2020-2021 application cycle

[osakanohime]

Nope still waiting. I've been under review since June 24th. 

[SK203]

21 hours ago, osakanohime said:

Nope still waiting. I've been under review since June 24th. 

Same! I've been under review since June 16. This is week six of no word for me!

[osakanohime]

I hope we hear something back soon. Good or bad. I'd rather just know already. 

[Stargirl22]

Is it too late to apply?

[osakanohime]

Just got rejected but hope it works out for the rest of you! 

[BeachBum7]

2 hours ago, osakanohime said:

Just got rejected but hope it works out for the rest of you! 

I am so sorry to hear. Good luck with the rest of your applications!!! Do you mind sharing when you submitted to CASPA and received word AMC had your application and it was under review? 

Edited August 2, 2020 by BeachBum7

[SK203]

Just received an interview invite! Excited and shocked.

[Aneisha2288]

Hello! 

Does anyone mind sharing the interview process? I was invited for an interview for August 28th. 

[BeachBum7]

Just got an interview invite for September 17th!!!! Eep! Has anyone else received one for this date? I know they are rolling admissions and I submitted a little later than I would have liked (July 1st), but in the first paragraph it says an interview “for a spot on the wait for the PA class of 2023, starting in Jan. 2021.” Does this mean an interview for the wait list? It does not say “list” but I know they hold interviews for wait list spots and wanted to hear someone else’s opinion. Perhaps they forgot the word “list.” I am so excited either way for this opportunity!!!

[SK203]

5 minutes ago, BeachBum7 said:

Just got an interview invite for September 17th!!!! Eep! Has anyone else received one for this date? I know they are rolling admissions and I submitted a little later than I would have liked (July 1st), but in the first paragraph it says an interview “for a spot on the wait for the PA class of 2023, starting in Jan. 2021.” Does this mean an interview for the wait list? It does not say “list” but I know they hold interviews for wait list spots and wanted to hear someone else’s opinion. Perhaps they forgot the word “list.” I am so excited either way for this opportunity!!!

Mine was worded like this too, but is for August 28th! Not sure about the phrasing either.

[futurepabeck]

6 minutes ago, SKO23 said:

Mine was worded like this too, but is for August 28th! Not sure about the phrasing either.

Mine had that ‘wait’ phrasing too, interview is August 12th 

[BeachBum7]

9 minutes ago, SKO23 said:

Mine was worded like this too, but is for August 28th! Not sure about the phrasing either.

I think it might be for wait list spots. It seems like August 28th is the first round, Sept 17th might be the second round and I am not sure if any more will be planned after these dates. But, I know from a current student that the chances of getting pulled from the wait list for AMC can be really high as long as you are accepted onto it! 

Edit! Just noticed futurepabeck’s statement about their interview on August 12th. Seems like there are currently three wait list interview sessions planned. My friend was accepted last year after interviewing in November for a wait list spot! So this is really great for us! 

Edited August 2, 2020 by BeachBum7

[SK203]

4 minutes ago, BeachBum7 said:

I think it might be for wait list spots. It seems like August 28th is the first round, Sept 17th might be the second round and I am not sure if any more will be planned after these dates. But, I know from a current student that the chances of getting pulled from the wait list for AMC can be really high as long as you are accepted onto it! 

Edit! Just noticed futurepabeck’s statement about their interview on August 12th. Seems like there are currently three wait list interview sessions planned. My friend was accepted last year after interviewing in November for a wait list spot! So this is really great for us! 

Admittedly I'm much less excited now.... I wish they had made the email a bit clearer. 

[kinlocks]

Good morning, 

Do you all think it's too late to apply to the program?

[Alyson]

7 hours ago, kinlocks said:

Good morning, 

Do you all think it's too late to apply to the program?

Yes. 

[vanerey]

I just got an interview for 9/24 I’m so exited! I submitted caspa earlier July and received the under review email on 7/14. 

[SK203]

Does anyone know if this program has a cadaver lab? Also curious if anyone has insight into the 2019 PANCE 1st time program pass rate of 88%....

[ChristinaB]

13 hours ago, SKO23 said:

Does anyone know if this program has a cadaver lab? Also curious if anyone has insight into the 2019 PANCE 1st time program pass rate of 88%....

Yes, the program has a full cadaver lab. The lower PANCE pass rates reflect the decision to make the PANCE more difficult for 2019 and future years.

