Service Academy Struggle!

[ryanj1998]

Hey there. I attend the US Coast Guard Academy, and I am strongly considering becoming a Physicians Assistant either as a Coastie, or after I leave the military as a civilian. I have been looking at many PA grad schools, and the prerequisite courses and GPA requirements concern me...

Will these schools understand how much more challenging the US service academies are academically compared to most undergrad degrees and forgive my comparatively lower GPA?

- I've taken above 18 credits all 5 semesters I've been here, above 20 credits twice

- The competing military demands (Room/uniform inspection, training etc) and physical demands (Varsity sports, fitness requirements) make it hard to excel in the classroom

Will they understand that CGA only offers 8 majors so I did the best I could do match the prereq's but simply could not meet all of them?

- I was required to take engineering/government/buisness courses as a prerequisite to graduate

- I was required to take Coast Guard specific courses (Navigation 1-4, Maritime Law Enforcement, etc.)

Will schools still admit me based on the high merit that goes with being a service academy grad, and a top 25 STEM school grad? 

Thanks!

[EMEDPA]

You will still need all the prereqs, good grades, and HCE to get in. There is a military PA program (IPAP) that gives preference to folks with significant military experience. As a point of clarification, there is no S at the end of physician in physician assistant. Your college academy background sounds challenging, but compare this to a single parent raising a child while working full time as a paramedic and attending college at the same time. Everyone has their challenges...long answer to your question if you will get preference based on attending a service academy. you probably won't. (no disrespect intended- and I say this as someone who almost attended West Point). 

[MT2PA]

^^Above is pretty much the only answer you need.

Pre-reqs are required no matter what.  Your GPA and health care/patient care experience need to be competitive with other applicants.  Your background may give you a unique story to tell in your application but it won't compensate for anything.

 

[ryanj1998]

30 minutes ago, EMEDPA said:

You will still need all the prereqs, good grades, and HCE to get in. There is a military PA program (IPAP) that gives preference to folks with significant military experience. As a point of clarification, there is no S at the end of physician in physician assistant. Your college academy background sounds challenging, but compare this to a single parent raising a child while working full time as a paramedic and attending college at the same time. Everyone has their challenges...long answer to your question if you will get preference based on attending a service academy. you probably won't. (no disrespect intended- and I say this as someone who almost attended West Point). 

Wow. Ok well thanks for being honest. It's frustrating knowing that I got into 3 different 5 year PA programs I applied to out of high school but now the same schools wouldn't take me for their two year programs. 

Would schools allow me to take the extra courses for my prereqs during my program there?

[MT2PA]

4 minutes ago, ryanj1998 said:

Wow. Ok well thanks for being honest. It's frustrating knowing that I got into 3 different 5 year PA programs I applied to out of high school but now the same schools wouldn't take me for their two year programs. 

Would schools allow me to take the extra courses for my prereqs during my program there?

Your application won't even be looked at if you don't have the prerequisites completed or planned/in process.  They always have to be completed prior to matriculation.

PA school is a lot of high level, fast paced learning.  You won't have time for additional courses of any kind. You need the foundation prior to starting, not after the fact.

[EMEDPA]

17 minutes ago, ryanj1998 said:

Wow. Ok well thanks for being honest. It's frustrating knowing that I got into 3 different 5 year PA programs I applied to out of high school but now the same schools wouldn't take me for their two year programs. 

Would schools allow me to take the extra courses for my prereqs during my program there?

many programs have thousands of applications for a class of 30-50. You need all your ducks in a row to apply and gain admission. It is a very competitive process. the typical applicant works for several years(average is > 2000 hours) in health care after college before applying and has considerable time shadowing PAs and volunteering in some capacity. I was a pretty typical applicant/attendee at my program with a BS degree with good grades, 5 years as an ER tech and 5 years as a paramedic. I was one of the youngest in my class. class avg age was 35. it is more like 26 now I think. 

[ryanj1998]

5 minutes ago, EMEDPA said:

many programs have thousands of applications for a class of 30-50. You need all your ducks in a row to apply and gain admission. It is a very competitive process. the typical applicant works for several years(average is > 2000 hours) in health care after college before applying and has considerable time shadowing PAs and volunteering in some capacity. I was a pretty typical applicant/attendee at my program with a BS degree with good grades, 5 years as an ER tech and 5 years as a paramedic. I was one of the youngest in my class. class avg age was 35. it is more like 26 now I think. 

Then how do 5 year programs even exist? My sister is doing one right now and her courses aren't even half as hard as mine are at the academy and she'll walk right in to a job as a PA in a year and a half.  She took organic chemistry one and two and we covered everything that she learned in both semesters in one semester. There's no test I can take to prove I have just as much knowledge if not more than the other applicants?

[MT2PA]

5 year programs are an accelerated B.S then the 2 years of PA school.  They are an unfortunate exception to the rule.  You can't expect an 18 yr old to have multiple years of FT work obviously.  And they haven't completed undergrad to HAVE an undergrad GPA to evaluate.  Most however do have requirements that must be met the first 3 years in order to stay in the 2 years of the PA portion.

Generally the 5 yr programs are not thought to be a good idea.  You're young and inexperienced.  Limited life experience if any. No understanding of how healthcare works.  Or maybe that's just my personal opinion.

Bottom line:  meet the stated requirements or move on.  As EMEDPA already stated there are literally thousands of applicants to each program each year.  Schools don't need to make exceptions, they have plenty of outstanding applicants who meet and exceed the requirements without bending the rules.

[ProSpectre]

Like MT2PA mentioned, the first 3 years of a 5 year program is not PA school -- it is simply the undergrad portion required to get to PA school (so for colleges that have these programs, they can cut out the extra liberal arts portion of the degree and just have their students fulfill the degree requirements and prereqs for the grad portion). The reason these programs can exist is because the undergrad courses at their schools are a known entity, so they assume students who make it through the first 3 years of the undergrad portion of their program will be able to handle the last 2 of the professional portion; students in the undergrad portion of those programs don't get much say in their schedule or course load, and they usually must meet stringent grade requirements to move on to the professional portion. I'm not a huge fan of these programs, but they aren't exactly an easy away out. 

I do think that having gone to a service academy will absolutely be beneficial when you are applying to PA school though,  since it will set you apart from most other applicants; military service is also valued by many schools as well considering the history of the profession and the strong record of military trained PAs. However, I say that with a strong caveat -- it will only be beneficial as long as you are an otherwise competitive applicant, meaning you have ALL the prereqs that are required, good grades and at least meet minimum PCE requirement for schools you apply to (and preferably more). If your grades are weak, it is going to be much harder for you regardless of where you completed your undergrad degree; plenty of people work full time or compete as division 1 athletes while completing STEM degrees too (with solid grades), and the ones that are able to do those things and still do well are the ones that have a leg up when applying.

You may just have to take the extra time after you graduate to finish additional prereqs for PA school, and you'll probably have to find a way to get some PCE too (or just apply to IPAP). If you really want to be a PA it is definitely doable though, and you'll be stronger for having made it through your current situation on your path there. 

[EMEDPA]

As an aside, it is my understanding that most PAs in the coast guard are public health service employees/officers on temporary assignments.