PA Fanatic

Hi pals, with CASPA opening up within the next month, I thought some of you might find this blogspot helpful! I had trouble navigating through the application process so I can relate to your stress! I remember meticuously tweaking my personal statement every day and impatiently wondering if I would ever get an interview invite. Looking back, I can definitely say all the stress and time was worth it! To learn about what you can do early before CASPA opens, check out my other post  here ! I also recommend checking out CASPA's FAQ which I've linked on my main blog page! CASPA opens on April 27th this year! The first thing to do would be to create a profile with your email. When I first tried to open CASPA on Safari, it didn't work for me so if you run into this problem I recommend trying Google Chrome! As you guys probably already know, I'm a big supporter of submitting your app as early as possible since most schools operate on roling admissions! This gives you a bett

Hi everyone, I thought with CASPA opening up soon that this would be as good a time as ever to share my journey to starting PA school! My dad is a pharmacist and my mom used to work as an x-ray tech so I've always been positively exposed to the health field. My parents also highly encouraged my love from science at a young age. The first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up was a paleontologist, I kid you not. I was obsessed with dinosaurs and rocks and discovering things. My parents would buy me science kits where I would have to chisel away at a rock to find a fossil or shell. I can remember being in 3rd grade and writing down on an "about me" sheet that Emergency Vet was my favorite TV show. I was only 8 years old, but even back then, seeing surgeries being performed fascinated me-even if they were on animals and not people. In addition to fostering my love for science, my parents also taught me from a young age how important it was to take care of those who

I can finally breath again and think about things other than anatomy! With one final down and one more to go, I'm starting to get excited for my trip to the Cayman Islands! It's going to be the perfect way to end my college experience with 3 of my closest friends! For my fellow (almost) PA students, enjoy these next few weeks/months of freedom before didactic year starts! I've asked a few current PA students along with a few working PAs and they all said they same thing: relax; don't study. If you have to study, only review a little medical terminology or anatomy, but other than that, enjoy your time with loved ones! I'm excited to catch up on some reading and just amazon primed "When Breath Becomes Air" Keep an eye out for a video about my trip coming soon! Also, I wanted to get some opinions, do you guys think reading blogs or watching youtbe videos are more helpful? I've been debating on starting a youtube channel as I think I'm better at crea

With very mixed emotions, I'm writing this in the building I spend the majority of my time, the Haggerty library, more affectionately known as Club Hagz. Yesterday was my last day of undergrad classes and in just 4 short days, I will be done with my finals and officially a college graduate. It's surreal to even write these words because I remember being dropped off at my freshman year dorm like it was yesterday. As you can probably tell, I'm feeling all the emotions. Proud to have accomplished this task, sad to be leaving my friends (even sadder to be leaving my kitten), happy to be able to spend time with my family without worry of exams or studying, and excited/nervous for PA school to begin in 2 months. And maybe just a little bit of FOMO for all my friends who will still be at school while I'm at home. For all the Pre-PAs out there, I know it's easy to get so caught up in worrying about your future and overloading yourself with volunteering, research, and

Shout out to Andrea (Life as a PA) for having me on Premedtakeovers on 3/7! It was an amazing experience to be able to share my experiences with all of you, answer some questions, and (hopefully) ease your mind about the CASPA application process. This video encompasses a lot of advice I have so please check it out if you're thinking about PA school or are just about to apply! Premedtakeovers Video As always, feel free to email me or DM me on instagram with any questions!

The tricky thing about applying to PA school is that prerequisites and admission requirements are not standardized for schools like they are for Medical school or Physical Therapy school. I did some research on what I found to be the more common prerequisite classes. Most programs require a C, or higher in these prerequisites. Some programs require a B or higher so make sure you check each program's individual website before applying! Anatomy and Physiology Even if your school doesn't require it, this class will be extremely helpful when taking A&P in PA school! At least one course of each individualy or a full year of A&P Microbiology One Semester General Chemistry with lab A full year General Biology with lab A full year Organic Chemistry with or without lab I only applied to schools that did not require lab and I was fine! Most schools only require one semester Biochemistry I didn't take this class, and still had a lot of schools I co

I recently did a premedtakeovers on snapchat this past week about how to get apply on CASPA, how to prepare for interviews, and what to do once youre accepted! Many schools operate on a rolling admissions basis, meaning that they evaluate apps as they come in aka applying early gives you a better chance of getting an interview early when more spots for the class are open. 1. Start creating a list of schools you want to apply to I used the PAEA Directory to narrow down my list of schools. You can filter schools based on their start date, GPA requirement, direct patient contact requirements, state, etc Once you've made this list, I would personally check out each school's website to make sure you meet all their requirements and can farmilarize yourself with their deadlines 2. Spreadsheets!!! Using excel, I made a document with tabs for each of my activities such as direct patient contact experience, health care experience, volunteering, honors, certifications, etc

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to be writing my first blogpost! I've started this blog mainly to document my PA school experience and also to help other Pre-PA and soon to be PA students. When I was going through the application process, I didn't really have anymore to help me out. In fact, I had people telling me that I shouldn't expect to get in, but here I am. I hope I can serve as a resource for all of you! I originally entered undergrad as an accelerated Physical Therapy major in a 3+3 program. After learning more about other careers and gathering more shadowing experience, I decided to switch to a traditional 4 year Pre-PA track. It was a tough decision for me because I was giving up a guaranteed spot in a graduate program, but I'm so glad I made the switch when I did and I've never looked back since. I submitted my CASPA app in May, on my 21st birthday! I had also gotten Bruce tickets that day so I was hoping some birthday luck would spill over into my a