Ask a PA Admissions Director

[sls18]

I think my GPA and experience as a clinical dietitian over the past 4 years is going to make me look great on paper. However I want your opinion about the interview. I've been thinking about PA school ever since I was a dietetic intern right out of college which was when I first encountered PAs. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last fall and underwent a total thyroidectomy 4 months ago. It was my experience and complications that pushed me to want to apply this year. I also love being a dietitian but I feel as though the profession is restrictive in the clinical setting. I love the medical side and the patient interactions which is why I want to be a PA. However I am looking at this as I had the opportunity to start out as an RD but now that I have the clinical background I feel like I'm ready to take the next step as a PA and build on my experience and knowledge. I do not want an interview committee to take this explanation the wrong way but I can honestly say I don't fee like I'm "switching professions" as I'm already a healthcare provider and spend a lot of my day collaborating with the interdisciplinary team. What do you think?

[Maynard]

Dear Mrs. Mish,

 

Thank you for crossing time and space to answer our questions.

 

You've written a lot about how applicants need to find a "good fit" for them and similarly how schools interview applicants to see if they're a "good fit" for the program. I was wondering if you could elaborate a little on what that means. What are a couple specific "bad fit" things that get applicants rejected, even when there's nothing wrong per se with their transcript and interview? More importantly, how would you recommend applicants evaluate programs to see what's a good fit and what isn't?

[paadmissions]

@stephanieP Thank you for your question and I'm excited to hear of your interest in our program!! When you describe your duties on your application make sure to be very specific in your interactions with patients. Volunteering can sometimes be in that grey area so you want to be as detailed as possible so they will count. Hope this helps and we look forward to working with you.

Hi paadmissions!

 

Thank you for answering all of the questions on this forum. I am currently in the process of earning my bachelor's degree and plan on enrolling in the PA program at Methodist U. I am familar with the requirements and wanted to ask a question concerning the experience hours. I have volunteered several years at my local hospital. None of the duties performed were clerical and I did various tasks, most of the time, involving direct patient contact. Will these volunteer hours count towards the required experience hours?

[paadmissions]

@sls18 Thank you for your question. I don't think too many committees would see many things wrong with your explanation of why you want to change fields.  We see people in your position often and the explanation about the limitations of your current profession are understood. I think as long as you communicate that and your understanding of the role of the PA clearly you should be ok when it comes to evaluating that part of your interview. Hope this helps!

I think my GPA and experience as a clinical dietitian over the past 4 years is going to make me look great on paper. However I want your opinion about the interview. I've been thinking about PA school ever since I was a dietetic intern right out of college which was when I first encountered PAs. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last fall and underwent a total thyroidectomy 4 months ago. It was my experience and complications that pushed me to want to apply this year. I also love being a dietitian but I feel as though the profession is restrictive in the clinical setting. I love the medical side and the patient interactions which is why I want to be a PA. However I am looking at this as I had the opportunity to start out as an RD but now that I have the clinical background I feel like I'm ready to take the next step as a PA and build on my experience and knowledge. I do not want an interview committee to take this explanation the wrong way but I can honestly say I don't fee like I'm "switching professions" as I'm already a healthcare provider and spend a lot of my day collaborating with the interdisciplinary team. What do you think?

[paadmissions]

@Maynard Thank you for your questions. Typically, outside of academics, an applicant who we consider a bad fit usually has interpersonal traits that don't seem to fit well with the program. These traits could range from maturity, personality, arrogance, interactions with students and faculty, communication skills, being perceived as being irritated or uninterested in being there, etc. Sometimes applicants may think their interview answers are solid, but may not be perceived by the committee as being ready for PA school (going back to maturity) or their answers really show that they really don't understand what the PA profession is all about. 

Applicants should evaluate if:

- The students and faculty seem to be a good match for you (you'll get a feel for it when you interview)

- The lecture style meets your way of learning (you should know your learning style before you get to PA school). For example, if you don't learn well in a problem-based learning environment, it's best you don't set yourself up for failure by choosing a school that has PBL. 

