Will I get into PA School?

[aking129]

I am feeling unsure as to whether or not I will get into PA school. I have a bachelor's degree in Public Health Science. My cumulative gpa is a 3.92 and my science gpa is a 3.8 with 61 science course credits. I have 1,000 hours of patient contact currently from working as a physical therapy aide during undergrad. I am taking a gap year and working 36 hours per week as a medical assistant and also taking weekend shifts as a physical therapy aid to reach approximately 3,000 hours when I apply next year. I also have about 200 hours of other related experience through working as a medical receptionist and volunteering and have 100 hours from shadowing. I have about 500 hours of volunteer experience from a service trip for income equity, a social justice student group, volunteering with a group that works to fix low-income health disparities, an LGBTQ+ community health clinic, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the philanthropy committee for my sorority. I am doing research with a nearby medical school and will have about 300 hours of research experience at the time I apply (this is a volunteer position). I was a teaching assistant for anatomy and physiology II for two years. I served as the president of a student organization and the vice president of the same organization, a program lead for a social justice organization, and I was the chair of philanthropy for my sorority. Other extracurricular involvements included Students Engaged in Public Health,  Sigma Kappa Sorority, Maryland Public Interest Research Group, Maryland Leadership Education and Development, and Ballet Company M. I am mostly concerned that I have not taken enough science credits and do not have enough patient contact. Are there other things I should work on to strengthen my profile? Should I take more science classes? Should I consider a master's in a science field? I studied public health because I am truly passionate about approaching patient care from this perspective and want to work in health administration health policy in addition to patient care, and I plan to explain this in my personal statement.

[Janie55]

You sound like an awesome candidate. Just from this message, your writing skills seem very good, so I assume you can produce an excellent PS. Have you taken the GRE? Your GPAs make you very competitive, but maybe someone else can comment on your question regarding taking more science classes and getting a master’s. I don’t think I would go for the master’s though based on your current stats and the cost. Stay confident and positive! It’ll take that to get through the whole CASPA process and rock your interviews. Best of luck.

[TheFatMan]

Take a few minutes to browse the forums.

[UGoLong]

Take a breath and apply. Assuming your LORs and personal statement are good, you should get a serious look from many programs.


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[rev ronin]

On 5/19/2019 at 6:30 PM, hmmmm3 said:

Take a few minutes to browse the forums.

Indeed. And learn to use spacing to make posts easier to read in logical order.  For stats, bullet points might also be effective.

[Guest ral]

Send me $10,000.00 in unmarked twenties, and I'll take care of things for you.  I know some people who know some people.  Wink wink.  Nudge nudge.

[Nrm1010]

Hi everyone!

I am new here, but I am also feeling a bit unsure as to whether or not I am a good applicant for PA programs. @aking129, you sound like a great applicant and I wish I had some of your qualifications!

I just finished my junior year and will be going into my senior year during the Fall. I have a 4.0 major GPA (Biology) and 3.96 overall GPA, 50+ hours shadowing a PA, 100+ volunteer hours, and scored above the 60th percentile on all sections of my GRE. In addition, I am the President of my universities Honors College/very involved other places on campus. However, I only have about 800 hours of patient care experience (I am a medical technician at a nursing home). With that being said, some of the schools I want to apply to require a minimum of 1000 hours. I will have these hours easily done by the end of the summer, but I am not sure how to let PA programs know that. Any ideas on what I should do? I have looked others places on this forum, but I am having trouble finding an answer. I plan on submitting my CASPA by 6/20.

Schools: I am planning on applying to DeSales, Arcadia, Chatham, and Yale (as well as a few others).

Edited June 14, 2019 by Nrm1010

[JD2012]

I can tell you, you definitely won't get in to PA school....if you don't apply.

 

[moleashish]

Definitely follow others advice on going through other posts on this forum. There are many success stories, what they did to get accepted, and what there situations were.

I advised my friend to apply last cycle even though she had less than 1000 hours patient care experience at the time of application. I knew she already have an impressive application checklist, so I told her to apply to schools she met the requirements for. She ended up having well over 1000 hours by the time she was interviewing, and she had a hand full of interviews. Other than PCE, her overall application packet was strong and that's what many school are looking for. Overall, are you going to be a good fit for their program.

You definitely will get admitted somewhere. Just apply smartly. Choose the programs that highlight your strengths.

Good luck.