Erica is in the middle of her first CASPA cycle, and she's letting us watch it happen in real time.

If you've opened CASPA and immediately felt buried, this one's for you. Erica walks through how she's staying organized, what tripped her up, and how she's handling the waiting.

What we talk about:

• The spreadsheet Erica uses to track hours, supervisors, and contact info
• Why collecting that info early saves you so much pain later
• How long CASPA actually takes to fill out
• Coursework decisions she'd approach differently
• Dealing with how competitive this feels and believing you belong
• Her advice for anyone starting their first cycle

Resources:

Free application timeline: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-application-timeline

CASPA GPA calculator: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-school-caspa-gpa-calculator

Free resume download: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-resume-download

One-on-one pre-PA counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

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.

Hey guys.

How's everybody doing?

I hope everyone is having a great December.

It's been.

I'm in Georgia.

We've had some cold days and some not so cold days lately.

But today I have an interview for you and we'll get to that in just a minute.

The interview today is with Erica.

And I met Erica, I believe, through Facebook.

I can't even remember, actually.

Maybe she emailed me when we started talking, but Erica is a Pre PA student who is going through the application cycle for the first time this year.

And so she has been very active in our Pre PA Club Facebook group and, and we just thought it would be really fun to kind of go through, talk about her process, her journey so far, but also what she's found challenging about applying in CASPA and what she's learned through that process so that anyone who's getting ready to apply this upcoming cycle can be a little bit more prepared with some advice from someone who's going through it right now.

So we're going to kind of follow her journey and check in every once in a while just to see what where she's at and kind of learn from what she's learning through the process.

So I think you guys will really enjoy that.

In other news, if you don't follow me on Instagram, you should at the PA platform.

But yesterday I made an announcement, which, no excuses for why I've been slacking a little bit, but I am actually pregnant.

So my husband and I are expecting a baby in June, which is really, really exciting.

But I have been exhausted and it has been very difficult to maintain my full time job and then my somewhat full time side job of doing podcasts and blogs and all kinds of stuff.

So I'm feeling a lot better now and I feel like I'm ready to jump back on it, get things going again.

So you'll be seeing me more, I'll be around again.

So, yeah, that's kind of more personal news, but I wanted to share with you guys and then other than that, I mean, we can just jump into our interview in just a second.

Before we get started, I just wanted to quickly mention a sponsor of the podcast, MyPA Resource.

If you've never heard of MyPA Resource, it's a website, www.myparesource.com.

And while I offer services like mock interviews, I Work with MYPA Resource as a personal statement editor.

So MYPA Resource has been around for a while now and I would say just based on everything that's out there, they are the most trusted and most thorough prepa personal statement editing service.

So with my PA Resource, like I said, I'm an editor, so I help them edit proofread personal statements for PA school applicants.

We'll talk more about personal statements in the future, but I cannot stress the importance of having your essay proofread by a PA. And that's what makes my PA resource different is that they only use PAs to do their editing.

And so you want a PA who's familiar with the interview process and the application process before you submit to caspa.

So all the editors, we've been trained, we do a lot of essays and we know what to look for and we know what the admissions committees are looking for.

And so I know when I edit it's very thorough.

I mean you're going to get a lot of read back, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

So you can use actually a discount code that they have provided to the Pre Pa Club podcast listeners exclusively and you can get $15 off any service when you use the code Pre Pa Club, all in lowercase.

So I'll put that in the description as well.

And if you have any questions about that, please feel free to reach out to me.

You can send them an email too.

But yeah, a great resource that I want you guys to know about.

So.

Hey guys, we're doing another interview today and I have Erica with me.

Erica is a Pre PA student who's currently in the process of applying to PA school.

And, and we kind of connected through social media and we thought it'd be kind of neat to follow along with her process figure out since she's going through the process now and it's been a few years since I went through it.

How's it changed?

What is difficult?

What's easy?

What tips does she have after going through CASPA and all that stuff that might be able to help other people out.

So I'm going to let Erica introduce herself and then jump in.

Hi, I'm Erica Bradley.

I just graduated from the University of Delaware in May and now I am applying to PA school.

I pretty much already applied but still waiting to apply to one school that has and I'm just kind of going through it as a first time applicant things along the way so hopefully I can share some tips and tricks to help smooth.

Okay, so what to you has been the Most difficult part of the process so far,.

I think take to fill out Caspa just because it requires so much detail.

I was lucky enough to kind of dabble with it.

Maybe if you decided to apply.

So it kind of just kept my.

And all of my information was saved.

So by the time April rolled around, I could just say I want to keep my information.

And then I just added more recent stuff.

So that was actually really beneficial.

And if anyone has the opportunity to do that, add some classes or add some experiences that you have, it just saves you some time down the line.

Okay, was there anything you did beforehand besides like signing in?

Did you record your information anywhere?

Or how did you keep track of everything that you were going to put in into caspa?

