Overall GPA: 3.68
Science GPA: 3.33
GRE: 315
Total PCE hours: 2000 when I submitted. I got my EMT license and used that to work as an MA in an urgent care and at an OBGYN practice.
Total HCE hours: I did not end up with any HCE experience. I instead focused on PCE, research, and volunteer hours.
Shadowing hours: I shadowed an anesthesiologist and a bariatric PA who were family friends during summers at home, and I sent out cold emails to physicians at my university’s hospital to connect and shadowed through our pre-med organization. I additionally did virtual shadowing during the pandemic with multiple PAs through instagram virtual shadowing accounts. Once I solidified a job working with NPs and PAs, I asked to stick around outside of my shift and shadowed my providers I worked with!
Volunteer hours: 400. I volunteered for philanthropic events and initiatives through my sorority, and I attended alternative spring breaks that spent the whole week of spring break assisting different communities around the US by teaching in lower income schools or cleaning up communities. ASB is one of the best ways to get volunteer hours because it allows for a full week of volunteering without worrying about it conflicting with study time. You also grow a lot because of the way you are solely focused on the experience and not the other 100 things on your to do list.
How many times did you apply?: 1
Age: 22
Gender: Female
How many programs did you apply to? 12
How many programs did you interview with and what were the outcomes? 4 interviews- 2 acceptances, 1 rejection, 1 withdrawal before my outcome was shared
Where will you be attending? Stanford University
Anything you found interesting about interviews? The questions asked in all of my interviews were in such a random and unnatural order! They saved the casual “intro” until the end of the interview and started with the tough ones forcing me to take a stance on a statement or share the hardest thing I had persevered through. Be prepared to start and answer in any order! Also, do not be discouraged or concerned if you do not use your whole interview time. If you have elaborated and feel sure about your answer, stop talking!
Were there any helpful resources (books, websites, webinars, etc) you used to get through prerequisites courses, the application or interview process? I used the PA Platform’s interview guide and did two mock interviews!
Any advice for other pre-PA students? Write everything down and plan ahead! While it seems daunting at first, once I spent the time to break down what I needed to accomplish each semester to be ready to apply to PA programs, I accomplished my goal successfully with lesser stress!
Where can we find you? (Instagram, TikTok, Website, etc) - My instagram is @brookealandry
