Ask a PA Admissions Director

[Torshi]

So, I found out I was waitlisted. And on the letter they said the waitlist is not ranked and they will look at waitlisted students who show a continued interest, if, of course someone pulls their acceptance. So, my question is, would it be too much to send a letter to the admission director expressing thanks, first choice, what value I can bring etc and an intent to attend if accepted? Because how else can you "show your continued interest" in the program if you just sit back and hope to get pulled off the list?

 

I always think it shouldn't hurt to show your interest for something you truly desire because it shows motivation. Should I go forth with this with a letter?

[paadmissions]

@potato_muncher thank you for your question. I would recommend that you set up an appointment  (or email your transcripts to) with the programs that interest you to see their take on your performance. For those programs that focus on the most recent work they'll probably want to evaluate your work that you've done thus far and hopefully give an honest evaluation of where you would stand. You'll find some programs that have a hard cut off at maybe a 3.0 overall and unfortunately, that would hurt your chances with those programs. Your experience as a medic may work to your advantage to some degree, but it would be best to let programs see your work and especially how you've performed in the prerequisites (and other factors that may be required, ie. GRE). Hope this helps! 

First time poster, long time lurker.  Just here to ask a simple "do you think I stand a rat's chance in hell at being accepted?" type of question.

 

I am former Army Combat Medic of four years (and a Combat Medical Badge recipient) and EMT-B of three years with easily 8,000hrs of HCE.  I am currently a Junior who has had nothing but 3.0-3.6 GPA semesters since I've started at this university in the Spring of 2013.  I have plenty of professors and military healthcare professionals that are willing to write me a letter of recommendation.

My biggest fear is from my first stint at college in 2005 where I finished with a 0.725 GPA.  This was before I enlisted in the Army.  I was eighteen, naive and truly did not understand what I wanted to do with my life.  In turn, this has dragged my overall GPA down to a 2.6 as of this moment.  I have put it much hard work into my current studies in an effort to showcase how much I have changed as an individual over time.

Will admissions brush me off simply because of my less-than-stellar performance from almost ten years ago?  If so, are there any other methods around this, such as increased community service, job shadowing, etc?

Thank you for your time.

[paadmissions]

@torshi I would go forward with the letter and focus on the following:

- Your proposed plan to continuously update the program with in-progress or planned coursework and clinical experience hours.

- The fact that the program is your first choice

- The positives you took away from your interview. For example, how the program may have reinforced your desire to attend based XXXX factors (XXXX could be something like their curriculum focus-primary care, the dedication of the faculty and students)

- And desire to enroll in the program if offered an acceptance. 

Address the letter to the admissions committee rather than just the PD since it's the committee that will be considering your file further should a seat open up for you. Hope this helps!

So, I found out I was waitlisted. And on the letter they said the waitlist is not ranked and they will look at waitlisted students who show a continued interest, if, of course someone pulls their acceptance. So, my question is, would it be too much to send a letter to the admission director expressing thanks, first choice, what value I can bring etc and an intent to attend if accepted? Because how else can you "show your continued interest" in the program if you just sit back and hope to get pulled off the list?

I always think it shouldn't hurt to show your interest for something you truly desire because it shows motivation. Should I go forth with this with a letter?

[kkvanlan]

Dear PA Admissions Director,

I have an upcoming interview. I am a registered pharmacist with 18 years experience in Indian Health Service, ambulatory, inpatient, consultant, and retail pharmacy. What questions would you ask me in an interview?

[Cmg2492]

Do schools consider the difficulty of the university one attended in relation to GPA? It seems unfair that someone who went to for example a community college would have a higher GPA than someone who attended a larger university.

 

Also do they consider major? For example I am a science major, I wish I would've majored in Biobehavioral health because I think my GPA would be much higher

 

Also wondering if PA school consider if an applicant had worked during the school year. I worked about 20 hours a week and this of course affects your GPA. I'll still graduate with a 3.3-3.4 though

 

 

Thank you for your help!