So I did have an Excel spreadsheet I contact for whoever I shadowed or any of my managers, their phone number, email, because that stuff's easy to get lost, especially if you switch jobs and it's a few years back and you're trying to look for things and that's just too much work.

So I just had it on Excel spreadsheet and it calculates my hours for me.

I just update it every time I get a pay stub.

And that's just an easy way to keep track.

Yeah, I think we have one version, I don't know if it's yours, of somebody's on the Pre PA Club Facebook group that someone uploaded.

And that is really, I think, helpful.

One thing that I always recommend with caspa, and you may want to keep this in mind too, is even if you upload your information, it sounds like you're already doing this, but you want to have it in a backup location because there have been a few times where they have had to redo their website or had these huge crashes and all of the information was lost.

And so it's great to enter it, but you don't want that to be your only source of information because it can go away unexpectedly, very unexpectedly.

So it is nice that they've made it.

So a lot of it gets saved.

Most of the time though now.

Okay, so you graduated in May, so technically you're taking kind of a gap year.

Was that part of your plan or did that just kind of work out?

I feel like a lot of people always question whether they should take gap.

Years or not 100%.

That was my plan.

I was kind of getting burnt out towards the end of my undergraduate career.

Every summer I was either doing research, I was working.

I was just doing something to get myself to the point of applying and it just became a lot.

And I knew if I went straight through that, I would have already been like burnt out.

I wasn't going to hit the ground running.

And that's just not what I wanted to do.

Plus, I wanted to get more patient care hours under my belt.

And it just gave me an opportunity to work, kind of just regather myself and then commit myself to the next summer or whenever I got in.

Okay, so what are you doing for healthcare experience right now?

I am an EMT and I'm also a medical assistant.

I have my EMT certification from this past summer and I have my CNA from two summers ago.

And where I work right now, they train medical assistants.

So I didn't have to be trained as an ma, but I already had previous experience as a CNA and an emt, which worked in my favor.

So I work there now at an urgent care center.

Urgent care between those two.

So if somebody was trying to decide what type of healthcare experience to get, or I guess out of those three cna, MA and emt, or which one would you suggest they go for?

What's I guess the easiest to get or the most beneficial?

The most.

Where you feel like you get the most out of it, I guess.

I think if you have the time and money, then MA is a good route.

It can take up to like eight to nine months.

So that was just another reason I kind of didn't go that route, just because it was, you know, it's a few thousand dollars.

It was also, you know, a long time to actually get my certification before I could start working.

CNA is a great option.

Kind limits a little bit about what you can do patient care wise.

I mean, I worked in a children's hospital and I still felt like I didn't really have a chance to do as much as I am doing now as an ma.

And EMT is a great option.

I mean, three months, it only took me over the summer and I was done.

I was able to get a job right away.

I mean, I also volunteer and I think right now there's like a nationwide shortage of EMTs.

So that's a great thing to look into since people are hiring and looking for new faces.

Yeah, that's interesting.

I didn't know that.

During your process, through kind of your journey of becoming a PA and kind of reaching that goal, have you felt discouraged at all or have you ever felt like it's not gonna happen?

Oh, yeah.

I have this conversation with my parents all the time.

Like, do you think I'll get in.

Like, obviously they don't have the answer, but just kind of.

They'll always reassure you that, you know, I mean, I knew this could be a long process just because it's so competitive and, you know, everyone's kind of looking to this field now if, you know, if you don't want to do md, if you don't want to do, like, nursing or anything like that.

So this is just like a different field that now everyone's looking at that's become more popular and more competitive in that sense.

So, yes, I kind of.

I kind of think about it almost every single day.

Like, it's almost like, consumed me that, like, am I going to get in?

Like, what else can I do, you know, to improve my application?

It's become like a daily thought of mine.

But I kind of just believe in continually, like, continuing to, you know, educate yourself and just try to be the best you can so when that time comes, you're completely prepared.

You know, you've done everything you possibly can and, you know, you can talk about that and it shows that.

So, yeah, I mean, and looking back, I mean, I definitely had those times as well, and obviously it worked out in the end.

But, yeah, it's a tough road to get there when it comes to your application.

Just looking at.

I know we're all our toughest critics, but what do you think stands out and what do you feel like are the weaknesses right now?

I think that my research experience really stands out.

I had a chance to do a summer internship at Nemours Children's Hospital in the Health Equity and Inclusion office.

So I learned a lot about, you know, diversity and just, like, how diversity affects, like, patient care outcomes and different living situations, different social, economic statuses affect different races and different living environments.

You know, how that affects healthcare.

And that's really important because, you know, if you're in a rural area, that affects how you treat people.

If you live in urban area, that affects, you know, what conditions people can have.

So I really brought a lot of insight to, just to healthcare in general.

And, you know, I think that'll help me in the long run being able to understand different backgrounds and having a better understanding on that.

And I think the weakest part of my application was my freshman year.

There was just a lot going on.

I was taking 17 credits.

