It's interview season, so here are my best tips in one place.

Know your own application. You'd be shocked how many people can't talk about something they wrote six months ago. Read your personal statement the night before. Be ready to expand on any experience you listed.

Research the specific program. Not "I like your mission statement" - actual details. Their rotation structure, their curriculum format, something you genuinely want to ask about.

Answer the question they asked, then stop talking. Rambling is the most common thing I see, and it usually comes from nerves rather than not knowing.

And be a person. They're deciding whether they want to see you in a small classroom every day for two years. Pleasant and prepared beats polished and rehearsed.

What I cover:

• Knowing your own application inside and out
• Researching a program past the marketing page
• Answering clearly without rambling
• Handling questions you weren't expecting
• What to ask them when it's your turn
• Interview day logistics that reduce stress

Resources:

PA School Interview Guide: https://www.thepaplatform.com/physician-assistant-school-interview-guide

Interview course: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pa-school-interview-course

Mock interview: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/mock-interview

PA Program Map: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-platform-map

Mentioned in this episode:

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In today's episode, we're getting down and dirty with the PA School interview because it is still interview season and these are my top tips for PA School interviews.

Welcome to the Pre PA Club podcast.

If you want to learn how to become a physician assistant, you're in the right place.

I'm your host, Savannah Perry.

Let's get to it.

Welcome.

Welcome to the podcast.

Thank you so much for tuning in.

If you aren't subscribed but you listen weekly or have binge listened.

Number one, thank you.

Number two, I would love for you to go ahead and subscribe on itunes and also leave a review.

Let us know what you like, what you don't like, what we need to do better.

I would love to hear more of that from you.

So today's episode I'm excited about because interviews are my thing.

They're what I could talk about for a long time and I usually do.

So this was a little interview overview I did for a Pre PA club most recently.

And it's kind of stuff I pulled mostly from the PA School interview course.

Kind of, you know, a lot of the basics and just kind of, gosh, I can't even think of the word, like the main points, my main stuff.

But of course, in like 30 minutes, I can't talk about everything.

So I hope this helps gives you a little confidence, some things to think about and work on.

And then if you need more help, definitely check out prepacourses.com to get that course and you can use the code Future pa. Also, we have some really cool, great Black Friday specials coming up for you guys.

So also be on the lookout for that because it is November.

Alright, so before we jump in, I do want to mention our sponsors, both PA School Prep and MyPA Resource.

And both of these companies were designed specifically to help people who want to become PAs.

So my PA resource is the top personal statement editing service for pre PA students because it only focuses on PA School essays.

It does not.

We're not using language arts majors who are just editors who don't really know anything about PA school.

We're not using PA students.

No offense to you guys, but it's not until you've really been out there and then worked on admissions committees that you know what you're looking for.

You can rest assured that a PA and most of us have admissions committee experience is editing your essay.

All right?

And then PA School Prep is for after you get that acceptance.

And that's an option for you to refresh yourself on your anatomy, physiology and med terms.

To make sure you're ready to go for PA school.

So use future PA on both of those options.

And let's jump into my interview talk.

Okay, so I guess first I should start with why I think interviews are so important.

And we'll talk about this a little bit more.

But I say it all the time that, you know, the essay is what gets you an interview, and the interview is what gets you accepted into PA school.

And I thoroughly believe that.

I think at this point in time, it's a pretty competitive field to get into.

And so you really have to stand out in some way.

And your experience isn't always the best way to do that, because everyone has experience and there will always be someone who has more experience or better grades than you.

And that's okay because that doesn't make you any less qualified.

You have your own things that you can bring to the table.

So when it comes to interviews, that's where you have to pull that out and really be willing to brag on yourself, which people struggle with.

And you all have a great sized club.

So y' all can definitely practice and help each other do some mock interviews together and kind of start getting over those nerves a little bit.

So.

Oh, I just said that I haven't reviewed this too recently.

