Can anybody provide insight into Hofstras Accelerated 5 year PA program ?
My Daughter has been accepted and is deciding whether to join the accelerated program or go the tradtional route 4 years under grad and then apply to PA school ? She would only go to Hofstra if she is accepting the PA program, for the traditional route she has acceptances from other schools. Kindly advise if Hofstra would be a good choice ?
In my opinion, being in a direct admit PA program is terrificā¦if she is absolutely positive she wants to be a PA. Otherwise you run the risk of her not being accepted to a PA program.
Is Hofstra affordable?
If she isnāt sure about her major, and has other schools on her acceptance listā¦thatās another story.
Hello Thumper1
Thanks for your reply, she is absolutely positive that she wants to be PA, and her thoughts are similar to yours in thinking that she does run the risk of not being accepted to a Graduate PA program later on. My wife and I just worry about her committing to a PA program and then not liking it. In terms of affordability she has recd some Merit based aid and the balance may be doable for us, our primary concern is just making sure that it is a good Program, as there arenāt many reviews online.
Do you know anything about the Hofstra PA program?
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@thumper1, no, I donāt.
I donāt know about Hofstraās program ā¦but my D has a friend who wants to go to grad school to become a PA and at least some of the grad programs want applicants to work in the medical field for two years before applying (she is working as an EMT now). And after the work experience the PA program is two years. And they are quite competitive. If your D doesnāt do a direct entry program it may be a longer haul than she expects to become a PA. Your D should carefully research the alternative route if she doesnāt do this program.
My Daughter committed to PA accelerated PA program @ Hofstra. Thank you @thumper1 @Nrdsb4 @happy1 for your advise.
Hi Merit29,
I saw that your daughter committed to Hofstraās PA Program in the fall of 2018. My daughter just got admitted to the 5 year PA program at Hofstra and I was just wondering how your daughterās experience has been at Hofstra ā both in general and specifically in the undergrad portion of the 5 year PA program?
In her cohort, have most of those who came in as direct admit freshmen been able to maintain the gpa to stay on track for matriculation for the grad PA program?
What have been the pros and cons of being a student at Hofstra?
Is safety a huge concern?
Unfortunately we have not visited and probably wonāt do so prior to May 1 due to our lack of being able to get vaccinated by then. So any feedback that you and your daughter can offer would be GREATLY appreciated!!!
Suzanne
Hi is your daughter attending Hofstra ? Can you please give me some feedback om the sxhool is general and the orogram ? Thanks much Allison
Yes, my daughter is attending Hofstra. So far, she enjoys the school and likes being part of the PA cohort. During the fall semester, they only have one introductory meeting. But during the spring semester, they have a PA seminar class that brings the whole cohort together. They do a good job of advising the PA students and making sure that the PA students get the required classes they need.
Hello,
My daughter recently received admission to the BS/MS Dual Degree program in Physician Assistant Studies, and I was hoping you could provide some insight. I understand that your daughter is currently enrolled in the PA program, and I have similar questions to those you had.
Specifically, if all the requirements such as GPA and healthcare experience hours are met, is acceptance into the graduate program essentially automatic? Additionally, I was informed that the tuition for the first year of graduate study is considered as part of the undergraduate senior year. Could you confirm if this is indeed one of the advantages of this program?
I apologize for bombarding you with questions, but any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I hope your daughter is enjoying her time in the PA program!
Following, as Iām curious too.
@NewJerseyDad2021 NewJerseyDad2021 - any advice for students looking at direct-entry PA programs? Can you share why you think your daughter was accepted?
When we toured Hofstra, we were also told the merit aid would be good for that 1st year of grad school (their 4th year at Hofstra) as well.
Congratulations to your daughter!
My daughter is about to do her interview for the PA program in the next few weeks. Itās still my understanding that the interview is mostly a formality if youāve ticked all of the other boxes.
And, yes, her scholarship is supposed to extend through the first year of the graduate program (her 4th year).
