How to Overcome Feelings of Defeat While Waiting to Hear from Schools

[MFTN28]

Any advice on how to overcome these negative thoughts and feelings of not getting accepted into PA school?

I've submitted my applications May 11th, and now I am playing the waiting game...what is everyone doing to keep themselves sane?

 

[PAgrit]

Second this !

[hustleforthePAC]

Keep practicing for interviews they will come keep accumulating a bunch of healthcare hours because you will need to draw on your patient experiences if you don’t keep yourself sane and busy and become better the next day or else you end up like me and having to apply for a third time

  that should be motivation to keep practicing and being better not having to apply because trying again cost lotta money $$$

[futurePA94]

I mean this with all the love, but get used to waiting lol. Thankfully I am doing my last waiting game...my program starts in just over two months! Here's my own experience and advice.

Don't check your email every ten seconds. Work hard at your job. Earn that money for when you can't work during school. Prepare for interviews and know your motivations for school. After interviews, have fun and stay focused beyond the wait. Schools work on their own timelines. I had one school interview me in August and wait until freaking MARCH to let me know I was waitlisted. It's frustrating but agonizing over the wait didn't make my answers come faster.

I technically applied 3 times before finally getting in. (I don't really count the first round because I applied to exactly 2 schools and barely met minimum requirements. It was a waste of money.) The second round, I got interviews at three schools and ended up being waitlisted at all of them. No spot opened up for me and it was crushing. However, those rejections ended up being my motivators. It fueled my fire, focused my energy, and confirmed just how badly I wanted to be a PA. I found a different job to try somewhere new. Worked two jobs to get overtime every week. Secured excellent LORs. Spent endless times rewriting my personal statement until it finally felt right. The wait never gets better, but you feel better knowing you've done all you can. I got four interviews that time and finally snagged that acceptance.

Basically, work on yourself and your application until you feel confident in yourself. It shines through at interviews and serves you well for reapplying if it doesn't go your way at first. I wish you all the best and hope that your wait turns into the happy wait...the wait from acceptance until matriculation. 

 

[GabeO]

Great advice. I cannot add anything to that!

[DiggySRNA]

I worked 36-50hrs a week to keep my mind busy. On my days off, I would hang out with friends as if life continues. Rejection after rejection, I sort of made peace with the idea of not getting in - and when the final rejection letter came, the blow was a lot less damaging because I had made peace with it lol.

Try not to let the wait eat you up. It will only make you unhappy. Find a hobby that is time-consuming.

[PACrankset]

I think that being able to rationalize your thoughts is key. Why do you feel like your not going to get in, is it something in your application that isn't right, is it the acceptance rates, is it the schools you applied to, or something else. All you can do is focus on the things you can control, your GPA, GRE, HCE, letters, volunteering, etc. The application process is very long and once you submit it is out of your control, nothing you do, say or think is going to alter your chances of getting an interview. One way that I dealt with it was to plan for the chance that I don't get in. What needed improving and go about fixing those things. I applied three times and had to fix some things along the way, and the worst thing you can do is wait until the last rejection comes before your start thinking about improving your application.