Ask a PA Admissions Director

[Martinace]

Hello paadmissions. I also have a question regarding LORs. I work in an ophthalmology office, and am getting one letter from my supervisor and one from an ophthalmologist. To round out the letters, I'm looking for an academic instructor also. I asked my lab instructor for my Intro to Molecular Biology course to write me a letter, and she agreed. I'm currently finishing my Microbiology course, and I developed a good relationship with my lab instructor and am certain she would also agree to writing for me. While the Intro course's instructor is a PhD, the Micro instructor only has a Master's. On the other side, the Micro course was upper-division while the Intro was lower. As I feel they would write equally strong letters for me, would one of these options be better than the other? I also have the option of using another ophthalmologist, but it seems like having an instructor of some sort is a good way to go. Thank you for your time!

[fakhan]

Hi,

 

I just recently took my GRE's and received the following scores Verbal Reasoning: 163, Quantitative Reasoning: 148, Analytic Writing: still waiting on official score. Would you consider my scores for the verbal and quantitative sections competitive for your program?

 

Thanks,

Faisal

[paadmissions]

@morrgan04 Thank you for your question. Your choice of major should not negatively affect your chances of getting into PA school. Our program, and most programs, do not have a major requirement for admissions, just that you have a bachelor's degree (if you're applying to a masters level program or one that requires a bachelor's degree that may not be a master's level program) and that you complete the required coursework. Hope this helps!

[paadmissions]

@martinace Thank you for your questions. Our program requires 2 clinical (or professional) LORs and 1 academic letter...so from our standpoint, I think the academic letter is the way to approach that 3rd letter. Our program does not put too much emphasis on whether the instructor has a PhD versus someone who has a masters degree. Both of the individuals are involved in your class. Since the lab instructor is only with you for lab and not in the actual class be sure that he/she feels like they can support your academic potential to be successful. It may be beneficial to ask the instructor for the microbiology course to "tag team" in the letter if that's possible. That way both the course and lab are covered. However, if this can't be done, I think you should be ok. If you're really unsettled about it (which I would not recommend you get too worried about it from our program's standpoint) you should always double check with the programs you're applying to make sure they don't have any issues. Hope this helps!

[paadmissions]

@fahkan Thank you for your question. Yes, I think your GRE scores are within a competitive range with our applicant pool and would not recommend retaking it. Thanks!

[dubstein]

Hi,

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions! I have a quick one for you. One of my supplemental applications asks to describe "special talents and attributes" that are not on CASPA. If you had asked this question, would you be looking for a more professional answer or something along the lines of extracurricular activities/interests/hobbies, etc.?

 

Thanks again!

[grcia]

How would a disorderly conduct + public intox charge affect the admission process? Both occurred on my 21st birthday however after consulting a lawyer he is confident the disorderly charge will be dropped because I was aiding in the defense of another, but the public intox charge is almost impossible to get rid of. It was my first time ever getting arrested and I have a clean history otherwise. I have not been convicted of either and my trial is set a few months after I apply to PA schools. Thank you for your help.

[paadmissions]

@dubstein Thank you for your question. A shot in the dark here, but I would assume you could talk about extracurricular activities/interests/hobbies, but be sure to do it in a professional way. CASPA asks for a lot of "professional" interests or activities so I'm assuming you're able to talk more about your personal interest in a supplemental application. Although our program does not utilize a supplemental application, they tend to be used to learn more about you and if you're in-line with their program's goals and mission. Hope this helps.

[paadmissions]

@grcia Thank you for your question. I don't think that will hurt your chances of being accepted, but you need to make sure you're forthcoming about your charges on your application. You don't want anything showing up on your background check that you haven't already been honest about. Hope this helps!

[donandjeanine]

paadmissions - I wanted to drop a note to say thank you. I asked you a question several weeks ago about my GPA, and you suggested that I make a brief mention of my freshman year vs. later years in my narrative. I completed the CASPA application just a few weeks ago and am happy to report that one of the schools contacted me yesterday offering an interview. I am confident that your recommendations were helpful. Thanks again for what you do!

 

Don

[Princess_Patel]

Hello,

How are you all?I just finished my first year of college at Four-Year University and due to financial issue I have to go to a community college for a year and then I will transfer to a Four-Year University again. Will that be okay or will it look bad on my application for PA school? Will the PA schools accept community college credits? I am so stressed about this because I need to decide before July 1st if I should just go to a 4 year college again....

[donandjeanine]

Princess_Patel - I completed a psychology degree online while taking all my science pre-reqs at the local community college. I have an interview with a PA program next month. While I am obviously less knowledgeable about the exact science of student selection and still have a long way to go, I think that the combination of GPA, patient care hours, etc. plays a greater role in selection than where you did the undergrad.

