Hear me out. Just a gal needing to rant and get some feedback

[vert05]

Okay lots of ranting here, but hear me out.. 

Background on me: 

Graduated from college with a BS in Bio Sci at 22. A month before my freshman year ended I was in a drunk driving car accident where two people died. One in my arms. Hence my goal in life is trauma/surgical PA. Prior to the accident, I had a 3.8 GPA, as a result of the accident I finished freshman year with a 2.3. Summer before sophomore year, I saw multiple counselors who turned my PA "idea" down rather than asking me what caused the slip up in grades. This led to a lot of depression, self doubt, you name it. Towards the end of sophomore year, after other mishaps and incidents that I never wish on anyone, my grades slowly began to improve. My junior and senior year had been the best two years.  In these two years alone I finished with a 3.9 cGPA and 3.7 sciGPA. 

Overall I finished with a 3.13 cGPA and 3.03 sciGPA once freshman year was accounted for. During college I worked as a med scribe and med assistant. After my senior year (during my gap year) I worked as a nursing assistant and volunteered at a covid vaccine site. I was fortunate to have many close connections and was able to work in multiple versatile healthcare settings. I have over 5,000 healthcare hours, 2,000 volunteer hours and 800 shadowing hours. 

Last cycle I applied to four schools and was not accepted nor interviewed. This cycle I have applied to ten schools. I have received 6 denies, was told by a counselor for one school that I was recommended for an interview but have yet to receive the actual invite and have three other schools I am waiting for.....NOW MY DILEMMA 

I am 23 yrs old now, in my gap year still and 

I fear that I may need a backup plan. I quit my job as a nursing assistant with x hospital in march because of many reasons. Since then I have been travelling because that is what I thought I should do before dedicating my soul to the horrors of PA school for two years. However since finishing my applications at the end of sept, I have felt afloat and now am considering going backwards and attending a surgical tech program (associates degree). I applied to one and received acceptance today. My family (who is my largest support system) thinks this is best. They say it is more hands on learning (especially in my dream field), enough pay to actual help me save up for PA school and more time to ensure that I want PA school and the potential $100,000+ in loans.

While I say I am fearful of needing a backup plan, I am more fearful of waiting too long and missing my chance for PA school. I have always been a "go go go" person. If I want something I need to do everything I can to get there or do it. So the idea of taking two years to go backwards and get an associates then work then go back for PA school sounds horrifying. The Surg tech program begins this month on 11/28. I told my family that I will enroll, however if I receive an interview I will attend the interview and if I get accepted I will take the financial loss for the surg tech program and attend PA school. They do not think that would be a good idea, however in my mind it makes sense. 

I think I just needed to rant. I am sorry to those who read this and think "this is all over the place". Any feed back would be greatly appreciated though.

Thanks

[MediMike]

4 hours ago, vert05 said:

I am 23 yrs old now, in my gap year still and....

While I say I am fearful of needing a backup plan, I am more fearful of waiting too long and missing my chance for PA school.

I attended PA school at 31.  I had a 49 year old in my class.  Another campus had an individual in their 50s.  You will not be missing out on anything by pursuing something that will get you valuable experience.  The surg tech background will help to achieve that dream job once you get through PA school down the road

I've sat on adcoms before and am surprised you didn't get an interview with that amount of HCE and volunteering/shadowing.

[mgriffiths]

I'm going to be honest...it doesn't help not to be.

With your stats I am also surprised that you have not been offered more interviews.  Therefore, I have to assume something about your CASPA essay isn't working.  Whether you decide to pursue surgical tech or PA school or whatever...give that a look because something there may be hindering your interview offers. 

[vert05]

3 hours ago, MediMike said:

I attended PA school at 31.  I had a 49 year old in my class.  Another campus had an individual in their 50s.  You will not be missing out on anything by pursuing something that will get you valuable experience.  The surg tech background will help to achieve that dream job once you get through PA school down the road

I've sat on adcoms before and am surprised you didn't get an interview with that amount of HCE and volunteering/shadowing.

Hi! Thank you for your response. I suppose a large fear I have was essentially "wasting time" by not attending PA school right out of college. I do not know your circumstances, but being that you attended the program at 31, do you regret anything or do you feel as though it was for the best and worked out? 

[vert05]

4 hours ago, mgriffiths said:

I'm going to be honest...it doesn't help not to be.

With your stats I am also surprised that you have not been offered more interviews.  Therefore, I have to assume something about your CASPA essay isn't working.  Whether you decide to pursue surgical tech or PA school or whatever...give that a look because something there may be hindering your interview offers. 

Hi! With your first statement do you mean it doesnt help not to have a backup plan? 