But yeah, I really say this all the time because I believe it.

And this is.

I talked at a pre PA conference in New Jersey this summer.

That's what I kind of tailored this presentation for.

And then I also kind of made it into this online course where for some reason, you wanted to listen to me talk about interviews for five hours.

You're welcome to do that.

Okay.

So when you get to the point of an interview, these are your goals.

You.

And this came straight from one of the admissions directors at my program.

She told me one day when I was helping with interviews, I just kind of asked her, you know, what are you looking for in an applicant?

What stands out to you or makes someone somebody that you'd want to accept?

And her response was, I want them to show why they are a good choice as a classmate and a future colleague.

So as someone on the admissions committee, her viewpoint is that she wants people who are going to fit into her class well and also be someone that she would be proud to call a colleague.

So PA school is really quick.

Two years, you're done, and you're someone that is essentially an equal to your teachers.

I think one of the best compliments I ever got was right after I graduated.

I had three different professors refer me patients and they still do, but it just felt really great to get those referrals because that showed that they trusted me and that they trusted my knowledge and felt like I was someone who would treat their patients well.

So that was kind of this in action.

But the interview, if you get to that point, your chances of getting accepted are so much higher.

These schools get thousands of applications.

They look over everything.

Probably a good amount of them may get thrown out because they don't meet the requirements.

The ones that do meet the requirements are the ones that they really review, look at closely, read your essay.

And out of those, they may only interview a couple hundred.

It depends on how many spots there are.

But most schools will interview anywhere from two to four people for a spot.

So you're looking at a 50 to 25% chance of getting accepted.

If you get to the point of interviewing.

You also just want to show that you're a normal person and not a weirdo or any major red flags.

Show that you know what you're getting yourself in into.

And we'll get into that a little bit more with specific questions.

So when you get to the interview, number one, be ready for anything.

But these are kind of some of the common components that you can expect.

Usually there's a tour where you're going to see the classroom, where you're going to be sitting for eight hours a day, where you'll see maybe options for lunch, if they have a gym, if they have a hospital attached with, where you'll do rotations, an anatomy lab, just anything that you may experience as a student.

A lot of times they'll kind of take you on a little tour.

That's why it's important to wear comfortable shoes.

Then you have your interview at some point.

And there are a lot of different types of interviews and we'll talk about that a little bit too.

But some point during the day you're going to be asked questions or have to do some scenarios, something where you are kind of put on the spot and really have to show yourself.

Then you have some type of a meet and greet.

You're going to talk to faculty and current students and these are your opportunities to ask questions and really find out what life as a student may be like.

Ask about academics, non academics, what people do for fun, where people live, if they like it, you as much as you're trying to get them to like you and want you for a spot, you also have to make sure that you like the program too, and that it's somewhere where you want to go.

It's got to be a good fit on both sides and some type of Q and A.

Sometimes that'll be kind of a non traditional setting like the meet and greet or they'll just have a session where you can ask a lot of questions.

There can be some other stuff thrown in too, like quizzes and essays, but these are the typical ones that you can expect at almost any interview.

And like I said, always be ready for the unexpected.

At one of my interviews, I had to draw a question out of a fishbowl, stand up in front of all the other applicants and the faculty and answer it like an actual Miss America contest.

And I talk about that in the book a little bit because I don't remember what my question was.

I think I blacked out.

I can remember a good bit of what everyone else's questions were, but I don't know what mine was.

I don't know what I said because it was so just nerve wracking.

And what's funny now is I work with a PA who went to the same program as me and she was actually Miss South Carolina at one point.

So I was like, oh, you probably did so good at that.

I'm glad I wasn't in your interview group because she's used to doing that kind of stuff.

But a lot of us weren't and we had no idea what to do.

And some of the questions were funny, like if you were a fish, what kind of fish would you be and why?

I guess that's not funny, but not serious.

And then we there ones like there's two spots left and you and the person next to you have everything the same except for their grades are better.