[Princess_Patel]

donandjeanine -- Yeah, but I have heard from people that some schools don't accept Community College credits and all that so I want to make sure so I don't have to retake the classes. Yeah, that's what I am thinking, if my GPA, patient care hours, etc.. stays good then I shouldn't have a problem but I just wanted to make sure. :/

[paadmissions]

@princess_patel Thank you for your question. I would recommend that you attempt to take nothing but transferable credits. There should be an "articulation agreement" or a document provided by your university or CC that outlines what would transfer in at the same level. I would do my best to take the lower level biology and chemistries as programs like ours would prefer to see upper level biology and chemistry courses taken at the university level. If that's not possible consider as much general education requirements at the CC...sometimes those tend to have a better chance to transfer in to a university and may help you knock out lower level classes which opens up more time to concentrate on the sciences. Hope this helps!

[Dynamo24]

Does the URM status carry as much weight with PA schools as it does with medical schools? I haven't heard a lot this pertaining to PA school but overwhelming amounts pertaining to med school. Thanks!

[paadmissions]

@dynamo24 Thank you for your question. There is certainly a need for underrepresented minority providers in the medical field. You're correct that you don't hear it talked about as much with PA school as it is talked about with medical school. Whether being a qualified URM is a weighed factor in admissions decisions would more than likely be a program specific decision. I know it is a goal of a lot of PA programs to increase diversity, that would include URM students. Hope this helps!

[Legendary]

Thank you so much for all the help you are providing! Hopefully you can shed some light on my situation aswell.

 

I am a student in Canada who will be applying to PA schools (mostly in Florida due to ties there). I took all of my prerequisites at a university after graduating from undergrad from UofT with a BA. My cGPA is a 2.95 however my science GPA is a 3.88, I have 100+ hours of shadowing a PA, Great LORS (1 from a MD, 1 from PA, 1 from Prof.) and around 400+ hours exp of HCE with direct patient care. Will be taking my GRE in coming months. I have two major concerns about my application:

 

1. Will my low cgpa give a big hit to admissions? Low GPA is not due to any failed courses, but many B-'s and C's.

2. How will being a Canadian student affect my application? Will it lower my chances?

 

Science has always been my passion but was forced into a pre-law undergrad due to my entire family being lawyers and expecting me to do the same. Safe to say i did not enjoy those classes and my cgpa was low mainly due to that. Thankyou in advance for your help!

[paadmissions]

@legendary Thank you for your questions. I'm thinking if your sGPA is that strong and with your HCE you should hopefully be able to move past initial screenings. For further clarification on my end I have a few questions or, more so, points you should consider:

1. Where were the sciences courses taken (in Canada or the US)? If they were taken in the US, I think that holds a stronger argument for your file to be more competitive (at least from our program's standpoint)

2. How many semester hours have you taken in the sciences? What courses have you taken? You want to make sure you have a significant number of science courses to prove your potential in PA school. For instance, if your science GPA is only based on 4 courses (ie 16 hours), that may not be competitive with someone who may have the same academic profile and has taken upwards to 30 semester hours of science courses. Additionally, you want the science courses to include a strong number of upper level courses like, but not limited to: Anatomy and Physiology, Micro, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, etc.

 

Every program will have differing approaches and policies for students who have completed their degree outside of the US. I would encourage you to research the policies for foreign graduates at the programs you're applying to. At least from our standpoint, we would require the following:

1. Have your transcripts evaluated by the World Education Services. This evaluation determines if your degree is equivalent to a bachelor's degree in the US. Other programs may use the evaluation to determine if they will count any of the coursework you've completed towards their prerequisites.

2. Our program does not count any coursework completed outside of the US regardless if you've taken the same course. Going back to my previous statement, you'll need to check with the programs to see what they will and will not count.

 

I hope this helps! Thanks!

[Legendary]

@paadmissions

 

Thankyou so much for your helpful reply,

 

To clarify more, I have 38 semester hours finished in science courses including the higher level ones such as genetics, organic 1 and 2, microbio, etc. They were all finished at the same university (not community college) inside Canada. My sGPA is actually 3.91 if calculus is not factored, but some schools put the math prerequisite into the sgpa so i usually state it as 3.88.

 

I have called a few of the schools around the US on their approach to applicants who are Canadian and got a mixed reply, some will accept and others won't so It was both disappointing and enlightening at the same time. If the World Education Services were to successfully deem my degree and courses as being US equivalent, would that encourage programs who don't normally view non-US applications to count mine as being acceptable?

 

Thankyou again

[paadmissions]

@Legendary From our standpoint, the only item we look at on the WES eval is if your degree is equivalent to a bachelor's degree in the US. The other coursework, unfortunately, really isn't even considered. All applicants have to take the prerequisites in the US regardless.

It does depend solely on what the policies are for the programs you're applying to. If you're not willing to retake anything in the US I would recommend applying to those programs who have more lenient policies for foreign graduates. However, if you're willing to retake a lot of the coursework, you may open yourself up to more options...just depends on how you want to approach it! Hope this helps and best wishes!

[fakhan]

That's great! Thank you very much

[DMaistre]

Hi PA admissions!