- You're getting a good vibe overall that the program makes you comfortable. 

First impressions are everything, but it's important to be yourself.  It's best for you and the program to judge whether or not you'll fit in. Hope this helps!

Dear Mrs. Mish,

 

Thank you for crossing time and space to answer our questions.

 

You've written a lot about how applicants need to find a "good fit" for them and similarly how schools interview applicants to see if they're a "good fit" for the program. I was wondering if you could elaborate a little on what that means. What are a couple specific "bad fit" things that get applicants rejected, even when there's nothing wrong per se with their transcript and interview? More importantly, how would you recommend applicants evaluate programs to see what's a good fit and what isn't?

[Maynard]

One more question: I'm going to be interviewing at a program whose stated purpose is to train primary care providers for underserved areas. I suspect that I'm going to be asked what specialty I plan on going into and the honest answer is… I really don't know what I'll do. I'm kind of leaning toward emergency medicine. Do you think my chances will be significantly damaged at this school if I say something other than primary care?

 

Thanks again for your help.

[paadmissions]

@maynard Yes, it is best to be honest in my opinion. Depending on where you are in the country, some EDs are where some people go for primary care because they can't afford a regular primary care provider. Most programs are primary care driven, including ours, and according to accreditation standards there has to be some exposure to Emergency Medicine in the clinical year. So to be interested in EM is not a bad thing.  If the focus of this program is rural areas, more than likely the rotations will be in these areas and you'll get a lot education in the didactic year about what to expect in these types of settings. The populations will be a lot different then what you'll see in more affluent areas of the country.  Be sure you are ok with the mission of the program as you move forward. Hope this helps!

One more question: I'm going to be interviewing at a program whose stated purpose is to train primary care providers for underserved areas. I suspect that I'm going to be asked what specialty I plan on going into and the honest answer is… I really don't know what I'll do. I'm kind of leaning toward emergency medicine. Do you think my chances will be significantly damaged at this school if I say something other than primary care?

 

Thanks again for your help.

[sakuraly26]

I entered college in 2003 and transferred out in 2005 with most pre-req Bio, chem, Organic chem finished. I know some schools require the pre-req to be completed within 7 or 10 years. I plan to retake those classes agin. Does it mean I would not have to submit my transcript from 2003 - 2005 to CASPA? 

[Maynard]

sakuraly26,

 

CASPA requires you to submit all college-level coursework to their server. Make sure you read and follow their instructions carefully because it could come back to haunt you later.

[Cbrutts]

Dear PA Admissions Director:

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer everyone's questions. I would just like to know where you think I would stand as a candidate. I am hoping to apply in the 2015 cycle for matriculation in 2016. I am currently a Cat Scan Technologist with about 10 years of experience; so I have a ton of HCE. I have not seen any X-ray or CT techs on here so I am curious as to how admissions view those types of candidates. My cumulative GPA from X-ray school is 3.73 with which I received an Associates Degree in Applied Sciences and I am currently enrolled into an online Bachelors program through the University of St. Francis with a current GPA of 3.80. I should receive my Bachelor's degree by December 2014 and then there are some prerequisites that I will need to take in order to apply for PA school. I know that online classes are sort of looked down upon but I would like to add that I am currently working full time, married and a mother of a 22 month old all while taking 2 classes at a time and keeping a decent GPA. I would just like to know your thoughts of a realistic approach of getting into PA school. If it matters I live in PA and will be applying to the Philadelphia area schools.

 

Thank you so much for your time, it is greatly appreciated.

[paadmissions]

@sakuraly26 Thank you for your question. You will have to submit all transcripts from every college/university that you attended regardless of how long ago you took classes. 

I entered college in 2003 and transferred out in 2005 with most pre-req Bio, chem, Organic chem finished. I know some schools require the pre-req to be completed within 7 or 10 years. I plan to retake those classes agin. Does it mean I would not have to submit my transcript from 2003 - 2005 to CASPA? 

