Hi guys! I've been getting a lot of emails and Instagram DMs recently about a lot of pre-pa questions so I thought it might be helpful create an FAQ!
Where did you go to undergrad? What was your major?
Drexel University in Philadelphia! I graduated with a bachelors in health sciences.
Where are you going to PA school?
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) Philadelphia Campus!
Did you consider other career paths in medicine?
YES. There are so many amazing jobs in health care that its so hard to chose one. I originally entered Drexel in an accelerated BS/DPT program for physical therapy, but after gaining more exposure, I thought that becoming a PA or physician would be a better suited career for me. I shadowed both a doctor and a PA, and after learning about the lateral mobility that PAs have, I was sold.
What did you do to get your patient care experience?
Since I was originally on a PT path, that was where all my experience was so I worked as a PT aide in an outpatient office near my house, and as part of my curriculum, completed a 6 month cooperative education internship as a PT aide where I worked 40 hrs/week. I wound up applying with about 1300 hours of experience. If I could go over and do it all again, I would have gotten my EMT license my freshman year summer.
How did you get your shadowing hours?
I did have a hard time with this since many medical offices had aggrements set up with other high schools/colleges or would only let current PA students shadow, but I did get to shadow an orthopedic PA that worked at a practice my brother attended. I only shadowed her for three hours, but it was enough to intrigue me and I started exploring other options. I shadowed another orthopedic surgery PA and got to see 3 hip replacements and a knees replacement! I even eventually had him critique my
personal statement which was SUPER helpful so always be professional and maintain connections because you never know who might help you out! The majority of my shadowing hours came from a plastic surgery PA who wrote my letter of rec. the program I will be attending only has one elective so I recently shadowed a derm PA to see if I would like it and I loved it!! Moral of the story, keep all your options open!
What was your GPA?
When I applied, I had a 3.81 cumulative GPA and a 3.73 science GPA.
Did you have a minor?
Nope. Just. Bachelors of health sciences. I think it could be helpful and a way to differentiate yourself, but if you had the choice of adding a minor and getting ore direct patient experience, I would get more patient contact experience!
Who did you get your LOR from?
I got one letter from the PA I shadowed ( for about 40 hours), an anatomy teacher, my coop supervisor, and another job supervisor. Most schools require a letter from a teacher and a PA/MD but if you vs , I would try to get a PA because that's what you're applying for! It's also super important to get a letter of rec from a supervisor, mine was for direct patient contact, because they can vouch for how you treat patients!!
What speciality are you most interested in?
I'm kind of all over the place with this. On one side of the spectrum, I really like dermatology and plastic surgery, and on the other side, I really think I'd like emergency medicine and trauma!
Where are your blueblockers from?
I got mine from eye buy direct and I love them!
When should I apply?
I know this sounds cheesy, but there's no wrong answer here! If you don't want to take a gap year from undergrad to starting PA school, I would apply your junior year/summer going into senior year (if you can, apply as early as possible, CASPA opens up late April). If you do want gap years, you can apply spring of your senior year and later! It's totally up to you and when you feel ready for this committement! I felt like I couldn't take a year off because then it would be hard for me to get back into school, but this just me personally. Sometimes I wish I took a year off to work and save some more money!
How did you narrow down your schools?
I really struggled with is to be totally honest. I wish I had known about the pa program manual when I applied ! It has each schools requirements, average GPA of accepted students, program overview, mission statement and more! For me, I knew I wanted to stay on the east coast so I applied only to this region. I didn't take biochemistry or organic chemistry lab which also limited me. I utilized the PAE directory to learn more about programs, too! In general, I tried to apply to program whose mission statements stuck out to me, had at least one elective rotation, and where the faculty and students seemed to really bond! I also used the first time PANCE pass rates to narrow down programs! In the end, I wound up applying to 12 programs.
Do you recommend joining the AAPA and your state society?
Yes!! Joining the AAPA is a great way to learn more about what's going on in the PA community such as all the new legislature! It's definitely stuff you can bring up in your interview! I also ink it's great to join your state society of PAs if you think it's a state you want to go to school in or work after graduation. I believe you can attend meetings even if you're not a PA-S or PA. It shows great imitative and it's a great way to get your feet in the water!
Did you include non healthcare work experience?
Yes if I happened in college! It might not make as much an impact as your direct patient care experience, but it's still important! Pro tip, if you helped train someone at your job, include this!! It shows leadership and that you were an exemplary employee!! Putting other jobs on there also shows that you were juggling multiple things on top of just school!