[kr27gree]

Received an interview invitation for 9/24 via email on 8/05! This interview is for the waitlist but I am still so honored to be considered!  

[anonprepa]

On 7/21/2020 at 10:21 AM, Khill0523 said:

Anyone else get their reject email from them and feel deeply disturbed by their approach to passing along the message? I've never seen another program cumulatively label their denied applicants as a "struggling applicant" and suggest they should pursue a less-demanding and competitive path such as radiology tech or NP....or was it just me that got that email?  In all seriousness though I feel almost a relief I wasn't accepted, as a program that wants to train compassionate and empathetic PAs you would think that sentiment would begin with their admissions committee, the first department potential students interact with. Says a lot about them. Anyway, I'm curious to know if anyone else noticed that/also thinks was completely out of line, or if I'm totally overreacting. 

 

Also in case anyone is curious about my stats:

3.5 GPA 

5,000 PCE (ED tech for 1.5 years and through covid, medsurg 1 year)

600 volunteer hours (homeless medical clinic, women's clinic)

~30 shadowing (OR, trauma, ICU)

I completely agree with this. I believe their long standing status in the PA realm has possibly gotten to them. I had a poor experience discussing matters of the "ESL hold" with their staff member (sarah) and I can tell they are either really stressed with the application process/COVID impacting them or they have normalized this level of professionalism and behavior in their department. Let me paste part of the rejection email below and quote: 

"Have you applied to other school with broader applicant pools? There are many schools, with larger class sizes that are able to take a broader range of students that might be a better fit for you.  Have you thought of other mid-level provider careers with a less demanding pool such as nurse practitioners? 

If you still feel as if you would like to continue on this path, one option we have seen struggling applicants do, is to look for new career, one that can be financially beneficial with or without PA education (i.e. rad tech).  As you go back to school (with full course loads) you can then show a progression of doing well in a demanding science program (you will need upper level science courses and a higher GPA).  Work in this field for 3-5 years, where you can gain experience and strong references.  This path takes long term commitment in both personal life and financial areas so you must decide what is best for you."

I am not sure if they really thought this will be helpful to us and it quite frankly sounds like prolonged unsolicited advice but they might need a little more training on how to communicate with their applicants and prospective applicants, however seeing that they stated in their email that have over 3000 applicants annually I am going to say that they simply do not care. I'm glad I had this insightful experience with them, I will not be applying to this university next cycle again if I need to re-apply, it did not leave a good impression. This is my first rejection of this cycle but I have 25 more schools to hear back from. Doesn't matter how many "no" we will get, we just need 1 "yes" ! Good luck everyone! 

[15PA15]

On 8/10/2020 at 9:45 PM, anonprepa said:

I completely agree with this. I believe their long standing status in the PA realm has possibly gotten to them. I had a poor experience discussing matters of the "ESL hold" with their staff member (sarah) and I can tell they are either really stressed with the application process/COVID impacting them or they have normalized this level of professionalism and behavior in their department. Let me paste part of the rejection email below and quote: 

"Have you applied to other school with broader applicant pools? There are many schools, with larger class sizes that are able to take a broader range of students that might be a better fit for you.  Have you thought of other mid-level provider careers with a less demanding pool such as nurse practitioners? 

If you still feel as if you would like to continue on this path, one option we have seen struggling applicants do, is to look for new career, one that can be financially beneficial with or without PA education (i.e. rad tech).  As you go back to school (with full course loads) you can then show a progression of doing well in a demanding science program (you will need upper level science courses and a higher GPA).  Work in this field for 3-5 years, where you can gain experience and strong references.  This path takes long term commitment in both personal life and financial areas so you must decide what is best for you."

