cardsgirl Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I applied to Rocky Mountain College here in Montana last cycle but I did not get an interview since I was told I did not have enough paid health care experience. My overall GPA is 3.7, I will now have about 1200 hrs of PAID HCE, I have tons of shadowing hours and hundreds of hours volunteering with the Indian Health Service urban clinics. These are great stats for this school, the only drawback is 1200 hours of paid HCE is not a ton, but I think it is a good amount considering my age. I have my bachelor's in Psych with a Bio minor and my AAS degree in Cardiac Ultrasound. Since the last time I applied, I got a full time position as a Cardiac Ultrasound Tech at one of the hospitals in the same town as Rocky Mountain College. Several of the PAs who work here went to RMC and I even met the program director and did a stress echo for his PA students to watch. I really really want to go to this school since I can not move with my husband's job. I am almost 100% positive I will get in, but there is still a chanceI don't. If I only apply to this one school, can RMC see this? Will they perceive that as an indication I do not have enought passion for the PA profession to move or seek out other programs. The truth is, I will keep applying to RMC until they let me in. I have to go there. Just a side question..... I was talking to one of the PAs who went there and she said it is good to go in an talk to some of the admissions staff and help them put a face to a name. How should I go about doing this..??? Should I say, " Hi, I recently submitted my application to this PA program. I look forward to seeing you in the future. "??? Ugh I have no clue what to say when I go in. Any advice?? Oh, and I am e-submitting my app to CASPA as soon as my final transcript gets posted, so like the middle of May. It should get mailed out in the first mailing in June, which is great since this school does Rolling Admissions. Thanks for the help! Sorry this post is so scattered! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPA Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 To answer your titular question: I have no idea. This was asked last year and I don't recall the definitive answer. However, if you peruse the "accepted applicants" thread, you'll note that many students only applied to one school for whatever reasons. I agree with PAMAC; my dealings with this school led me to believe they were pretty straightforward and if they told you they wanted an increase in HCE, that's prob what they meant. Just curious, what do you mean by "good amount considering my age?" If they want X amt of hrs, they prob aren't going to care how old you are, just that you got them. I'm not sure that dropping in to say hi is the best idea. Seems...unnecessary. They will put "face to name" when they meet you in the interview. Also, they're likely busy getting ready to start this year's cycle and your visit might be perceived as an annoyance. Lastly, good idea on the early submission. I cannot believe how many people drag their heels on this! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 The school's website is pretty dang clear about HCE: 2000 hours minimum, 1000 hours before you submit CASPA. Take them at their word and prepare yourself accordingly. Make sure they know you are still working and will have those 2000 hours before you expect to start. If you have real questions about the program, staff, or anything else that can't be answered with a phone call or email, arrange a visit. They can find a student to take you on a tour, allow you to meet a faculty member, etc. If you don't have legit questions and have already seen the campus, don't waste their time. No one appreciates that. As for the number of schools... if you want them to know this is your first and only choice, tell them. Explain how you're a local citizen who wants to stay nearby and work after graduation, and that you want to get your education from a place established in the community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Will they perceive that as an indication I do not have enought passion for the PA profession to move or seek out other programs. That's a possibility but something you will just have to accept if you're not willing to relocate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 If you know you're only applying there, there's no reason you can't make your PS tailored to RMC. Like greenmood said, tell them you're local, want to stay in MT, etc. I wouldn't tell them you can't move because of your husband though. I had somewhere between 1-2K hours on CASPA and got in, but I think it was more towards 2K and I would have had over 3K by matriculation. If you get the interview, feel free to PM me for tips. I think I did a few things during that massively long interview day that helped get an acceptance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardsgirl Posted May 4, 2012 Author Share Posted May 4, 2012 Thanks everyone for all of your help! :) Just to clarify, I only had a few hundred hours of PAID HCE when I first applied and the rest was not paid, now I will have 1200 hours of PAID HCE and well over 2000 hours by matriculation. So I meet their minimum requirement of 1000 at the time of application. My PS is mostly tailored to RMC. I talked a lot about my passinos to continue to work with the underserved Native American populations in our rural region and my desire to stay in MT. I have also updated it with my current full time positino here in Billings. I really do feel like I have pretty decent stats and I meet all of their addmissions requirements. I really hope I get an interview! I just turned 21, so I just really hope they don't view my age as a disadvantage. I was able to graduate high school early and get my bachelor's degree completed quickly by taking a lot of credits. I hope they will see my true passions and know I am serious about becoming a PA and helping the underserved. Thanks again everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardsgirl Posted May 4, 2012 Author Share Posted May 4, 2012 Also, my HCE hours are broken up between paid and unpaid. I hope they will be able to see that I have over 1000 without being too confused. This is what my app looks like: Cardiac Sonographer Intern: 1000....this is unpaid Health Dept. Intern: 400...this is unpaid Cardiac Sonograhper: 400...PAID Health Outreach Associate: 250...PAID Cardiac Sonographer ( my new job in Billings, MT): 560....PAID As you can see I have a little over 1200 PAID HCE hours. I hope they can see this when they look through the details. My current job as a Cardiac Sonographer here in Billings is 40/wk and I will continue to work here until matriculation which will give me well over 2000 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardsgirl Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Thanks everyone! My app is verified and will get mailed out with the first mailing on June 6th! So excited!! I have met Bob a few times this month, and I did a stress echo on one of the PA students. He keeps telling me to go in and see Margia. I have not seen the campus yet (just a drive by), so maybe I can ask her about seeing the campus?? (since he is the director I should prob do what he says!!) lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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