Undergraduate education: Bachelor’s of Science Biomedical Sciences at UAB; Master’s of Science in Biotechnology from UAB
Overall GPA: 3.2
Science GPA: 3.06
GRE: 312
Total HCE hours: 1.5k as an ED scribe
Total PCE hours: 5k as a pediatric ED tech
Shadowing hours: ~100
Other volunteer hours: 1000 from volunteering at a free clinic and a food pantry
LORs: ED nursing director, ED medical director, ED attending, 1 PA, and my grad school program director
How many times did you apply?: 2
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Why PA? There are so many reasons why I want to be a PA, but I think the big solidifying factor for me was working as a medical scribe. I worked very closely with both MDs and PAs, and noticed very quickly how jaded and unhappy the MDs is at my job were. I quickly noticed, however, how happy the PAs were and how much they enjoyed their job as well as everything outside of medicine. Additionally, the majority of the PAs that I worked with worked in two specialties at once, which was very intriguing to me. I wanted to be able to strike that work life balance and be able to work in various specialties throughout my career
How many programs did you apply to? 19
How many programs did you interview with and what were the outcomes? 5 before committing to a program. 1 waitlist, 2 acceptances, one rejection, and I withdrew my application from the last place I interviewed because I got the acceptance call from my top choice program
Where will you be attending? Emory University in Atlanta!!
Anything you found surprising about interviews? I was surprised that all of my interviews were MMI style. I think I was led to believe that this was not common for PA programs, and so it really caught me off guard. I was so nervous for this, but utilized the Pre-PA club podcast, as well as the PA school interview guide. Both of these tools helped me immensely to prepare, and I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed each and every interview. The MMIs were actually so much fun! I felt so at home at most of these programs, and would’ve been happy at several.
Were there any helpful resources (books, websites, apps) you used to get through prerequisite courses, the application or interview process? I read and re-read the PA School Interview Guide before every interview, because it was that helpful! I’m an auditory learner, so podcasts have been super helpful to me as well. Shout out to the pre-PA club podcast! I was actually really surprised at how much I utilized the pre-PA subReddit, as well as the PA Big Brothers and Sisters Facebook group. Both groups had people who had been through the application process before, and had very good advice. A bunch of people offered to read my personal statement and help me edit it, which was amazing as well!
Any other advice for other pre-PA students? As hard as it was to applied to school with the low GPA, don’t let that discourage you from applying to your dream school. I was shocked that I even got an interview at my top choice due to my grades. There are so many things I can help balance out a lower GPA, like a lot of patient care experience and a killer personal statement. Retake every class that you’ve gotten below a B in, and make an A. What has been surprising to me, is that you can retake courses at other institutions (ie community colleges!!!). Additionally, people think applications are all sunshine and rainbows, but rejection is a true cornerstone of the application process. It’s OK to have to apply more than once, and take a year or two to work on your application! Maximize your chances of acceptance by applying early, and apply to a decent amount of schools. Look at schools that favor holistic review, as well as factor in your last 60 credit hours. They say your chances increase with every school that you applied to, up to about 12, and then those chance to start to plateau.