[BBPA]

Dear @paadmissions,

 

I am compelled to say thank you!! This forum has been more insightful than most I've visited thus far. I was planning to apply to Methodist University regardless but after reading your advice on the posts and gathering a feel for this programs' director I am more excited to apply than ever! My last 60 credits are 3.68 (including all science courses) and my BCP is 3.5. My academic work has been on par for the majority of my undergraduate career. However, severe deficiencies in the beginning of college dropped my cum GPA to 3.07 per CASPA. Today, I am not a 3.07 student and haven't been for over 5 years (I began to take college more seriously about 5-6 years ago). The discrepanices were related to long-term hardships. I have never been one to be careless or lazy. This has been overcome and I have persevered. I also have 2000 HCE as an NA and combined 500 in clinical research and as an MA at a pediatrics office. Based on what I have gathered so far your program will be able to see the academic progress and take note of my good grades on the pre-reqs. I have a little hope!

 

Thanks again for all that you do and the time that you take to help!

 

Kinda Regards,

BBPA

[megpvb2]

Paadmissions,

 

I shadowed a PA today that mentioned he kept in contact with the school he applied to after his application was submitted to keep checking up on it. I never really thought to do this with the schools I applied to because I didn't want to annoy them. My CASPA was verified May 1, which is some time ago. I received emails from the schools beginning of June that they received my full application. Since June I have not heard anything.

 

Should I email them or call the school to check on the status of my app? If I were to do this I'd want to come across as polite and not annoying at all, so any advice is appreciated!

 

Thank you!

[TaurusRampage]

Hi @paadmissions. Thank you again for all of your advice. I have a few more questions for you. I posted the following in another thread and wanted your take on my questions.

 

Here is what I posted.

 

Good morning everyone,

 

I love all of the info shared in this forum! As I read along the different posts, I am noting astronomically high grade point averages; 3.8, 3.9, etc. This is a wonderful thing!

 

This is not me.

 

I am a non-traditional student in my final year of undergraduate school. I will earn a B.S. in Biology. I plan to apply to MU's PA graduate program when 2015's cycle begins.

 

In my early 20's, I had poor study habits and my grades reflected this. I returned to University in my late 20's, while trying to adjust to a new marriage and while raising a younger child, I have worked tirelessly to bring my grades back up. And have been successful.

 

I anticipate graduating with at least a 3.3-3.5 science g.p.a., but I am not sure what MU will consider when it comes to my cumulative g.p.a.

 

Looking at my last two years of university will offer a much prettier picture than my overall, that include mediocre grades from 14 years ago.

 

My question goes out to applicants who applied with less than premium g.p.a.'s and were offered an interview and/or accepted into the program.

 

What other areas were you strong in? How was your interview? Did you have to "explain yourself?"

 

Any insight you can help with would be greatly appreciated!

 

That was my post. I want to add that aside from my concern over my gpa, the rest of my resume and reason for wanting to be a PA would be watertight.

 

I have about 1200 paid hours of experience as a phlebotomist.

Aside from my phlebotomy position, I have experience as a personal caregiver for a member of my own family, and worked in administrative positions in a local hospital and clinic. Finally, I have worked alongside an MD on a medical mission trip.

 

In the interest of time and money, I will not be able to take additional courses to bring my gpa up. I am working with the timeline of a year from now before graduating.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mrtumus]

Well here it goes. I was assaulted on campus and so was diagnosed with PTSD. Never really got any treatment for it nor support from family for what happened to me. Then whe the anniversary of the assault approached I had a nightmare and thought my boy friend at the time was the guy who assaulted me. He called the police hoping I would be hospitalized BUT instead I was arrested. womp.
Charges were dismissed on grounds of psychological distress BUT the school decided to expell me, said I was causing too many issues. Plus I was also suicidal at the time and did try to kill myself on campus so they really wanted me gone. 

