Late Change On Graduate School Tract

[Abby21]

Thank you for taking the time to read my message! 
I am currently a junior undergraduate student at Clarkson university, up until about 6 months ago, the beginning of my junior 1st semester, I had been preparing for a Occupational Therapy Track for Graduate school. Unfortunately, after some shadowing and personal experiences I found myself have an expressed lack of interest in the field. I had been interested in PA field for a long time, but due to personal struggles and family input, had chosen against applying. As previously stated, 6 months ago that changed and I now have been pursuing everything I need to  accomplish wholeheartedly. I have a 3.5 cumulative gpa, which I understand is not stellar, but my main concern is patient care hours. Because I was so late to change my mind, I had been spending my summers as a special education assistant working with autistic children as an aide. It wasn’t until this January that I began working in a nursing home. 
 

As such by the end of this summer when I would be applying I will have ~400 hrs of patient care as a Task Aide (feeding of nursing home residents and transport as well as general care) and about 300 more as a CNA. My question is if I am applying to PA schools such as Clarkson, Binaventure, and LeMoyne, will I even stand a chance.

i truly do feel passionately about this field and in the very possible event that I do not get in I intend to work for a year in the hospital setting and reapply. I just wanted some realistic input as to how I stand currently. 
 

thank you so much!

[VarsityMed]

If you meet their requirements (GPA, prerequisites, and PCE hours) then you do in theory stand a chance.

You certainly are not going to hurt your chances by accruing more hours and more hours could make you a more competitive applicant, all else being equal. I'd confirm that your Task Aide hours will be accepted as PCE hours though.

If you meet ALL of the requirements and you can afford it, you have nothing to lose by applying this cycle, assuming that the rest of your application is well done and strong. If you don't succeed this round or decide to apply next year, your plan to work in a hospital is a good one. Many many PA applicants work for several years (or more!) after finishing undergrad so your timeline is very normal.