Am I a good fit for MEDEX?

[HM2PA]

Hey Folks,

I am new to the forum and planning on applying next fall. I am wondering if any current students, alumni, or other knowing folks might be able to take a look at my bio/stats and let me know if you feel that I am a good fit for MEDEX, and if any might have suggestions as to other programs that you think I might fit in well with.

 

SHORT BIO/STATS:

I am from eastern Washington, 25, married and have two kiddos. I have over 930 hours volunteering as a youth pastor and later leading a college ministry and campus outreach program.

HCE: 5 years Navy Corpsman (work under a PA for 3 years and saw my own patients / anesthesia technician the other 2 years), 9 months Lab Assistant (Phleb, EKGs, ABGs)

College: BA done in December (General Studies in Ministry and Healthcare) and STARTING sciences in January 2013 through August. I will be going full time and taking Bio, A&P I & II, Micro, inorganic chem I, intro to o-chem/biochem, Psych, and Lifespan Psych.

undergrad cGPA: will be 3.0

post bach sGPA: I am extremely determined and think I can get over 3.5 in the above listed courses. If I do, my adjusted cGPA would be about 3.2-3.3.

 

Thanks!!

 

PS: I would LOVE to grab coffee or just chat with a current MEDEX student or Alumni if you are in the Seattle area! PM me if you have a few spare moments to coach a future PA :-)!

[EMEDPA]

you are the poster child for medex.

best of luck, it's a great program.

[HM2PA]

Thanks EMEDPA. One more question: my provider at the VA is actually a alum from MEDEX back in the 90's. I told him about my intentions of applying and a quick synopsis of my stats. His advise was to only apply to MEDEX. He also seemed to think that I was being over ambitious with my course lineup for this winter-spring-summer quarters. What do you think? Should I cast the net far and wide (I cannot imagine NOT doing this!)... and should I be taking this full course load over the next 9 months? Again I cannot imagine NOT taking all these sciences, while not required by MEDEX I would need them if i am to 'cast the net' to other programs.

 

Thank you so much for your input!!

[EMEDPA]

that courseload seems a bit rough and might hurt your gpa. I probably would not do all of those courses.

I would skip the ochem/biochem as they are not required, not in the curriculum at all and not on pance/panre(the cert exams). those 2 courses are well known as gpa killers. others will tell you it is critical that you take those. trust me, it is not. most pa's in practice today never took them and they do just fine without them.

[sartort]

I unnecessarily cast my net far and wide and got into MEDEX, where I will likely attend. I have 4 years experience as an army medic, plus a lot of volunteer. I also got interview invites so far at OHSU, Utah and Yale so you could try applying to those programs also, although I didn't care much for Yale and decided not to go to Utah's interview because I felt like Seattle or Portland made more sense for me than Salt Lake City. I felt better applying to a lot of programs than just a few, but I knew my chances at UW were good. I wouldn't limit yourself to only applying to a few programs unless you have to stay in the area for family or something. There are other factors that contribute (your recommendations, your essays, GRE scores, interview and overall applicant pool) and you don't want to put yourself in a position where you didn't give it your all unless you don't mind re-applying.

 

As far as the prerequisites go, I took 16-19 credits every quarter (almost all science) so I could get my BS and fulfill prerequisites in less than 3 years to meet the UW Dec. 31st deadline. It's completely doable, but my GPA ended up being lower than I wanted because of it and I don't have a family.

[ToppDog]

Save your A&P for later, as these are the main ones that they like to see you've done recently. Otherwise you could end up repeating them if life happens & delays your plans.

[jphadall]

Hey HM2PA, I'm a current MEDEX student. Your stats sound great. We've got two corpsmen in the class as well as 7 other military vets. I'd recommend shadowing as many PAs in different fields as possible. You don't have to go crazy, just shadow 1-2 days with each specialty. I second what Emed said- MEDEX wants to see that you have book smarts, street smarts and heart. I'd focus more on shadowing then taking extra courses. Best of luck!

[flyingsquirrel]

Don't waste your time shadowing. You have a ton of top quality HCE and MEDEX doesn't care about shadowing anyway.

Is MEDEX the only school you want to go to? If not, pick out a handful of others that value your HCE and target your coursework to their pre-reqs. Don't worry too much about taking a ton of extra science courses. If you had an extra year to kill it would be a different story...but with the situation you are in now, the most important thing is to complete and do well in all your pre-reqs.

I would highly recommend applying to at least a couple other schools besideds MEDEX only because the PA admissions process can be so squirrly sometimes. (Although I'll second sartot's assessment of Yale.) The MEDEX interview process was the most intense intervew I went to last year...nothing is a sure thing even with your stats.

[ToppDog]

I'm going to disagree with the above. I was specifically asked last year why I had not shadowed a PA during my MEDEX interview, & the fact that I had worked with no less than 7 PA's throughout a 20+ year career did not seem to make up for that fact in the mind of the person who asked that question. I personally feel that shadowing is BS, but you gotta do what you gotta do, & if you do apply to other schools besides MEDEX it will look good. Use shadowing to further explore other areas of medicine that you haven't had exposure to yet so at least you're getting something out of it. If you look at it as an opportunity instead of an unnecessary inconvenience, it will work in your favor.

[HM2PA]

Thanks to everyone for your responses!! I am still in the Navy Reserves using my 'drill' time to work with a PA... it's like shadowing, but it's paid experience, and I get direct patient care! I am also planning on using my two weeks of Active Training to do the same over in a Hospital setting... ER, IM, and Surgery ect... I am very serious about doing EVERYTHING I can to strengthen my package! With the Post 9/11 GI Bill I will be able to focus all my energy on my science over the next several months!!

 

Side bar question... I have about 1,000 hours of volunteer experience at my church, and my former church while I was in the Navy... both were leading entire ministries, one of which was heavily involved in outreach at a local college campus. How do you suggest I explain this experience in a way that communicates strong community involvement and NOT 'Bible thumper'... (and I'm not a Bible thumper ;-)

 

And Flyingsquirrel, I am definitely planning on applying to several programs. My plan is to find the programs that seem to fit the best with my experience and such... I think I'll apply four from among the best programs... and three from programs that I would perhaps have a more secure chance... Right now I am thinking MEDEX (1st choice by far), Duke, Emory, and George Washington... and then a few programs from across the spectrum... Any thoughts of schools that you would suggest... If I don't get @ MEDEX or my other top choices... i'm willing to go anywhere? Please, critique my thinking... any thoughts?

 

Thanks!!!