Undergraduate education: 1 year Certificate Laboratory Assistant (Phlebotomy) ; AAS Respiratory Care ; BS Allied Health Administration
Overall GPA: 3.68
Science GPA: 3.75
GRE: 146 Verbal, 150 Quant, 3.0 Writing (not competitive)
Total HCE hours: 2,080 as a Sales Rep for a home oxygen DME company
Total PCE hours: 9,240 as Respiratory Therapist; 4,088 as CNA
Shadowing hours: 40 with a PA and her collaborating MD in Cardiology
Other volunteer hours: 247 in various sorority activities; 5 in volunteering at a preschool (just started/ongoing)
LORs: 1 from PA I shadowed, 2 from recent professors, 1 from current respiratory therapist supervisor
How many times did you apply?: 1
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Why PA? I've worked in health care since I was 17, first as a CNA and then as a respiratory therapist. Through these experiences, I learned first-hand what a PA is and what they do while working together closely with them. Several patient experiences led me to taking that leap to pursue my dream of becoming a PA. I feel limited in my practices as a respiratory therapist and found myself often wishing and knowing I could do more for my patients with the proper training. I want to help improve access to patient care in medically underserved states/areas such as WV, which is where I was born and raised and still live now. I have a profound love for patient care and I can't wait to further my education and have the knowledge to help more people in more ways than I am able to do now.
How many programs did you apply to? 9
How many programs did you interview with and what were the outcomes? Interviewed with 3. 1 rejection, 1 acceptance, 1 haven't heard back yet. Received 6 total interviews so far and turned down the other 3 after acceptance to my top choice!
Where will you be attending? Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, WV
Anything you found surprising about interviews? MMI was hard for me and I found out quickly it was not the type of interview I excel in. Traditional (get to know you) interviews are more relaxed and more my style. They truly just want to get to know you and they will know and sense if you are not being true to yourself. I know you've heard it a million times but just BE YOURSELF, no matter who you may be.
Were there any helpful resources (books, websites, apps) you used to get through prerequisite courses, the application or interview process? Savanna Perry's Pre-PA Club Podcast, Physician Assistant Interview Guide Book, and The PA School Interview Course as well as the PA Platform's Mock Interview Service. My mock interview was 2 days before my first interview with Jourdyn Koebe, PA-C and it was the best and most helpful thing I could've done. She's amazing and I've heard awesome things about all the other mock interviewers as well!
I also stumbled upon thepalife.com which has a personal statement service and tons of real examples of personal statements from real pre-PAs. I did not use any personal statement service from anywhere but I read tons of examples/drafts from this site to help me write my PS. I also listened to every PS podcast from The Pre-PA Club and had a PA-C and current PA-S, that I know, read over my draft.
Any other advice for other pre-PA students? Your personal statement is the most time consuming and most important aspect of your application. Begin working on it at least 4-6 months before you plan on applying. If you can't afford a personal statement service, have other PAs and PA students read over it for you (this is what I did!).
When you get discouraged, remember why you want to be a PA and repeat it out loud to yourself. It will help you get through those rough days of waiting/rejections/waitlists.
Where can we find you? If you need any help at all during your pre-PA journey, catch me at @kayla_pas.
