Jump to content

2018 Applicant Stats / Feedback from Accepted


Recommended Posts

Undergrad Ed School: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Major (GPA) // Minor (GPA) : Biology (3.58) with 2 minors in Chemistry (2.9) & Psychology (4.0)

Cumulative Undergrad. GPA: 3.68

Science Undergrad. GPA: 3.58

Post Bachelor GPA: N/A

Age at application time : 22

1st GRE - V: 141 Q: 150 W: 3.0 // I unfortunately scheduled the GRE after taking 2 summer finals (Physics and Psychology of Individual Differences) so this score is pretty much a baseline for how I would do with minimal / no studying. 

2nd GRE - V: 149 Q 161 W: 3.0 // The GRE prep I used was Magoosh and they did not have an analytical practice section so my AW score was the same, but my verbal and quantitative scores improved tremendously! Magoosh usually has pretty good sales for a 6 month subscription for $125 (regular price of 1 month subscription) around January and July. 

Direct Patient Care : (Patient Care Technician / CNA)

Cerebrovascular / Diabetic floor (2 years ~2,500 hours)

Float pool / Anywhere in the hospital (~500 hours)

Extracurricular / Leadership / Research Activities: 

Greek organization // Junior and Senior scholarship committee

Pre-PA club // Treasurer 2 full terms 

UTC Medical Society // Member

Volunteer for local hospital, Adult and Children's Emergency Room (200 hours) Children's Believe Campaign and St. Jude Up till Dawn participant (~25 hours), Girls on the Run (~10 hours)

Supporter of various organizations such as Ronald McDonald House, Make A Wish foundation, TC Thomson's Children's Hospital, Girl Scouts of America 

LOR

PA in Neurosurgical and Spine Unit (Shadowed 150 hours)

RN who's director/manager of Neuroscience (Known for 2 years)

RN Clinical Staff Leader (Known for 1 year)

Professor who I had 3 classes in Microbiology (B) , Immunology (A), and Microbial Ecology (A) 

Saving one more recommendation request for a potential PA or MD 

Personal Statement Topic: I talked about my personal childhood struggles with many health issues in my family & how I wanted to pursue a career that provides access to healthcare . I then weaned into my work experience at the hospital and mentoring. Ended it with a description of the PA I shadowed and all the qualities that I believe I had to be an important asset in healthcare.

Schools Applied: Six. UTHSC, South College - Knoxville, South College - Nashville,  Lincoln Memorial University, Lipscomb University, and UAB

Application Submitted Date:

06/03 for UTSHC, LMU, and UAB

Late June for South College Knoxville and Lipscomb

Mid August for South College- Nashville

Schools Received Application Date: Most of the schools received my application in less than a week after it was verified. Verified 2 days after I submitted my CASPA application. 

Interview Invites: LMU

Denied: UTHSC

Waitlisted: UAB

Accepted: N/A

Attempts: 2nd (Applied pretty late 1st cycle to 1 school because of graduation/deadline issues so this theoretically would be my 1st real application cycle) 

Plan B if all else fails:

1. Pursue an accelerated Masters in Pharmacology to compensate all this waiting since most of these PA schools matriculate in August 2019 

2. Take the MCAT. Some PA schools allow MCAT scores and would be a good refresher in basic prerequisite courses. 

3. Shadow MD's, PA"s, NP's, PT's 

..............................

I would greatly appreciate all the strengths and weaknesses in my current application. Any other ideas to improve my application would be helpful as well. Thank you guys so much! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll make this a little easier ? Copy & Paste away!

Undergrad Ed School: 

Major (GPA) // Minor (GPA) :

Cumulative Undergrad. GPA:

Science Undergrad. GPA:

Post Bachelor GPA:

Age at application time: 

1st GRE 

Direct Patient Care:

Extracurricular / Leadership / Research Activities: 

LOR

Personal Statement Topic:

Schools Applied: 

Application Submitted Date:

Schools Received Application Date:

Interview Invites:

Denied:

Withdrew Application

Waitlisted:

Accepted:

Attempts: 

Plan B if all else fails:

..............................

Personal message/questions 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, DarcyJ said:

The one thing that stands out to me is (based on my reading) that taking the MCAT may make you look less committed to PA school. It could make you look like you're considering med school as well. 

That was my worry as well. I know UAB and other potential schools allow both scores so it was a consideration. I've been constantly reviewing old undergrad powerpoint slides of prerequisites as a safe alternate. Thanks so much! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your PCE and volunteer work are good, and your personal statement sounds like it covered the right things. Most schools recommend GRE scores over 150 in each section and AWA ~4.0. While your quant score was great, another good option, if this cycle doesn’t pan out, would be to attempt to increase your verbal to 150 or above and awa score to around 4.0. Some schools may deny based on the verbal being under 150. I used google and found a lot of good tips for the AWA. Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I'm a little late on this post but I second @Bubbles. Some schools use the minimum GRE requirements as a screen and if you don't meet those then it's unlikely you'll move forward in the process. If for some reason you need to reapply next year, work on getting the verbal above 150 and the AWA to 4 and you should be good on the GRE front!

Looking at your letters of recommendation, I'd try to get one from a PA/MD/DO/NP (preferably PA if you can) that has personally worked with you during your PCE as opposed to a PA you've shadowed. While it's great you've had a lot of shadowing hours with them and you've built a rapport, they haven't seen you involved in patient care and are unable to adequately attest to your skills as a care provider. Along those lines, some schools I applied to and a few others I've seen through research specifically ask for a letter from a healthcare provider that was a supervisor during your patient care experience. I'm not sure from your list if the RN's were directly involved and working with you day in and day out but that would be one thing to think about moving forward. 

I took the MCAT when I initially thought I wanted to go to med school but of the seven schools I applied to this year only one accepted it in lieu of the GRE. That's a personal preference for you if you want to spend the time and the money to study for it and take it but I don't think it'll do much for you in strengthening your application in the long run.

Hope some of this helps and good luck to you this cycle! Hopefully you've heard some news from the schools by this point ? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More