 

quick question I need from a directors standpoint. I need to retake GRE (W: 4.5 Q150, V 147)

 

what happened was I paced myself horribly during my first section which was verbal. I became mesmerized by one of the reading comp questions and had 3 min to guess 6 questions. Which were all passage related and due to stress couldn't think straight and got anxious. This then affected my next math because I was so angry at myself for dropping the ball on my verbal section. I collected myself after but couldn't salvage myself from the damage. I avg. V 155 and Q162 on the practice exams.

 

my question is during my retake can I skip the writing and go straight to my math and verbal then report all my scores (test 1 and 2) at the end? Or do I need to take the full gre exam? I just want to know how it would look from an ad comes point of view.

[nicfaune]

I am in a dilemma with some big decisions to make and need some advice. My dream has always been to be a PA. Currently I have an Bachelors in Exercise Sports Science with a minor in Health and Wellness Promotion and a Master's in Sports Management. In the past, I have worked as an Athletic Director in corporate fitness, worked as a PTA, and the last job was teaching PE, Health and coached XC and track and field at the College level. I have accumulated 2500 hours of HCE 2000 working as a PTA and 500 shadowing PA's. My undergrad GPA is an embarrassing 2.8, Master's was a 3.2 and now I have a 4.0 in all of my sciences and courses. Overall the last 60 hours my GPA is a 3.7. After my divorce I decided it was time to go back and pursue my dream. For the past year I have been going to school full time taking all the prereqs required and currently wrapping them up. I am finishing Chemistry 2 this summer and will take Genetics and Organic Chem this fall. I live in Durango and came down to Phoenix to take Chem 2 to help expedite the process and get some applications out this cycle. In my Chem 2 class the majority of the people in my class are all going to school to become a PA which makes me extremely nervous. I knew PA school was competitive but didn't realize how competitive until I came down here to Phoenix. I am starting to question whether or not I am doing the right thing and if I am wasting my time. I called one of the PA dept. down here and spoke with admissions and she said they select 40 per year and that all of the candidates had 80 hours or more of biology or science classes that were equivalent to 2nd year medical students!!! This was discouraging as I feel like I could spend many years trying to qualify for different schools and waste lots of money and time. Meanwhile, earlier this year I applied to nursing school for grins to see if I would get in....well surprisingly I got accepted. Now that I am seeing all of the potential candidates I am starting wonder I if should go the NP route. Not to sound like a Debbie downer, but I will be 42 in two months and don't know if this is worth my time. I am a realist and know how competitive this field has become. My question is should I continue to pursue PA prereqs or should I go the alternative route and do nursing and become an NP? I am not sure if it is worth me applying this cycle since it is late in the game but will try again next cycle. I am already looking at 2 years out to start PA school and that isn't even a guarantee!!! Basically, I would like your advise and your opinion on this decision. I feel like i am gambling my life and am driving myself crazy with "what if" games in my head. Everyone agrees this is a tough decision, but would love an honest opinion about my chances. Also here is another scenario, would it be better to skip O chem and genetics and start nursing school? Would that look better or worse?

 

Thank you so much for your time and feedback. I appreciate your help!

[hooper3e23]

Thanks for providing so much valuable information!

 

I just have a quick question and would like your honest assessment of my chances for acceptance. I am currently an Emergency RN and have been for 4.5 years. During my senior year of nursing school, I decided that what I really wanted to do was pursue an advanced level of practice and as of 2 years ago decided that becoming a PA was the perfect fit for me. I went back to school and will graduate with my BS in Biology next spring. For that degree, my institutional GPA is 3.94 and my science GPA is around a 3.95. When I submitted my CASPA application, I was required to include ALL coursework completed which meant my nursing courses as well. Those courses were not particularly interesting to me at the time and I received B's in most. This dropped my CASPA overall GPA to 3.74 and my science GPA to 3.65. However, I have received A's in each and every science course since returning for my Bio degree and during that time I also worked 30-40 hours per week in the ER. So, needless to say, I have a lot of direct patient contact experience as an RN (roughly 10,0000 hours or more) and I feel that I had 3 strong letters of recommendation. I also had several colleagues, including PA's, read through my personal statement before applying and all felt that it was outstanding. Every PA and MD that I have talked to seem to think that I will easily be accepted to all of the programs to which I applied, but I don't want to get my hopes up too quickly. My question is this, is there anything at this point that could hinder my acceptance? I realize that the interview is a big piece of the equation, but I am well spoken and can typically respond to questions with an intelligent answer. However, lets just say I had a mediocre interview. Would that totally diminish my chances of acceptance? Or do you think that my experience and grades on recent rigorous coursework will allow for some flexibility with the interview?

[ajm5733]

Question for you about microbiology prerequisite courses. Would a course in cell and molecular biology satisfy a microbiology prerequisite? There was a lab component included as well. I'm a senior in college with a pretty heavy courseload for the upcoming fall semester, so I was hoping this course I previously took would suffice.

 

Thanks for your help.