Ask a PA Admissions Director

[rrttorpac]

@paadmissions

 

Thank you so much for your time. I wanted to pick your brain as to what my chances of admission into PA school are with a recent misdemeanor DWI on my criminal record. I have an otherwise clean criminal record. Here are my stats:

 

Age: 23, soon to be 24

Undergrad institution: SUNY Upstate Medical University & SUNY Cortland

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care

CASPA GPA: 3.85

Science GPA: 3.80

GRE: Not yet taken. Will take within the month. Certainly anticipating to do okay on it.

Health Care Experience: ~3000 paid hours as a Registered Respiratory Therapist currently employed full-time. Plus several hours of shadowing, clinical, and phlebotomy experience.

Research: 200 hours researching efficacy of altitude simulation training masks with SUNY Cortland Kinesiology Department

Awards, Certs, Leadership, etc: LOTS. Not BS stuff either.

 

Also I was told by everyone who read it that my CASPA personal statement was sincere, well-written, and thoughtful. I feel my application is very strong and well-rounded and I would have no issues at all gaining admission without this DWI. It happened in February of this year (2014) so it is fairly recent. I addressed the incident in my CASPA app and made it clear that I took the steps to fix the areas of concern, and it would not happen again. I also called NY and CA state licensing boards, and both assured my I would have no issues at all with gaining licensure as a PA. What do you guys think? How big of an issue is a DWI when reviewing an application such as mine? Any and all input is welcome and appreciated very much. Thanks in advance!

 

[arosswoods]

@paadmissions

Would you mind taking a look at my stats and tell me how many programs I might consider applying to?

Undergrad: BS in Nutrition and Food Science minor in Biology

GPA: 4.0

GRE: V 165 Q 144 W 3.5

HCH: 1140 nursing assistant in hospital

other HCE: 1500hrs division clerk and dietary attendant in hospital

Shadowing: 40hrs in ED, 12hr in health clinic serving homeless

Volunteer: 6hr nutrition counseling at health clinic for homeless c PA supervision, 48hr team captain Relay for Life

 

I'm worried about the HCHs, I know the GPA is good but the GRE is terribly lop-sided. Also I don't know if I'm even supposed to be including the Relay for Life hours, does that count as the type of volunteering they mean? It wasn't in a health setting but we provided prevention education.

[paadmissions]

@cbarna Thank you for your questions. Yes, you have time to turn things around and if you did not learn anything in Chem I and II you may want to consider taking retaking the course(s) during a summer term at a community college or at your university. Typically, general chemistry at a cc level is transferable to most universities. The sequencing of General Chemistry through Biochemistry is set up as a progression so it's important to have a firm understanding of the basic classes. The more advanced the material gets the more difficult an upper level class may be if you don't have a solid foundation. Hope this helps!

I just finished my freshman year of college as a med. tech major with a 2.96 GPA.  It would have been around a 3.1- 3.2 but I took Gen. Chem 1 and 2 and didn't understand a thing, it was such a struggle I ended up with a C+ in both classes!  Next year I have to take Orgo, Biochem, Microbiology, and Physiology 2 which are all EXTREMELY hard classes.  Can I get my GPA up to like a 3.3-3.4 by the time I graduate or am I just not cut out for this?

[paadmissions]

@rrttorpac Thank you for your question. I honestly don't think that the DWI will hurt your application as much as you think. I do recommend to anyone who has a hiccup on your record that you are upfront with the charge on your application. You don't want any new information popping up when they run a background check on you. Always keep documentation of your charges for the medical board! Hope this helps!

@paadmissions

 

Thank you so much for your time. I wanted to pick your brain as to what my chances of admission into PA school are with a recent misdemeanor DWI on my criminal record. I have an otherwise clean criminal record. Here are my stats:

 

Age: 23, soon to be 24

Undergrad institution: SUNY Upstate Medical University & SUNY Cortland

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care

CASPA GPA: 3.85

Science GPA: 3.80

GRE: Not yet taken. Will take within the month. Certainly anticipating to do okay on it.

Health Care Experience: ~3000 paid hours as a Registered Respiratory Therapist currently employed full-time. Plus several hours of shadowing, clinical, and phlebotomy experience.

Research: 200 hours researching efficacy of altitude simulation training masks with SUNY Cortland Kinesiology Department

Awards, Certs, Leadership, etc: LOTS. Not BS stuff either.

