Just received my first acceptance yesterday and can't believe it. Just want to encourage everyone here that you can do it! Keep working hard and it will work out how it's meant to! Y'all got it!

Hi, I’m really not sure how to even word this or go through it but I’ve gotten emails from two schools now (one today and one about 3 weeks ago) saying that I was missing parts of my application that I submitted in May. I fully had everything in by the end of the month and have screenshots and emailed confirmations to prove it. I don’t understand if this is something I’m doing wrong or just oversights on their ends and to be honest I’m really frustrated. I submitted very early on purpose and now 3 months have passed where my application wasn’t considered despite it being complete a while ago. Has anyone else experienced this? I have gotten accepted to another program in the cycle so I know it’s not an overall application issue and I’ve confirmed my applications with some of the other schools I applied to I’m just a bit at a loss. I submitted early on purpose and now it feels like that was a waste.

First Gen applicant, neither parent completed a 4 year degree.

Accepted to my #2 choice. Applied to 9 programs at that time. 4 interview invites (1 lead to an acceptance), 2 rejections, 1 interview waitlist, 2 no response. My 2 rejections were the result of a clerical error on my application.

cGPA 3.6
sGPA 3.71
Strong upward trend (I completed all of my prereqs as a post bacc with a 3.8 GPA. My major was STEM-lite/adjacent)
4k PCE as a preop/pacu PCT
55 hours shadowing (Ortho, GI, FM)
4 letters of recommendation (RN Supervisor, 2 PAs, 1 professor)
2k HCE delivering food to patients in the hospital
80 hours volunteering at Vitalant

One piece of advice for everyone here: Pour your heart out into those essays, dig deep in your own experiences and describe how they shaped your why, and how it influences the provider you want to be. How can you serve the community the school is located in? How does your personal why resonate with the school mission?

I unapologetically spoke about my family’s hardships, the lessons I learned, and how I can use those experiences to make me a more effective PA. I unapologetically spoke about discrimination my colleagues displayed at my job and how I would fight back against a fundamentally flawed system.

While my GPA is nominally above average, I sincerely think my essays gave me an edge. The main caveat here is that I am a first gen applicant, but a strong essay will absolutely help you stand out.

I thought there would be fatphobia bias since most programs have pictures of average BMI students. But i got in at 36 years old just a handful of days after my first interview! First cycle! 3k PCE, 3.5 cGPA 3.7 sGPA. 600 volunteer and 60 shadowing!

I applied for this cycle mid july and haven't heard anything from a lot of programs, just confirmation emails. Is anyone else in the same position as me?

Has anybody decided on backup plans if they don't get in? This is my 3rd year applying and I'm not sure I have another year in me. I've never thought of a backup plan because I've always wanted to be a PA for the past 7 years now. I guess I'm just a bit lost, and wondering if anyone else has their own backup plan to PA school, for inspiration.

So I am totally panicking - I have entered all 6 of my transcripts where I took academic courses and my prerequisite courses. I have not uploaded a transcript from a community college where I took my CMA certification course and my community college will not send out these records except by mail - and my deadline for schools is tomorrow. My entire application has been done for two weeks other than this holdup. I tried speaking with a representative from CASPA who didn't even know the difference between CEUs and Academic credits. She said a manager would call me tomorrow the day that my applications are due.

What my real question is - is that this course resulted in certificates as in a CEU course, no credit hours, no grade - only Satisfactory or Non-satisfactory. From what I see online - barely any guidance on this issue - is that this is not an academic transcript and does not need to be sent to CASPA for the transcript entry portion of my application. It says this certification should instead be listed under my experiences section.

I have two questions I guess - Does this CEU certificate record or 'transcript' need to be uploaded to my academic record? Secondly, if I don't report this school and 'certificate record/transcript' under academic records and transcript entry am I failing to report a school? I am so confused.

Hey everyone!

I have an interview this thursday and as I was doing research of potential quesitions or scenarios, one I came across was the staff asking you to teach them something, just for fun, which is really interesting and exciting. However, I genuienly can't think of what to teach them. It's over zoom so I only have so much to do and dont want to have anything but my computer with me to avoid any distractions. Just wanted to post on here to see if anyone had any ideas!

TIA!!

