houstonr

I want to be a Physician Assistant.
My gpa should be a 3.6 W by the time I apply to all my colleges (school does not give out uw and class rank), and my SAT score is 1800 ( 620 M 620 W 560 CR. I took it again in June, it should be higher when I get the scores back).
I have 100 or so volunteer hours logged and I've shadowed a PA.
The colleges I'm considering to are:
Quinnipiac University
MCPHS
Pace University
Desales University
James Madison University
Duquesne University
Seton Hall University
Wagner college
Philadelphia University
Drexel University


please help me out; am I likely to get rejected from all these colleges/universities? If so, are there any colleges that you guys can suggest to me? Thanks in advance!

dblazer

looking at the SAT ranges on their college board profile is your best bet for assessing chances. If you are comfortably in or above the range (which it seems like you would be for a lot of these schools) I wouldn't see what would keep you out.

zobroward

Butler in Indianapolis

parent56

take a look at uab UAB - The University of Alabama at Birmingham. for undergrad, their pa program is grad level with your current stats you will get merit. uab is one of just a few schools that offers a surgical physician assistant program. home of a top med school...7 hospitals surround the campus. great research opportunities, very strong for sciences. 11k undergrads, urban campus. wonderful honors programs

the PA program is ranked in top 25

http://www.uab.edu/cds/academic/graduate/spa


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Univers..._at_Birmingham


total cost for oos is 20-25K

houstonr

thanks for the replies! and the reason why i'm asking is because i heard that most of these schools weight health care experience a lot. and i don't have that much experience imo...
@parent56 - what is the difference between surgical pa and a regular pa?
@zobroward - what are the stats for butler?
thanks once again everyone.

parent56

Surgical PA Roles & Responsibilities :: AASPA..

Physician assistant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Physician Assistants : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

houstonr

thanks again! anyone else have suggestions/tips?

juillet

There are some schools that offer physician assistant credentialing at the bachelor's level.

Rochester Institute of Technology
CUNY-City College of New York
St. John's University
SUNY-Downstate
CUNY-York College

At some point - whether you are in college, or before then - you should get some actual patient care experience, not just volunteering and shadowing. The most competitive applicants to PA programs have that kind of experience, and if you are looking at master's programs it will be required. Most entrants to PA programs were EMTs, paramedics, or nurses before going to the PA program. You may want to go to a training program for EMTs or paramedics and either volunteer or work as an EMT so you can get some clinical hours.

houstonr

Thanks for tips! And i actually was gonna start emt this fall. However, by the time i apply to all my colleges, i dont think ill have enough clinical experience to impress the colleges. Do you think thats fine? Also, am i even competitive enough for these schools? Thanks again!

toledo

Good research! It looks like most, if not all, are guaranteed direct-entry programs. Your stats are high school stats, right? I think you'll get in. Just be sure to apply early.

houstonr

thanks! i just wanted to know something; what are the benefits of getting into a direct-entry program? is it just because you can graduate earlier?
also, are there non-direct-entry programs you know about?

arabrab

Direct entry means that you have a guaranteed slot in the program through completion so long as you finish the prereqs in the proscribed manner and achieve the required grades.

Without direct entry, you start at a school and then apply to the PA program after completing some portion of your undergraduate degree -- but regardless of your grades, there is no guarantee that you will be admitted to the program at that point.

Will you have taken quite a bit of chemistry and some physics by the time you've finished high school? Any APs? I don't know how grading looks within your school (is 3.6 an especially high gpa there?) but PA programs are very, very competitive. If you don't make direct entry, you'll likely need very strong grades in core science classes your first year (or two) in college.

toledo

Plus, most regular-entry programs require you to take the GRE. Duquesne and DeSales are 5 year programs (I think a couple of the others are, too), as opposed to the normal 6 years +.

houstonr

@arabrab, thanks for the reply. and yes, this year I'm taking AP Physics; I have a B in that class for the year right now. As for Chemistry, I'll be taking that senior year; however, i took regular chemistry my freshman year and I ended up with an A-. As for my gpa, a 3.6 is what 40% of the kids have in my school. Also, my high school is very competitive and is respected in the area that I live in.
@toledo, I think I've heard about it, but is the GRE like the SAT except for college students?

Also, is it possible to not get into the PA program at the specific school but get into other programs in that school? Does this happen all the time and for every college/university?

parent56

yes houstonr..happens all the time...some programs at a school could be very selective and so not all will get in...for example uab has an early md acceptance program, only 10 people are accepted into it, S2 applied to that, was not accepted the that but was accepted into 2 other selective programs there.

if you are not accepted into a direct program, just do your undergrad and excel.. and apply later as a grad program