[paadmissions]

@cbrutts Thank you for your question. I think your healthcare experience would count for any program so you should be good to go in that category. In regards to your coursework, I would do everything possible to take as many prerequisite courses, especially the biologies and chemistries, in the classroom if you're able. Your GPAs are solid, but you also want to demonstrate you're just as capable in the classroom. I would encourage you to ask the programs that interest you how they view online courses. I'm assuming my advice above is in line with many thoughts about online classes. Hope this helps and best wishes.

Dear PA Admissions Director:

Thank you for taking the time to answer everyone's questions. I would just like to know where you think I would stand as a candidate. I am hoping to apply in the 2015 cycle for matriculation in 2016. I am currently a Cat Scan Technologist with about 10 years of experience; so I have a ton of HCE. I have not seen any X-ray or CT techs on here so I am curious as to how admissions view those types of candidates. My cumulative GPA from X-ray school is 3.73 with which I received an Associates Degree in Applied Sciences and I am currently enrolled into an online Bachelors program through the University of St. Francis with a current GPA of 3.80. I should receive my Bachelor's degree by December 2014 and then there are some prerequisites that I will need to take in order to apply for PA school. I know that online classes are sort of looked down upon but I would like to add that I am currently working full time, married and a mother of a 22 month old all while taking 2 classes at a time and keeping a decent GPA. I would just like to know your thoughts of a realistic approach of getting into PA school. If it matters I live in PA and will be applying to the Philadelphia area schools.

Thank you so much for your time, it is greatly appreciated.

[yellowspectrumx]

Dear PA Admissions Director,

 

I have a bit of a situation that may be different than most applicants. I graduated in 2010 with a B.S. in Neuroscience with a 2.9 GPA. Since then I've attempted to apply to PA school 3 times, each time with a lot of improvements on my application. I have over 3500+ hours of health care experience (about 2000 as an ophthalmology technician, about 500+ hours as a colorectal medical assistant, and 1000+ as a traveling ER scribe for a growing scribe company). I've done my fair share in volunteering and have shadowed quite a few PAs. In between my work experience, I decided to retake quite a few sciences classes that bumped my GPA to 3.0. I was also accepted into a 9month biomedical sciences program. I am currently making a 2.79 GPA in the masters program and am terrified that it will make me a non-competitive applicant for PA school. I am currently going through some very personal issues right now that is affecting my grades in the program. The recent quarter I just completed was intense and I feel extremely burnt out. I have 3 months left in the program and am not sure if I should continue or postpone it. One thing I know for sure is that I am not ready to give up my dream of becoming a PA just yet and I am willing to take however long it takes to get to where I need to be.

 

My questions to you are:

1) With knowledge of my academic history and grades, and the fact that I am in a masters program, would it be more favorable for me to drop the program, or maybe take a leave of absence and return next year to complete the program with a fresh mind?

2) Would even having a masters degree with just a mediocre (3.0) GPA make me a competitive applicant in any way?

3) Should I try to apply for another masters program if I do decide to complete the program I'm currently in?

4) Should I join the army and work as a paramedic?

 

I'm very lost and devastated right now and would greatly appreciate any advice you may have. Thank you so much for your time!

[DC1979]

Hi PAAdmissions!  I have a question about how graduate level work looks on an application.  I have just started pursuing a career change into healthcare and my plan is work as an EMT for a few years while I do my pre-reqs and then apply in 3 years or so.  I have a 2.78 undergrad GPA, a 4.0 in my MS, and I have a PhD with a 3.8 or so.  My degrees are in a social science (recreation and leisure).  How do schools look at these GPA's?  Let's say I will have an average to better than average pre-req GPA.  Thanks!

[kjohnston3]

Hi PA Admissions Direction, 

 

I am currently a senior Human Physiology major in college and have a strong desire to apply for PA school for the 2015 cycle. I have a 3.85 GPA and a 3.75 science GPA. I am planning on obtaining as much health care experience as a CNA in the next year as possible. Is there even a chance of getting into any PA schools with only 1 year of HCE? I am confident that I can make the rest of my application strong, but if this is automatically a deciding factor, it will be helpful to know before I apply. 