Hi all! After so many moments of doubting myself and as a first time applicant, I am so excited to share that I got accepted! I received my acceptance last month, so I have been taking it in and am so grateful for this next chapter to come. I prefer to not share the school name at this time, but I was accepted in Texas. I only applied to Texas programs and have also received two more interviews recently. Here are my stats:

cGPA: 3.55 (4 C’s with a strong upward trend)
sGPA: 3.44
PCE: 2120 hrs as an internal medicine MA (1 gap year after undergrad)
Shadowing: 71 hrs
Volunteer: 224 hrs
GRE: 314 AW: 4.0

Best of luck to everyone applying. I believe in you!!🍀

I have an interview this thursday and wanted to go over some etiquitte to present myself as professional as possible. For the most part, I feel like I have a good understanding of what to do and not to do, however would saying "Yes ma'am/sir" be okay? That's just something I'm use to and have always responded to people to. Also, my interview is over zoom and i've seen that it's better to look at the camera when speaking. Is the the case? I recorded myself doing that and i feel like i look unnatural or end up looking back at the screen.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, I am looking at the caspa pdf for one of my apps. Is the science gpa based off the BCP totals gpa score or the overall science gpa score?

I got accepted to Pa school and I’m thrilled to go and learn all that cool stuff, but I’m concerned about salary right now. I realize that as a new grad Pa I’ll probably make around $130k which is good money but I’m hoping to earn more in my career.

Obviously one solution is to go to med school and come out of there making 300-500k, but I really don’t want to go to 4 years med school, 4 years residency, and how ever many more years depending on the specialty.

I want to work in healthcare and do all the cool things that a PA gets to do, but I want to earn money than PAs do. Does anyone else feel this way? Does anyone have plans in place post PA school to be able to maximize their earnings and get close to $200k?

I completed my application to a few programs in late May. Still have not heard back from half that finish in November. Should I email and ask if my application is still being considered? I know they have been conducting interviews.

Well my dumb butt spent over $300 and didn’t realize CASPA calculates GPA differently. I got rejected from all schools because my GPA from undergrad the first 3 years was terrible. I transferred and went to a different university and graduated with a decent 3.4. I went to get my Masters and got a 3.5. I can’t believe I didn’t look up that CASPA considers all courses. I feel like a wasted my time and everyone’s time who recommended me. Now I have to come up with an excuse why I didn’t get in. I’m so embarrassed 😭 it looks like I’m going to be moving away from healthcare and probably going to end up in law school.

Good luck everyone! Don’t be like me and think they use your graduated GPA. I guess this wasn’t meant to be!

32 years old. Just finished my bachelors in May. 10 years Active Duty. Applied to 12 schools, got an early interview to one of my top 3 that has a ~1% acceptance rate. ACCEPTED. Still in shock. Still haven’t heard back from the other 11, but it’s a weight off of my chest to be able to withdraw my apps from at least 9 of the other schools.

PA has been my goal since I graduated high school. It took me some time to get here but I made it and you can too!

To everyone that’s doubting themselves and struggling right now. Life’s a journey, not a race. KEEP GOING!

And if you’re looking for a way to beef up your application as well as gain medical experience, I highly recommend the military. I couldn’t have submitted the application without the opportunities they gave me. Pay ain’t bad either.

Respiratory Therapist
3.5 GPA
12000 hrs PCE
450 hrs volunteer
40 hrs shadowing
295 GRE (was planning to retake)

I recently got accepted into a program that doesn’t require an interview and I was shocked! Is that a red flag for the quality of the program or should I just be happy I got accepted?

I’m a 3rd time applicant and I’ve been waitlisted every cycle. Just had an interview last week and was really confident I did the best I could have but waitlisted yet again. I’m just so bummed out because I genuinely don’t know what I’m doing wrong and it is so discouraging. I even paid for a mock interview from someone I thought would be reputable, and I got a propranolol prescription to help my physical anxiety during interviews. I’m just so upset and feeling defeated! It’s also so frustrating that most schools don’t offer feedback on interviews, so I really don’t know what to do at this point. I know it’s early in the cycle, but I haven’t heard back from any other schools either. Just feeling really discouraged rn 😭🥲

After a longggg first cycle, and 20 apps already submitted for my 2nd cycle, I was accepted off the waitlist a few days ago for a program that starts in 4 weeks. Across the country.

The school I was accepted to originally rejected me without interview last July, about a month after I submitted my application. Then in April, I got an email that they had re-reviewed my application, and decided that they wanted to interview me. After interviewing in May, I was placed on the waitlist, which I was 100% sure I was never coming off of, and shifted my focus to the next cycle. Until I got the email a few days ago!

