Ask a PA Admissions Director

[paadmissions]

@lelawadi Thank you for your questions. Yes, we have had dental hygienists switch careers before and have counted those hours towards our HCE requirement. However, double check that other programs accept those hours as it's not something we see a lot. That being said, I would make sure you at least spend quality time shadowing PAs to demonstrate to the committee that you've taken time to get an understanding of the profession. Limited exposure to PAs could hurt your application in most instances. I hope this helps!

[swimbikerun4fun]

A school I applied to denied me because "there are no repeats in PA school": I got a C in a pre-req while going thru a personal issue and immediately retook the course the next semester and got an A. In my personal statement for next year's re-application, the advice is to give 2 sentences regarding the poor grade. Is something like: My desire to return to school to become a PA required me to repeat an upper level biology course within a 5 year time frame. After a 19 year post-baccalaureate career with full time experience, I completed this requirement but did not excel with a top notch grade, due to personal issues related to my family. After appropriate intervention, I immediately repeated the course and obtained the top grade in the class. While class repeats are surely not allowed in PA school, I learned in this short 16 weeks the importance of prioritizing my lifestyle with what is expected in a highly competitive PA program; 110% committment and follow through.

[Cleverisallxx]

Just wanted to say thank you for creating this thread, its been so helpful! I have quick question; while reading commonly asked questions during interviews, I came across this one: Are you familiar with any national or state level regulations for PA’s?

I'm not sure what the question is asking for specifically... organizations? laws? Your insight on this would be appreciated!

[Morgan]

Dear Paadmissions,

 

 

Thank you so much for creating this thread, it has been invaluable. My situation is particularly difficult because my undergrad gpa is a deplorable 2.49. I worked full time during my entire undergrad career and was never truly able to be completely devoted to my studies. I feel as though in spite of all of my efforts I am just treading water as my gpa is moving very slowly. Since undergrad I have maintained a 3.65 post bacc gpa and through taking many courses have pulled my gpa up to a 2.75. With more hard work, I anticipate that I will be able to pull my gpa up to a 3.0 in a couple of years time.

 

 

I am planning to apply to pa schools this summer who have lower gpa cut offs and also focus on the last 30-60 credits hours/upward trends. My hope is that I can receive feedback and see if I am on the right track. Would you recommend that I apply to some schools this summer knowing that I my cgpa is not competiive for admission? Ultimately I would love to enroll in a program that focuses on healthcare for underserved populations. I have outlined the rest of my credentials below. Thank you for your time!

 

 

ugpa: 2.49

cgpa: 2.75

sgpa: 3.33

post bacc: 3.65

 

 

Work Experience:

* +8,000 hrs as a pediatric/maternal health clinical research assistant working with underserved families (clinical skills include phlebotomy, performing lung function tests/spirometry, collecting vitals, performing skin allergy tests)

* EMT-B course in progress

 

 

Volunteer experience:

+ 2,000 hours (over the past 3.5 yrs) volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, Boston University Medical School Annual Haitian Health Conference, BUMS outreach van, Boston healthcare for the homeless, multiple mission trips to Haiti and the American Red Cross.

 

 

Research Experience:

Undergrad: First authored publication on maternal health

Postgrad: Coauthor on multiple publications on maternal/child health

 

 

Language fluency:

English, Spanish, French Creole

 

 

GRE - TBD

PA shadowing - TBD

MD shadowing - 20hrs

 

 

Thank you again!

[Moiraine57]

A school I applied to denied me because "there are no repeats in PA school": I got a C in a pre-req while going thru a personal issue and immediately retook the course the next semester and got an A. In my personal statement for next year's re-application, the advice is to give 2 sentences regarding the poor grade. Is something like: My desire to return to school to become a PA required me to repeat an upper level biology course within a 5 year time frame. After a 19 year post-baccalaureate career with full time experience, I completed this requirement but did not excel with a top notch grade, due to personal issues related to my family. After appropriate intervention, I immediately repeated the course and obtained the top grade in the class. While class repeats are surely not allowed in PA school, I learned in this short 16 weeks the importance of prioritizing my lifestyle with what is expected in a highly competitive PA program; 110% committment and follow through.

 

If, as you say, they denied you solely because of your retaking 1 class why on earth would you want to apply there again?

 

Just curious. I would have a problem going somewhere so seemingly narrow-minded, intolerant, and inflexible.