 

Thank you for the help! 

 

 

[Maynard]

Dear Ms. Mish,

 

Thank you again for your kind help and assistance. I was wondering if you could share some insight on the poor performance I’ve had in getting accepted into PA schools. Here’s a quick rundown of my candidacy:

 

The Good:

* I’ve gotten As in every graded course I’ve taken in the last ten years, including all prerequisite coursework (Chem I &II, A&P I&II, OChem I, Micro, Stat, multiple psych courses)

* I got a 800 quantitative 740 verbal (99^th%) on the GRE

* I got a 40 (99.5^th%) on the MCAT. That’s higher than most people at even the top medical schools.

* Letters of recommendation – I have every reason to believe they’re good

* Personal Narrative – This is largely subjective, but I thought it was good and one program director remarked that I have outstanding writing skills.

 

The Decent:

* I tested out of a great deal of coursework, which could be construed as bad or could be construed as good, especially if you consider the number of credits I was able to obtain while working full-time

* I have 3,000 hours of HCE as a CNA

* I previously pursued a career as a screenwriter and have one screenplay in pre-production

 

The Bad:

* No shadowing experience

* I have some really, really bad grades from when I was a computer science major. They’re over ten years old, but they were enough to drag my GPA down to a 3.11

* During my time pursuing a screenwriting career, I didn’t get any formal educational credits (taught myself) and worked a number of odd jobs with no prestige.

* Because I was enrolled in an online school, I took my science classes at a local community college. It’s a really good college with 60,000 students, but I know admissions committees can frown on that.

* I have a very disorienting and confusing course history on CASPA due to my unusual educational background and some very odd insertions and edits made by whoever verified my application.

* I submitted my application at the end of October

 

I looked at my stats and I really thought I was a pretty attractive applicant who had demonstrated all the necessary ingredients for success in this field – the good seemed more than enough to offset the bad. I applied to 8 schools which spanned the range of competitiveness. Five of them (Iowa, Campbell, DeSales, Elon, & Seton Hill) did not invite me for an interview. Elon filled their interviews early. Seton Hill wouldn’t accept a 3.11 GPA. The other three flat out did not want me.

 

I got three interviews. One school put me on a waitlist because they noticed during the interview that I had tested out of Bio I & II, which they required to take in class (I did take A&P and Micro in class with labs, but that’s not enough). One school made me an alternate for unstated reasons. The one really competitive school I interviewed at let me know yesterday that I was not getting a seat. I then had to scramble to submit applications to the 3/1 deadline schools. None of my interviews went badly.

 

I know you’re probably sick of analyzing people’s stats at this point. The whole stats game seemed very simple to me at first, but now I’m completely baffled. Again: “A”s in every recent course and prerequisite; 800 quantitative/740 verbal; 40 MCAT; 3,000 hours HCE. How is that not good enough?

[paadmissions]

@yellowspectrumx Thank you for your question. One thing I look at when evaluating an application with a lower GPA and if they have decided to attend a post-bacc or master's program, is how they perform in the upper or graduate level courses. An applicant's performance in these type of programs is very important, in my opinion, because it demonstrates evidence to handle PA school. To "overcome" your undergraduate performance, it's important to have a strong GPA in upperlevel work. Although I tend to tread very lightly on telling applicants to quit a program (that's more a personal decision), if you have personal issues that are affecting your performance in your grad program, but feel you have the potential to be more successful without outside influences you may want to consider withdrawing. A lot of times I will advise a student to meet with an advisor in the program to get a realistic opinion on if they think you can be more successful than what you've demonstrated thus far.  Should you choose to meet with an advisor be open and willing to take advice. Sometimes the advice given may not be what we want to hear, but it could be beneficial for you to make changes. I'm a fan of telling people to finish what they started so I would not recommend that you consider another track if you feel the one you're on is doable and is good preparation for and relevant to PA school. The military may not always be the best solution for everyone, so weigh that option carefully as you move forward with your decision. It's a personal decision that should be carefully thought out. I hope this helps.