Now I am much better in terms of mental health and want t get back into pursuing PA as a career. I know that I could boost my grades up because I began doing poorly after the assault. I also decided to take a CNA course for HCE since I have been out of the game because I did take a year off after all of this. 
Is there anything else I can do to make up for this expulsion on my record. Please don't say I lost my chance as PA because I won't take no for answer. I am ready to fight and do anything. 

Thank you

[mrtumus]

 Well here it goes. I was assaulted on campus and so was diagnosed with PTSD. Never really got any treatment for it nor support from family for what happened to me. Then whe the anniversary of the assault approached I had a nightmare and thought my boy friend at the time was the guy who assaulted me. He called the police hoping I would be hospitalized BUT instead I was arrested. womp.

Charges were dismissed on grounds of psychological distress BUT the school decided to expell me, said I was causing too many issues. Plus I was also suicidal at the time and did try to kill myself on campus so they really wanted me gone. 

Now I am much better in terms of mental health and want t get back into pursuing PA as a career. I know that I could boost my grades up because I began doing poorly after the assault. I also decided to take a CNA course for HCE since I have been out of the game because I did take a year off after all of this. 
Is there anything else I can do to make up for this expulsion on my record. Please don't say I lost my chance as PA because I won't take no for answer. I am ready to fight and do anything. 

Thank you

[JohnnyM2]

That is really messed up. You definitely need some professional help. Good luck straightening out your life. As for PA, you really need to get all these other issues behind you first.

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire HDX using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[paadmissions]

@kkvanlan Thank you for your question and sorry for the delay. I think a few of the main points a committee would focus on would be:

- Why the career change? It's not a bad thing to change careers, but be prepared to answer it.

- After being in the work place for 18 years, how have you prepared yourself for the classroom again?

- How flexible are you should schedules (classroom or rotations) change? 

- Questions to evaluate how you would interact with fellow classmates and professors if there is a conflict or something you don't agree with would also be on a list of questions. I think this series of questions would be for a traditional and non-traditional student.

Every committee may have different topics they focus on and they may conduct their interviews completely opposite of just asking the standard questions. However, the main points above would be questions I think would be asked or hinted around. Hope this helps and best wishes on your interview.

Dear PA Admissions Director,
I have an upcoming interview. I am a registered pharmacist with 18 years experience in Indian Health Service, ambulatory, inpatient, consultant, and retail pharmacy. What questions would you ask me in an interview?

[paadmissions]

@cmg2492 Thank you for your questions and sorry for the delay. Some programs may weigh where the prerequisites and/or majority of courses are taken. For example, an applicant who has done all the prerequisites at a university level versus a cc would be more competitive for our program, but again some programs may not have a preference on where the courses are taken. We personally feel a university preparation better prepares the applicant for the PA curriculum. We make that very clear with our policies. Also, I really don't think major matters to most programs. I've traveled quite a bit with other programs and have noticed many of them share the same feedback...we don't care what you major in. Finally, if you have worked while in school you'll need to probably mention that in your personal statement. It helps the committee get a feel of the outside activities you handled while in school. Hope this helps!

Do schools consider the difficulty of the university one attended in relation to GPA? It seems unfair that someone who went to for example a community college would have a higher GPA than someone who attended a larger university.

Also do they consider major? For example I am a science major, I wish I would've majored in Biobehavioral health because I think my GPA would be much higher

Also wondering if PA school consider if an applicant had worked during the school year. I worked about 20 hours a week and this of course affects your GPA. I'll still graduate with a 3.3-3.4 though


Thank you for your help!

[paadmissions]

@BBPA Thanks for the kind words and my apologies for the delay! I'm excited to hear of your interest in our program and look forward to working with you!