 

Also I was told by everyone who read it that my CASPA personal statement was sincere, well-written, and thoughtful. I feel my application is very strong and well-rounded and I would have no issues at all gaining admission without this DWI. It happened in February of this year (2014) so it is fairly recent. I addressed the incident in my CASPA app and made it clear that I took the steps to fix the areas of concern, and it would not happen again. I also called NY and CA state licensing boards, and both assured my I would have no issues at all with gaining licensure as a PA. What do you guys think? How big of an issue is a DWI when reviewing an application such as mine? Any and all input is welcome and appreciated very much. Thanks in advance!

[paadmissions]

@arosswoods Thank you for your questions. I would think your stats would be fairly competitive with a lot of programs. In regards to your hours, it will depend on the program you're applying to. If the requirement is 1,000 hours, I would assume if you've exceeding the requirement you'll be in a better sport. I hope this helps!

@paadmissions

Would you mind taking a look at my stats and tell me how many programs I might consider applying to?

Undergrad: BS in Nutrition and Food Science minor in Biology

GPA: 4.0

GRE: V 165 Q 144 W 3.5

HCH: 1140 nursing assistant in hospital

other HCE: 1500hrs division clerk and dietary attendant in hospital

Shadowing: 40hrs in ED, 12hr in health clinic serving homeless

Volunteer: 6hr nutrition counseling at health clinic for homeless c PA supervision, 48hr team captain Relay for Life

 

I'm worried about the HCHs, I know the GPA is good but the GRE is terribly lop-sided. Also I don't know if I'm even supposed to be including the Relay for Life hours, does that count as the type of volunteering they mean? It wasn't in a health setting but we provided prevention education.

[arosswoods]

Do you think including the relay for life volunteering in the caspa is appropriate?

[paadmissions]

@acrosswoods Sorry, I think I overlooked that question in your earlier post. It doesn't hurt to include that as a volunteer experience on your CASPA application. Programs like to see applicants who are involved outside of the classroom and that's one way to do that. Hope this helps. 

Do you think including the relay for life volunteering in the caspa is appropriate?

[Nostraadms]

Hello PA admissions, is medical assistant (back office) in a chiropractor practice considered as health care hours? I've read from some people on this forum that it's not great and Keck medical counts it as "partial experience" - whatever that means.

Some of the duties are using utrasound for massage, muscle electical stimulation, showing some exercises to patients and placing kinesio tape on patients. Also, sometimes just giving them advice.

 

Also, I went on a medical mission trip, should I count that as community service on CASPA or patient experience?

 

Thank you so much!!

[jthomasolsen]

HI! I am currently employed at a general hospital as an Intake Coordinator for the Behavioral Health Area. My responsibilities include:

 

-Taking report from ER social workers to assess the appropriateness of formal psychiatric evaluations.

-Communicating clinical information with other hospital units and outside facilities to aid in patient transfers.

-Explaining rights to patients placed on psych holds.

-Inventorying patient belongings for safe keeping.

-Serve as the initial point of contact for voluntary patients, including patients for our Acute Medical Detox unit. I am directly responsible for determining whether or not potential detox patients will meet criteria for inpatient hospitalization. 

 

I have also been trained in Case Management where I perform initial and concurrent review with insurance companies. Part of this entails direct communication with the patient and family to determine life stressors and other factors that may necessitate extended care or otherwise dictate what the discharge plans will be.

 

While my job is not as "hands on" as a CNA/PCA/RN, I am definitely still directly involved in the coordination of patient care. Would this qualify as HCE/PCE in the eyes of an admissions coordinator?

 

Ill be done with pre-reqs early next year and plan on having my CASPA submitted as soon as it opens in April. It will be easy for me to get a job as a CNA, but if that HAS to happen I will need to get started now to build up enough hours. Hopefully my current job will qualify because I get paid 2x as much as the nursing assistants do!!!

 

Thanks!

 

John

[miss23]

I wanted to know how it would be perceived to reschedule an interview invitation? I'm surely willing to sacrifice anything to be at the interviews but I see a lot of schools I'm applying to begin their interviews around September and my parents will be renewing their vows for 30 years out of the country one weekend in September.. If I were to get an interview for that weekend how badly would it look for me to ask to change dates being that I'm in their wedding.. Thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guest KRJames]

How is doing a shadowing abroad trip such as gap medics viewed for admissions? Is it seen as valuable and enriching? Or like a vacation?

 

Thank you as always for everything!

[EmeraldEyes83]

Hello:

 

My questions are:

Should I retake the GRE?

Am I a reasonably competitive candidate? (I'm applying to UF, Yale, Duke, all of the NOVA campuses, Univ of South Alabama)

 

My stats:

Non-traditional student, single mom. (No longer an Armywife)

At time of CASPA submission in 2 months, will have 1200+ hands on hce hours.
I work full time in healthcare, so next May I would have well over 2000 hce hours.
400 hours community volunteering at kids' schools.
20 hours PA shadowing
3.67 scgpa
3.67 cgpa

GRE:
158v
148q
5A

The part that concerns me is the quantitative.

