RCKimeryJr Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Hello everyone, I am new to this forum but I plan on sticking around for years to come. I am currently in the process of obtaining my Bachelors from UMBC and after I finish that, I plan on applying to AACC's P.A. Program. I am a resident of Anne Arundel County and I would absolutely love to attend this school. I have read over the programs website at least one hundred times and I am well aware of the average student, but I would like to hear from actual people who are currently enrolled or have completed this program. What kind of tips could you suggest to help getting accepted into this program? Any information would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCKimeryJr Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Hello everyone, I am new to this forum but I plan on sticking around for years to come. I am currently in the process of obtaining my Bachelors from UMBC and after I finish that, I plan on applying to AACC's P.A. Program. I am a resident of Anne Arundel County and I would absolutely love to attend this school. I have read over the programs website at least one hundred times and I am well aware of the average student, but I would like to hear from actual people who are currently enrolled or have completed this program. What kind of tips could you suggest to help getting accepted into this program? Any information would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAhopeful13 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Hi RCKimeryJr has anyone responded to your post. I would like some advice on this school i'm applying for the April 2013 cycle. My overall gpa on caspa needs to be updated but i'm hoping the overall gpa will be 3.0. I've taken classes when i was younger and had to re-take them later so of course caspa has the lower gpa. Let me know if you've found out any information. Thanks and good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradyg007 Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Work Hard. I was 25 this past summer when I applied and was accepted to the Class of 2015 and we start in May. The average HCE was 10-12K for my class and I fell in around 5,000 Hours or so. To me its all about your PS first because thats all they have to read to get to know you. Then its the interview, you have to be confident and sell yourself because you are only interviewed for a short time. As long as you dont just meet but exceed the pre-reqs, since they are only minimums and everyone meets them. You need to show that PA is what you want and your coursework and HCE will show that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCKimeryJr Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 If you don't mind me asking, what did your GPA's look like, what type of HCE did you have, and who did you get your LOR from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradyg007 Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 cGPA 3.1...sGPA 3.4 and Pre req GPA 3.92. I've been an EMT for 3 years on a 911 ALS ambulance and 2 1/2 years prior as a volunteer firefighter/EMT. My LOR were from a professor from college/advisor who I became friends with, a PA who I've worked with in the ER bringing patients to him and 3rd was a Paramedic I've worked with for 3 years and taught my EMT class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradyg007 Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 cGPA 3.1...sGPA 3.4 and Pre req GPA 3.92. I've been an EMT for 3 years on a 911 ALS ambulance and 2 1/2 years prior as a volunteer firefighter/EMT. My LOR were from a professor from college/advisor who I became friends with, a PA who I've worked with in the ER bringing patients to him and 3rd was a Paramedic I've worked with for 3 years and taught my EMT class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaindoc Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Bradyg007, Congratulation on your acceptance. As an MD, I am aquainted with this program and have been a bit disturbed by what I have seen in the last couple of years. I am wondering what they are telling you as an incoming student about their problems. Because I am peripheral, (I see students in clerkships at our clinic but don't act as a primary preceptor), my concerns aren't addressed by the admin. My concerns are over the way material is taught....6 hours of lectures per day by a single instructor for several days in a row cannot be good instruction. Faculty turnover. Relatively inexperienced PA's acting as instructors. Students feeling like they are not respected and are not allowed to ask questions of some instructors. What was most troubling was that these students felt that they could not bring up their concerns to the faculty without retribution... a scary scenerio for a grad school. These are things I have heard from students that last two years (from a few students) and they may not be a good reflection of the program. But becase of them, I will not be a preceptor. I am wondering if they gave you any indications of these issues in the interview process. Did they advise you that they are going to have a big curriculum change for your class as they meet the requirements of the new sponsor of the Masters Degree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagrigg Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Hi there, I am an out-of-state applicant who has an upcoming interview in November, and I was hoping someone who is in the program from out-of-state could shed some light on how long you need to live in-county in order to receive the in-county tuition, and then in-state of the UMB cost? I looked online and some websites say 6 months for residency, while others say 1 year. I am wondering (if accepted) how soon I need to move to MD in order to save the most money. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgaboria Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Can anyone comment on the program with regards to the certificate vs. masters degree. I understand the program is working with UMB now to obtain a masters, but upon further investigation on the website today... it said the entire masters is offered online and that the masters is in health science... so not a masters in PA studies/science. So the PA is still a certificate and the masters is a health science degree. After finishing the PA certificate requirements, you take an additional 30ish credits online to obtain the masters in health science from UMB. I am very confused by this. It doesn't seem like a legit masters degree and it might be looked down upon when trying to obtain a job after graduation. If any current students can comment on this, I would really appreciate it. I might just be interpreting this the wrong way! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapo0021 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Hello. 2012 AACC graduate here. This is a very good program. The masters you get is legit. I graduated when the school was still affiliated with St. Francis, so I cannot comment specifically on the quality of the new program, however I felt well prepared for my first job as a PA. Most of my classmates had jobs lined up several months prior to graduating. Overall, I have found that AACC generally has a good reputation in the local medical community. Also, I have found that it is not just the school, but the performance of previous hires who are graduates, that determines your likelihood of being hired. Best of luck in your PA career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagrigg Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Lapo0021--Thanks for your insight on the program. Can you let me know if there are any breaks between semesters? If so, how long are they? Do you get a couple weeks off between semesters or around the holidays? I am getting married within the next year or so, and trying to figure out if there would be any time off for a wedding : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la324x Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Lapo0021--Thanks for your insight on the program. Can you let me know if there are any breaks between semesters? If so, how long are they? Do you get a couple weeks off between semesters or around the holidays? I am getting married within the next year or so, and trying to figure out if there would be any time off for a wedding : ) Hi. I am a current