Dear @paadmissions,

 

I am compelled to say thank you!! This forum has been more insightful than most I've visited thus far. I was planning to apply to Methodist University regardless but after reading your advice on the posts and gathering a feel for this programs' director I am more excited to apply than ever! My last 60 credits are 3.68 (including all science courses) and my BCP is 3.5. My academic work has been on par for the majority of my undergraduate career. However, severe deficiencies in the beginning of college dropped my cum GPA to 3.07 per CASPA. Today, I am not a 3.07 student and haven't been for over 5 years (I began to take college more seriously about 5-6 years ago). The discrepanices were related to long-term hardships. I have never been one to be careless or lazy. This has been overcome and I have persevered. I also have 2000 HCE as an NA and combined 500 in clinical research and as an MA at a pediatrics office. Based on what I have gathered so far your program will be able to see the academic progress and take note of my good grades on the pre-reqs. I have a little hope!

 

Thanks again for all that you do and the time that you take to help!

 

Kinda Regards,

BBPA

[paadmissions]

@megpvb2 Thank you for your question and sorry for the delay. I think it's ok to follow up with the programs maybe once or twice. I prefer emails because I can usually answer emails faster than voicemails since I tend to be in and out of the office, but either way is acceptable. I strongly discourage applicants from continuously following up with us because, to be blunt, it is annoying to some degree and can be perceived as a red flag. Although you seem normal ;), we typically have a handful of applicants who constantly call or email on a weekly or monthly basis. That, to us, a major red flag. If you qualify for an interview the program will contact you so it's important to exercise patience and let the process work itself out. I hope this helps! 

Paadmissions,

 

I shadowed a PA today that mentioned he kept in contact with the school he applied to after his application was submitted to keep checking up on it. I never really thought to do this with the schools I applied to because I didn't want to annoy them. My CASPA was verified May 1, which is some time ago. I received emails from the schools beginning of June that they received my full application. Since June I have not heard anything.

 

Should I email them or call the school to check on the status of my app? If I were to do this I'd want to come across as polite and not annoying at all, so any advice is appreciated!

 

Thank you!

[paadmissions]

@taurusrampage Thank you for your post and interest in our program. If your science GPA is ranging from 3.3-3.5 (especially if it's closer to the 3.5 range) I think you'll be ok. What we will look at is your most recent work (we can't ignore the previous work) and with the upward trend you seem to have, it should enhance your application. Your prerequisite GPA needs to exceed our 3.2 recommendation to be competitive with the applicant pool. We also will weigh your GRE scores as heavily as your prerequisite GPA so that too needs to meet or exceed (preferably exceed) our 297 recommendation. Your hours seem solid to me and I would briefly address the change in mindset from the start of your education to now in your personal statement if you have not already. Hope this helps and feel free to email directly at jmish@methodist.edu if you have any further questions!

Hi @paadmissions. Thank you again for all of your advice. I have a few more questions for you. I posted the following in another thread and wanted your take on my questions.

Here is what I posted.

Good morning everyone,

I love all of the info shared in this forum! As I read along the different posts, I am noting astronomically high grade point averages; 3.8, 3.9, etc. This is a wonderful thing!

This is not me.

I am a non-traditional student in my final year of undergraduate school. I will earn a B.S. in Biology. I plan to apply to MU's PA graduate program when 2015's cycle begins.

In my early 20's, I had poor study habits and my grades reflected this. I returned to University in my late 20's, while trying to adjust to a new marriage and while raising a younger child, I have worked tirelessly to bring my grades back up. And have been successful.

I anticipate graduating with at least a 3.3-3.5 science g.p.a., but I am not sure what MU will consider when it comes to my cumulative g.p.a.

Looking at my last two years of university will offer a much prettier picture than my overall, that include mediocre grades from 14 years ago.

My question goes out to applicants who applied with less than premium g.p.a.'s and were offered an interview and/or accepted into the program.

What other areas were you strong in? How was your interview? Did you have to "explain yourself?"

Any insight you can help with would be greatly appreciated!