My GPA and GRE score was low. However, the four schools I am waiting to hear back from did not require my scores for the GRE. My essay was read by quite a few people and I put a lot of time and effort into it but I suppose you are not wrong. If it isnt my GPA or GRE score, it has to be my essay. Depending on if and when I hear back from the four final schools, I will definitely take a look at my essay again and potentially reach out to the schools for feedback. 

 

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it. 

 

[VarsityMed]

I'm 29 and will be starting PA school at 30. I had a whole other career prior to making the switch and I don't regret any of it. I wouldn't have been the applicant that I am if I hadn't done other things. As an "older" (not even old! 30 is not old!) applicant I know that I bring a lot of life experience, professionalism, and perspective. I also have much better study habits and a better handle on my finances.

I will also echo the other commenters and say that if you're not getting bites this round, you should sit down NOW and being working on your app for your possible second cycle. Your personal statement is huge of course but also look at all your other supporting material. What were your "experience" descriptions like for everything else? Did you showcase what you learned? Did you advance in leadership/responsibilities in any of your positions? Numbers certainly matter but so does longevity. Is there a volunteer position that you've been at for a while or one that you can commit to for the duration of the process? I'd suggest focusing on the depths of some elements of your experiences as you explore this new stop on your journey.

[ohiovolffemtp]

As someone who started PA school at age 53 after careers in corporate IT, firefighter/paramedic, and part-time university faculty, you are hardly too old.  You're in a time of gathering experiences which will help you determine what's the right path for this time in your life.  Becoming a surgical tech will help you really learn if being in a surgical profession is what you want to do.  Some thoughts, please see if they apply to you:

• You haven't said anything about shadowing any PA's in your desired field.  While you know what you experienced in the aftermath of that tragedy, do you know how that ties into being a PA in trauma/surgery?  If you haven't articulated that in your personal statement, you may not have shown why you have the passion to be a PA as well as you could.
• Have you applied to PA schools which place a greater emphasis on grades in your final 2 years of undergrad?  Some do, and that might be a much better chance of admission vs school that only use the complete GPA.
• Have you talked to any of the schools which turned you down to get any feedback on what would make you a better candidate?  That would be the best source of data on your perceived weaknesses.
• Does your personal statement emphasize how you overcame adversity?  This is much less about what was "done to you" - the wreck, the guidance you had from counselors that you felt was faulty, the depression, as it is about how you turned yourself around and found new strength.  This could highlight you as a person who has the self-knowledge and skills to overcome the challenges of PA school and a career in medicine.

[mgriffiths]

13 hours ago, vert05 said:

Hi! With your first statement do you mean it doesnt help not to have a backup plan? 

 

I meant that I'm going to be honest even if it is harsh, because sugar coating it doesn't help you.

Certainly a GRE score can hold you back if a school requires it.  While your GPA is lower than average, I do think ad coms often will look at trajectory...at least they did for me.  Does your essay discuss your progression?  Also, obviously hoping you are accepted, but if you are not one thing that could really boost your application would be to retake some of the classes that you did not do well in.  It seems kind of goofy, but it shows commitment and recognition to the problem.

I was a high school chemistry teacher before going back to PA school.  My freshman year of undergrad I didn't know how to study because I never needed to in high school...therefore my GPA sucked.  As a high school science teacher I retook chem 1 and chem 2 because I did quite poorly in them in undergrad.  By far the easiest classes I ever took, but had two different interviews where it was brought up and mentioned that it showed commitment and humility in doing that.

[ANESMCR]

You’re so young. Not even at average age of entry to PA school. Who are you comparing yourself to?

You have the experience, so although surgical tech would help, I don’t think it would help tremendously. As mentioned above, retaking some of those classes would definitely help. But you could be over doing that and ready to move on (which is understandable). Your personal statement needs to be amazing, literally a “Best-seller” in this day and age, so make sure it’s a banger and interesting to read-rather than discussing your aptitude throughout. Who are your references? Do they know you well? This is a huge component. I started applying when I was your age. EMT, CNA, Anesthesia tech. I had the experience but my GPA/GRE were average. Took me FIVE cycles. I wouldn’t even count your first cycle with applying to only 4 schools. You need to be applying to 15-20 minimum.

Edited November 3, 2021 by ANESMCR

[VarsityMed]

I'm going to weigh in and tell you to reconsider the 15-20 recommendation because that is incredibly expensive and may not be attainable for everyone.

There is definitely value in casting a wide net and it only takes one acceptance but I'd also encourage you to seek out programs that value what you bring to the table and are a good fit for your stats and your experience. That doesn't mean you can't have "reach" schools but blindly applying doesn't give you the time to really nail supplemental essays or be prepared to really speak to why a specific program interests you in the interview. If you find 20 programs that you think would be great for you...go for it! But if that's not realistic or affordable I wouldn't tell you that that is a deal breaker.

