Undergraduate education: Boise State University
Overall GPA: 3.95
Science GPA: 3.92
GRE: 302
Total PCE hours: I had 2800 hours of PCE/HCE by working as a CNA both in assisted living and skilled nursing. I also worked for a year in an ER as an Emergency Room Technician.
Shadowing hours: I had 30 and due to the pandemic I did mine virtually via pre-health shadowing.
Volunteer hours: I had 310 and I got them through volunteering at the Idaho Food Bank, volunteering in a clinic in Peru, and being a Sunday school children’s leader.
How many times did you apply?: 1
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Why PA? My mom was really sick when I was young and so an early exposure got me very interested in medicine. Also in some way I wanted to take care of others the same way my mom was taken care of. I knew I wanted to be a PA specifically when I met with one and everything they were describing was exactly what I wanted out a career.
How many programs did you apply to? 12
How many programs did you interview with and what were the outcomes? I got four interview offers and went to two of them. I only interviewed at 2 because I got accepted into my top one. The other interview I got I got a waitlist offer. For the program I got accepted I started out on the interview waitlist and than was on the program waitlist before being accepted. Don’t let a waitlist email scare you!
Where will you be attending? University of South Dakota
Anything you found interesting about interviews? They were actually pretty fun and taking with other applicants made the process not seem so scary! I knew I wanted to go to USD the minute I talked to current students during the interviews. I also found it surprising how everyone was so welcoming and the interviews felt more like a conversation!
Were there any helpful resources (books, websites, webinars, etc) you used to get through prerequisites courses, the application or interview process? The PA interview guide from the platform really helped me. It exposed me to possible questions and helped me feel better prepared.
Any advice for other pre-PA students? Take a deep breathe! The process can be scary but it can also be fun! I would also recommend finding a PA to shadow sooner rather than later because schools like to see that you have a good understanding of the role of a PA.