 

I mean, if I'm reading this correctly, the rest of your app was great, but they denied you because you had to take 1 class over again because of a family emergency? What happens if you have a family emergency during PA school? "Sorry, Swim, I know your family died last week but you better get an A! There's no repeats in PA school!"

[swimbikerun4fun]

Moiraiane57, You are absolutely right, why on earth would I want to reapply there? Yes they sure are closeminded, but, with children under the age of 10, this is the closest program for me, its only 400 miles away, the next 4 prorgrams are 700 miles away. THis would be a second career for me, I have 23 solid years of health care experience and I have been dead set on becoming a PA for 4 years but have not been successful in getting in. 3 times. I have a 3.4 from a well-respected private college and numerous awards in my field. My post-grad GPA is 4.0. My LOR are top notch. I have shadowed 15 PAs for 8-24 hours each. I have written LOR and done mock interviews for current PA students who are just out of under grad, who were accepted at other schools, not this one. Call me an idiot or a very stubborn girl who won't give up.

[Moiraine57]

Swim, gotcha. It's tough. I don't know what I'd do in that situation. Just sounded like a callous thing to say and I would wonder if that attitude was representative of the program as a whole. If its the only school, though, it's the only school. Family comes first.

[paadmissions]

swimbikerun4fun Thank you for your question and I'm sorry to hear of your frustration with the one program of your choice. I'm really unsure of what to tell you from here, but I do like your "rebuttal" in your personal statement. You kept it professional and provided a "too the point" explanation. I guess my only other question is how are your other grades in the prerequisites? I would hope a program, if asked, would give further feedback on if reapplying to their program would be worth the time and energy you're putting in? I tend to be very upfront with applicants to let them know if they should even pursue our program. Not everyone in our program has repeated prerequisite coursework, but there are a few who have retaken some courses and have been successful. The unfortunate thing about applying to PA school is that the admissions process and decisions are not "cookie cutter" by any means. Every program will have a different approach to applicants retaking courses. I don't know how much this may help you, but you may want to ask the program if it is that one retake that is hindering your application or is there more, and if it's worth you even pursing them further. Applying to any professional program is time consuming and expensive so make sure you attempt to dig further if it will help you. I hope this helps.

[paadmissions]

@Cleverisallxx Thank you for your question and to be honest I don't know the answer to that question or have really an idea of what a committee would be looking for if they ask. I've done some online searching and have come across something with the AAPA (click here) and you can visit the NCCPA's website for each state medical board link. Again, this one stumps me....:O_O:

[paadmissions]

@morgan Thank you for your questions. Before applying make sure you touch base with these particular programs to see if you're in line with their averages. I would be more in favor of you delaying your application for a year to work on bringing up your science GPA and accumulating more shadowing and EMT hours. If GRE is weighed heavily that may be a critical piece of the puzzle. Although the programs you're considering may have a lower cut off with GPA I recommend that you make sure your not hovering around the cut off. You'll need to exceed the selection factors in more than one category. Check with those programs first before moving forward just to be sure. I hope this helps and keep working hard!

[kroach25]

First of all I want to thank you for the time you are taking to answer all the questions. I am currently in the process of applying to two schools, one requires a gpa of 2.9 and the other one a gpa of 2.5, I have a Bio degree and graduated with a gpa of 2.79 unfortunately because of financial problems I had to withdraw from school a couple of time during my college career towards the end was when I was more consistent with classes. I am 35 yrs old i have worked full time my whole life and i also have 12 yrs of patient care i worked in labor and delivery, maternity, NICU and in a OB/GYN office. My question is do I have a chance of getting into a PA program I have been driving myself crazy thinking about it and I also had someone told me I had no chance. I am a dedicated person I understand the difficulty of the program. I just wanted to know what are my chances I do not want to give up my dream.

[TarheelGirlx3]

Thank you in advance for your advice. I am personally interested in MU's physician assistant program, and I want to apply this upcoming cycle. However, I am not sure whether or not I should delay for a year. I am graduating this May with my bachelor's of arts in biology and psychology.