Everything appears to be tracking as expected ā but weāll know more next year after she has actually started the program (assuming that she does indeed get accepted).
CONS:
While most of the pre-PA students have made it thus far, there have been some who were not able to attain the gpa requirements and have thus dropped out of the program. The pre-PA program is similar to a pre-med curriculum ā very tough and rigorous with at least two upper division science classes per semester.
Also, since itās only a 3 year undergrad program, thereās very little room for electives or āfunā classes to balance the heavy STEM focus. Only now in her last semester does my daughter finally have the space to take an art class ā her 1 true elective for her entire undergrad curriculum. She also joined the symphony and was able to take cello (by taking more than the required # of units). So they really have to make the most of the choices that they have in their other general ed / humanities / social science requirements to get some breadth and fulfill their other interests. Also there is no room in the schedule to study abroad or do anything else thatās unconventional. However, they do have a January term where they can take a 2-3 week class or do an overseas trip ā which can offer some flexibility. (My daughter chose to simply take that month off every year for EMT training / work.)
PROS:
My daughter has been well-served by the program. Her advisor basically told her what classes to take every semester (so thereās very little likelihood of accidentally forgetting to take a requirement) and made sure that she had a seat in her required courses (the pre-PA and pre-med students get priority). There was free tutoring offered for many / most of her pre-PA requirements (itās super important to take advantage of this if you want to survive the tough bio / chem requirements). There is also a pre-Pa spring semester class that the entire cohort takes together every year (taught by PA professors) and a pre-PA club (run by students). She has been relatively happy and done well at Hofstra and I think that she would choose Hofstra again were she a high school senior.
I have also spoken to a couple of PA wannabes that went elsewhere for a traditional 4-year undergrad program and are now trying to get their 1,000 - 2,000 hours of health care experience while simultaneously applying to PA grad programs (one of whom lamented that he canāt even get an interview, much less admission). They are super envious of the position that my daughter is in and wish that they had had the opportunity and foresight to do a similar program when they were a senior in high school. Hofstraās 5.5 year program easily cuts off a full 2 years out of the normal process (4 year undergrad, at least 1-2 years of healthcare experience, 2.5 year PA program = a total of 7.5+ years).
Good luck to your daughter as she makes her decision!
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Thank you so much for your reply! It will definitely help my daughter with her decision.
Good luck to your daughter as well! I wish her all the best for her interview and the rest of her PA program studies!
As this is the only PA school my daughter applied to, Iām unsure if I can provide a comprehensive answer. However, she has achieved a high SAT score (1550+) and has 8 AP courses, including those taken during her senior year. Additionally, since no interview was conducted, I believe her supplemental essay could play a crucial role in the evaluation process.
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TY for the follow-up, I appreciate it. I didnāt realize there was no interview required. Weāve got the rigor & stats covered, but I wasnāt sure if thereās some other āsecret sauceā (shadowing? Direct patient care? Research? All the things that are much harder for a minor to obtain.)
Do you know how many students are accepted to Hofstraās direct admit program as incoming freshmen vs how many make it to the graduate portion?
Iām sorry, I donāt have an answer to your question. Iāll need to reach out to the PA program directly, but I imagine theyāll give the standard response: āIf you meet all requirements, youāll be admitted to the graduate program.ā
I totally agree that getting shadowing and patient care experience during high school is tough. Itās one of the main reasons we started looking into accelerated programs.
Are you still waiting to hear back from the PA program for admission? We submitted our application with the essay back in January and just got notified last Saturday. Honestly, because it took so long, I didnāt really expect to get in. Now Iām scrambling to find any information I can about the program.
My kid is a junior and will be applying next year. We are touring and gathering information for now. I was picking your brain for any suggestions on what my kid can do between now and applying the fall.
Our Hofstra tour was with an undergraduate PA student, not staff, and we could not pin her down on how many students are admitted as freshman versus how many start the actual PA program. IMO this question is one of the biggest differentiators between programs.