Who do we accept?

So basically you have to put someone else on the spot.

So crazy stuff.

Some schools are doing these tests now called the PA Cat, kind of like the mcat.

And so if you start looking online, you may see something about that.

And no one really knows much about this test yet or how it's going to fit into admissions.

But as of right now, it's just a test given at interviews, not something that you take ahead of time like the mcat.

So don't freak out about that.

I think this is important to keep in mind.

So the reason you are asked to go to an interview is because a school actually wants to get to know you.

It's not just to fill a spot.

There's plenty of people who could fill your spot.

Like I said, someone's going to be better than you, but you have to come in and know what makes you different.

And that may just be your personality, that may be your positivity, your ability to work hard.

You know, you've got to be a little bit creative.

And I think you guys are in a lot of the same position as I was because I went straight from undergrad into PA school.

And even if you take a gap year or two, you guys are probably for the most part different than someone who has been out in the field working as an EMT or a nurse for 10 years.

You're going to maybe not have quite as much life experience, and that's okay mean that you're not as desirable as they are.

So we'll talk a little bit about the different types of interviews.

So traditional is what you think of when you're just sitting across the table from someone else and they're asking you questions.

It can be a one on one, two on one, three on one.

I've actually heard of up to even six interviewers asking one person questions, which is crazy and super intimidating.

But that's more of a banter where you're just going back and forth.

The hope is that it turns into a conversation, but that's not always the case.

Then you have a behavioral interview, and that just means the questions are asked a little bit differently.

Instead of asking direct questions like how do you study?

They may ask you something like tell me about a time you studied and you were successful.

So it's just trying to elicit more of an example from you and an actual story than you just talking about how you studied.

Then we have situational and ethical, and that's more scenario based where they may ask you about seeing someone stealing something, or what do you do if you run over your neighbor's dog or hit their mailbox so that they again can get more examples from you, but also kind of see how you'd react and try to see more of your personality.

Multiple mini interviews or MMIs are intimidating to a lot of people, but there are some benefits.

These are interviews that are set up like stations.

Usually a school will have anywhere from five to 10 stations, and at each one you'll have a couple minutes to review a prompt and then you'll have five to seven minutes to either respond to the prompt.

You'll go in and you'll act out a scenario.

Actually do some role play where you're being a PA or a nurse or something.

You may have to do some tasks like build a bridge, interpret a graph.

These can be a little bit weird and funky.

But the nice thing is in a traditional mmi they're blinded, so they don't know anything about you going into them.

And because you have multiple stations, you have multiple people to impress.

So even if you mess up on one, if you can kind of brush that off and move on, you have a chance to improve throughout the interview.

Group stuff.

You can either have a group activity where you're asked to answer a question as a group, or create or complete a task or help each other, you know, figure something out, or you can have more of a panel interview where it's, you know, three applicants and three interviewers, and y' all either, you know, popcorn answer or go down a line, or they'll ask you all the same question or different questions.

And that's more of a direct comparison of applicants during the interview.

And sometimes you're asked to complete an essay.

So these aren't usually anything too intense or not.

There's not an expectation at the essay, at your interview that you write something amazing or even equivalent to your personal statement.

I mean, it's usually a page that you're given, you know, 30 minutes to write.

So that shouldn't stress you out.

That's more of a time filler and something to make sure that there aren't any huge red flags.

So one thing that I recommend doing before your interview, and even, you know, if you're early on in undergrad, is you can go ahead and start making a list of everything you want your interviewer to know about you.

And this was a tip I was given by the career center at my school at UGA, where the advisor honestly really didn't know much about PA school.

He had really only done med school stuff.

But this tip to me was so important and I think so helpful in my interviewers.

If you have a list of things that you can keep in your mind, it will help you not go blank during an interview because you almost have this library of experiences and stories and thoughts that you can bring in, even if it's just a word, even if you can just have kind of a list of qualities that you want to talk about yourself, you can pull from those.

