Undergraduate education: The University of Georgia ‘22
Overall GPA: 3.73
Science GPA: 3.66
GRE: 330 | verbal 166; quantitative 164; analytical writing 4.5
PA-CAT: N/A
Total PCE hours: 2,018 hours; I worked as a Patient Care Assistant and a Nurse Aide throughout undergrad
Total HCE hours: 195 hours; I worked as a medical scribe at a rheumatology practice
Shadowing hours: 82 hours; I shadowed an Emergency Med. PA, Psychiatry and Addiction med. PA, and a Rheumatology PA
Volunteer hours: I gained a total of 2,252 volunteer hours, as I was very involved in campus activities (community service, volunteering at my local high school, campus clubs leadership roles, and medical mission trips)
How many times did you apply?: 1
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Why PA? I can think of a million ways to answer this question, but at the top of my list is that the PA profession will enable me to work as an integral part of a team by collaborating with a variety of healthcare providers, give me the opportunity to work in different areas of medicine throughout my career, and work closely with patients which could lead to planting a seed of trust in them when it comes to the healthcare system as a whole.
How many programs did you apply to? 7
How many programs did you interview with and what were the outcomes? I received interview invitations from all 7 schools, but I only went to 3 and was accepted at 3. I stopped accepting interviews because I got into my top program!
Where will you be attending? Duke University School of Medicine
Anything you found interesting about interviews? I was a nervous wreck going into interview season due to my performance anxiety. Being on the younger side of applicants, I was afraid the schools I interviewed at would be critical of that factor. Fortunately, none of the schools I interviewed with brought this up. My interviewers were very hospitable and holistic as they truly wanted to get to know who I was outside of my grades and reports. I was taken aback by that!
Were there any helpful resources (books, websites, webinars, etc) you used to get through prerequisites courses, the application or interview process? Savanna Perry’s PA school Interview Guide helped me so incredibly much!
Any advice for other pre-PA students? 1. BREATHE. Everything is going to be okay and will fall into place. 2. Apply as early as you can, and make sure to inform anyone writing your LOR your deadlines months in advance 3. If you feel like you’re not the best at interviewing, brush up on this skill. Practice with as many people as you can and do mock interviews. This helped me so much. 4. BREATHE (again), you’ve got this!
Where can we find you? (Instagram, TikTok, Website, etc) – @Divinemengue on Instagram 🙂
