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interview for 2013 start...


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Good News: If they call me from the wait list I will immediately decline because I got in elsewhere. (Unless I decide to delay a week to be a pain in the *** since they didn't remember my name when I called to follow up about the interview.) Hopefully y'all get in someplace else because this school is the most expensive + on top of a mountain which is hard to commute to especially when it's snowing. It is also not close to any real medical facilities so you won't get much quality experience unless you choose to do your clinical's elsewhere. I liked the school's history but I don't think it would do anything for me personally upon graduation but I may be wrong about that.

 

Overall I didn't like this school too much although the program director (Ginger Boles) was extremely nice. So was the man in the anatomy lab (forgot his name.) Just interviewed here because I was desperate to get into PA school just like everyone else.

 

I also thought that the caliber of the applicants at this school was below average and felt like most of them were fresh out of Biology 3. Would probably learn very little from your fellow students here unlike some other schools.

 

Becoming a PA is a PITA (Pain in the ***) and having to deal with the red tape of this whole process is very very big PITA. Also interviewing at schools when the program has a choice between you and another 1000 desperate applicants is also a big PITA.

 

I'm very sorry about my rant but this process has taken wind out of me and I don't even want to THINK about how some other students that didn't get accepted anywhere feel about it. I am not a troll. I'm just pointing out that this world is full of cut throat live or die scenarios and people that work in schools who don't care about the poor PA students sometimes know this and let their ego maniacal fleshy desires manifest.

 

Life ain't a joke kidz. It's about hard struggles and dollars and sense. I had an interview at a school and some of the other applicants were unloading parrot nonsense like muddy water from a broken fire hydrant. If you're talking to someone who's been in the military......BE HONEST and STRAIGHT FORWARD. OR THEY WILL DETECT YOUR BS AND SEND YOU BACK 1000 MILES FROM WHERE YOU CAME FROM.

 

BE GENUINE. "YOU ARE ALREADY NAKED" - Steve Jobs

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I talk to a student studying while I was waiting for my interview and they seemed pretty intelligent, so my experience was the opposite. For me personally I have 3 years working in the hospital and 2 bachelor's degrees (first one I have a ****ty GPA, so was looking at school that put emphasis on the last 60-90 credit hours or prereq's) but was wait listed. It is a bit isolated from the cities but that didn't bother me too much, in fact less distraction from studying in my option. Clinical rotation also wont be an issue for me either as I plan to move around a lot in any school I get into.

The down side of the interview though was the lack students involvement. It was a good information session but after I felt not too welcome waiting around so I just drove around the small town there until close to my interview (while waiting I was able to talk to one student). Also I know it was their policy to not tell students how many are on the wait list or how many are accepted but I feel this is unnecessary. All the other PA schools I interviewed with gave that information out.

But overall I think the school is somewhere I would like to study.

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I talk to a student studying while I was waiting for my interview and they seemed pretty intelligent, so my experience was the opposite. For me personally I have 3 years working in the hospital and 2 bachelor's degrees (first one I have a ****ty GPA, so was looking at school that put emphasis on the last 60-90 credit hours or prereq's) but was wait listed. It is a bit isolated from the cities but that didn't bother me too much, in fact less distraction from studying in my option. Clinical rotation also wont be an issue for me either as I plan to move around a lot in any school I get into.

The down side of the interview though was the lack students involvement. It was a good information session but after I felt not too welcome waiting around so I just drove around the small town there until close to my interview (while waiting I was able to talk to one student). Also I know it was their policy to not tell students how many are on the wait list or how many are accepted but I feel this is unnecessary. All the other PA schools I interviewed with gave that information out.

But overall I think the school is somewhere I would like to study.

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I am an AB graduate. I chose this program because it was fairly close to home, offered a Master's degree instead of a BS, and did not require the GRE. I was accepted to a program closer to home but it only offered a BS degree. This was a very intense program with regard to the amount of information one is responsible for and I feel it did a great job of preparing me for the PANCE. The most enjoyable aspect was the interaction between professors and the education (or academics) itself. However, these were the only enjoyable aspects about this program in the first 2 years and I regret my decision to attend this program. RookyRook is right; it is a very rural area and quality clinical opportunities are limited during the first 2 years. However, this improves during your final year depending on where you do clinical rotations. You're right again, RookyRook; the caliber of applicants/students is below average. What struck me as odd was the lack of real-world experience among the students, with most students being in their early 20s (undergraduate junior-senior). Most had not worked in any medical capacity -- faculty was forced to do a lot of "hand-holding" and one professor awarded extra points to the best Halloween costumes. Really? I have not compared the cost of this program with other schools, but I can tell you that I graduated with 112K in student loan debt, with no scholarship assistance. I don't think the average student really understands what this translates to after graduation and how this will impact your decisions regarding the positions you can accept, where you can live, etc. To those pre-PA students, to give you all an idea, I have paid $800/month for over four years and have only reduced my student loan debt by $2K due to most of each payment going to interest. I am sure there are more-affordable schools out there, and I would encourage you to seriously consider these schools over AB. In applying for positions, I have been asked twice why AB lost its accreditation, although this happened several years after I graduated. My point: Potential employers have questioned the validity of the program. I have had potential employers say they have never heard of this program and I have noticed that employers would prefer to have their PAs come from prestigious or well-known schools. It's not fair, but it's reality. Really, it depends on what you need as a student and your financial situation. If you are quite young without any medical experience and have no problem paying this much for 25 years after graduation, then I would say AB is a great choice. To pre-PA students: Your degree DOES matter; only apply to schools that offer a Master's degree, as more and more employers are only wanting to hire PAs with a Master's degree.

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does anyone know the avg stats of accepted students?

 

3.5 GPA upward trend

Thousands of hours of Direct Patient Care

Community service

Research

GRE doesn't matter as long as you get over 300 combined

Time Magazine Worthy Personal Statement

Personable Interview

 

= 100k of Debt not yet compounding.

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