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PA school dilemma


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I don't know if anyone will be able to help me here, but I am having a dilemma choosing a program and I want to hear any advice that I can get. 
 
I was accepted into three programs Thomas Jefferson-East Falls, Saint Francis, and Charleston Southern University. 
 
So I was initially (still am?) planning to go to Charleston Southern University (in Charleston SC) which starts this January and is 24 months long. However, I am now having second doubts which is either because I am making the wrong choice or because it starts in 2 weeks and I did not have much time to prepare/take a break as I was pulled off the waitlist in November.
 
What I like about CSU is the location, it uses an organ-based curriculum, the shorter daily didactic schedule (8-3, 8-1 some days), the faculty, and it has a 30 person cohort. However, it is a newer program (fourth year and still provisional status) and I am now wondering if it would be more beneficial for me to wait a few more months until July so I can take a break from work, mentally prepare for PA schoo,l and wait until COVID-19 settles down for a greater chance for classes to be back to normal and in-person. 
 
I am having doubts and am not sure if that is a sign that I should attend the other programs (most likely Jefferson) or if it means that I am nervous because the CSU program starts this upcoming January and I barely had any time to prepare (since I was pulled off the waitlist in late fall). I am also nervous that it is a newer program (I would be the fourth cohort) vs Thomas Jefferson- East Falls (used to be Philadelphia University) which has been around for several decades. 
 
I was originally thinking that I can go to CSU to experience living down south and that I would graduate 7 months earlier, but maybe waiting until July to gain more experience and possibly travel would be a better option. 
 
What are your thoughts on this?  What would you do if you were in my place and did you ever have to decide between two programs? How did you decide where to go and did you like your program? 
 
I appreciate any advice you can give me! 
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Just go to the program you most like, which sounds like CSU. Provisional status doesn’t matter, it’s still accredited. Each program is going to have pros and cons. Each program is going to have something about it you absolutely can not stand, and something you may really enjoy. PA school is going to be tough no matter how long you put it off. Holding off to gain experience in your current position of whatever you’re doing (shadowing/working) isn’t going to benefit you at all. Traveling right now is also probably limited. Are you really going to travel for 6 months? Point is, you have >2 years of necessary suck waiting for you in 2 weeks or in 6 months. There’s really no right answer. 

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I was in a slightly similar situation. I was going to be start my safety school in January but after accepting in September I continue to get interview invites and go. Because of those interview invites and the short time crunch, I compared each school so by the time I got accepted I knew which one I wanted to go to (granted I only ever got a second acceptance with two rejections and 1 still awaiting a decision).  If you did something similar and decided on SCU for that reason, go for it! You chose it for a reason!

If you didn't I would definitely recommend doing so but it's hard in such a short amount of time especially if you were ready to move like I was because that will definitely factor into your decision. 

Here were other things that factor in for me when choosing between schools (this is in no particular order of importance)

1. The basics: reputation, cost, student provided health insurance etc. Some say continued vs provisional doesn't matter and i used to think the same but I've heard horror stories about schools so for me I would always choose a continued but  don't want that to put you off of SCU because honestly I have never had any experience with a provisional school and for all you know it could be continued in a year. 

2. Length of the program and most importantly how this affects your clinical year. For me I used to like the option of a shorter program but then I realized most schools that do have a shorter program cut down on your clinical rotations. That being said the school i ended up committing to is also a 24 month program and although there are less rotations they last longer (6 weeks vs 4 weeks) so that was a factor for me. 

3. As you mention cohort size, again there are pros and cons to smaller and larger cohorts from the people I've talked to so it's really up to your personality. 

4. Curriculum most of the PAs I talked to and shadow rave about the organ/modular type of curriculum however those that went with the traditional curriculum never complained and were still equally as successful.

5. Lastly this for me was the reason I primarily chose my school was the fact that it had a Cadaver Lab. 

In regards to COVID-19 and starting sooner rather than later, this didn't really play a factor for me because the school starting in January was going to be hybrid which I believe most schools are doing. It has definitely been a hard adjustment for me going from almost starting in January to now waiting until June especially since there is not much you can do or prepare for in the meantime so again I wouldn't let that factor into your decision. 

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