2020-2021 UND Application Cycle

[PA1Day2]

Did anyone receive a “your app in under review” email this morning? Thinking that might of been a fluke? 

[PaAlltheWay84]

2 hours ago, PA1Day2 said:

Did anyone receive a “your app in under review” email this morning? Thinking that might of been a fluke? 

Have not received that email. Never hurts to reach out,  but yes, probably a fluke?

[tabbott23]

I recieved one this morning as well. I sent an email, haven't heard back.

[tabbott23]

Email was an error.

[Nikkirae]

So no one has received any rejection letters/correspondence? I applied in July and haven’t heard anything either way yet. I’m from rural Montana and thought that might give me extra “points” but nothing so far 

[PaAlltheWay84]

7 hours ago, Nikkirae said:

So no one has received any rejection letters/correspondence? I applied in July and haven’t heard anything either way yet. I’m from rural Montana and thought that might give me extra “points” but nothing so far 

No letter yet. I’m from ND and had a ton of extra points, but was told this was one of their most competitive years with over 500 applicants. They started reviewing apps after sept 1 deadline and have already completed interviews of those chosen. Hang in and apply next year!

[Nikkirae]

On 10/16/2020 at 6:21 AM, PaAlltheWay84 said:

No letter yet. I’m from ND and had a ton of extra points, but was told this was one of their most competitive years with over 500 applicants. They started reviewing apps after sept 1 deadline and have already completed interviews of those chosen. Hang in and apply next year!

Weird. I wonder when they’ll do next round of communication for the rest of us just so we all know 

[futurePAmw]

23 hours ago, Nikkirae said:

Weird. I wonder when they’ll do next round of communication for the rest of us just so we all know 

At the interview they said their goal is to send out communication on their decisions (acceptances and rejections) by the middle of November

[Jenstroop]

Just received my denial letter. They made a list of common reasons why one may receive denials; gpa lower than 3.0, incomplete application, no 300 level coursework, not enough pce, no preceptor, etc. I excelled in every aspect but still no interview invite. Not sure how I can improve my application for next year but I will be working on it! I’m sure UND is a wonderful school but I have been less than impressed with their communication, info, etc. It seems they’ve had a lapse in communication with many people, fluke emails being sent, lag time in responses, hard to find info on the website, etc. There were no academic advisors who were able to help in the process. Did anyone else feel this way or is it just me? I also applied to Yale which was a totally different experience. They are so on top of it, friendly, thorough, communicative, they’ve held several info sessions and webinars, etc. Good luck to everyone applying and those who also got denials, it’s not the end of the road! 
 

edited to add: I do not mean to sound bitter and am definitely not putting down the program! This was just my experience. I knew I was getting a denial letter but had finally received it today so I just wanted to throw that out there and see if others may have had the same experience? I only applied to two schools so I’m not sure if this is the norm, but the experiences between the two schools were very different. Also, to others who did not get accepted this round, how will you be working to better your application? I know there were soooo many amazing applicatints! What else does UND look for besides being a resident? 

Edited October 26, 2020 by Jennez

[Nikkirae]

39 minutes ago, Jennez said:

Just received my denial letter. They made a list of common reasons why one may receive denials; gpa lower than 3.0, incomplete application, no 300 level coursework, not enough pce, no preceptor, etc. I excelled in every aspect but still no interview invite. Not sure how I can improve my application for next year but I will be working on it! I’m sure UND is a wonderful school but I have been less than impressed with their communication, info, etc. It seems they’ve had a lapse in communication with many people, fluke emails being sent, lag time in responses, hard to find info on the website, etc. There were no academic advisors who were able to help in the process. Did anyone else feel this way or is it just me? I also applied to Yale which was a totally different experience. They are so on top of it, friendly, thorough, communicative, they’ve held several info sessions and webinars, etc. Good luck to everyone applying and those who also got denials, it’s not the end of the road! 
 

edited to add: I do not mean to sound bitter and am definitely not putting down the program! This was just my experience. I knew I was getting a denial letter but had finally received it today so I just wanted to throw that out there and see if others may have had the same experience? I only applied to two schools so I’m not sure if this is the norm, but the experiences between the two schools were very different. Also, to others who did not get accepted this round, how will you be working to better your application? I know there were soooo many amazing applicatints! What else does UND look for besides being a resident? 

I also received my denial letter today. For me, they only listed that I did not pass the clinical experience portion of their review, although I have about 8 years of varied experience. However, most of my experience over the last 2 years was in EMR training/on boarding. I did take an EMT course this summer but only gained about 36 hours through that.