That was my post. I want to add that aside from my concern over my gpa, the rest of my resume and reason for wanting to be a PA would be watertight.

I have about 1200 paid hours of experience as a phlebotomist.
Aside from my phlebotomy position, I have experience as a personal caregiver for a member of my own family, and worked in administrative positions in a local hospital and clinic. Finally, I have worked alongside an MD on a medical mission trip.

In the interest of time and money, I will not be able to take additional courses to bring my gpa up. I am working with the timeline of a year from now before graduating.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[paadmissions]

@mrtumus Thank you for your post and I'm sorry to hear of your experiences in the past. It is my hope that you are in a more stable place mentally and fingers crossed an incident like this will never happen again. I'm hoping you've also taken from this experience how to deal with any type of issues should they arise in the future because PA school and stress go hand and hand. Stress management is imperative once a part of any program. I do think an abbreviated and very fact-stated version of your past will need to be told at some point to address the poor academic performance and to address why you were expelled from school. Rather than trying to assume what you need to do to be competitive for PA school, you should request to meet with an admissions representative to see what your chances are of being considered for a seat. The fact that you were expelled from school may be a red flag for some programs and you'll need to make sure you're not wasting your time applying to a program if that is the case. Hope this helps!

Well here it goes. I was assaulted on campus and so was diagnosed with PTSD. Never really got any treatment for it nor support from family for what happened to me. Then whe the anniversary of the assault approached I had a nightmare and thought my boy friend at the time was the guy who assaulted me. He called the police hoping I would be hospitalized BUT instead I was arrested. womp.
Charges were dismissed on grounds of psychological distress BUT the school decided to expell me, said I was causing too many issues. Plus I was also suicidal at the time and did try to kill myself on campus so they really wanted me gone. 

Now I am much better in terms of mental health and want t get back into pursuing PA as a career. I know that I could boost my grades up because I began doing poorly after the assault. I also decided to take a CNA course for HCE since I have been out of the game because I did take a year off after all of this. 
Is there anything else I can do to make up for this expulsion on my record. Please don't say I lost my chance as PA because I won't take no for answer. I am ready to fight and do anything. 

Thank you

[RebeccaFuturePA]

Hello,

 

I took the GRE and got a 308. However, I know I could have done much better on the math section (I got in the 60th percentile, but got in the 78th on my practice test). Would you recommend retaking it? I'm worried that the time and money isn't worth it this late in the cycle.

My other stats are: ohio state 3.7 cum 3.4 prereq 1500 hce, 60 pa shadowing, lor md, pa and professor.

 

Thank you for your help,

Rebecca

[floridapinay31]

Hi there! I've read many of the posts on this section, but I apologize if I ask a similar question. 

 

This is my first time applying. I submitted my CASPA the last week of May, and the supplementals to the schools that required them ~3 weeks later. It is almost October and I have not yet heard back from any of the schools I applied to (just updates on when they received my application, and other additional information they needed.) I've looked through the forum and have seen how applicants who have applied the same time as me or even much later have already heard back with interviews or rejection letters. I know it is still early in the cycle, but would it be safe to assume that I am being wait listed or my application has been put on hold for whatever reason?.... :/ 

 

Stats: undergrad gpa: 3.5; undergard sci gpa 3.2; grad school gpa (medical sciences): 3.58 HCE: 800 hrs at time of application ; shadowing: 250 hrs ; LOR  PA, Supervising RN, Professor from Grad program.

 

Thank you so much for your help! 

[Hope326]

Hello,

 

I really appreciate you taking your time to answer our questions. I was wondering if you can help me with an interview question. I am struggling to answer the "tell me about yourself" question. I heard many different things on how I should approach it. Some suggest not to reiterate your resume and speak about where you are form and hobbies. Whereas, other suggested to provide an overview of why medicine and life events that bought you to PA track. What do you suggest? Thank you.

[MichiganPrePA]

Hello, thank you so much for all of the helpful advice. I know that we all appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions!