 

Thanks!

[ntprepa]

Hello,

 

If someone could provide some insight I would appreciate it.  I am debating whether to disclose my dyslexia in my PS.  

Would this automatically raise a red flag with admissions committees?

 

Thank you!

[paadmissions]

@nostraadms That tends to be a program specific answer on whether or not those type of hours will count. Based on your responsibilities they may count but contact the programs that interest you to see if you're ok. Hope this helps!

Hello PA admissions, is medical assistant (back office) in a chiropractor practice considered as health care hours? I've read from some people on this forum that it's not great and Keck medical counts it as "partial experience" - whatever that means.

Some of the duties are using utrasound for massage, muscle electical stimulation, showing some exercises to patients and placing kinesio tape on patients. Also, sometimes just giving them advice.

 

Also, I went on a medical mission trip, should I count that as community service on CASPA or patient experience?

 

Thank you so much!!

[paadmissions]

@jthomasolsen Thanks for your question. Your hours may be in the gray area for some programs but some may recognize the "social work" side to your job, which is a very important part of the healthcare team. I would contact the programs that interest you to see if they would count the hours. Getting a CNA certification and position wouldn't hurt. Hope this helps!

HI! I am currently employed at a general hospital as an Intake Coordinator for the Behavioral Health Area. My responsibilities include:

-Taking report from ER social workers to assess the appropriateness of formal psychiatric evaluations.

-Communicating clinical information with other hospital units and outside facilities to aid in patient transfers.

-Explaining rights to patients placed on psych holds.

-Inventorying patient belongings for safe keeping.

-Serve as the initial point of contact for voluntary patients, including patients for our Acute Medical Detox unit. I am directly responsible for determining whether or not potential detox patients will meet criteria for inpatient hospitalization.

I have also been trained in Case Management where I perform initial and concurrent review with insurance companies. Part of this entails direct communication with the patient and family to determine life stressors and other factors that may necessitate extended care or otherwise dictate what the discharge plans will be.

While my job is not as "hands on" as a CNA/PCA/RN, I am definitely still directly involved in the coordination of patient care. Would this qualify as HCE/PCE in the eyes of an admissions coordinator?

Ill be done with pre-reqs early next year and plan on having my CASPA submitted as soon as it opens in April. It will be easy for me to get a job as a CNA, but if that HAS to happen I will need to get started now to build up enough hours. Hopefully my current job will qualify because I get paid 2x as much as the nursing assistants do!!!

Thanks!

John

[paadmissions]

@miss23 thanks for your questions. I usually try and work with applicants if they can't make an interview date IF they communicate early enough that they cannot make a specific date. Our invites go out 3-4 weeks prior to the interview date but other programs may have a different process. Make sure if you request a different date you do it early and be flexible. If they can't work with you and it interferes with that date you'll have to make a very difficult decision. Hope this helps!

 

I wanted to know how it would be perceived to reschedule an interview invitation? I'm surely willing to sacrifice anything to be at the interviews but I see a lot of schools I'm applying to begin their interviews around September and my parents will be renewing their vows for 30 years out of the country one weekend in September.. If I were to get an interview for that weekend how badly would it look for me to ask to change dates being that I'm in their wedding.. Thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[paadmissions]

@krjames Thanks for your question. To be honest I would view it as another shadowing opportunity. International trips aren't not as "unique" as they were many years ago and almost a very common thing we see with applicants. If you do gain something valuable from the experience that's always a plus because you can incorporate that into your personal statement. I would document the hours on your application just like any other shadowing opportunities you've had. Hope this helps!

 

How is doing a shadowing abroad trip such as gap medics viewed for admissions? Is it seen as valuable and enriching? Or like a vacation?

 

Thank you as always for everything!

[paadmissions]

@armywife Thank you for your question. From our standpoint I'm good with your GRE scores. We look at the combined score which meets the average score for our incoming class. 306 is a solid score, in my opinion, and balances out your application nicely. Hope this helps.

 

Hello:

 

My questions are:

Should I retake the GRE?

Am I a reasonably competitive candidate? (I'm applying to UF, Yale, Duke, all of the NOVA campuses, Univ of South Alabama)

 

My stats:

Non-traditional student, single mom. (No longer an Armywife)

At time of CASPA submission in 2 months, will have 1200+ hands on hce hours.