I am not sure if they really thought this will be helpful to us and it quite frankly sounds like prolonged unsolicited advice but they might need a little more training on how to communicate with their applicants and prospective applicants, however seeing that they stated in their email that have over 3000 applicants annually I am going to say that they simply do not care. I'm glad I had this insightful experience with them, I will not be applying to this university next cycle again if I need to re-apply, it did not leave a good impression. This is my first rejection of this cycle but I have 25 more schools to hear back from. Doesn't matter how many "no" we will get, we just need 1 "yes" ! Good luck everyone! 

hey, was this just in the general email they sent to rejected students, or did you ask for follow up and this is what they sent you?  i was considering this school but if this is their approach it kinda sours my impression

[anonprepa]

33 minutes ago, 15PA15 said:

hey, was this just in the general email they sent to rejected students, or did you ask for follow up and this is what they sent you?  i was considering this school but if this is their approach it kinda sours my impression

Yes, this is the general rejection email they sent to me. I replied to "Khill0523" and they shared the same information about Albany rejection as well so I am set to believe that it is the general rejection email they sent to everyone that didn't make the cut. I also did my research on professionalism on this school and looked at old forums here on this website and in 2018 someone else "AWPA25" reported that they experienced "rude" person from Albany's admins when they called to ask about their application. When I called them to talk about the ESL hold, there was a condescending tone.  Just wanted to also add I am the type of person who sucks it up and complaining is the last thing I will tolerate. I can see when an opportunity is of value, I will take it even if it isn't all rainbows and butterflies.

So with that being said, I wasn't planning on writing about them at all. But after receiving this rejection, it just further validated their lack of professionalism in the rejection email.  However, I will say that I didn't find the first part of their email unprofessional, I found it reasonable and honest and there were no issues for the first portion. The lower half of the email is what I pasted prior and just being honest, Albany needs an editor for that part.

This is the beginning part of the email: 

"Your application has been reviewed and unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a position in our next entering class.  Our program has a long history and this year alone received over 3,000 applications for 42 seats, making it very competitive in terms of applicants to seats ratio. Due to this large number of applicants, it is not possible to provide specific feedback regarding what any one candidate should do to improve their chances. For this reason, we have developed the following assessment questionnaire, designed to assist you with reviewing your application should you wish to reapply in Spring 2021 for the next cycle."  

Their email is super long, I am not gonna post the entire thing on here. Don't want to bring down the mood of this forum. I'm sure there are people who love this program and had a wonderful life changing experience so keep that in mind. Every program is what you will make of it. But I definitely want to share my experience in hopes of allowing others to be critical and evaluate the programs they apply to, be reasonable (if you don't have a choice, just take what you can get, but if you do have a choice, then the quality of the program including professionalism and cultural competence is VERY important).

Good luck on your applications! 

[15PA15]

37 minutes ago, anonprepa said:

I'm sure there are people who love this program and had a wonderful life changing experience so keep that in mind. Every program is what you will make of it. But I definitely want to share my experience in hopes of allowing others to be critical and evaluate the programs they apply to, be reasonable (if you don't have a choice, just take what you can get, but if you do have a choice, then the quality of the program including professionalism and cultural competence is VERY important).

this is so important to remember, thank you for what you've said here. definitely something that i will have to keep in mind moving forward during this cycle. best of luck!

[cassidyl]

Got waitlisted today after interviewing last wednesday! (8/12) As far as I know, all interviews moving forward are for waitlist spots however we were told that about 40 people of their 60 person waitlist last year were offered a seat. We were also told that their current waitlist has 15 applicants on it. Apparently the "best applicant" on the current waitlist is offered the seat if that time comes and it is not based on who was added first! Additionally you can get pulled off the waitlist to be offered a seat at any point from the day you're added up until the week before classes. Just wanted to share this info! Stay hopeful everyone and good luck!! 

Also, and I can only speak for my experience, but the entire process for me was very pleasant. The interview day was well done and I loved my 2 interviewers. All of the other interviewees were also super friendly and we had great conversation all day.

Edited August 19, 2020 by cassidyl

[BeachBum7]

45 minutes ago, cassidyl said:

Got waitlisted today after interviewing last wednesday! (8/12) As far as I know, all interviews moving forward are for waitlist spots however we were told that about 40 people of their 60 person waitlist last year were offered a seat. We were also told that their current waitlist has 15 applicants on it. Apparently the "best applicant" on the current waitlist is offered the seat if that time comes and it is not based on who was added first! Additionally you can get pulled off the waitlist to be offered a seat at any point from the day you're added up until the week before classes. Just wanted to share this info! Stay hopeful everyone and good luck!! 

Also, and I can only speak for my experience, but the entire process for me was very pleasant. The interview day was well done and I loved my 2 interviewers. All of the other interviewees were also super friendly and we had great conversation all day.

Thank you for this information! I am assuming they must have a rank list then? Did they mention anything about that or if you find out where you are on the waiting list?