 

As a follow-up to the question asked by @megpvb2, is it appropriate to send "updates" to programs? For instance, I felt that I was lacking recent community service in my CASPA application, so I have become involved in some additional service work, and I would like the programs where I've applied to be aware of this. I don't want them to feel that I'm pressuring them for an admissions decision, I just want to include the additional experience in my file so that it is available when the AdCom reviews my information. At the same time, I realize that these programs are likely bombarded with emails and phone calls daily, and I can certainly respect that and exercise patience if you feel that is the preferred route.

 

Thank you!

[cbarna]

Hi, I am currently a college sophomore studying medical technology who IDEALLY wants to go to PA school.  However, I have never been able to do Chemistry and still can not do well in it.  In both my Gen. Chem classes I received a C+ and now I am struggling through Orgo.  My GPA is currently a 2.99 (I know its awful, it'll go up after this semester) but I feel like everyone else has 3.3-3.7.  I need an honest opinion, should I be realistic and face the fact that I'm probably just not cut out for this or should I keep struggling through?   

[paadmissions]

@rebeccafuturePA Thank you for your question. If you were to apply to our program I would not recommend a retake. Be sure to look at the programs that you're interested in to see if they look at overall V&Q combo or if they look at specific percentages. I think you'll be ok in my opinion. Hope this helps!

Hello,

I took the GRE and got a 308. However, I know I could have done much better on the math section (I got in the 60th percentile, but got in the 78th on my practice test). Would you recommend retaking it? I'm worried that the time and money isn't worth it this late in the cycle.
My other stats are: ohio state 3.7 cum 3.4 prereq 1500 hce, 60 pa shadowing, lor md, pa and professor.

Thank you for your help,
Rebecca

[paadmissions]

@floridapinay31 Thank you for your question. Be patient. If you qualify for an interview they will contact you. It is acceptable in my opinion to send an email inquiring about your status, but don't over do it. You don't want to be perceived as nagging them. Also, pay close attention to deadlines. If the deadline for applications has passed and the start date is approaching soon it may be safe to assume they've filled their class. I'm not sure if every program contacts all applicants when their considerations close like we do. However, our program for example utilizes a late deadline and an August start date so we won't fill our class until next semester and we keep considerations open until May 1 of each year. Hope this helps.

Hi there! I've read many of the posts on this section, but I apologize if I ask a similar question. 

 

This is my first time applying. I submitted my CASPA the last week of May, and the supplementals to the schools that required them ~3 weeks later. It is almost October and I have not yet heard back from any of the schools I applied to (just updates on when they received my application, and other additional information they needed.) I've looked through the forum and have seen how applicants who have applied the same time as me or even much later have already heard back with interviews or rejection letters. I know it is still early in the cycle, but would it be safe to assume that I am being wait listed or my application has been put on hold for whatever reason?.... :/ 

 

Stats: undergrad gpa: 3.5; undergard sci gpa 3.2; grad school gpa (medical sciences): 3.58 HCE: 800 hrs at time of application ; shadowing: 250 hrs ; LOR  PA, Supervising RN, Professor from Grad program.

 

Thank you so much for your help! 

[paadmissions]

@hope326 Thank you for your questions. I actually think a good mix of both your background and what lead you to the PA profession is a good way to answer that question. You obviously want to talk more about your adult life rather than your childhood to start. If the question is asked like that without any "talking points" a mix between the 2 would be sufficient. Keep your respond short and sweet and to the point...don't ramble. Hope this helps!

Hello,

 

I really appreciate you taking your time to answer our questions. I was wondering if you can help me with an interview question. I am struggling to answer the "tell me about yourself" question. I heard many different things on how I should approach it. Some suggest not to reiterate your resume and speak about where you are form and hobbies. Whereas, other suggested to provide an overview of why medicine and life events that bought you to PA track. What do you suggest? Thank you.