2020-2021 Application Cycle

[ekc5755]

Has anyone heard anything re: interviews?

[Guest]

On 7/10/2020 at 11:50 PM, beatrix1998 said:

Hello everyone,

I am planning on registering for CASPer test but don't know which admission cycle to choose, is it 2019-2020 or 2020-2021?

Also, it requires identification number, where and how can you acquire that?

Thank you.

2020-2021 cycle and your ID number is your CAPSA ID. When you log into your CASPA account, you will see your ID in the upper right hand corner. 

[PrePA2020123456789]

I emailed the program regarding when interviews will be sent out and they said  "Interview invitations will not be sent until December 2020." 

Looks like we will be waiting for a while!

[BeachBum7]

On 7/21/2020 at 12:08 PM, PrePA2020123456789 said:

I emailed the program regarding when interviews will be sent out and they said  "Interview invitations will not be sent until December 2020." 

Looks like we will be waiting for a while!

Thank you for letting us know! I attended the virtual PA program conference yesterday and in the chat Stanford did say that interviews will be held in January 2021 with invitations/rejections sent out in December 2020. 

Edited July 23, 2020 by bvarriale

[aalexalv8]

What does Stanford mean when they say they accept applications on a "semi-rolling" basis?

[osakanohime]

Good Luck to everyone applying! It's like night and day when comparing the admission timeline this cycle with last years cycle. We have a LONG wait until we hear back from them. This time last year people were getting their rejections/interview invites/Casper invites. 

I expect this forum to be dead until December but just wanted to say hiii to you all. 

[osakanohime]

Does anyone know how long it takes to get a confirmation email after you submit your CASPA Application? 

[biopsyd]

45 minutes ago, osakanohime said:

Does anyone know how long it takes to get a confirmation email after you submit your CASPA Application? 

I got a confirmation email from Stanford 5 days after submitting. 

[osakanohime]

On 8/10/2020 at 9:57 AM, biopsyd said:

I got a confirmation email from Stanford 5 days after submitting. 

Its been 5 days, technically 6 and nothing...im like slowly getting more unnerved but this. I already emailed them but haven't received a response. Should I call them? Do they even have a reachable number?  

[PrePA0410]

13 hours ago, osakanohime said:

Its been 5 days, technically 6 and nothing...im like slowly getting more unnerved but this. I already emailed them but haven't received a response. Should I call them? Do they even have a reachable number?  

I don’t think I heard from them for several weeks and from what I have seen they won’t even send out interview invites until December. So I wouldn’t worry 

[osakanohime]

Thanks! I finally recieved a confirmation email from them! Thank you! 

[TeddyRucpin]

My 30+ apps are blending together...is there a secondary/supplemental for Stanford? I recall only the extra essay within CASPA.

Thanks.

[marigold47]

16 hours ago, TeddyRucpin said:

My 30+ apps are blending together...is there a secondary/supplemental for Stanford? I recall only the extra essay within CASPA.

Thanks.

Nope! Just the essays on CASPA.

[art318]

Hi. I saw Stanford statistic requirement doesn’t accept psychology stats. Anyone run into this issue? Also, the three upper division classes required, what If only two are fulfilled? Should I drop Stanford as an option?

[Guest]

Hi. I saw Stanford statistic requirement doesn’t accept psychology stats. Anyone run into this issue? Also, the three upper division classes required, what If only two are fulfilled? Should I drop Stanford as an option?

Stanford will accept any psych class. Their pre-requisites are not a requirement and merely recommended (I confirmed this with their admissions office via email).

I got this from the front of the website:

“We are proud to have a robust and holistic admission process that welcomes applicants with a diverse range of experiences and backgrounds. We have two requirements for admission: (1) a bachelor's degree; and (2) completion of the CASPer assessment. All other application elements are recommended but not required.”

You should still apply! I recommend you do thorough research into the requirements and contact their admissions office for any unique discrepancies.


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[lsppas]

2 hours ago, Pa98173jd said:

Can someone verify what I'm understanding? Is the total cost of attending Stanford's PA program 300k before the addition of incurring interest? Then, at the time of graduating from a ~3 year program, you'd owe about 325-330k? 

Hi there, have family members in financial aid sector. Yes, this is true - essentially it will continue to accrue interest over time once you have signed up for the loan and the first disbursement is made. Now if it is a federal loan, those loans interest rate normally stay stagnant at the same rate over time. Any other loans such as private student loans or whichever one you take out, they will depend on the market in terms of the interest rate - this will depend on what you agree to take out and their terms of contract.