I’m incredibly humbled and excited, but also now freaking out as I figure out the logistics of the next 4 weeks.

Two cliches have remained true during this time for me: expect the unexpected, and it truly only takes one!

Good luck to everyone during their cycles, this process is not for the faint of heart!

STATS
Overall cGPA: 3.57
Overall sGPA: 3.38
BCP GPA: 3.27 
PCE:2,078 hours (pediatric MA)
Shadowing: 20 in person (pediatrics), 22 online (different specialities)
Volunteering: 54 hours (social services organization)
2 C’s in chem classes
Failed Orgo II, did not retake
Failed stats, retook and got an A

I’m honestly just in shock right now.

Interviewed for a program on Wednesday and they let us know that we’ll be receiving decisions 1-3 weeks from now. The next day, I receive an email that I was not accepted into the program. Frustrating, but it happens. Few hours later, I get an email congratulating me for acceptance into the program?? I log onto the provided link for the graduation admissions page and I see the acceptance in my admissions update as well as the corresponding link providing my student ID, student log in information, place to put a deposit, etc. At this point, I’m so happy I don’t know what to believe but seeing all of the info on the admissions portal led me to believe maybe the rejection email was a mistake?

I called them this morning to confirm and they let me know the initial rejection was correct and the second email they sent and their OWN admissions portal is incorrect. I feel so frustrated, disappointed, and frankly grateful I didn’t immediately put the $1000 deposit down. Now I’m wondering if I ever would have known if I didn’t call and ask. This feels so crazy to me.

Edit: For those asking which school, it’s Alvernia University

A lot of schools incentivize in-state applications by drastically reducing tuition by 20-50k. We have 5 PA schools in Georgia and attendance is the same price for in an out of state students for them all. It’s just frustrating that the most affordable schools are only affordable for in-state citizens of which I am not. It just sucks that there is potential for PA schools to have massively reduced debt for some people but not for others.

I’m an incoming college freshman and I currently have about 60 hours from volunteering at a local hospital over the summer. I’m just wondering if this is good or if I should be doing more to eventually reach a certain amount of hours by the time I apply?

I thought when I got accepted I’d feel nothing but happiness, and while I am very happy, I also am having horrible anxiety.

I’m scared I can’t do it. I was an average student, had to always study hard to pass, and honestly got lucky in many classes. I feel like I only did well because teachers would give study guides similar to exams, so if you knew that, you’d pass… I don’t think I could have passed by just reading a chapter and picking out things that are important because when I used to try that, I considered everything important. In PA school, everything will be important but I… idk I just am freaking out.

I am scared I’ll fail out. I’m scared I can’t do it. I am not a smart person, I’m a lucky person maybe who truly somehow faked their way through. And I know that sounds like imposter syndrome, but this is real. The thought of not being able to do well in PA school and losing hundreds of thousands of dollars I don’t have is sending me into full blown panic attacks. I don’t know if I should do this. I just have to get this out to hopefully someone who maybe understands how I feel. I’m very alone in this whole process, no real family to lean on either which doesn’t help.

Hi everyone! I’ve been fortunate enough to be accepted to two PA Programs, and I'm struggling to decide.

Program 1

• I really liked the faculty, campus, and overall feel of the program when I visited.
• Located in Nevada, closer to home in Southern California.
• Currently on accreditation probation, with its next review in 2027, which is my biggest concern.
• Tuition is around $130k.
• Larger cohort of around 80 students.
• Rotations seem to be more centralized around Las Vegas.
• Seems to offer a lot of opportunities to work with underserved populations.

Program 2

• Tuition is around $110k, so roughly $20k cheaper.
• Smaller cohort of around 47–48 students, which I like.
• Shorter didactic portion/more time spent in the clinical phase.
• Currently has Accreditation-Continued status.
• The interview was virtual, so I haven’t visited the area yet -Colorado
• Rotations may require more travel.
• Competency-based medical education model rather than relying purely on traditional exams.

I’m planning to visit Colorado soon to get a better feel for program 2. Right now, I’m leaning toward at least putting down the $500 for Program 2 just to be safe because of Program 1's probation status. What I’m struggling with is whether I should also put down the $1,000 for program 1 so I can keep both options open until I visit Colorado, or whether that would just be wasting another $1,000.

Also I know it is annoying to read the programs by number lol but it would have been flagged if I used program name. I’d love any advice, honestly having a tough time deciding.