Undergraduate education: University of Minnesota Duluth
Overall GPA: 3.77 at time of application (doesn’t include senior year)
Science GPA: 3.66 at time of application (doesn’t include senior year)
GRE: Verbal: 149, Quantitative: 156, Writing: 4.0
Total HCE hours: 50
Total PCE hours: 1,200
Shadowing hours: 6
Other volunteer hours: ~500; I volunteered a lot! I went on a 3-week mission trip to France, a therapeutic horse riding center, and a pony camp as well as spent a lot of time in leadership volunteer positions such as leading music ministry at church, leading bible studies, being a part of my church’s leadership team, and helping to lead retreats.
LORs: I had three LORs: one professor that I was a TA for, one RN who has known me my whole life, and one from my priest on campus
How many times did you apply?: 1
Age: 22
Gender: Female
How many programs did you apply to? 3 programs
How many programs did you interview with and what were the outcomes?
I only interviewed at one school: Bethel University, and I got accepted and that is where I will be enrolling. One of the other schools I applied to does not do interviews and I have yet to hear back from them, and the third school I did not receive an invite to interview at. I honestly wasn’t expecting to get accepted my first time, I basically applied to schools around my area to get comfortable with the system!
Where will you be attending? (if you're comfortable sharing)
Bethel University in Minnesota, Class of 2021
Any red flags on your application?
I had a “W” my first semester of college in Calculus II because I was taking a lot of credits and I changed my major, but I was never asked about it.
Anything you found surprising about interviews?
My biggest shock was how young I was compared to the other interviewees! Many of them had a couple years post-undergrad where they gained a lot of experience which was a little nerve-wracking for me. Also, the group interview portion was a little awkward because you had to read the room really well in order to stand out without being rude or disruptive!
Were there any helpful resources (books, websites, apps) you used to get through prerequisite courses, the application or interview process?
I listened to the PA Platform podcast a LOT! It helped me feel so confident going into interviews because it was really informative about everything from PA programs to interview processes to the life of a PA. I also got the e-book for “PA School Interview Guide” and that was super helpful too!
Any other advice for other pre-PA students?
Start everything as early as possible! Start your personal statement (even if it is just a sentence), get familiar with CASPA, research programs and plan your pre-reqs, do whatever you can to shadow PAs, MDs, and NPs, & get those patient care hours!! Also, stalk PAs on social media! YouTube, podcasts, & Instagram are all great resources and will not only keep you motivated but will also educate you on everything you need to be successful in getting into PA school!
Where can we find you? (website, instagram, etc)
Instagram: @meganroseberger
If you've recently been accepted to PA school and would like to be featured in an "Accepted!" post to share your story and advice with other PA hopefuls, send an email to savanna@thepaplatform.com
