Guidance needed on path to PA school

[BucketMan21]

Hi yall,

I am looking for some advice and what better place to come to than reddit. I am a former student athlete (basketball for 4.5 years). I finished undergrad with a BA in Biology and two minors in sociology and psychology with a 3.2 science GPA and 3.0 cumulative GPA. My grades were really good my first two years (3.8 GPA) the next two were horrific due to depression and many losses. I eventually shook back to finish my very last semester on Dean's List while taking 19 hours. I have around 2,000 hrs of pce, 12 hours of shadowing, and 25 hours of volunteering. I applied this previous cycle but was not aware of the 10 days that CASPA requires to verify the application. Thus, my application was not reviewed as it didn't make the deadline. (Totally on me, poor preparation) But, I want to be ready for next cycle, if that's the path I am taking. In the meantime, I am still working as a PCT in a level 1 trauma emergency room.

Here are my options:

Just say freak it and apply again next cycle. Keep thugging it out at this job, but grab MANY volunteer and shadowing hours.

I attend a 1 year master's program in Biomedicine & apply after that. Before that I would have to take the following prerequisites: Ochem II, Physics I and II, and Biochemistry. After the degree is obtained, apply to PA school then.

Go to Nursing school which would be a 15 month program since I already have my bachelors. I have all the prerequisites for Nursing school besides microbiology, which I could take at my local community college. Practice for a couple years, then apply to PA. Or apply to PA school directly after graduation.

Thanks for yall's time in advance!

[DiggySRNA]

Given the lower end GPA I would say do the 15 month nursing program (assuming it's an accelerated BSN program), do 1-2 years to gain high quality PCE (go to the ED or ICU) and then apply to PA school. Not only will you kill two birds with one stone (do well academically to prove you can do well in a fast paced program) but you'll earn good money while doing so.

Matter of fact, apply to both the PA program and the nursing program simultaneously. If you get into PA school (great) you can skip nursing...if you don't and you get into nursing school, great, do that and revisit the idea of PA school after gaining experience. Don't do the 1 year biomedical MS, that's another low paying job should you require multiple years to gain PA school acceptance.

[KalebPAS]

Honestly, if you applied early and had a good personal statement that could explain your difficulty AND like 20 hours of upper-level science coursework then that should be suffice to prove you have the capacity to perform well in PA school. A DIY post-bacc could be good if you already have a good paying job. 
 

I debated the Accelerated BSN if I didn't get in. I think it is a great plan if you don't care how long it takes you to get there. Definitely better paying than most any other PCE job you could get and will be high-quality PCE, opens up a route to NP which opens more doors for hospital administration in the current set-up for healthcare. 

Don't waste your time with a biomedical MS degree because it wont really get you closer to where you want to be. Nursing will give you great PCE and much better pay.