So we have some brainstorming worksheets on the PA platform.

If you go there, the PA platform.com downloads where you can download them, and it kind of helps you think through some of this, or you can just start a note in your phone or something.

So here's just my general tips, and I think these should be common sense.

But after doing a lot of mock interviews, I found that sometimes they're not something that Everyone does.

So, number one, be honest.

Don't in any way try to bend or stretch the truth, even if it's something silly.

Like, I had one girl who for some reason wanted to say that her boyfriend was her fiance, but he was her boyfriend.

So during the interview, she, like, sometimes referred to him as her boyfriend and sometimes her fiance.

So we talked about it afterwards, and I guess she felt that if she called him her fiance, it sounded more stable.

But I was like, honestly, it just makes you look confused, and that makes it look like you aren't telling the truth.

So just stick to the truth and don't try to kind of make anything different than it is.

Keep everything as positive as possible.

So this goes back to the comparison thing.

I mean, you may be sitting in an interview talking to someone next to you who tells you they have a 4.0.

Just don't let that get in your head.

And I've had people in mock interviews who will say, well, I know my grades aren't the best, or I know I don't have a lot of experience.

You don't need to say that.

You don't need to put yourself down.

You don't need to point out a flaw.

They would not have invited you for an interview if they thought it was an issue, or they will ask you about it directly in a possibly negative way if they think it's an issue.

So instead of going the negative route, really try to focus on your strengths or make those, you know, lack of hours a strength and talk about what you did focus on and how maybe you got more volunteer hours than shadowy.

But don't put those negative thoughts in their head or make them go back to your application looking for something they missed.

There is no right answer.

So this is another mistake.

I see a lot where people feel like they need to use certain words or terminology or phrases and that for some reason, that's what's going to get them accepted.

And that's just not true.

And I think that just gets in your head and leads to getting words jumbled, and then that throws you off, and then you kind of get flustered.

So don't try to come up with a right answer.

Just talk.

And one of my favorite tips for this is talk to your interviewer like you're meeting a patient for the first time.

So if you've done some patient care and you're meeting a patient, pretend they asked you, why do you want to be a pa?

How would you respond to them?

It's a little different in an interview setting.

And There are more nerves.

But I know when I meet a patient for the first time, I tend to smile a lot and be really upbeat.

And my patients do ask me why I became a pa.

So that's something that you should have an answer for and be able to respond to and then just be yourself.

They aren't looking for someone in particular.

They aren't looking for a robot.

They want to know about your interest and your hobbies.

So don't try to hide those things or don't try to change yourself to be what you think they want to see.

They're gonna know if you're doing that because they see enough people and enough interviews that if you're not being genuine, it shows right away it's not something you can hide at all.

Okay, so this is one of my favorite tips, too.

I guess that's why it got its own slide.

But the more that you can use a specific story or example, the more memorable you'll be.

And I think you can probably think of examples of this just in your own life.

But, you know, if there's something you're talking about or trying to discuss that you could ultimately find on Google, it's not good enough.

It's too generic.

And on the flip side, you know, going back to that studying example, so if I just asked you, how do you study?

And you told me, well, I like to make flashcards and study those right after my lesson.

And then I get in a big group and we like to talk about how something works, and then that helps me understand it and I'm able to do better on the test, that's all fine.

But if I asked you tell me about a time that you had to study to be successful, that's going to be more memorable.

If you tell me how during microbiology, after the first time test, you realize that you were just trying to memorize the information instead of actually learn it.

And that's when you realized it's more effective.

If you put the information on flashcards to get the basics down, but then meet in a group to discuss the concepts and make sure that you could explain them thoroughly and actually understand them.

And from that point forward, you were able to take those techniques into other coursework and do better.

And you know that that's what's going to work for you in PA school.

Having a more complete and thorough and thoughtful answer like that is what's going to impress your interviewer.

