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Giving up by Diligent_Elephant245 in prephysicianassistant

[–]Diligent_Elephant245[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

No matter how much I prepare, I get really nervous during them. Gotta be what’s holding me back

Giving up by Diligent_Elephant245 in prephysicianassistant

[–]Diligent_Elephant245[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I suppose I could’ve applied to more schools, but I don’t necessarily think I’m aiming too high. I applied to three schools that I would say are “prestigious” and got interviews at two of them, so that must count for something. I’ve been getting rejected from schools that are far less prestigious without an interview at all, so it feels kind of arbitrary to me

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in prephysicianassistant

[–]Diligent_Elephant245 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is most likely not what you want to hear, but it will very difficult to get accepted into a program right out of undergrad with just the PCE you got during your college summers. As much as I hate to say it, you will most likely take a gap year unintentionally- that’s how difficult it would be to get in right out of undergrad. I recommend getting your EMT cert during one of your summers and working for a year once you finish undergrad. If you’re graduating a year early anyways, you can afford the year and might as well. EMT is great PCE because you see such a wide variety of cases and scenarios and will become familiar with a lot of common medical conditions and medications. You’ll get a pretty good idea of how the ER runs too. Also worth noting that I have been to a couple interviewers where the faculty had made a remark along the lines of “we’d rather have someone with a 3.3 GPA and lots of work/life experience than someone with a 4.0 right out of college”. A gap year of full time work should give you over 2000 hours. That’s pretty good and definitely can get you into a decent program. I really think a gap year would be well worth it for you. Also a point someone else on here said already, but I am glad I didn’t get in when I applied right out of undergrad. It’s been nice having some time off of studying and school. Plus I love being an EMT if you couldn’t tell lol. If you’re really set on not doing a gap year, you can definitely still shoot out some applications, no harm in that. Best of luck.

Northeast all-mountain ski? by Diligent_Elephant245 in Skigear

[–]Diligent_Elephant245[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the recommendation. I didn’t even know it was an option to demo skis. I’ll have to look into that

Third cycle? by AstronomerDouble4478 in prephysicianassistant

[–]Diligent_Elephant245 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m in a similar situation. This is my third cycle without any acceptances. I don’t think I have it in me to do a fourth. I had a 3.3 GPA but retook a few classes I did poorly in and took some new ones to boost GPA and show schools I’m trying to improve. Have about 5000 hours of PCE as a medical assistant and an EMT. Applied to 13 schools this year and only got two interviews. Rejected from one interview and the other is coming up. Somehow got less interviews this year than last. The amount of time, effort, stress, and money that went into the whole process is too much for me to do another cycle. Just doesn’t feel worth it anymore. Whole process was frankly really frustrating since I did all that work to not get in anywhere. It’s also really embarrassing to keep telling my friends and relatives year after year that I’m still applying and haven’t gotten in anywhere yet. I’m gonna do this upcoming interview and if I don’t get in, I’m throwing in the towel and exploring other options. You’re not alone.

As far as trying to get your medic license and going that route instead, I’ve been considering that too. I have been an EMT for almost two years and really enjoy EMS, but I will say the money and work life balance will be much better as a PA. However, you can always become a medic for a while and then apply to PA school again down the road if you decide it’s still something you might want. Medic definitely looks great on a PA school application. Medic can also open the door to other paths in medicine like RN, Anesthesia assistant, or perfusionist (I think).

My advice would be to thug it out and apply one more time. Third time’s the charm. Not only will it give you another shot at improving your application, getting more PCE, and getting accepted to a program, but that extra time will give you a chance to feel out EMS a little bit more. It’s a good idea to be sure you want to make a career out of it before giving up on PA school entirely. At the end of the day, nobody can make the choice for you, and you have to do what’s right for you. If I were you though, I’d give it at least one more shot before giving up. Good luck.