Getting into the PA program

[Guest lyn]

I am currently attending York and taking the prerequsites for the PA program. Can anyone provide some insight as to what makes a good candidate? I have no healthcare experience other than volunteering in high school. I am in the process of doing volunteer work at a Manhattan Hospital and applying for a part-time healthcare job. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[rmathews619]

Try to find some shadowing done before you apply. That will make you stand out I suppose.

[marilynpac]

That post was put up in 2006...but it does ring true today. Your state PA assoc should have a list of PAs who shadow, if they don't try calling hospitals and clinics that hire PAs and see if they can set you up.

[rmathews619]

I am also applying to their program. Is it true that they prefer students from their own college? This school is close by my house and teh tuition is really low, since I have loans taken out from the private college I am curently attending.

[Svetlana1227]

Good question RMathews, does anyone have an idea? I'm from Northern NJ and I'm just graduating from a community college in Prof. Studies (4.0GPA) with almost no science classes, so I have to take the few science prereqs that I need at a school before applying to York. As a NJ Stars student, I will prefer taking them at a NJ college since it'll be free for me, but if they prefer York students, maybe I'll go there for them. Do they show a strong bias to their own students?