Dear PA Admissions Director,

I have a bit of a situation that may be different than most applicants. I graduated in 2010 with a B.S. in Neuroscience with a 2.9 GPA. Since then I've attempted to apply to PA school 3 times, each time with a lot of improvements on my application. I have over 3500+ hours of health care experience (about 2000 as an ophthalmology technician, about 500+ hours as a colorectal medical assistant, and 1000+ as a traveling ER scribe for a growing scribe company). I've done my fair share in volunteering and have shadowed quite a few PAs. In between my work experience, I decided to retake quite a few sciences classes that bumped my GPA to 3.0. I was also accepted into a 9month biomedical sciences program. I am currently making a 2.79 GPA in the masters program and am terrified that it will make me a non-competitive applicant for PA school. I am currently going through some very personal issues right now that is affecting my grades in the program. The recent quarter I just completed was intense and I feel extremely burnt out. I have 3 months left in the program and am not sure if I should continue or postpone it. One thing I know for sure is that I am not ready to give up my dream of becoming a PA just yet and I am willing to take however long it takes to get to where I need to be.

My questions to you are:
1) With knowledge of my academic history and grades, and the fact that I am in a masters program, would it be more favorable for me to drop the program, or maybe take a leave of absence and return next year to complete the program with a fresh mind?
2) Would even having a masters degree with just a mediocre (3.0) GPA make me a competitive applicant in any way?
3) Should I try to apply for another masters program if I do decide to complete the program I'm currently in?
4) Should I join the army and work as a paramedic?

I'm very lost and devastated right now and would greatly appreciate any advice you may have. Thank you so much for your time!

[paadmissions]

@dc1979 Thank you for your question. Your masters and doctoral work will be seen on your application and I would think your strong performance will enhance your application. That said, your work in the prerequisites will need to be as strong and you'll need to have completed the majority of the required coursework at the time of application (if the programs you're applying to have allow you to submit with outstanding prerequisites). I say this because I see a few applicants each year with a similar background who submit applications with only a small portion of the prerequisites completed. You can tell that more than likely the applicant will eventually do well in the remaining outstanding prerequisites just based on what they have completed so far, but it's hard to make a case for that applicant verses other applicants who have completed the majority of coursework and who may not have as many advanced degrees. I always think to myself that the applicant would've been better off waiting until the next cycle to apply when more coursework is done. Hope this helps!

Hi PAAdmissions!  I have a question about how graduate level work looks on an application.  I have just started pursuing a career change into healthcare and my plan is work as an EMT for a few years while I do my pre-reqs and then apply in 3 years or so.  I have a 2.78 undergrad GPA, a 4.0 in my MS, and I have a PhD with a 3.8 or so.  My degrees are in a social science (recreation and leisure).  How do schools look at these GPA's?  Let's say I will have an average to better than average pre-req GPA.  Thanks!

[paadmissions]

@kjohnston3 Thank you for your question. The answer to whether or not to apply with depend on a couple of things:

- Do the programs you're considering have an hour requirement? Be sure to look at what is required and if nothing is required, seek to find information on if preference is given to those with hours or how many hours does an incoming class average. That should be on their website. If you're at or exceeding the hours required of the programs you're applying to I would assume you could be ok to apply. At least that's how I would look at it from our standpoint. We would prefer to see applicants who have exceeded the hour requirement because it does not look like you just "up and applied" to the program without preparing for it. 

- Have you demonstrated through your past and current clinical experience that you've exposed yourself to PAs and can you demonstrate through your personal statement and interview that you know what you're getting into? I say this because we could have an applicant that is stellar in the classroom and on the GRE, but may be in a field where they have absolutely no exposure to the PA profession or don't even mention in their personal statement their understanding of the role of the PA. When comparing someone with a similar academic background, but when looking at their healthcare experience the other person has an equal number of hours in a better setting for exposure, that applicant could could look better on paper than the other person. 

It never hurts to ask the programs you're  interested in their thoughts before you apply. Hope this helps!