 

cGPA (before spring semester grades):3.33

sGPA: ~3.0

1 year research experience, 2 years leadership experience as a community government treasurer, ~25 hospital volunteer hours, tutored for A&P (selected based on academic performance)

 

I have not yet taken organic chem or biochem, but I intend to over summer, fall and spring while I am applying. These are the only medical core prerequisites for MU that I have not yet taken. Without these, my prerequisite GPA is approximately 3.6. I only have hospital volunteer hours, which I know does not count for HCE. However, I will be shadowing 2 DO's within the next month, and I intend to shadow a PA after graduation to get required hours.

 

I am not sure how much personal story weighs in on admissions decision, but I have a significant one (performing my best in the midst of horrible circumstances, will use this as a basis for my personal narrative).

 

Lastly, I will take the GRE early this summer, assuming approximately a 300.

 

With all that being said, do you think I could be a competitive applicant at MU this cycle, or should I focus on HCE for the next year and improving my science GPA?

 

Thank you again!

[White Lion]

I had a question concerning getting a certificate or Associate's degree in Surgical Technology. Would work in this area be considered for HCE? I wouldn't want to go through getting the cert/degree, get a job and find out it wouldn't count. I figured it would be a good lead in to Surgical PA work?

[Leyla]

Paadmissions,

 

Thank you very much for creating this thread. My question is recording how multiple application attempts are viewed by the adcoms. I heard once that the chances of admission decrease with every application. I am applying to schools this summer and although I meet the minimum requirements I'm questioning whether I will be admitted as my stats are not stellar. Should I wait and apply next year so that I can improve my application? Or should I apply this year at the risk of not getting in? Will it affect me adversely if I have to reapply or will it show determination especially if there is improvement?

[badger12]

Thank you for taking the time to create this thread and answer our questions! I interviewed at the PA program at UW-Madison and was chosen as an alternate. Unfortunately they cannot reveal the number of alternates chosen or rankings. Is there anything I can do at this point to increase my chances of getting in? I've recently shadowed a PA, MD, and NP, which was not on my CASPA application...should I email this information to them or would that be more of an annoyance?

 

Here are my statistics...

Undergraduate school/major: UW-Madison/ Clinical Laboratory Science

Science GPA: 3.75

Undergraduate GPA: 3.79

Age: 22

HCE: 900 hours nannying a girl with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, 40 hours phlebotomy (part of my CLS didactic program), and ~1000 hours at United Cerebral palsy and Community Living Alliance as a respite provider

Volunteer: 60 hours at Agrace HospiceCare, 10 hours at Expanding Your Horizons

Shadowing: ~18 hours with 2 PAs, 1 MD, and 1 NP

 

 

Thank you for your time!

[ZDR2890]

Thank you so much for doing this! I know that I want to work in the medical field but I was unsure whether I wanted to be a PA or go into public health so I took a year off and worked full-time. Now I am desperate for some objective input on my chances or for any advice on how to strengthen my application. I graduated from a prestigious university with a degree in biochemistry.

My overall GPA is 3.27, science GPA is 3.0

I got a few Cs in introductory science courses but got Bs or As in upper level courses, often with the same professors.

I got all As in my senior year (including two upper level science courses and a math class)

I took Anatomy and Physiology courses after graduation (my school did not offer them) and got As.

I am a teaching assistant for organic chemistry laboratories, I mentor younger students in the sciences and I did an internship teaching biology to high school kids in the area. Two years of research experience in chemistry.

Volunteering: 30 hours at a local hospital interacting (but not caring for) admitted patients, 100+ hours since high school at local animal shelters. Planning on doing more volunteering once I settle into a new area.

Will have about 2000 direct patient care hours as a clinical research assistant at a big hospital in Boston, worked per diem as a CNA as well.

40 hours job shadowing MDs and PAs

 

I went into my biochemistry major with almost NO background in the sciences and struggled a lot as a result. It took me several semesters to learn how to really study. In my junior year, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, my father lost his job and I had some health issues of my own - my grades suffered as a result but I came back swinging in my senior year. Will my upward trend make a difference?

[aerten]

Personal Statement

 

Hello... I am starting to think about my personal statement for my application and am having a hard time deciding what to focus on. Do you have any general guidelines about what makes a strong personal statement? Thanks!

[paadmissions]

@kroach25 Thank you for your questions and I apologize for the delay I was out recruiting this week. I think you have an extensive medical background and would encourage you to check out the in-coming averages for those programs to see if you would be competitive. If not, consider retaking prerequisites that may be a little outdated, even if there isn't a timeline on the courses required. It's best in my opinion to get back in the classroom as much as possible to show a redirected focus and academic will power to be successful in the program. I hope this helps and best wishes!