So when you are practicing and going through questions, try to use those examples.

You may not have one for every Single question.

But if you can rephrase those questions and learn how to do that, it's going to make your interview skills more effective.

So this kind of goes back to what I just gave you an example of.

But I want answers to be this full circle.

So when I'm in a mock interview, this is what I'm looking for.

If you tell me your story, that's great.

Get to the point.

Make sure you keep the focus on you.

I want to know the lesson you learned from that.

So with that example, learning that I can't just memorize, I've got to apply concepts, then making that connection to your impact on your future as a PA student or a pa. And don't forget that you're interviewing for a spot as a student, not as a pa. Schools want people that they can mold into actually being the PAs that they want you to be.

They don't want someone who already thinks they know everything.

And this gets back to the rephrasing part a little bit, too.

But when you're practicing and just.

I don't think I've said this, but you need to practice for your interview.

You need to say answers out loud before you get to the interview.

That should not be the first time you're saying your answers out loud, but you want to think outside the box of why you're being asked a question.

Why would they ask you how you study?

It's not really because they want to know how you study.

It's because they want to know that you have strong study skills that are going to translate to success in pa. School.

School.

So if you can start kind of getting in the habit of processing questions and not just feeling like you have to spit out an answer real quick, that's what's going to lead to more of those thoughtful answers.

Okay, so this is a little recap.

Use your stories and examples that you're going to come up with with your list or the handouts with those stories.

Don't assign them to a specific question, but be able to kind of mold them to fit different questions if you need to.

So that same example I gave you with how I studied, that may be a good example for tell me about a time you struggled academically or what was a difficult class for you.

Even though those questions are asked differently, that exact same story would fit in perfectly.

I may just have to tell it a little bit differently.

And then when you are in your actual interview, you only want to use a specific example once.

And really, you want to vary what you're talking about.

If you have shadowing work and volunteer experience, you don't want to only talk about your work experience for the entire interview.

In your mind, you should kind of be checking things off that list and go, okay, I already talked about my work experience as a circle cna.

Now I need to talk about my mission trip to Jamaica.

Okay, I talked about that.

Now I need to talk about when I shadowed Megan in the hospital.

You want to put as much information on the table during that short 15 to 30 minute interview that you can.

So these are the big four questions that need to be said solid for your interview.

And actually a lot of these will go into your personal statement.

The only one that wouldn't would be why this program?

But number one, tell me about yourself.

I want to know actually about you, who you are, what makes you interesting.

This isn't the chance for you to answer ypa.

That's not what I'm asking.

And then we get into ypa.

And with this question, what I look for is your journey to becoming a pa.

Anyone could sit there and tell me all the perks and great reasons that people become PAs because it's a great job.

But at the end of the day, I need to know, you know, what led you to medicine?

What led you to finding out about the PA profession?

Why did that appeal to you?

Why was that a great thing to you?

And then kind of transferring to why at this point you feel like PA is where you want to be.

Then we get into why this program?

And if you're applying somewhere, you should have specific reasons.

You should be able to show that you did your homework on that program and that there are reasons that you want to go there also.

Beyond that, what can you offer the program?

Go back to that original goal of showing that you're going to be a good classmate.

What do you bring to the table?

Maybe if you've been an MA in an orthopedic office for two years, you're going to be really strong in the orthopedic section and you can help your classmates.

Maybe you are really good at making study guides.

That was me.

I was the study guide girl.

I made study guides all throughout PA school.

I share them with everyone.

Fun fact, I don't actually study my study guides, I just make them.

So for me to study, it was just getting all the information out and organized.

That is what helped me kind of learn it.

And then I could apply it when I was doing practice questions.

So I talked about that in my interview.

Maybe you're great at cooking or baking.

Like, it can be small things even.

Like, I'm going to bring brownies on test day to make everyone feel better.

Those are the things that's going to help the admissions committee remember you and really want you to be part of their program.

And also, what is a PA?

