University of Washington MEDEX PA Program: Amanda's Acceptance Story

Interviewed at both, accepted to both

University of Washington MEDEX, Tacoma cohort

I had substantially less patient care hours than the ‘competitive applicant’ (UW considers a competitive applicant to have upwards of 10,000 hours of PCE)

They were surprisingly really, really fun. Completely exhausting, but if you can relax and try to make a few fast friends, it makes a world of difference to make your more personable and more outgoing, even with the nerves. I was also surprised to find that I truly am a worthy and competitive applicant. I think the majority of us go in to these things and think “oh my gosh, am I really good enough, qualified enough, competent enough compared to all of these other people?” Once the day gets going and you realize, hey, I actually am ready for this! and can accept that you were chosen out of thousands of applicants, it is so encouraging, and to see that the other amazing people you are interviewing with have a lot in common with you (work background, education background, similar personalities). Allow yourself to be open to accepting that you are a qualified, competent, competitive applicant!

A fellow PA I worked with gave me a copy of How to Ace the Physician Assistant School Interview (affiliate link) by Andrew J. Rodican and that was so helpful to even begin to fathom what the day would be like. My undergraduate university (Central Washington University) offered mock interviews tailored for whatever the need was, and I took full advantage of that. I think I did two mock interviews at CWU, and those were oddly nerve wracking and even more intense than what the real interview day was. But it made the interview process day of feel familiar and subsided my nerves immensely. I knew what I was going to say, I knew somewhat what questions might be posed, I learned how to reign in my excessive hand gestures, but to still show enthusiasm and fine tune my body language.

Don’t compare your chapter of life with someone else’s chapter of life. Being unique, totally your own, and your own timeline has INCREDIBLE value. Someone else’s story and specific chapter in life are totally their own, but yours and theirs are equal in valuable. Mock interviews are invaluable. You cannot prepare for the interview day enough, and mock interviews eliminate a huge source of nerves. PA school is becoming more and more competitive, and even though interviews are where you sell yourself as a competent, compassionate and capable PA student, the GPA and personal statement are what gets you noticed in stacks and stacks of applications. Spend time on your personal statement. Don’t have more than 4 or 5 people review it as to not overwhelm you, but I spent the better part of 12 months working on it to make it as perfect and concise and a “story” as possible. Getting through the initial review process is critical, and making the strongest application on CASPA will get you to that interview!

@amanda_rae_the_PA or @amandababy1292

Amanda applied to only two programs and was accepted to both, which says a great deal about fit and preparation. Her most transferable advice isn't about hours or scores — it's about accepting that you belong in the room. Prepare thoroughly, then walk in believing the invitation was earned.