It's very valid to believe that interest will accrue during school because most loan agreements will state that interest will accrue once the first disbursement of the loans are made. 

I normally go to this page for all my questions regarding loans and federal student aid.  https://studentaid.gov/

 

Also, their website states the following for 20/21 so im assuming it will be a little more including the second year and tuition increases annually:  http://med.stanford.edu/pa/tuition.html

Based on if you are living on campus or off campus, it will be that times 2 because this only shows 4 quarters, and the program is a total of 9 quarters. 

Example would be (Living Off  Campus) is $132,033 x 2 = $264,066  + (accruing interest for the entire 9 quarters after first disbursement for that specific loan is made)  which will come out to closer to $300,000. I wanted to be a little more exact because I am not sure where the $300k is coming from but $264,066 is not $300k. 

You will most likely get a financial aid/loan entry interview and also an exit interview/session because they need to make sure you understand what you are borrowing and are aware how much you actually will owe and you can also always call their financial aid office for more info.

financialaid@stanford.edu , 650-723-3058

Hope this was helpful!

Edited September 16, 2020 by prepa6654
typos, corrected info

[lsppas]

30 minutes ago, Pa98173jd said:

Thank you for the information! I calculated the 300k by taking the cost of 3 quarters of living off campus, since they don't guarantee on-campus housing for PA students, and multiplying by 3 to account for 9 quarters. Im glad they have financial counseling because that is almost an entire small house in California or 2 houses in other states just in debt lol. Im mostly just shocked because most programs are 24 months ~100k so we would essentially agree to pay 3x as much for a longer program duration. I hope they offer scholarships specific to PA students

Oh right, that makes a ton of sense. Thank you for clarifying. Yes, I believe Stanford has a really high reputation and also I'm assuming the quality of education is of high standards too. I know everyone says it doesn't matter what PA program you go to as long as you pass the PANCE, but I am sure certain institutions have a standard level of networking opportunities and in a way, I think we are paying for that in this tuition, but that's just my take on it - this is debatable. It's also standard cost of living in CA, CA generally is much more expensive than other places because of rent, etc.  Yeah I am looking into scholarships too. Good luck everyone!

Edited September 16, 2020 by prepa6654
Typos

[crs92]

Wait isn't this madness?!!! There is no logical reason for Stanford to be this preposterous!! Why should a PA program cost this much?? Ugh if I had known this I would not have bothered applying in the first place. Ok, I'll quit tripping now. I'm sure for a lot of people this is nothing smh. 

Yup. For a program that boasts about being barrier free and reviewing applicants holistically...they’re basically making it tough for BIPOC to attend EVEN if they get in....unless of course you have the means which some applicants will. I guess it makes sense now why almost all of Stanford’s previous incoming class, and class photos, show the group being predominantly white [emoji854]


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[joethepa]

On 9/21/2020 at 8:39 AM, Ceexx said:

I doubt the aids would make a lot of difference for someone budgeting at most $150k like they sensibly should for a PA program. Their cost is just way off the grid. To put this in context, Stanford mba program is one of the most expensive in the country, yet it is slightly cheaper than their PA program!! Just think on that for a moment. Also, the mba program seems to have well defined scholarships and aids. And even if they didn’t have aids, it’s still okay. We all know our salaries as PAs would have nothing on that of a Stanford mba grad. So they could take out the loan with little regrets. I could not confidently say the same for a PA degree, unfortunately. The priority of our world is misplaced, seeing that some new finance folks could earn more than longtime MDs. 

Hi, this is an interesting topic. I did a rough analysis of couple of schools in California. Most of them are running are in the $4500-$5500 per month range ((tuition+fees)/length of program in month). Stanford is actually not the most expensive one if you factor in length of program, but it is definitely up there. I’m thinking it might have to do with the cost of living adjustment as well, since bay area is one of the most expensive places to live in the country... PAs in that area would expect to have a higher salary. I can’t speak for others, but for me, I definitely do my research and only apply to schools that I can afford!

[joethepa]

8 hours ago, Pa98173jd said:

If you include tuition, fees, and cost of living, attending Stanford PA program is 10,000 a month. It is the most expensive program because tuition of graduate programs at Stanford are set by simply being a full time student not measured by the amount of units one is taking. So despite the PA program producing PAs that will start with 100-130k salary, one will have to accept a debt to salary ratio of 3:1 right off the bat. Secondly, since the program is in California, you cannot work as a PA during a pending license so you will have months after graduation with no job. Then, you would owe roughly 330k by the time you actually secure a job. I just hope they have some aid for disadvantaged students because as someone mentioned earlier, it isnt just for BIPOC.