student in the AACC/UMB class of 2016. We do get breaks between semesters. Between summer and fall semesters it is usually 2 weeks (second and third week of August). After the fall semester we will have off from December15th to January 21st (this is a new change since the AACC/UMB collaboration started this year). As far as I know we will have 2 weeks again between spring and summer in May. So there is definitely time off where you could plan a wedding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la324x Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Can anyone comment on the program with regards to the certificate vs. masters degree. I understand the program is working with UMB now to obtain a masters, but upon further investigation on the website today... it said the entire masters is offered online and that the masters is in health science... so not a masters in PA studies/science. So the PA is still a certificate and the masters is a health science degree. After finishing the PA certificate requirements, you take an additional 30ish credits online to obtain the masters in health science from UMB. I am very confused by this. It doesn't seem like a legit masters degree and it might be looked down upon when trying to obtain a job after graduation. If any current students can comment on this, I would really appreciate it. I might just be interpreting this the wrong way! Thank you! I am a current student in the AACC/UMB program. I agree with lapo0021- the masters degree is legit and will be sufficient for your career. There are other PA schools that give the same type of masters degree. This should not deter you from attending AACC. Our graduates are very highly thought of and most of them get 2-3 good job offers before they graduate. In regards to the masters classes for UMB- they are online. They are spread out amongst the semesters, so usually you will have 1-2 classes online through UMB and the rest in person at AACC. Below is a link to the courses by semester. https://www.aacc.edu/physassist/file/CollaborationCourseSequence2015.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgaboria Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Thank you guys for the input!! I have heard that the program has a very good reputation - and this is coming from someone who lives out of state! :) The website about the joint program was just confusing to me so I wasn't sure about the separate certificate/masters. I am so much more excited about the program knowing that the local community regards AACC students in a very high regard! Must mean the school is doing something right :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagrigg Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Hi. I am a current student in the AACC/UMB class of 2016. We do get breaks between semesters. Between summer and fall semesters it is usually 2 weeks (second and third week of August). After the fall semester we will have off from December15th to January 21st (this is a new change since the AACC/UMB collaboration started this year). As far as I know we will have 2 weeks again between spring and summer in May. So there is definitely time off where you could plan a wedding! Perfect thank you SO much for this info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagrigg Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Did anyone have any input on how long it takes for in-state/in-county tuition to kick in for tuition costs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldmanrachel Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Hi all, Are there any current AACC students out there who would be willing to talk to me on the phone for a few minutes? I would really appreciate your time. Please email me at waldmanrachel@gmail.com if you're up for it! Thanks in advance, Rachel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagrigg Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I'm going to echo Rachel here...if any current/past students wouldn't mind chatting briefly on the phone please email me emilygrigg1@gmail.com. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagrigg Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Also, I would greatly appreciate if current or former students could give some information about interview format and what to expect for interview day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgaboria Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Does anyone have any information about rotations, cadaver lab, sim center, anything? There is absolutely no information about this on the PA website for AACC. I tried calling the health science number and the woman on the phone told me that if I had any questions, I can send an email but they aren't accepting phone calls about any questions... so there's that. haha I see there are 9 rotations but what are the 9 categories? Does that include elective rotations? Is there a specific building for PA students? Cadaver lab? Simulation center? Physical exam rooms? OSCEs? Anyone?! I was surprised this information isn't listed on the website and the only way to get answers is to submit an email with questions and hope for a response. These are things I would really like to know about the program before interviewing. It seems like you are unprepared for an interview if I am asking them these questions. Just my opinion. Any input is appreciated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la324x Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Does anyone have any information about rotations, cadaver lab, sim center, anything? There is absolutely no information about this on the PA website for AACC. I tried calling the health science number and the woman on the phone told me that if I had any questions, I can send an email but they aren't accepting phone calls about any questions... so there's that. haha I see there are 9 rotations but what are the 9 categories? Does that include elective rotations? Is there a specific building for PA students? Cadaver lab? Simulation center? Physical exam rooms? OSCEs? Anyone?! I was surprised this information isn't listed on the website and the only way to get answers is to submit an email with questions and hope for a response. These are things I would really like to know about the program before interviewing. It seems like you are unprepared for an interview if I am asking them these questions. Just my opinion. Any input is appreciated!! For our cadaver lab we go to the Anatomy Gifts Registry in Hanover a few times the first semester and then again in the spring semester. We do have a sim man that we use during lab sometimes at the Arnold campus. Most of our lectures are at the Arundel Mills campus and labs at the Arnold campus. We do go to Baltimore for standardized patient experiences, but not in the first semester. The first semester you learn how to do a physical exam and you practice on other students. As far as the rotations, there are 9: 1 Family Practice 1 Internal Medicine 1 Psych 1 OB/GYN 1 Peds 1 Surgery 1 Emergency Medicine 2 Electives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgaboria Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Thank you so much la324x!!! You are a life saver :) I'm sure everyone on this forum appreciates your input, I know I do! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mich6288 Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Hello, I was recently accepted into the AACC PA Class of 2017! I was wondering if there was a FB page already created? Did a classmate just volunteer to manage the FB page or was someone specific assigned to do it? I didn't want to get ahead of the game, but I am not from MD and need to begin looking for roommates/ place to live. Thank You so much for your advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la324x Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Hello, I was recently accepted into the AACC PA Class of 2017! I was wondering if there was a FB page already created? Did a classmate just volunteer to manage the FB page or was someone specific assigned to do it? I didn't want to get ahead of the game, but I am not from MD and need to begin looking for roommates/ place to live. Thank You so much for your advice! It is up to your class to make a facebook page. One of my classmates started our page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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