 

best of luck to everyone interviewing and to those who received denials, this is not the end of the road for you! Keep improving and working towards this if it’s truly your dream. This is my third attempt at PA school in 6 years and the first year I’ve ever been able to interview at a school (obviously not here lol). Your time will come! 

[kettle]

9 hours ago, Jennez said:

 I also applied to Yale which was a totally different experience. They are so on top of it, friendly, thorough, communicative, they’ve held several info sessions and webinars, etc. Good luck to everyone applying and those who also got denials, it’s not the end of the road! 
What else does UND look for besides being a resident? 

There is huge differences between Yale and UND. UND works really hard to keep a low overhead which keeps their program affordable. They have less staff than most schools but the cost to attend UND is still under 38,000$ where Yale is over 110,000$. That's significant. Those numbers for both schools do not include room and board.

Being from ND, SD, MN, MT and ID significantly helps. Applying with a rural preceptor helps. Being from and commitment to a rural area helps.

I graduated from UND. I applied twice, first year to 22 programs and second year to 9 programs. I sold a lot of possessions just to be able to afford to apply. My stats were pretty decent but my GPA was far from impressive. 22,000 hours as a paramedic all serving the undeserved mainly on reservations. 3.5 GPA, 3.6 science. (Two degrees, two minors and two associate degrees.) I had everyone of their prerequisites for both track 1 and track 2 when they had that. Over 2,500 hours teaching medical education. Over 750 hours volunteering predominantly at food shelves. Over 1,000 hours in clinical research, a published article, medical grant writing experience, from a town of less than 1,000 people and a preceptor in a rural area. To get these numbers I essentially forewent a social life for a long time to be a competitive applicant. 

My first year when I applied to 22 schools I never got an interview, second year when I applied to 9 schools I got two interviews. PA school across the nation is beyond competitive not just at UND.

Edited October 27, 2020 by kettle

[Jenstroop]

8 hours ago, kettle said:

There is huge differences between Yale and UND. UND works really hard to keep a low overhead which keeps their program affordable. They have less staff than most schools but the cost to attend UND is still under 38,000$ where Yale is over 110,000$. That's significant. Those numbers for both schools do not include room and board.

Being from ND, SD, MN, MT and ID significantly helps. Applying with a rural preceptor helps. Being from and commitment to a rural area helps.

I graduated from UND. I applied twice, first year to 22 programs and second year to 9 programs. I sold a lot of possessions just to be able to afford to apply. My stats were pretty decent but my GPA was far from impressive. 22,000 hours as a paramedic all serving the undeserved mainly on reservations. 3.5 GPA, 3.6 science. (Two degrees, two minors and two associate degrees.) I had everyone of their prerequisites for both track 1 and track 2 when they had that. Over 2,500 hours teaching medical education. Over 750 hours volunteering predominantly at food shelves. Over 1,000 hours in clinical research, a published article, medical grant writing experience, from a town of less than 1,000 people and a preceptor in a rural area. To get these numbers I essentially forewent a social life for a long time to be a competitive applicant. 

My first year when I applied to 22 schools I never got an interview, second year when I applied to 9 schools I got two interviews. PA school across the nation is beyond competitive not just at UND.

Those are impressive stats!! Well deserved! That is one thing that is tough now that I’m older and have 4 kiddos; they and my full time job take up most of my time but I help run volunteer free dental days and habitat for humanity in my area. I will be trying to get a MA job for different patient care hours, which is about. $20/hour pay cut from my current job, but I’m hoping the experience pays off. 

[AHill]

Hi all! I was accepted on 10/29 and just paid the seat deposit several days ago. I look forward to meeting the class of 2023!  

[Nikkirae]

30 minutes ago, AHill said:

Hi all! I was accepted on 10/29 and just paid the seat deposit several days ago. I look forward to meeting the class of 2023!  

Congratulations!!

[mkwess]

Hey everyone, my friend and I were both accepted to the program and we made a facebook group “UND PA class of 2023” we’d love for anyone else that got in and is deciding to go there to join it so we can begin to meet our classmates! Congratulations to everyone that got in! I look forward to meeting my new classmates

[tfresonke]

1 hour ago, mkwess said:

Hey everyone, my friend and I were both accepted to the program and we made a facebook group “UND PA class of 2023” we’d love for anyone else that got in and is deciding to go there to join it so we can begin to meet our classmates! Congratulations to everyone that got in! I look forward to meeting my new classmates

I was accepted as well. I cannot seem to find the group on fb. 