Make sure you know what PAs are and what they do.

And you don't call them physician's assistants with an apostrophe S. Just small things that can be kind of red flags.

Schools definitely don't want anyone who thinks they're, like, substituting for med school.

You know, they want people who want to be PAs.

So this is going to come ultimately from your shadowing or working with PAs primarily.

Okay, so I already talked through this one.

Okay.

So I do think of the Tell Me about yourself question as the first date question.

And so if you have ever seen, like, speed dating on TV or if you went through rush where you had to, like, talk to somebody for a few minutes, that's how Tell Me About Yourself is.

You should have a little spiel about yourself where you can talk about where you're from, your family, what you do for fun, and then you can get into a little bit about your experience and your schooling and all that.

But don't jump too much into YPA with this question.

So this is what I just kind of went over and you know, one thing with Tell Me About Yourself that I do like people to do is to say your name again.

Even if you just said it or kind of said in an introduction, it just helps them to remember you and kind of put a face with your name.

So hopefully when they talk about you later and kind of evaluate how you did, they remember you and can kind of hopefully lead to an acceptance.

Okay, so then why do you want to be a pa?

And again, this is your passion.

I like to talk about pivotal moments because even in your personal statement, even in your interview, you're not necessarily going to be able to touch on every single thing that makes you want to be a pa.

But really think about the big moments that have led you here, and that can be different things.

I mean, that may be someone who was sick in your family or yourself if you feel comfortable sharing that.

Or it may be, you know, somebody that you did shadow or a conversation you had with someone, but really kind of try to pinpoint what it is that has convinced you that PA is what you want to do for the rest of your life.

And this is what I talked about as far as kind of what I look for.

And again, this is Stuff that should also be in your personal statement.

So if you want to like take a picture of this slide, whatever.

But why medicine?

How did you find out about the PA profession?

What do you think is great about the profession?

And then what steps have you taken to get here?

The one thing I want you to note is on the focus on the job.

You should be talking about the actual roles and responsibilities and what you do on a daily basis as a pa, not the perks.

It shouldn't necessarily.

I mean, those things are great, the less schooling, less tuition.

But it's kind of a pet peeve of mine when people come in and start talking about how they want to be a PA because of the flexibility and how they'll have a better work life balance.

In my opinion, you choose your work life balance no matter what your career is.

So at my old job, I just switched jobs in September, but at my old job I worked more than any of the physicians.

At my new job, I'm part time and I have found a very flexible position that kind of supports me wanting to be home a little bit more.

But that wasn't why I did this, because I could have done that as a doctor too, or a nurse.

Those are things that you decide despite your career.

This is something that comes up a lot.

I get emails and messages about this a good bit.

So I just want you to keep in mind that it's okay if your story isn't dramatic.

Sometimes people feel like even in their personal statements or the interview that they have to have the same huge thing that they, you know, came across a car crash and saved someone laying in the road, like something really extravagant.

It doesn't have to be that.

And honestly, sometimes those stories get a little bit old or seem forced.

Everything that you discuss, either in your essay or your interview should relate directly to ypa.

I mean, it should have a reason beyond it's just a crazy story story for purposes of a PA school interview.

This gets back to the program stuff, the details and these are some examples of things that you can talk about.

You absolutely don't have to talk about all of these things, but just some things to kind of get your thoughts going.

As far as I do think location should be part of why you want to go to a program or at least you need to speak to to ideally you'll be happy there and you it's somewhere you want to live for a couple years.

Support system is huge for PA school.

They want to know that you have people who are going to help you get through it.

You will hear probably a million times that PA school is hard.

One of my best friends who did work with me as my medical assistant just started PA school.

She's, I guess, two weeks in now and has already had two tests.

But when she went to orientation, she kept saying, if someone tells me that PA school is hard one more time, they keep saying that, and I don't know why, like, I'm getting so annoyed.

And I was told her to wait.

