SCU vs Western

[Pathisfall777]

I am torn between picking either schools and was wondering if anyone had any advice? 
 

SCU: pro- smaller classes, full access to cadaver labs, very community oriented con: tuition is high (113k)

Western: pro- sig. cheaper tuition cons- large class, students told me they don’t really use cadaver labs 

Would love to hear some pros and cons from others who have experienced one of these programs or has more info that they have researched, thanks! 

[Pathisfall777]

Because SCUHS is four months longer, does that make Western a more difficult program? 

[coffee]

I went to Western and have no complaints about it. I made it through the program with only the normal struggles of a typical PA student and now I'm a certified PA. To address your points about Western:

1. Cheaper tuition should be a top consideration because student loans are a weight on life. 

2. I replied to earlier thread about the class size so just copy and pasting my comment here: I graduated from a large university and was comfortable entering a PA program that had ~100 people .  I had a perfectly fine experience; it didn't affect my learning in any way (we had 98% PANCE pass rate) and in fact I appreciated the diversity of personalities within our group. Multiple cliques formed as expected but that's normal and not a problem.  We had a class Google Drive where people were encouraged to upload and share their notes - it turned out to be an awesome collaborative effort to help each other get through the program. Out of our ~10 professors probably only 4 of them knew my name by the end of the program, but I didn't make any attempt to be buddy-buddy with my professors and it's not like they weren't willing/available to talk to us one-on-one if we needed help or wanted to talk to them casually. 

3. I didn't care about not having a cadaver lab. I think unless you intend to enter a specialty like surgery or ortho, the lack of a cadaver lab won't put you behind the curve once you start your PA career. Even then, many of my classmates entered a surgical field / ortho and they are doing fine. 

[coffee]

11 minutes ago, Pathisfall777 said:

Because SCUHS is four months longer, does that make Western a more difficult program? 

Doubt it. Difficulty of the program depends more on how much educational/moral support the program provides you and the learning environment they try to foster. I'm sure these schools are offering open house days where you can pick the brains of current/previous students to get a feel of this. 

[ctpprepa]

I attended the SCU campus preview day and the PA students say they do not really use the cadaver lab much. It is the chiropractic students who are exposed to it a lot more and physically dissect into the cadavers. PA students are allowed to go in and observe for study reasons, but there is not much to it from what I have heard! I have heard lots of positive things about Western from multiple PA's currently aged 25 to 60 years old who attended Western. SCU is still a relatively new program, so I have yet to talk to working PA's yet who have attended there. Hope this helps!

[FuturePAgirl27]

If you look at Western's website, their PANCE rate is 94%. Vs. SCUHS 89%. You can see the trends as well how each school improved throughout the years. SCUHS is a much newer school but the new director seems to know what he is doing. And the PANCE rate has significantly improved (although the avg is still lower than Western.)

TUITION. Agree, tuition is a big thing. Western has a lower tuition which should factor into your decision. Regardless of where you choose to go, you will be a PA once you pass the PANCE. But 20k difference in debt is something to consider as well. 

 

[Lollie796]

I’m a current 1st year PA student at SCU, and I was in the same predicament last year having to choose between SCU and Western. It was such a difficult decision to make. You know best what your needs are as a student and with your learning process. For me, I decided on SCU because of the smaller class size, and as a visual learner, I knew I would appreciate an actual cadaver lab where I could touch, feel, and see where things are in relation to each other. Also, the curriculum at SCU exposes us to CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) such as Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and chiropractic, which I feel is good knowledge to have so as a PA you can suggest more treatment options to patients if need be. As a student here, we get acupuncture and chiropractic treatments at no extra charge. I would say though that because Western is an established program, they probably have more solid clinical rotations. However, I know the clinical director at SCU works very hard to place everyone in good clerkships. Whichever PA program you choose, you’ll get the education you need, it’s what you put into it and make of your experience. Also, PA school is going to be challenging, wherever it may be. You’re gonna be pushed to the brink trying to learn so much in such a short amount of time. On that note, the academic support at SCU is amazing. There are all sorts of tutoring available if you need it and our faculty keeps a close tab on us so if they see any of us showing any hints of struggling, they jump in to offer help ASAP. So that’s my insight for you of SCU. If you have any other questions, feel free to DM me.

[prepastudent08]

On 4/28/2020 at 9:27 PM, Lollie796 said:

I’m a current 1st year PA student at SCU, and I was in the same predicament last year having to choose between SCU and Western. It was such a difficult decision to make. You know best what your needs are as a student and with your learning process. For me, I decided on SCU because of the smaller class size, and as a visual learner, I knew I would appreciate an actual cadaver lab where I could touch, feel, and see where things are in relation to each other. Also, the curriculum at SCU exposes us to CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) such as Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and chiropractic, which I feel is good knowledge to have so as a PA you can suggest more treatment options to patients if need be. As a student here, we get acupuncture and chiropractic treatments at no extra charge. I would say though that because Western is an established program, they probably have more solid clinical rotations. However, I know the clinical director at SCU works very hard to place everyone in good clerkships. Whichever PA program you choose, you’ll get the education you need, it’s what you put into it and make of your experience. Also, PA school is going to be challenging, wherever it may be. You’re gonna be pushed to the brink trying to learn so much in such a short amount of time. On that note, the academic support at SCU is amazing. There are all sorts of tutoring available if you need it and our faculty keeps a close tab on us so if they see any of us showing any hints of struggling, they jump in to offer help ASAP. So that’s my insight for you of SCU. If you have any other questions, feel free to DM me.

Hi! I would love to hear about your perspective on SCU now that you've likely graduated. 

[Lollie796]

As I wrote to another pre-PA, I really enjoyed attending SCU. I’m grateful I was able to spend the first term on campus before COVID happened, and I think our program did a great job transitioning us to online learning. The staff and faculty are really invested in our success and well-being. I love our faculty! They work hard to ensure we’re meeting all learning objectives. Tutors and extra help is there if you’re struggling. I felt supported and so many resources were provided for us, like for mental health, diet and exercise, we had access to free services like chiropractic and acupuncture (the other programs at SCU), and board preparation question banks purchased for us (Kaplan, UWorld and Rosh). I actually had a few clinical rotations with Western PA students, so it was good to see that our experiences with our respective programs weren’t that much different. It is definitely what you make of it though. Those who are more proactive in their learning and not afraid to ask preceptors questions are often able to be more hands on and get more out of their clinical rotations. I graduated this past December, took the PANCE end of January, found out I passed early February, and officially a PA-C now. 

I think any program has its positives and negatives so you just have to decide for yourself what’s important to you. Definitely attend open houses and information sessions for programs. As a pre-PA, I was even able to sit in on a lecture at Western to get a feel for what it would be like to be a student there. Not sure if they’re still allowing this, but something to consider. Hope this helps. If you have any questions let me know. Thanks for reaching out!

 

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