That's all I can think of for now, but feel free to add a comment below if you have any questions I didn't answer!!
Where did you go to undergrad? What was your major?
Drexel University in Philadelphia! I graduated with a bachelors in health sciences.
Where are you going to PA school?
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) Philadelphia Campus!
Did you consider other career paths in medicine?
YES. There are so many amazing jobs in health care that its so hard to chose one. I originally entered Drexel in an accelerated BS/DPT program for physical therapy, but after gaining more exposure, I thought that becoming a PA or physician would be a better suited career for me. I shadowed both a doctor and a PA, and after learning about the lateral mobility that PAs have, I was sold.
What did you do to get your patient care experience?
Since I was originally on a PT path, that was where all my experience was so I worked as a PT aide in an outpatient office near my house, and as part of my curriculum, completed a 6 month cooperative education internship as a PT aide where I worked 40 hrs/week. I wound up applying with about 1300 hours of experience. If I could go over and do it all again, I would have gotten my EMT license my freshman year summer.
How did you get your shadowing hours?
I did have a hard time with this since many medical offices had aggrements set up with other high schools/colleges or would only let current PA students shadow, but I did get to shadow an orthopedic PA that worked at a practice my brother attended. I only shadowed her for three hours, but it was enough to intrigue me and I started exploring other options. I shadowed another orthopedic surgery PA and got to see 3 hip replacements and a knees replacement! I even eventually had him critique my
personal statement which was SUPER helpful so always be professional and maintain connections because you never know who might help you out! The majority of my shadowing hours came from a plastic surgery PA who wrote my letter of rec. the program I will be attending only has one elective so I recently shadowed a derm PA to see if I would like it and I loved it!! Moral of the story, keep all your options open!
What was your GPA?
When I applied, I had a 3.81 cumulative GPA and a 3.73 science GPA.
Did you have a minor?
Nope. Just. Bachelors of health sciences. I think it could be helpful and a way to differentiate yourself, but if you had the choice of adding a minor and getting ore direct patient experience, I would get more patient contact experience!
Who did you get your LOR from?
I got one letter from the PA I shadowed ( for about 40 hours), an anatomy teacher, my coop supervisor, and another job supervisor. Most schools require a letter from a teacher and a PA/MD but if you vs , I would try to get a PA because that's what you're applying for! It's also super important to get a letter of rec from a supervisor, mine was for direct patient contact, because they can vouch for how you treat patients!!
What speciality are you most interested in?
I'm kind of all over the place with this. On one side of the spectrum, I really like dermatology and plastic surgery, and on the other side, I really think I'd like emergency medicine and trauma!
Where are your blueblockers from?
I got mine from eye buy direct and I love them!
When should I apply?
I know this sounds cheesy, but there's no wrong answer here! If you don't want to take a gap year from undergrad to starting PA school, I would apply your junior year/summer going into senior year (if you can, apply as early as possible, CASPA opens up late April). If you do want gap years, you can apply spring of your senior year and later! It's totally up to you and when you feel ready for this committement! I felt like I couldn't take a year off because then it would be hard for me to get back into school, but this just me personally. Sometimes I wish I took a year off to work and save some more money!
How did you narrow down your schools?
I really struggled with is to be totally honest. I wish I had known about the pa program manual when I applied ! It has each schools requirements, average GPA of accepted students, program overview, mission statement and more! For me, I knew I wanted to stay on the east coast so I applied only to this region. I didn't take biochemistry or organic chemistry lab which also limited me. I utilized the PAE directory to learn more about programs, too! In general, I tried to apply to program whose mission statements stuck out to me, had at least one elective rotation, and where the faculty and students seemed to really bond! I also used the first time PANCE pass rates to narrow down programs! In the end, I wound up applying to 12 programs.
Do you recommend joining the AAPA and your state society?
Yes!! Joining the AAPA is a great way to learn more about what's going on in the PA community such as all the new legislature! It's definitely stuff you can bring up in your interview! I also ink it's great to join your state society of PAs if you think it's a state you want to go to school in or work after graduation. I believe you can attend meetings even if you're not a PA-S or PA. It shows great imitative and it's a great way to get your feet in the water!
Did you include non healthcare work experience?
Yes if I happened in college! It might not make as much an impact as your direct patient care experience, but it's still important! Pro tip, if you helped train someone at your job, include this!! It shows leadership and that you were an exemplary employee!! Putting other jobs on there also shows that you were juggling multiple things on top of just school!
That's all I can think of for now, but feel free to add a comment below if you have any questions I didn't answer!!
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