anichka Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 How do you know where to begin your search for schools? I am a returning student (BA in English lit many years ago) and I am working towards an RN now at the local community college. The desire to become a PA is actually what started me on this route, but I figured I would work my way up slowly and surely as I get HCE since I had none. I am trying to focus on pre-reqs that I can do now, but I am a little overwhelmed looking at one program or another and finding variations between them. It would be easier if I knew where I want to go, but that's the part I am having difficulty with now. Is it just a matter of wading through nearly 200 websites to find a program whose mission interests me the most? Is there a good website to narrow down my choices? For example, I started my undergrad in Chicago and hated living in a city; eventually I found that I am more at ease in the place I earned my bachelor's, a town of 20K. So, any big city school is probably not going to suit me. Thanks for any advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Google PAEA directory and pay the $50 or whatever it is to get access for a year. That is your best one stop shop even though it still needs some updating. They did tell us at IMPACT that they are working on it and looking to provide more complete and useful data. Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonD Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Good thing about big city schools is the access and quality of rotation sites. If you go to a school in the sticks you'll be traveling far for your rotations, or going to the local 50 bed hospital where they transfer any patient with something more serious than strep throat to a bigger hospital. One PA program we looked at in rural Pennsylvania had their students drive 1.5 hours into Pittsburgh so see (not touch) the cadavers the med students at Pitt were dissecting. You are only in classes for one year or so in PA school, and you'll be so busy it really won't matter where you are. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 27, 2013 Moderator Share Posted May 27, 2013 look at university of new england. nice school, small town feel but not too far from the big city for rotations. try to narrow down what part of the country you want to be in, then go from there. when I did this I knew I didn't want to be anywhere in the middle of the country or the deep south so that made it a bit easier. I only looked at west coast and east coast schools. take prereqs that every school requires like intro bio, intro chem, english, etc then when you know which schools you want start taking specific prereqs for those schools like microbio or genetics. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anichka Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 Thanks for all the advice! Getting the PAEA directory subscription right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howezer Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 You said you already subscribed to PAEA, but I found this site to be very helpful (and free) when I first started looking at different PA schools. http://physician-assistant-ed.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Bump to the site Howezer posted. I used that to make a huge list on excel based on states I was interested in (maybe 100 schools total). Then I couldn't figure out how the hell to narrow it down (as geography wasn't important to me) so I went to the websites and only choose the ones that did NOT require the GRE. Then visited every website to see which ones I had a best shot at. Spread myself out (1-3 schools per state, 11 total) and applied. It takes a long time but be patient and chip away a little here, a little there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Anichka, I went to PA school decades after my undergraduate years and did it in a city of 15,000. I enjoyed the experience greatly and was only 2 hours from Columbus, the largest metro area in Ohio. I went back to Columbus (where I lived and still do) for my clinicals, which the college set up for me. The story of the adventure can be found in my book, if you're interested. I'm sure that Marietta wasn't the only school with this sort of geography. When I picked it, it matched where my family was (a huge deal for me), as well as what I was looking for in a school. I don't think you have to consider the entire constellation of PA schools when you try to find a few to apply to, unless you are really ready to move anywhere. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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