100% reach out to schools who ultimately reject you for for feedback though! You may not get anything back but you have nothing to lose by asking how you can strengthen your application.

[vert05]

5 hours ago, ANESMCR said:

You’re so young. Not even at average age of entry to PA school. Who are you comparing yourself to?

You have the experience, so although surgical tech would help, I don’t think it would help tremendously. As mentioned above, retaking some of those classes would definitely help. But you could be over doing that and ready to move on (which is understandable). Your personal statement needs to be amazing, literally a “Best-seller” in this day and age, so make sure it’s a banger and interesting to read-rather than discussing your aptitude throughout. Who are your references? Do they know you well? This is a huge component. I started applying when I was your age. EMT, CNA, Anesthesia tech. I had the experience but my GPA/GRE were average. Took me FIVE cycles. I wouldn’t even count your first cycle with applying to only 4 schools. You need to be applying to 15-20 minimum.

I have been told that retaking courses does not always help, but then I have heard the opposite. At this point in time I want and feel a strong need to advance in my education rather than stepping back (if that makes sense). My references were people who I consider close friends that I worked with for a very long time. One of them being the doctor and PA I mentioned above and then two others being NPs. I do not think my references are the problem. After reading many of these comments I am starting to think that it truly is my personal statement, which sucks but is okay. It just means that next cycle my personal statement will genuinely have to be "a banger". 

First cycle I applied to four and this cycle I applied to ten. I kept it a low amount because I would like to stay as close to home as possible and I was worried about spending a ton of money applying to schools that I was not significantly interested in. I now see that this may not be the best choice and that I should apply to more schools. 

Thank you. 

[ANESMCR]

12 minutes ago, vert05 said:

First cycle I applied to four and this cycle I applied to ten. I kept it a low amount because I would like to stay as close to home as possible and I was worried about spending a ton of money applying to schools that I was not significantly interested in. I now see that this may not be the best choice and that I should apply to more schools. 

Thank you. 

Well you got separate opinions. One more year working as orderly is another lost with a PA salary. Either way you’ll have to pay for PA school. Nobody can live on CNA pay, you were able to quit your job, and you’re traveling…so clearly that’s not an issue here. Getting in should be a priority and applying to more schools will dramatically increase your odds. Don’t restrict yourself to schools close to home. You’ll find similar issues with finding employment once you graduate. Need to be very open to change and relocation in this profession. If you haven’t already read examples of great narratives, I would advise you take a look. No one here is saying yours is inadequate.

[CMC20]

I was accepted this cycle with a lower than average GPA as a second time applicant(26 now btw). That being said I believe retaking any prerequisites with less than a B would be the place I would start if I were you then take some extra science classes that you can get an A in. Next go ahead and relook at your personal statement and make it a “banger”. Really comb through your entire application for any red flags. Good luck!

[ANESMCR]

1 hour ago, oceanmedicinetravelpa said:

Lastly, I don’t mean to harp because I’m sure you’ve heard it before but having a DUI/causing two deaths is a big red flag to schools. 

[vert05]

11 minutes ago, ANESMCR said:

The fact that they read my story and thought that I was the person who was drunk driving is astounding… 

Edited November 5, 2021 by vert05

[vert05]

13 minutes ago, ANESMCR said:

 

1 hour ago, oceanmedicinetravelpa said:

It could be your personal statement and/or letters of recommendation. So make sure your LOR are highly recommending you. Lastly, I don’t mean to harp because I’m sure you’ve heard it before but having a DUI/causing two deaths is a big red flag to schools. 

First off, my LOR are not the problem. I know that for a fact. I would not have the opportunities that I have gotten in the past without those recommendations and with those individuals by my side. 
Secondly, no. You are the first person to ever harp me because you clearly did not read my post in its entirety. I never got a DUI because I was sober and nearly died. Please for the love of Buddha, before you go and give advice to students who are genuinely asking for advice and in need of it, read their stories clearly. 
Your response reminds me of a counselor who turned me away in college because she never cared to ask me about the car accident and simply assumed that I partied and my grades fell. Just like you, she was wrong. 

[PAtoMD]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is you applied relatively late. Finishing applications in September puts you at a disadvantage. You should try to complete ASAP. 

[PAtoMD]

On 11/2/2021 at 3:07 AM, vert05 said:

However since finishing my applications at the end of sept,

The way the original posts read, or the way interpreted was that you submitted in September. Early August is okay, but always could be sooner. 

Edited November 6, 2021 by PAtoMD
OP deleted her comment. Stated she applied August 7th and not September