I work full time in healthcare, so next May I would have well over 2000 hce hours.

400 hours community volunteering at kids' schools.

20 hours PA shadowing

3.67 scgpa

3.67 cgpa

 

GRE:

158v

148q

5A

 

The part that concerns me is the quantitative.

 

Thanks!

[chris.shannon77]

@paadmissions, I really think it's awesome what you are doing here.  Getting advice from someone in the know it extremely valuable.

 

CASPA just verified me and I just want to get an idea of how I look on paper if I came across your desk.  It will be my third time applying (wait-listed on the second time applying) and the biggest changes on this application are that all prerequisite for all programs are finished and now a certified/licensed Nuclear Med Tech.

 

Former Army, 10 years Active Duty.  37 years old with a wife and 2 kids.

 

BA in Liberal Arts

BS in Nuclear Medicine Technology (recent grad)

 

Science GPA 3.79

Non-Science GPA 2.64 (my biggest concern, I've seen at least one school that looks at the non-science GPA just as much as science and combined)

Combined GPA 3.27

 

Post Bacc. GPA - Science 3.89, Non-science 4.00, Combined 3.90

 

I majored in "social life" when I went to college before the Army.  All of my GPA's have a nice inclined slope from freshman to senior.

 

GRE

V154 62%

Q156 65%

Writing 4.0 54%

 

Patient Care Exp. 1450 hours

Other Health Care Exp. 500 hours

PA Shadowing 250 hours

 

Currently working in Clinical Research (non-patient contact) where I get to see another side of healthcare, which I talk about in my statement.

 

Thank you for the time you put into helping out us hopefuls.

[paadmissions]

@chris.shannon77 Thank you for your question. I like the majored in "social life" statement...I think that's true for many of us ;) You've obviously done strong post-bacc work and with all the prerequisites complete I think it may give committees a more complete picture of your academic potential. That said, here are a few things I would look at further when reviewing your application:

1. How many hours have you taken in your post-bacc work and/or focus heavily on your last 50 semester hours.

2. Where were those courses taken: community college vs. university

3. How many semester hours did you take at one time in your most recent work and which classes did you take. 

 

All other factors (GRE and health care experience) look strong so I have no recommendations for improvements in those categories. Make sure your personal statement is strong and the correct people are writing your letters of recommendations. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any further questions. 

@paadmissions, I really think it's awesome what you are doing here.  Getting advice from someone in the know it extremely valuable.

 

CASPA just verified me and I just want to get an idea of how I look on paper if I came across your desk.  It will be my third time applying (wait-listed on the second time applying) and the biggest changes on this application are that all prerequisite for all programs are finished and now a certified/licensed Nuclear Med Tech.

 

Former Army, 10 years Active Duty.  37 years old with a wife and 2 kids.

 

BA in Liberal Arts

BS in Nuclear Medicine Technology (recent grad)

 

Science GPA 3.79

Non-Science GPA 2.64 (my biggest concern, I've seen at least one school that looks at the non-science GPA just as much as science and combined)

Combined GPA 3.27

 

Post Bacc. GPA - Science 3.89, Non-science 4.00, Combined 3.90

 

I majored in "social life" when I went to college before the Army.  All of my GPA's have a nice inclined slope from freshman to senior.

 

GRE

V154 62%

Q156 65%

Writing 4.0 54%

 

Patient Care Exp. 1450 hours

Other Health Care Exp. 500 hours

PA Shadowing 250 hours

 

Currently working in Clinical Research (non-patient contact) where I get to see another side of healthcare, which I talk about in my statement.

 

Thank you for the time you put into helping out us hopefuls.

[chris.shannon77]

@chris.shannon77 Thank you for your question. I like the majored in "social life" statement...I think that's true for many of us ;) You've obviously done strong post-bacc work and with all the prerequisites complete I think it may give committees a more complete picture of your academic potential. That said, here are a few things I would look at further when reviewing your application:

1. How many hours have you taken in your post-bacc work and/or focus heavily on your last 50 semester hours.

2. Where were those courses taken: community college vs. university

3. How many semester hours did you take at one time in your most recent work and which classes did you take. 

 

All other factors (GRE and health care experience) look strong so I have no recommendations for improvements in those categories. Make sure your personal statement is strong and the correct people are writing your letters of recommendations. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any further questions. 

 

Thanks for the input.

 

Just to close loop on this;

 

1. 55 hours of Post Bacc @ 3.90 GPA.  All fall into a science category.

 

2. Most (48 hours) of those hours were University but some of my classes throughout my course work were community college and/or online because of full time military or work.

