StevenA Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Hello, Fist off, I apologize if I am posting in the wrong section. I'm still kind of searching around the forum, but was eager to post something quick and stick my foot in the door. On that note, I am a junior at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. I am finishing up my bachelors on the pre-PA track and am majoring in exercise science, which I heard is a rare major for following through with PA, but I do truly love the classes I'm in, and glad I took this route thus far. I will have all my pre-req's for graduate school done after this fall semester and am continuing to get my shadowing hours and clinical hours done before I graduate (Which I think is plausible). I still am fairly new to this whole profession and really don't know much of the ins and outs of being a PA, grad school, or really anything. All I have heard/know is from google search's and my school advisor. With that being said, I would just like some overall advice and maybe just what to expect when applying for graduate schools. For example, is the letter of recommendation super important, should I be more focused on getting actual experience through clinical work/hours(I'm curious on this one, a lot of schools have recommendations for clinical hours and I don't know if you NEED these clincal hours), maybe there's some books I should be reading about the PANCE and should be prepping for graduate school material now? I really don't know! I'll take any and all advice! I want to be prepared for everything and get everything done that needs to be done, and hopefully not have too many hick-ups along the way. Thank you for taking your time and reading, and I can't wait to get to know more of you. Best regards, Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 17, 2018 Moderator Share Posted September 17, 2018 my best advice to you will be to take the time to get solid health care experience. this is the foundation for your entire career. do it right. best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 my best advice to you will be to take the time to get solid health care experience. this is the foundation for your entire career. do it right. best of luckThis is very true! Without clinical experience, you really can’t be sure working with patients is how you want to spend your life. Without decent shadowing, you really can’t be sure you really want the life of a PA.We often have exercise phys graduates in PA programs (not the most common degree, but it’s fine!)Ultimately you will need about 3 letters for most programs.Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Letters of reference are absolutely important in applying to PA schools (maybe not true of all graduate level programs). Clinical hours are absolutely important (see above). No need to be reading about the PANCE at this point; don't put the cart before the horse. There are plenty of pre-PA advice books out there. Bottom line - have good grades, good GRE, plenty of patient care hours (PCE), a great personal statement and line up good references. You can look at a whole thread of stats of accepted students to see what 'good' typically means in applying to PA school. For the most part it mirrors a med school candidate (except we require PCE/HCE). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenA Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 2 hours ago, MT2PA said: Letters of reference are absolutely important in applying to PA schools (maybe not true of all graduate level programs). Clinical hours are absolutely important (see above). No need to be reading about the PANCE at this point; don't put the cart before the horse. There are plenty of pre-PA advice books out there. Bottom line - have good grades, good GRE, plenty of patient care hours (PCE), a great personal statement and line up good references. You can look at a whole thread of stats of accepted students to see what 'good' typically means in applying to PA school. For the most part it mirrors a med school candidate (except we require PCE/HCE). Thanks for all the responses! I was just browsing though that section last night so thank you for the advice. I see I need work on PCE and shadowing in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyNichiavelli Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 I recommend also going on the Pre-PA subreddit. There's TONS of helpful information about everything you're asking in their FAQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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