What I did to get ahead on applying early

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
• Under each tab, I listed all my experiences for that category along with my title in the postion, my supervisor's name and contact information, address of the facility, date that this experience took place, and a little blurb about my role and how this experience impacted me
• Once you've completed this, it will be super easy to plug and chug your information into CASPA and will save you a lot of time!

3. Ask for your LORs early

• There would be nothing worse than having completed the entire application only to not be able to submit it because your LORs didnt come in yet
• Since I knew I wanted to apply early, I asked my recommenders in early March if they would be willing to write me a LOR
• If you're asking a teacher or an advisor who may have a long queue of LORs to write, its important that you ask them early!
• Let them know what day CASPA opens and when they can expect to get an email from CASPA with further instructions for how to upload the LOR

4. Personal Statement

• This is something that is super important to do early. Your personal statement is one of the only ways you can make yourself stand out for an interview and you don't want ot be rushed writing it!
• I started my personal statement in late March/early April and finalized it around early/mid May. I would write a little, then not look at it for a few days, and then go back to it, read it again, make sure I still liked it, and continued to tweak it and add more in
• Have a PA read it over! They've been where you are now and understand how stressful the process is, as well as what schools look for in a personal statement. In addition to a PA, I had a few physical therapists look it over, a few english majors, and some friends who had already been accepted to PA school
• I used "The Ultimate Guide to Getting Into Physician Assistant School" by Andrew J. Rodican as a resource to help me with my personal statment, 10/10 would recommend

5. Save up money

• Applying to PA school can be expensive between taking the GRE, submitting apps on CASPA, supplemental fees, investing in an interview outfit, and traveling to the interview itself!

6. Study and take the GRE (if required by the schools you're applying to)

• Only a few of my schools required the GRE and therefore I unfortunately did not put as much effort into it as I should of.
• I took the GRE two days after CASPA opened because I knew that my scores would come back before I submitted my app in May
• If you're not great at standardized test taking like me, this is definitely something to do early jsut in casr you're not happy with your score and need to retake it
• I used a Kaplan book and vocabulary flashcards to study

LASTLY, remember that however dauting this process may seem, you CAN do it! All the stress will be worth it one day :)

If you have any other Pre-PA questions, check out my premedtakeovers video here!