Hi PA Admissions Direction, 

 

I am currently a senior Human Physiology major in college and have a strong desire to apply for PA school for the 2015 cycle. I have a 3.85 GPA and a 3.75 science GPA. I am planning on obtaining as much health care experience as a CNA in the next year as possible. Is there even a chance of getting into any PA schools with only 1 year of HCE? I am confident that I can make the rest of my application strong, but if this is automatically a deciding factor, it will be helpful to know before I apply. 

 

Thank you for the help! 

[paadmissions]

@maynard This is a tough question to answer without knowing how the other programs operate when it comes to their decisions. I'm somewhat familiar with Campbell's  and Elon's requirements, but out of respect to their programs and the other programs you've mention I don't want to assume I know the reasoning behind their decisions or say something that is inaccurate.   Every program has different ways of looking at applicants.  Just based on what you've provided, here are some things I can toss out for consideration:

- My #1 concern would be where you took your prerequisites. A standardized test score as high as yours is impressive and by all means demonstrates that you can do well on that type of test. However, standardized testing isn't the only predictor of how well an applicant may do in the classroom. Our program thinks where you took the prerequisites and how many credits you attempted at one time to be important when you have applicants who may have had a rocky start to college many years ago. 

- Are the programs you're applying to requiring shadowing hours? I'm curious to know if shadowing is required or preferred at the programs that said you needed more shadowing experience, and if it's not required why are they requesting you accumulate hours unless they feel that your CNA work has not afforded you the exposure desired of applicants. Again, they may have their own reasons that we're not privy to. 

- Unfortunately, I can't really weigh in on the responses from the interviews that you've done. I can only assume that maybe they felt you weren't a good fit after it was all said and done. Again, that's just an assumption because academics may not play much of a factor just based on the stats that you've provided. Usually AP credits aren't that big of a deal for our program unless you've literally placed out of a lot of prerequisites. In my 8 years of PA admissions, have yet to come across an applicant who has so many AP credits that it would hurt an application...unless that program doesn't accept AP credits. 

I know I'm not helping very much, but hopefully this helps some. Thanks!

 

 

Dear Ms. Mish,

 

Thank you again for your kind help and assistance. I was wondering if you could share some insight on the poor performance I’ve had in getting accepted into PA schools. Here’s a quick rundown of my candidacy:

 

The Good:

* I’ve gotten As in every graded course I’ve taken in the last ten years, including all prerequisite coursework (Chem I &II, A&P I&II, OChem I, Micro, Stat, multiple psych courses)

* I got a 800 quantitative 740 verbal (99^th%) on the GRE

* I got a 40 (99.5^th%) on the MCAT. That’s higher than most people at even the top medical schools.

* Letters of recommendation – I have every reason to believe they’re good

* Personal Narrative – This is largely subjective, but I thought it was good and one program director remarked that I have outstanding writing skills.

 

The Decent:

* I tested out of a great deal of coursework, which could be construed as bad or could be construed as good, especially if you consider the number of credits I was able to obtain while working full-time

* I have 3,000 hours of HCE as a CNA

* I previously pursued a career as a screenwriter and have one screenplay in pre-production

 

The Bad:

* No shadowing experience

* I have some really, really bad grades from when I was a computer science major. They’re over ten years old, but they were enough to drag my GPA down to a 3.11

* During my time pursuing a screenwriting career, I didn’t get any formal educational credits (taught myself) and worked a number of odd jobs with no prestige.

* Because I was enrolled in an online school, I took my science classes at a local community college. It’s a really good college with 60,000 students, but I know admissions committees can frown on that.

* I have a very disorienting and confusing course history on CASPA due to my unusual educational background and some very odd insertions and edits made by whoever verified my application.

* I submitted my application at the end of October

 

I looked at my stats and I really thought I was a pretty attractive applicant who had demonstrated all the necessary ingredients for success in this field – the good seemed more than enough to offset the bad. I applied to 8 schools which spanned the range of competitiveness. Five of them (Iowa, Campbell, DeSales, Elon, & Seton Hill) did not invite me for an interview. Elon filled their interviews early. Seton Hill wouldn’t accept a 3.11 GPA. The other three flat out did not want me.

