Are there pre-PA classes that you have to take in the summer? It didn’t appear that there were any on the website.
What would you have to take/do during the summer for a direct admit program??
Also what is missing from a pre-PA program that a premed would need to take?
Possibly mandatory hours of hands-on [volunteer] clinical experience that most PA programs require before the students start their clinical training? (It’s an accreditation requirement that potential PAs have a minimum number of hours of clinical experience before starting the professional part of the program.)
Of course, you shouldn’t be in the PA if you have no intention of practicing as a PA. The purpose of a direct admit PA program is train individuals who want to be PAs. If you have no intention of working as PA or are using a PA as fall-back career, the ethical thing to do is surrender your seat so someone who actually wants to be a PA can take your place.
Sounds like you have a important decision to make. Think carefully and be sure you are prepared for any consequences that will result. (Including your parents withdrawing financial support.)
Welcome to adulthood!
However, if you are really in such a huge screaming hurry to start med school so you can “settle down” as soon as possible, then med school and a career as a physician really is the wrong path to take. Being a physician requires the ability to delay gratification for many, many years.
@mom2collegekids things like calculus and physics. I seem to be in quite the pickle.
There’s no calculus required for a BS in pre-PA or whatever the “major” is?
Find out what you’re required to be doing during the summer.
“hands-on [volunteer] clinical experience that most PA programs require before the students start their clinical training” = also useful for med school.
Can you get credit based on HS work for Math 1250 and take calculus instead?
@MYOS1634 i don’t think so. my advisor didnt even consider me taking pre med classes because its a hard direct program. As i said before she was wondering why i was in the pa program if i wanted to be a doctor anyways. @mom2collegekids me mentioning calculus was to answer your “Also what is missing from a pre-PA program that a premed would need to take?” question. Physics as well. Theres nothing this summer that I need to take for the direct admit program.
@WayOutWestMom i’d use it as a fall back career but i want to try for med school first.
Have you looked at what math 1250is and whether you already took it in high school? Do you have Ap credit and for what classes?
Can you start calculus at a community college near you right now since you’re not taking any class ? Is sju on a semester system and if so when does class start, both for Fall and Spring ?
The reason why you’re taking the pa program is because your parents are paying and that’s what they chose for you, so if you want to go to college you have to be in the pa program. If somebody ever wondera again tell them that, it’ll make things clear to them.
One option I want to mention.
There is a fast-track PA to Physician Bridge program offered at LECOM.
http://lecom.edu/academics/the-college-of-medicine/accelerated-physician-assistant-pathway/
@MYOS1634 st. johns has fall and spring semesters. the fall one starts on sept. second. math 1250c is statistics.
I think its too late to apply to any community colleges right now? And thanks for those wise words at the end as well.
@WayOutWestMom Wow! That’s a really great opportunity! But I’m not quite sure that I want to practice osteopathic medicine.
Osteopathic medicine = medicine
Osteopathic physicians study the same material, take the same national board exams, have the same scope of practice, the same licensing and can enter all the same specialties as allopathic physicians. In fact starting in 2020 (well before you will be starting med school), the residency Match will be unified with DO and MD grads both applying for all the same residency programs.
@WayOutWestMom i think i would need to work as a PA for some time then apply because they only accept a small handful and not having some work years under my belt would just put me at a disadvantage.
It’s quite likely that not having work experience as PA under your belt will put you at disadvantage when it comes to traditional med school admissions too.
Why? Because med school adcomms are very reluctant to poach from other critically needed healthcare professions without a very good reason. You will be asked over and over why you studied to be a PA if being a physician is your goal. (And telling an admission officer it’s because your parents insisted on it is not an acceptable answer.) If you have worked at another healthcare profession for a reasonable amount of time (several years) and can articulate the exact reasons for your discontent with your profession that will be alleviated by becoming a physician–that’s may yield an acceptable answer.
@WayOutWestMom i meant that towards the lecom program and i do ahve other reasons why the pa profession is not for me but yeah as of the moment i still do not know what to do besides speak with my advisor.
You need to know whether your parents will support your other endeavors;
@MYOS1634 sorry for the late reply. when you say support do you mean financially or like “im ok with you doing this career” because i do want to be a doctor and loans will have to be taken out eventually regardless
I mean both: if your parents won’t pay for you to be premed with a traditional major, then you don’t have a choice and you have to make so with the hand you’ve been dealt. You can only borrow 5.5k for freshman year so either you r parents finance your studies or you don’t go to college, and without college no med school. I b believe you can still register for community college. But your best option mat be to take a gap year, after deferring from sju, as long as the scholarahip will still be there id you defer…
@MYOS1634 could you clarify your last sentence?
Being a PA seems like great experience to become a doctor.
However, that is ONLY if you want to become a GP. I wouldn’t recommend becoming a PA if you want to become a specialist.
“your best option may be to take a gap year, after deferring from sju, as long as the scholarship will still be there if you defer…”
although the clairified sentence may be too late since Fall is about to start!!!
CALL SJU; say you have unexpected financial troubles, would you be able to hold on to your scholarship if you defer for a year during which you’ll work?
If they say no, well, attend and make it work.
If they say yes, defer (officially, don’t just “disappear”), work and save money, and look for colleges you can afford. In NYS you have a great variety of possibilities - Marist, Siena, SUNY New Paltz, Elmira, Wells,Stony Brook, Binghamton, Geneseo… - and of course top colleges such as Colgate, Hamilton, Vassar. The last three are very generous with need-based financial aid (ie., if your family makes under 125K you’re likely to get need-based financial aid) however they don’t have “merit aid” since all their students are such high caliber.