lehman20 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Hi everyone, I am trying to figure out if I should apply this cycle or next. I am a junior (senior next fall) at Michigan State Univeristy. I have a 3.62 GPA and a science GPA around 3.5. I have around 60 volunteer hours at a tuberculosis testing clinic, on a Med/Surg Floor at a hospital, and for an Archive for Research on Child Health Project. I am volunteering in the ER this summer. I work at a Business development center 15 hrs/week but I just got a job as a Respite Care Provider for children with disabilites. I just started so I dont have many hours, but will have a lot by the time I would start a program. I would apply to mainly schools that dont require many hours. I have about 20 hours of shadowing a PA. A member of the Student Health Advisory Council and the Pre-PA club. I will take the GRE in July. Advice? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Hi, I graduated from U of M and was in a similar position to you between Junior/Senior year. If you have people lined up to write letters of recommendation and are prepared to write a good personal statement, you could probably apply broadly right now and get in at least somewhere. If you take a year off after Senior year to work, take additional classes, volunteer, and make sure you have your LORs and PS lined up, you can probably get into many schools and have more of a choice in where you go. I went for the latter option. Also, be careful if you do the former because some schools, like Rosalind Franklin, start in May and it can be hectic to be finishing Senior year and having to move and start a new graduate program in just a few weeks. I know of one girl who had to do her undergrad finals early and miss graduating with her friends in order to be starting PA school at RF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPA Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 If you're ready, go for it! However, I waited until I graduated to send in my app and I enjoyed the 10 months off. Now that I'm back in school, I really think the academic break was beneficial. Something else to think about: you will be going on interviews during your fall/early spring semester(s), so you'd have to be someone who manages time well and can get ahead in your classes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0untingstars Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Just a warning - schools sometimes do not require many hours, but the average student they accept may have double or triple that number. For example, Central Michigan only requires 100 hours but their average accepted student has 2,500. Also, if you are planning on staying in MI, the schools are EXTREMELY competitive. You will need to apply broadly, not just to schools in the midwest. I was not accepted to any schools in MI the 2 years I applied, and my friend is going on her 3rd year of applying with no luck in the mitten (and her GPA is higher than yours and she has about 4000 hours of experience!) Sorry to be a downer, I just want you to have the best chance of getting accepted when you do apply. Be sure to keep your GPA up, you may even have to consider retaking classes or taking more classes to make yourself more competitive. Best of luck to you and shoot me a message if you need any help or advice about interviews! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eewee Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 As most people have indicated, you could apply this year and get in at least somewhere or apply next year and probably have your pick of a few programs. Either way, you are a good candidate! I applied before I was fully prepared and got in to a good program but I am having to move out of state when I would prefer to stay in my home state. Tailor your application to schools that will appreciate your credentials. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lehman20 Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 I am not applying to any Michigan schools actually, but thank you for the advice everyone! Does anyone see anything specific that I could improve upon to make myself a better applicant (besides HCE)? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Try to do really well on the GRE, it's an easy thing and probably not a deal breaker for any school, but it will help you be more competitive when compared to people with amazing GPAs. Keep working and volunteering, if all of your shadowing was in one speciality it can help to branch out (can write about seeing different specialties in PS and nice to talk about in interviews). If you do decide to take a year off, you can take classes that are helpful but not necessarily pre-reqs like Pathophys, Parmacology, Spanish, Immunology, etc. I took Spanish from a CC and Pathophys online for dirt cheap and I think it impressed ADCOMS that even with all the pre-reqs done and my BS I was still taking classes. If you stay around EL, find out if you can continue to be involved in the Pre-PA club and make sure that you are an active participant incase an interviewer asks you about it. Join AAPA as an affiliate member, it's just a silly thing you can check on CASPA but in interviews you can talk about how you're already part of AAPA and you understand the importance of having a national PA body, you want to be involved in the profession at a higher level, understand the importance of lobbying congresspeople to write legislation that supports PAs, etc. You could also get your CNA or EMT-B this summer which might help you get another healthcare job (diversity is always good, especially for those of us who don't have 5K hours as a paramedic or ER Tech) and there is a place on CASPA to list certifications. CPR/First Aid can go there too. Some schools use a mathematical scoring to decide cutoffs, so each thing you can add that's easy to do can help and could be the difference maker. Obviously the big things are more important and weighed heavier and take more time to accomplish, but why skip the little things that can be as easy as spending $50 on an AAPA membership. Also, then you'll get JAAPA and PA Professional which are good reads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lehman20 Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 Best advice I've gotten in awhile. Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!! Did you get in to any of the Michigan schools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Glad that it helped, I was a bit concerned that I was blabbering on. I'll be going to University of Detroit Mercy, I actually didn't apply to any other MI schools as I was more interested in Chicago and the Pacific NW at first, and several of the MI schools had requirements I didn't meet. Wayne requires all prereqs by Sept 1 with a B or better, and I took Stats, English, and Chem as an overwhelmed freshman and got B minuses so couldn't apply there. Kind of a bummer as their tuition is so reasonable. Western won't accept U of M's undergrad physiology as it's 200 level which is stupid IMHO, I worked harder in that class than nearly any other. I think GVSU and CMU require genetics or 300-level biochem or something like that. Have you decided when you're going to apply? What programs are you thinking of? Another thing you could do with time off, if it's in your budget, is to do an overseas medical trip. I went to Belize through ISL and had a great time, learned only a bit of skills medically but really learned a lot/had my eyes opened by the people and conditions we saw. An admissions person told me only a small % of applicants have volunteer experience like that so it can set you apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Parmacology Meant pharmacology. Parmacology: the study of parmesan cheese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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