 

3. Fall of 2012 and all of 2013 was full time student status with the Nuclear Medicine Technology Program at Rutgers University.  Some of the courses included Nuclear Physics I & II (B+, A), Radiobiology (B+), Radiopharmacy (A), Radiochemistry (A), Clinical Applications classes (A's), and Clinical Practice throughout all of 2013 (All A's).

 

Letters of recommendation are from the Nuclear Medicine Program Director (who taught all of the hard classes), from my clinical site, and from a PA.

 

If your program is in the Northeast, you think I should apply to it, and it isn't a conflict of interest because of the forum PM me and I'll add it to my program list.

[BobSaget]

@paadmissions

 

Hi I just submitted my application last week but I have something I was worried about. I submitted my app with around 820 HCE hours. At first, I was going to wait until I hit 1000 HCE hrs but I heard otherwise that it is better to apply Late June rather than Late July/Early August. I'm starting to regret that decision and I somewhat wish that I reached over 1000 hrs on my CASPA app before submitting it. Is this something I should be worrying about? I also mentioned on my application that I would be working Full-Time obtaining HCE until I enrolled.

 

Most of the schools I applied to require 500 hrs. The ones that require 1000 hrs I'm planning to apply to when I reach the 1000 hr mark (probably late July. What are my chances with the 1000 hr schools?). Another problem I encountered is that some schools don't allow you to update your application and will only accept the number of HCE hrs on the submitted CASPA.....

 

Here are my stats below:

 

Undergrad Ed School: Boston College

Major: Bachelor's of Arts in Theology.
         (Took a lot of Bio courses. Basically at least a Bio Minor. Finished all of the Pre-Med requirements before switching to Pre-PA)
Cumulative Undergrad. GPA: 3.54 (Verified GPA)
Science Undergrad. GPA: 3.37

Age at application time : 22

1st GRE: 321 Total. (159 Verbal. 161 Quan. 4 Writing. Hopefully my Personal Statement can offset this writing score...)

Direct Patient Care : EMT-Basic 590 hours. ER Tech 236 hours.

Shadowing: 36 PA Hours. Split among Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Dermatology, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine.
79 MD Hours. Internal Medicine Private Practice.

 

Extracurricular/Research Activities: 180 hrs of Volunteering at Cancer Hospital, Working Part-time all throughout college, Biomedical Research, Working Catering, Middle East Mission Trip, Mexico City Service Trip.

Schools Applied: Schools in Philly, California, DC, Atlanta, Boston.

Application Submitted Date: 6/27/14. Verified 7/1/14.

 

Thoughts?

[Nostraadms]

Hello again PA admission, thank you so much for taking your time to answer my question.

 

A few follow up questions to my previous post.

 

What is your opinion of chiropractor assistant as hce? 

Would PA programs view CNA as better experience than chiropractor assistant? Some of the duties for CA are doing the ultrasound therapy, electric stim, some exercise therapy. I'm bummed out because my boss said i won't be involved in taking medical history, vitals, subjective complaint from patients and physical exam - would this be viewed negatively? When I asked my boss, he said not to interfere or even give my opinion on assessment, so there really is no input from me.  

 

I did what you suggested and contacted the programs I am applying to and each said they count my work as hce, but they said competitive hce would involve assessment, treatment, physical exams, etc...

Would I be better off with pursuing CNA?

 

Thank you again. 

[Cuzco]

Hi, I'd like your opinion on how competitive I am for this cycle.

 

My stats:

cGPA 3.7

sGPA 3.8

1,172 hours HCE (368 nursing home CNA, 152 medical volunteer in Peru, 652 hospital float CNA)

I've also done a lot of volunteering in the community

 

The issue is my letters of rec. I haven't shadowed with any PAs or MDs more than twice each so none know me well enough to write a letter ; At the hospital I float to a different unit every night so no single person has seen me work enough to write me a letter ; my nursing supervisor at the nursing home probably wouldn't remember me because it was several years ago I worked there and I was very part time.

 

As a result, I have a letter from my ochem professor, a letter from my microbiology professor, and a letter from an RN I volunteered with down in Peru.

 

I'm really afraid my unimpressive letters of rec will make it impossible for me to get accepted.

 

What do you think?

[Illigsc]

@PA Admissions director....Quick question, I graduated with a Bachelors in Microbiology with a cumulative GPA of 3.92 (I have Roughly the same science GPA) I have accumulated 830 hrs as a home health aide along with 150 volunteer hours at a hospital doing direct patient care. GRE score was 310. Do I have a competitive application to get in SOMEWHERE (Do not have a large preference on school choice), but most schools I am considering require no more than 500 Health Care Patient hours.