Westfield State University PA Program: Michelle's Acceptance Story (No GRE, 3.93 GPA)

I want to use my skills as an immigrant and woman of color to help others in the healthcare setting as a Physician Assistant. I want to provide care to diverse range of patients and families many of whom have lived through similar circumstances like my own as an immigrant in the United States. I come from a low income family and I want to help other people who come from similar circumstances. I want to work to combat barriers to healthcare access such as language, race, gender, religion and socioeconomic status. I want to learn about medications and gain more healthcare knowledge that will be valuable information to communicate to my patients. I currently work as a CNA so I want to take the skills I have learned from that profession and transfer them to the PA field so that I can use compassion and empathy to make patients feel comfortable. I love that PAs are involved in hands-on patient care and that they are able to advocate for their patients. PAs are knowledgable about the medicine, anatomy and treatment options and they are often educating patients on their health. Lastly, I think it is VITAL to promote the PA profession to other African-Americans in my community as I feel there is a severe lack of black healthcare providers in my community. I think it is wicked important for healthcare staff to reflect the patients they serve.

6 programs (all based in Massachusetts)

Interviewed for 3 programs (I declined an interview for one program, rejected by two other programs)

I am stuck between two schools one is a private program in boston and another is in western mass! Will update soon (I PROMISE!)**

How nice the interviewees were and how laid back/ relaxed the environment was. It truly felt like they were trying to get to know my personality beyond the paperwork submitted

Savannah’s PA interview guide, UMass Amherst pre-health advisors, Websites: https://paeaonline.org/our-programs?state=ma&degree=&healthcare=&gpa=&month= Timeline? When do i begin doing “____ ” (personal statement, LORs, interview prep: https://prehealthadvising.com/physician-assistant-pa-school-application-timeline/ PERSONAL STATEMENT ADVICE https://www.cns.umass.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/how_to_write_a_personal_statement_2020.pdf How to describe experiences on CASPA using qualitative descriptions instead of a list format: (CNA, volunteering, dunkin donuts, whatever you did..) https://www.cns.umass.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/work_and_activities.pdf Random info about PAs: https://www.cns.umass.edu/advising/pre-med-pre-health/pa-information

Start early! Sooner you can check-off personal statements, interview practice, letter of rec, etc.. the less anxious you will feel. I began the process of making my personal statement in January and I made several appointments with the pre-health advisors of umass after I made a few drafts of my personal statement. Once my application on CASPA was done I then began working on interview prep. I would recommend being able to answer “the big 3” (tell me about yourself, why do you wanna be a PA, why *insert name* PA program?). Honestly by the time April rolled around I had finished my personal statement and all I had left to do was polish and refine my CASPA application and wait for letters to be submitted. I had 3 people submit my letters by the end of May so then I worked through supplemental essays around May so that I was all set to submit stuff on June 16th. For me the process was stressful but I was able to reduce a lot of that stress by taking care of the personal statement first Use free resources whenever you can. For me UMass Advisors answered all of my questions about the process (as much as they could know). Youtube has great resources. Personally what helped me prep for interview was the Savannah Perry PA interview guide book. Book was affordable and helped me feel ready to conquer the interview. I also joined the facebook group “The pre-PA club” so that I could ask questions and read about other peoples experiences. There are helpful links within here too. I personally do not think its worth the pricy endeavor to take the GRE test. Many programs are test-optional since 2020 covid and luckily this year many of the programs I applied to that used to require GRE made it optional. I hate standardized tests personally so if you do not think you will need it then do not waste your time. As a low income student I found it hard to afford also.I registered for GRE in February but when tufts announced they were test optional I canceled and they refunded 50% of my payment. Your money matters and once you begin spending it on application fees and everything you’ll realize that.

@michellemukasa

Michelle wants healthcare staff to reflect the patients they serve, and she is building a career around that. Start early, use every free resource you can find, and be honest about what you can afford — practical advice from someone who ran the process that way and got three interviews out of six applications.