Why can’t students apply to other schools that are within their range of affordability?

[joethepa]

I know a girl that is of African decent (albeit she is mixed) studying in the program right now. I am a POC. I have experienced my share of racist encounters.

I am not offended by your comment. I’m just offering solutions to your problem (i.e. Problem: School too expensive, Solution: Apply to less expensive school.)

I don’t want to sound mean, but that solution just seems logical to me.

I also want to apologize if I offended anyone.

[Ceexx]

3 hours ago, joethepa said:

Why can’t students apply to other schools that are within their range of affordability?

Like someone rightfully explained, that is not the point. I’m sure there’s no person applying to Stanford alone or intentionally choosing to apply to the most expensive schools. Stanford is a reach school for everyone, but it’s sad if factors beyond academics and skill consistently keep people from applying and/or attending, especially if the program and others like it are screaming want for diversity all over their websites. Patients can benefit from having providers with low ses backgrounds. Such providers can be more empathetic to certain issues. For example, I think there’s statistics to show that such providers are more likely to accept patients with Medicaid. 

[joethepa]

2 hours ago, Ceexx said:

Like someone rightfully explained, that is not the point. I’m sure there’s no person applying to Stanford alone or intentionally choosing to apply to the most expensive schools. Stanford is a reach school for everyone, but it’s sad if factors beyond academics and skill consistently keep people from applying and/or attending, especially if the program and others like it are screaming want for diversity all over their websites. Patients can benefit from having providers with low ses backgrounds. Such providers can be more empathetic to certain issues. For example, I think there’s statistics to show that such providers are more likely to accept patients with Medicaid. 

Hi, I think this is a healthy discussion and a great topic for debate. Thank you for providing different points of view! I appreciate it!

I understand the point of having providers with a diverse background and totally in support of it. But I also understand that Stanford is not the only school available in order to become a provider. Since you can become a provider without going to Stanford, I don’t see how Stanford is “preventing” the US from having a diverse provider background.
 

Also, not all BIPOC are of low SES and not all non-BIPOC are of high SES.

In addition, you can’t guarantee that decrease tuition will ensure a racially diverse provider population. For example, a school could offer free tuition, but only accept non-BIPOC applicant into their pool.

Therefore, in my opinion, there is some logical fallacies blaming Stanford as the cause the having a disproportionate provider racial background.

My point is that Stanford is not the only school that is available for you to become a PA. It would be great if they can lower their tuition (who doesn’t love a good savings!), but also I not sure it’s entirely fair to blame one school/program or their admissions committee for contributing to a national issue. 

Edited September 27, 2020 by joethepa

[Ceexx]

31 minutes ago, Pa98173jd said:

I agree with you on these points as well! I think I'm more bothered by the fact that their mission on the interview day was so humanitarian and all about diversifying providers in the Bay area but they are contributing to the problem lol. Whereas, I've been accepted to programs without that much diversity (a bit more diverse than Stanford though) but they don't claim diversity as their mission. It might not be on the national level, but it is disingenuous in my opinion. So I've just been torn about this all to be honest because if I dont get in, I won't know if it is based on my lack of merit or their implicit biases and if I do get in, do I want to be that token POC standing like a sore thumb in their class photo? Are their students equipped to treat African American students fairly? Will I be ostracized? Etc. It is mental gymnastics whether I am accepted or rejected. Like for me it isnt cost necessarily. Im interviewing with USC (similar costs) in 2 weeks but at least USC has 20% ACTUAL minority PAs (not counting Asian Americans) in each cohort. So then why is Stanford different and not like that? 

Good luck with your interview!!

[biopsyd]

I have to agree with the comment on diversity. If that is your mission, you shouldn't make accessibility difficult for these groups of people and also show diversity in your cohorts. Many programs claim they are big on diversity, but then their cohort group pictures show otherwise. I've had patients with serious conditions (strokes, STEMIs, etc.) who spoke a foreign language, but there were no providers that knew that language. I love the medicare comment too. I've had many patients with no medical insurance worried about having to pay for an ambulance or medical services. Unfortunately, some providers never had that problem themselves. It's always "lets get you to the hospital" or "your insurance problem will work itself out" when the patient did not really need to go to the hospital nor did they require an ambulance. It's easy to say things like that when you had private insurance all your life. I myself never had private insurance until after graduating college. Without diverse providers, some patients aren't receiving the proper care or at least not to the full extent it could be.

As a POC, I think it's sad to feel like I don't belong in some programs. I've had panel interviews where I was asked if I felt there was a lack of diversity in PA education. I was asked this by white interviewers. The irony.