Little Experience. What are my chances?

[sjstrobe]

I'm currently a junior Biology major, Chemistry minor. I'm planning on applying to PA schools this coming spring/summer but I'm a little worried about my chances because I have hardly any experience to put on my applications. The experience I do have is volunteering directly with patients in a hospital and some shadowing probably around 100 hours in total. I hope to increase this amount by the time I apply but even then, it won't be comparable to applicants who have worked in the healthcare field for years.

 

My strengths are that I have a 4.0 GPA (so far) and that I am, and always have been throughout my college career, extremely involved with community and volunteering. I have two jobs, one as a music teacher to young children in my community, the other as an RA on my campus overseeing fellow students. I'm also the President of a student group and a University Marshall. My father is a physician so I've been around the hospital and healthcare in general throughout my life.

 

The schools that I'm planning on applying to are ones that I've carefully inspected and they require little to no experience, but I know that experience is always preferred.

 

Can I still be competitive with my application as is or should I be taking serious steps towards gaining more experience?

[EMEDPA]

get more experience,it is the most important piece of your application.

[KCMA79]

There is no substitute for HCE. Schools that require little or no HCE are doing their students a disservice. Experience, life and HCE, are an essential requirement of a quality PA. There is so much more to being a good PA than grades.

[StephanieLynn]

It wouldn't be hard to get HCE, either. You're in a much better boat than someone who has a low GPA and needs to take tons of classes to bring it up. Take a CNA course (1 month) or EMT courses (4 months), work full time doing one of those, and you can easily get 1000+ hours of solid HCE in less than a year. I was in the same spot as you last year, no HCE to speak of, but I got my CNA and I now have almost 1500 hours. I mean, of course, if you're ready to apply now, do so and cross your fingers, but start working on your plan to get the HCE for next years application cycle as well. Good luck!