 

I got three interviews. One school put me on a waitlist because they noticed during the interview that I had tested out of Bio I & II, which they required to take in class (I did take A&P and Micro in class with labs, but that’s not enough). One school made me an alternate for unstated reasons. The one really competitive school I interviewed at let me know yesterday that I was not getting a seat. I then had to scramble to submit applications to the 3/1 deadline schools. None of my interviews went badly.

 

I know you’re probably sick of analyzing people’s stats at this point. The whole stats game seemed very simple to me at first, but now I’m completely baffled. Again: “A”s in every recent course and prerequisite; 800 quantitative/740 verbal; 40 MCAT; 3,000 hours HCE. How is that not good enough?

[MAPA]

This thread is extremely helpful!

 

I accidentally took 2 semesters of non pre-med chemistry at a community college (advisor told me the courses were the same!!) and the program I want to apply to only accepts med level and not from a CC (only from a 4 year university).  I think my application is very strong otherwise... How do you recommend I proceed?

The program is Northeastern. 

 

Thanks!

[paadmissions]

@MAPA Thank you for your question. I assume if their requirement is that the general chemistries have to be taken at a 4 year school that you'll need to enroll in these classes at a university. A lot of universities offer these courses during the summer so you may be able to squeeze them soon. Be sure to look at NE's coursework  deadline to make sure you're still eligible to apply with outstanding coursework. You don't want to waste your time and money applying if you're not meeting their requirements. If you have to wait later in the cycle to apply (after you complete the classes) you may have to do that or wait until next cycle to submit your application. There is a place on the CASPA application where you can put what courses you're in progress of completing or planning to take so that might be helpful to the committee if you're allowed to apply, be interviewed and accepted with the contingency that your outstanding courses are successfully completed by the deadline. I hope this is helpful. 

This thread is extremely helpful!

 

I accidentally took 2 semesters of non pre-med chemistry at a community college (advisor told me the courses were the same!!) and the program I want to apply to only accepts med level and not from a CC (only from a 4 year university).  I think my application is very strong otherwise... How do you recommend I proceed?

The program is Northeastern. 

 

Thanks!

[Dichotomy]

Hi, thank you again for you time and assistance.

 

I was recently wait-listed at my program of choice, and we were told that we will get our position (Rank) on the list in a week or so. I was thinking of sending in a letter of intent and a new letter of recommendation from an MD that I shadowed and that knows me very well (we both belong to the same parish). He wasn't one of the current writers. Here are my concerns: 

 

Should I go ahead and submit these now, or wait for the Ranking notice before sending them. Also we were not told anything about submitting a new letter if we were placed on the waiting list, so do you find it necessary to check with the program before submitting this new letter? I want to be show my "intense" desire to get in but I also don't want to come off as being annoying.

 

Thank you!

[paadmissions]

@dichotomy Thank you for your question. I don't think an additional LOR will do much to help or hurt their decision. If you were applying to our program and we wait listed you, an additional LOR would not "move" you up on the list. We usually have all the information we need after interviewing an applicant so it may not make that big of a difference.  You may want to gently ask the program if it will make a difference or not. Again, I don't think it will hurt your application should you submit it. Hope this helps.

Hi, thank you again for you time and assistance.

 

I was recently wait-listed at my program of choice, and we were told that we will get our position (Rank) on the list in a week or so. I was thinking of sending in a letter of intent and a new letter of recommendation from an MD that I shadowed and that knows me very well (we both belong to the same parish). He wasn't one of the current writers. Here are my concerns: 

 

Should I go ahead and submit these now, or wait for the Ranking notice before sending them. Also we were not told anything about submitting a new letter if we were placed on the waiting list, so do you find it necessary to check with the program before submitting this new letter? I want to be show my "intense" desire to get in but I also don't want to come off as being annoying.

 

Thank you!

[Dichotomy]

Thank you!