[paadmissions]

@tarheelGirlx3 Thank you for your questions and for your interest in our program. Sorry for the delay. I do think you would be a competitive applicant for our program especially if the GRE is in the range you're hoping for. Remember the application for August 2014 opens on April 17th so be sure to start it early. We're rolling admissions so it's first come, first serve. Also, stop by our table at UNC on April 9th from 10-3 since we'll be out there for the health professions fair. I hope this helps and we look forward to working with you!

[paadmissions]

@whitelion Sorry for the delay and thanks for the question. Our program counts surgical tech hours and I would imagine most programs would. I think it's good experience for you, but be sure to check with the programs that interest you to see if they would count them...I'm pretty sure they would! Best wishes.

[paadmissions]

@leyla Thanks for your questions and sorry for the delay. Interesting question about reapplying because every program will have a different opinion about it. We don't hold it against an applicant if they reapply and they weren't offered an interview in the previous year, but like I said above, others may hold it against the applicant. If you feel you're not exceeding the selection factors at the programs (check their averages if they provide that information) you may want to wait to improve your application for the following year's cycle. I hope this helps!

[paadmissions]

@badger12 Thank you for your question and sorry for the delay. Unfortunately, I don't know how they order their applicants on the alternate list and if that order is already in place. If the order has already been decided I don't know how much of an affect additional shadowing hours will help increase your chances of being moved up the list. From our standpoint, the application materials we have on file for applicants we interview are enough. Applicants we place on the alternate list really cannot "move up" the list with additional hours or coursework. It never bothers me to have applicants submit additional information for their file, but tread lightly bc not all programs would view it the same. I hope this helps!

[paadmissions]

@zdr2890 Thank you for your questions and sorry for the delay. I do think an upward trend in academic performance will always help an applicant prove their academic potential. I would be sure that the last 45-60 hours calculate to a competitive GPA in all categories. Take a look at the prerequisite GPA to make sure that is at least at or exceeding the requirements/recommendations for the programs that interest you. Continue your HCE and make sure the GRE, if applicable, is within a competitive range. I like how you've recognized your study habits had to change. That's insightful about your academic career and encouraging to see you can recognize that if needed. I hope this helps!

[paadmissions]

@aerten Thanks for asking this question because I was considering starting a new blog to advise people on what to write and what not to write.

What topics you should address:

- How your HCE experience has exposed you to the profession and why it interest you

- Know the healthcare situation in this country!!! With more physicians entering into specialties PAs will be critical to helping in primary care areas.

- Communicate your understanding of the PA/physician relationship and the importance of teamwork.

- We're looking for insight, reflection, analysis, depth of experiences, and uniqueness in a personal statement...meaning we don't want a "cookie cutter definition" of what a PA does.

- Recognize the rigors of PA school and how you maximized your undergraduate experience and HCE for it

- Your desire and/or skill set to enter into primary care medicine (if applicable)

 

What not to write/address:

- Do not begin your personal statement with any of the following statements:

- "I played the game Operation when I was little and that lead me to want to be a medical provider,"

- "Ever since I was 5 years old I played with a dr's kit.."

- "As my 'important family' member passed away I held their hand knowing I needed to make a difference" or

- "I want to help people"

- Address the profession correctly..it's physician assistant not physician's assistant

- Not all dr's spend 2.5 secs with their patients and not all PAs spend over an hour with their patients. Tread lightly on this topic..remember there are MDs on many admissions committees.

- It's a fast track to be a medical provider. There are insightful ways to present this to a committee so think about this statement.

 

I hope this helps!

[sumarachi]

I have a question that has been driving me crazy!!

so i previously put up my stats and you considered me competitive I am currently applying for this new cycle that will open in April. I am currently a senior, and will graduate this fall.

 

I'm submitting my application after this spring semester is over, therefore I will have only 5 courses left that I will take in the fall and complete my degree. I am finished taking all of my pre-requisites, and I am also done all my major science courses. I will be done my degree before any of the programs start in 2014.

 

Someone told me that schools will automatically look at my "degree in progress" and reject me. Is this true? I know many many people apply during their senior year and right after graduating, start PA school instead of having a year gap. I am freaking out, please tell me this is NOT the case...