Undergraduate education: Bachelor’s in Biology from University of Florida
Overall GPA: 3.6
Science GPA: 3.6
GRE: 150 qualitative, 153 quantitative, 5 on writing
Total PCE hours: 640 at time of applications being submitted
Total HCE hours: 0
Shadowing hours: About 30
Other Volunteer hours: 0
LORs: One from my nursing manager, one from my A&P professor, one from a professor and mentor for the PhD program I was in before, one from an MD I shadowed, and one from the PA I shadowed
How many times did you apply?: 1
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Why PA? I was in a PhD program right after graduating undergraduate and started to lose focus of the big picture and why I was spending hours in the lab getting very little data. I took a leave of absence and became a CNA where I fell in love with the patients and decided on PA school after remembering my many interactions as a patient with type one diabetes and a patient’s family member who had stage four colon cancer.
How many programs did you apply to? 12
How many programs did you interview with and what were the outcomes? 4 interviews (I’ve only been to 2/4 and got accepted to both)
Where will you be attending? Nova Southeastern University in Jacksonville, FL
Anything you found surprising about interviews? How different my two interviews were was really surprising as well as how sweet and supportive the other interviewers were. Someone even drove other interviewers back to the airport to help them out.
Were there any helpful resources (books, websites, apps) you used to get through prerequisite courses, the application or interview process? 100% Savanna’s book (I tried another book before hers and hated it) along with her website and podcast! I also decided on a mock interview with Ngan who was amazing at calming my nerves and helping me perfect my interview a few weeks before my first one. I also used the pa forum to see if any old students left some advice before interviews.
Any other advice for other pre-PA students? I had a family member ask me a few interview questions almost every night leading up to my first interview. I also wrote down most of the questions I was asked during my first interview and analyzed them afterwards to see how I could improve for the next one. But I also just want to say don’t give up! I was basically told to expect not to get in this round but I still gave it my all and was pleasantly surprised.
Where can we find you? instagram – Keeleysarah97
