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Applicants for January 2019 Start


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5 hours ago, AspiringPA12 said:

Hey everyone,

For the people who have interviews, did you do the background check? 

I ordered it but I have not gone to get the drug test or the finger printing test yet. I'm on vacation the week after and couldn't take any more time off work to get it done beforehand. I was told that it didn't have to be done until they were going to give you a decision, whatever that means.

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4 hours ago, prepaguy1 said:

I saw on last year's thread that the interviews include a written portion. Does anyone know if it's the same for this year? And if so, has anyone received the article email yet? 

I think there are written portions. I haven't received the article email yet and my interview is on Wednesday

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Hey guys, I'm a recent student here and just wanted to say good luck to everyone who has interviews scheduled! Feel free to ask me any questions you have or PM me. Here are a few tips about interviews, although the faculty does change it up a little every year....

- The article that everyone freaks out about has zero bearing on your interview score, acceptance, etc. It's just a research project for PAEA. If you don't get it, don't worry. I'm not sure if they are even still doing it anymore.

- Background check before acceptance just started last year. You can interview without it, but they won't give you an acceptance if its not completed. I know its pricey, but you will have access to the results, so maybe you can use it for other schools instead of paying for 2.

- CASPER...this is totally new so idk much about it. I believe its a personality type test that tests how you handle stress, because well PA school is stressful ?

- Interview format- just be yourself! Once you are to the interview, the faculty are just trying to get to know you. You will also get to meet some first year students too so you can ask them about the program.

Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

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Thank you Morebenzospls! I'm excited to come interview and meet with some first year students! I have so many questions, but I'm really trying to find out more about the university/program itself, aside from mission statement and what is featured on their website. Could you tell me what you like about the school or program? Thanks so much! 

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Got an interview invite today - will be there August 15th! Super excited/nervous. First interview ?

submitted CASPA 5/23

South University confirmation 5/24

Request to take CASPer 6/12

Interview offer 7/13

i took casper on 6/28 but when they confirmed the interview they said they still haven’t received the results yet 

 

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16 hours ago, aspiringpastudent615 said:

I have heard that the program set ups some clinical rotations for students, and then the students are responsible for finding preceptors and rotation sites on their own. Can anyone clarify this? I would think that finding your own receptor is would be against their accreditation? 

Hello! First-year student here! For clinical rotations, we have a clinical coordinator that will help you organize rotations for the whole clinical year. We have hundreds over locations across Florida and several other states at different hospitals and private practices that are already set up for students at South University in Tampa. Fortunately, if you have a practitioner that you want to do a rotation with, you can set this up through the program if they meet certain credentials! You do not HAVE to set up any rotations on your own, which is really great, but you have the opportunity to do so if you want. I personally want to do my rotations in Tampa since I pay for an apartment here; the coordinator will organize this for me and we are already talking about locations and preceptors now, which is very early in the process compared to other PA programs. If you have other questions, let me know! 

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17 hours ago, aspiringpastudent615 said:

I have heard that the program set ups some clinical rotations for students, and then the students are responsible for finding preceptors and rotation sites on their own. Can anyone clarify this? I would think that finding your own receptor is would be against their accreditation? 

So this is a tricky subject as there are many new, bigger programs starting up in Tampa right now. The school has struggled at times with getting preceptors, but has made some internal policy changes to help alleviate that. As of now, you are certainly welcome to set up your own rotations, but by no means required. If you setup nothing yourself, you will be assigned for each slot.

Every year there are a few students who setup their own through personal connections. It is a lot of work to setup your own and takes a fair amount of time, sometimes up to 6 months or longer. There are some restrictions on going out of state too. Most people setup their own elective rotation and use it as a job interview.  A good example: If you really want to do ER in a trauma center, then you would need to find your own preceptor in a trauma ER. The school is really good about making sure the sites they do have are quality- i.e. you aren't just shadowing. 

Rotations are the most amazing, awesomest part of PA school, BUT to get there, you have to get through the living hell that is didactic year first, so remember to ask about BOTH years during your interview ?

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Hey everyone!!! I am also a first year here at South Tampa. I wanted to jump on and say congratulations to you all for making it this far. The journey to even being prepared enough to apply for PA school is a long one. During the next few anxious months try to take a moment and look back at how far you all have come. Appreciate the position you are in and go into each interview with a small piece of gratitude. That is the only thing that has kept me grounded in this entire process and even during the past 6 months of didactic. When you’re feeling stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, or even frustrated just stop and be thankful for the position you are in and for the opportunities that are ahead.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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18 hours ago, Voguegg said:

 

I was at one of the first sessions and I have to say it was the worst interview I’ve ever been on. They were late to start and disorganized. My interviewer kept interrupting me and asking me to answer questions that I had just answered. The woman leading the tour berated this guy for taking notes and asked him if he wrote everything down in EVERY ROOM that we saw. She also made us do an ice breaker activity at the end of the interview session after we had spent all morning talking to each other then she was on her phone and not even paying attention to what we said. ?

There was one really nice student that asked us how the interview went as we were leaving. She did seem to genuinely be happy. 

It’s true what they say, while we were being interviewed, I interviewed them. I also interviewed at the Richmond campus and LOVED IT. Everyone there was super nice and welcoming so I was really disappointed with Tampa.

Tampa’s kinda boring. Definitely wouldn’t want to live there.

Feel free to pm me or ask me more questions about it. 

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I was at the first interview session, and I really enjoyed my interview. I thought the faculty and students were super nice and welcoming. I can't speak for anyone else, but I think it's important that everyone get their own feel for if they could see themselves there. Everyone is going to feel different about different programs, that's the fun part about applying to grad school. 

I'm from a big city and I think Tampa is a really cool place with a lot to offer, plus it has some of the best beaches in the country! Also, the majority of your time will be spent studying regardless of where you are, so I honestly wouldn't get too hung up on location (unless you have unique circumstances, of course). 

The main thing is to feel grateful for the opportunity of even interviewing. A lot of people apply and only a few get interviews. 

Good luck to all those applying, interviewing, and waiting to hear back. 

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1 hour ago, HeyheyPA said:

I was at the first interview session, and I really enjoyed my interview. I thought the faculty and students were super nice and welcoming. I can't speak for anyone else, but I think it's important that everyone get their own feel for if they could see themselves there. Everyone is going to feel different about different programs, that's the fun part about applying to grad school. 

I'm from a big city and I think Tampa is a really cool place with a lot to offer, plus it has some of the best beaches in the country! Also, the majority of your time will be spent studying regardless of where you are, so I honestly wouldn't get too hung up on location (unless you have unique circumstances, of course). 

The main thing is to feel grateful for the opportunity of even interviewing. A lot of people apply and only a few get interviews. 

Good luck to all those applying, interviewing, and waiting to hear back. 

This is totally true. Not every place is good for everyone. The other candidates I met were super awesome and I honestly would have loved to have a class with them. It did seem like the current students I met were happy there. 

Good luck to everyone.

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Hello everyone! I had a quick question for the out-of-state applicants who are currently doing the background check/fingerprinting. Mistakingly, I forgot to save the "Registration Completed page" after paying for the fingerprinting at IdentoGo. Because of this, I have no idea where to mail my completed fingerprints. I have called IdentoGo and they keep telling me it's on the Registration completed page but I can't access that page again unless I pay the fee (which I don't want to do). If anyone could help me with that I would be very appreciative! Thank you!

  

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