And so we talked last week and she was like, this is the hardest thing I've ever done.

So people aren't lying.

That doesn't mean it isn't fun.

That doesn't mean it isn't worth it.

But yeah, sometimes it's hard and overwhelming.

So you need that support system to help you get through it.

Cost may be a component, class size when it starts, length of the program.

If there are specific faculty that have similar interests to you, that could be something you want to talk about.

I personally don't care at all about pance pass rates.

We can talk about that more if you want to.

A lot of schools have international rotations now, and my school had one to Peru that I didn't get to participate in.

But if that's something that's important to you, look for it.

A lot of.

A lot of schools are incorporating those and then talk.

Look at the mission statement.

If you know of anybody who's gone to a program, that can be a great connection as well.

All right, when we talk about what is a pa, this is the one question to me that you can have a definition for.

Like, it's okay if you have a definition.

This is the AAPA's definition, which is fine, but to me, it leaves out a couple of important things.

So I have my own definition.

I'm just going to read this.

PAs are medical professionals who diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and often serve as a patient's principal healthcare provider.

With thousands of hours of medical training, PAs are versatile and collaborative.

PAs practice in every state and in every medical setting and specialty, improving healthcare access and quality.

While that's a great definition, that does, to me, leave out a direct mention of the teamwork component with having a physician on board.

So while a lot of PAs are very independent and autonomous right now, we still have that relationship with a doctor.

So this is my definition.

A PA is an advanced practice provider who evaluates patients, performs physical exams, orders and interprets labs and imaging, provides diagnoses and treatments, prescribes medication, and performs or assists with Surgical procedures in collaboration with a physician.

The main things to me are that you are seeing patients and taking care of them, treating them, prescribing medication, and working alongside of the position.

So if you have all of that kind of in your definition, you should be good to go.

So this is to kind of just reiterate, you know, the school already knows that you're qualified.

They wouldn't have invited you for an interview if they didn't think that.

So the interview is your chance to show them that you're confident that you're ready for PA school.

And confidence goes a very long way.

I see so many people struggle with this.

And even if you kind of got a few, fake it till you make it.

If you can walk in there with confidence for that 15 minutes that your interview takes, it will make a huge difference.

People ask about grades a lot.

And some schools will call you out on specific grades.

They may say, tell me about this C you got in Gen Chem in your freshman year.

So make sure you review your transcripts and kind of know what to expect.

And you can use those things as a positive so you can kind of flip it and talk about how you struggled and what you learned from that experience instead of just being terrified of them asking you about it.

And that's kind of what I'm talking about with this.

So if there is something questionable on your application, if you can go ahead and address it before they ask you you directly, it shows a maturity that you aren't scared of that issue and that you realize it's something that just needs to be clarified.

And if you bring it to the table, that gives you the upper hand instead of just waiting on them.

Or if it never comes up, maybe later on when they're discussing you, they talk about it, but they don't have your input on the issue.

So if you are able to kind of address something head on, it can be more beneficial to you.

So we talk about what is your biggest weakness too?

And these are just some of the most common questions.

But let's see.

So with this one, you know, I think most people want to go with the easy answer, like, I'm a perfectionist, but really think about what your weakness is.

And sometimes I'll rephrase this question to, you know, what do your classmates dislike about you?

Or what would a colleague say is your biggest weakness?

What would your mom say is your biggest weakness?

You know, people who would be more honest than maybe you would be with yourself, but kind of really think about what that weakness is.

See if you can give an example of a time that weakness held you back or affected you, show some improvement and then make sure you indicate that is not going to be be an issue in PA school.

Alright, so if you again want to listen to me talk for a long time, you can check out the PA school interview course or we can answer some questions if y' all have time or want to.

Or you can always email me too if you want to.

Alright, there you have it.

And this episode is also on YouTube if you want to go through those slides and see them.

But I would love to hear from you.

Feel free to reach out and then I will see you guys next week.

Thanks for listening.