[mkwess]

10 minutes ago, tfresonke said:

I was accepted as well. I cannot seem to find the group on fb. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1327994990875700/?ref=share
 

maybe this helps for those of you that were accepted. I’m not very good with technology so I just tried to copy the link from the group! Let know if this works! 

[Gretch1212]

For those that got in, do you mind sharing your stats. I am trying to figure out how I can better my application for next cycle. Thank you 

[PaAlltheWay84]

14 minutes ago, Gretch1212 said:

For those that got in, do you mind sharing your stats. I am trying to figure out how I can better my application for next cycle. Thank you 

I also was curious, so I joined FB group to ask what they felt that made them strong applicants and then told them I would leave after that. No response and was un-joined. That was a little surprising considering the profession is to help people and have compassion.

[futurePAmw]

15 hours ago, PaAlltheWay84 said:

I also was curious, so I joined FB group to ask what they felt that made them strong applicants and then told them I would leave after that. No response and was un-joined. That was a little surprising considering the profession is to help people and have compassion.

Hi! I was hoping that you would post something on here, I saw your comment on FB when I was at work and was going to reply when I got home, but your comment was gone by then. 

I don’t want to give my specific gpa but I would say my overall and science gpa are both pretty close to the national average of accepted PA students. I had a bit over 4,000 PCE hours (mostly CNA work) when I applied, and I did not take the GRE. I did some “virtual shadowing” but was not able to formally shadow any PAs due to COVID. I am not sure exactly how many volunteer hours I had, it was a few hundred from several different volunteer opportunities. I also had some research lab experience and studied abroad. It was my first year applying (not sure if that makes any difference), I did not apply with a preceptor, and I am a North Dakota resident.

I felt like my stats were pretty average, and sometimes still can’t believe I was accepted, but I got multiple interviews and acceptances so I must have done something right! I think that some of the big things for me were some really strong letters of recommendation, and I worked really hard on writing a good personal statement. I also spent a long time writing descriptions for my experiences and tried to make sure that they highlighted things that would make me a great PA and student. One other thing is that I want to work in a medically underserved community and made sure to highlight that in my personal statement, and only applied to schools with missions to train PAs to work in MUCs (I think this is really important if you’re trying to get into UND).

Let me know if I left anything out or if you have any more questions! I hope this was somewhat helpful, and I’m really rooting for everyone that didn’t get in this year. Your time will come!

Edited November 17, 2020 by futurePAmw

[PaAlltheWay84]

9 hours ago, futurePAmw said:

Hi! I was hoping that you would post something on here, I saw your comment on FB when I was at work and was going to reply when I got home, but your comment was gone by then. 

I don’t want to give my specific gpa but I would say my overall and science gpa are both pretty close to the national average of accepted PA students. I had a bit over 4,000 PCE hours (mostly CNA work) when I applied, and I did not take the GRE. I did some “virtual shadowing” but was not able to formally shadow any PAs due to COVID. I am not sure exactly how many volunteer hours I had, it was a few hundred from several different volunteer opportunities. I also had some research lab experience and studied abroad. It was my first year applying (not sure if that makes any difference), I did not apply with a preceptor, and I am a North Dakota resident.

I felt like my stats were pretty average, and sometimes still can’t believe I was accepted, but I got multiple interviews and acceptances so I must have done something right! I think that some of the big things for me were some really strong letters of recommendation, and I worked really hard on writing a good personal statement. I also spent a long time writing descriptions for my experiences and tried to make sure that they highlighted things that would make me a great PA and student. One other thing is that I want to work in a medically underserved community and made sure to highlight that in my personal statement, and only applied to schools with missions to train PAs to work in MUCs (I think this is really important if you’re trying to get into UND).

Let me know if I left anything out or if you have any more questions! I hope this was somewhat helpful, and I’m really rooting for everyone that didn’t get in this year. Your time will come!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, and huge congrats to you for acceptance! Your helpful spirit will serve your patients so well I felt I was a very strong applicant, so many hours, preceptor in rural area lined up, etc but will take some of your advice with emphasis on a couple of things I could improve my application with. I wish you the very best of luck and am so happy for you!!

[bamayotte]

To all of you accepted and attending UND. Have you heard anything about being required to pay half of the tuition up front before starting the program? If so, how does that work?