Undergraduate education: UCF
Overall GPA: 3.3
Science GPA: 3.2
GRE: 306
PA-CAT: Did not take
Total PCE hours: Around 1500 hours- EMT, ER tech
Total HCE hours: Around 6500 hours – scribe
Shadowing hours: Around 110- cardiology pa, optho pa, virtual shadowing
Volunteer hours: Not a lot! Maybe 175. Volunteered with a pet rescue, in a cardiology office, and with red cross
How many times did you apply?: 3
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Why PA? I really enjoyed the role as you are working on a team but still get to treat and diagnose patients and it’s based on the medical model.
How many programs did you apply to? I don’t even know, around 28 for all 3 cycles
How many programs did you interview with and what were the outcomes? 3 interviews – 1 waitlisted 1 accepted 1 still waiting to hear back
Where will you be attending? TBD: waiting on my last interview
Anything you found interesting about interviews: They were all so nice! The staff at my schools were very welcoming and were so down to earth.
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 and just a lot of PA videos and physician assistant forum to help create my essay and app.
Any advice for other pre-PA students? Don’t give up!! My first two cycles I didn’t get any interviews at all. I made a plan to get my emt license, retake classes, and increase shadowing and volunteering hours. I reached out to friends and clinics everywhere until I could find a PA to shadow during the pandemic. I applied smarter and to schools with accepted gpas like mine. I spent monthssss on my essay to showcase my strengths. You can do it!
Where can we find you? (Instagram, TikTok, Website, etc) Patricia5827 on Instagram 🙂 I’ll be editing my Instagram to document my pa school progress!
