED. Looking for suggestions from anybody who has been through multiple rounds of applications on ways to improve my application or suggestions otherwise. Backstory-- I applied to 5 PA programs last October (late, I know) and have received rejections from 4/5. I'm waiting to hear back from the last school still but at this point am anticipating the need to begin a second round of applications later this year. They did say that I was incredibly strong for their accelerated BSN program which would enable me to go for NP afterwards but as many other PA candidates on here have explained previously, there are some strong reasons for my choosing PA over NP to begin with. Graduated 5/2015 with BS in Biology. - Overall GPA 3.21 - Science GPA 3.29 - PCE 1200 hours. Cabin nurse for 2 summers caring for children with Type 1 Diabetes (BG checks, insulin administration, carb counts, infirmary shifts) - Shadowing: 50 hours with emergency PA Undergrad grades to keep mind of- General Chem 1: C General Chem 2: C Statistics: C+ Organic Chem 1: C+ Calculus: C Pathophysiology: C+ One school I received a rejection from recommended 3 areas of focus moving forward. 1- GPA. Recommended retaking Gen Chem 1 and Statistics. They only need one semester each of general chemistry and organic chemistry and will take the better grade of the two. 2- Patient Care Experience- Recommended getting more clinical experience. I'm currently looking into either ER Tech or EMT jobs. 3- Shadowing- Recommended gaining varied shadowing experience (i.e. looking for shadowing opportunities in one or two other specialties) At this point, I'm tentatively planning to find a new job to gain additional patient care hours. My current job is not within healthcare-- the reason for this being that my job now is very financially rewarding and has allowed me to pay down my undergrad student loans quite a bit. I am also planning to retake Gen Chem 2 and Statistics early this summer as well as find additional shadowing opportunities as mentioned. I am also contemplating taking biochemistry. I did not take biochem in undergrad and having this as a pre-req would open up quite a few other programs I could apply to. Would anybody have any other recommendations? I'd like to start gaining add'l HCE hours ASAP so that I can apply earlier in the cycle this year. Feeling a bit lost at the moment and not exactly sure where to put forth my time & effort to better my chances in this next round of applications. If the BSN --> NP route SHOULD be given consideration based on my grades, hours, etc., please let me know. Any suggestions or constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpackelly Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Accelerated BSN, then reapply to PA school, work as RN while waiting ...more HCE, work per diem and weekends while in PA school, graduate with much less debt, and more options. I’ve known several PAs who have done this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted February 25, 2018 Administrator Share Posted February 25, 2018 You need more A's than B's, and absolutely no C's, in prerequisites. You can get away with a C in calculus, but that's waaaaaay too many C's. Your GPA is also low, but fixing the prerequisite courses should help that some. PCE is good, but GPA averages, HCE/PCE accumulates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRC13 Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 35 minutes ago, rpackelly said: Accelerated BSN, then reapply to PA school, work as RN while waiting ...more HCE, work per diem and weekends while in PA school, graduate with much less debt, and more options. I’ve known several PAs who have done this. Thanks for the input. Is it likely that the C's I had from undergrad pre-reqs would still be an issue if I applied to PA school again post-BSN program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PANCSDown Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 17 hours ago, Colby13 said: 1- GPA. Recommended retaking Gen Chem 1 and Statistics. They only need one semester each of general chemistry and organic chemistry and will take the better grade of the two. May I ask, which school told you this? Because i've heard caspa averages the grade of the two classes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KPayne Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Not sure if any school can decide on their own. But yes, you're right @PANCSDown CASPA does average the two grades! I know that from experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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