I kind of didn't know, you know, I didn't know who to trust with my advising and ended up, you know, taking more on than I could handle.

And then my childhood pet died.

So it was just like A whole lot going on, and I didn't do too well in my one class, so it kind of just was working my GPA up from there.

But it was kind of hard since it was my first semester.

But I think it was definitely a learning experience.

You know, I've worked so much harder for the things and opportunities that I've had in undergrad just because, you know, I had a setback early on.

But my greatest advice for people who are freshman sophomore year is to kind of just take it slow.

Take the minimum amount until you kind of get your feet wet.

You know how to handle your workload if you want to have a job.

Like, I also had a job, so that was difficult, too.

But you just kind of don't know how to study yet.

You're figuring out life as a college student, and it's just a lot to take on if you're taking, like, 16, 17 credits as a freshman.

So I would just kind of, like, take it slow, ace all your classes, and then progressively add more classes, you know, and they increase in difficulty, too.

Yeah, that's great advice, because I feel like people want to do this so quickly and they want to take all their classes and get all their hours and do it so fast.

But then if your GPA suffers because of that, it can be difficult to come back from.

So I give that same advice very frequently.

Sometimes it may take a little bit longer than you want, but you're not jeopardizing.

Yeah, you're not jeopardizing your application.

Did you go into college as a pre PA student?

How did you kind of come to the decision of pa?

I actually didn't.

I was a pre med student under the biology track.

And I remember we were all studying for our chemistry exam, and my one friend was like, you know what?

I want to be a PA and she started telling me about the profession.

I literally had no idea.

Never heard of it.

I'm surprised.

I don't know how, but she was just telling me all the great things about it.

And then I started looking into it, and I was like, well, this seems, you know, like a valid option.

I don't see why not.

Like, you know, let me look into this further.

Let me shadow a few people.

And after that, it was kind of just set in stone.

Like, I wanted to be a pa.

I, like, started volunteering.

I, you know, I got my cna.

I was the president of the PA Club at University of Delaware.

So it kind of just from that moment, I was on the track of being a P.A.

Okay.

So it just fit for you?

It did.

I definitely liked the autonomy aspect, being able to switch specialties.

It was nice that it was only two years, you know, a graduate degree, and then I'd be able to start working immediately, you know, treating patients.

And that was really appealing.

Okay, so how has the application cycle gone this year?

What was kind of your plan of attack with choosing programs to apply to?

So I kind of started the year before just because I wanted to.

You know, over the summer I wrote my personal statement.

I had an editing service, you know, look over it and make sure there are no grammatical errors, made sure it flowed.

You know, people were also interested in reading it.

You know, my parents are obviously interested in reading it because it's my work.

But, you know, someone else who has had experience with editing and, you know, quality of work with English writing, and that was actually a really good service.

They were very attentive and, you know, they just took their time and like perfected it.

And I just love what I wrote.

And then from there I kind of just looked up different schools.

I went to open houses.

I even traveled to, like Virginia for some schools, you know, just exploring my options.

I'm really looking into, you know, going from just staying on the east coast mostly, but I mean, I would travel if necessary, but it was kind of just looking at how far I wanted to go and, you know, I want to be able to be close to, you know, family and, you know, in case, you know, you need to talk to somebody or, you know, you're stressed.

I didn't want to be able to be within like a five to six hour range of, you know, contacting family or having extended family nearby.

So that kind of drove my decision on applying to certain schools.

Also wanted to look at their GP PA requirement.

I wanted to look at if they had simulation labs, what kind of clinical rotation sites.

You know, it's important.

Some have mandatory ones, some have ones that you can add, you know, additional ones that you can pick.

Some have certain sites that are already set up for you.

Some you have to, you know, kind of forge a relationship with a different hospital or clinic or something like that on your own.

So that kind of can be a little more stressful if you have to do extra work outside of the program.

And if they have a cadaver lab, are you sharing the cadaver lab with medical students and fellows, stuff like that.

So that's important to look into whether, you know, are you going to have your own cadaver?

Are you sharing with other students?

Are you getting kind of like the secondhand version, you know, just looking into the resources that are available at the PA program.

I realize that a lot of schools will tell you, you know, it's going to be difficult, you know, it's going to be, you know, taking in water from a fire hose.

But that's what they always tell you.

But not many schools will tell you different resources to help you succeed.

And I did find one school that, you know, they basically sit you down, they're able to help you schedule out how you should study and, you know, just give you different resources.

So I thought that that was really a telling sign that the school really cared about their students and wanted them to succeed and gave them resources to do so.

Yeah.

How many total programs did you end up applying to?

I ended up applying to about 8.

I think next time, if there is a next time, then I'll probably apply to a little bit more.

That was my next question.

What are your plans?

Have you heard back from anyone this year or where are you at?

Yeah, I've heard back from most of my schools.

Unfortunately, you know, it's just very competitive.

So I understand that, like I'm going to get rejected from some schools.

Still waiting to hear back from two, I think.

I haven't applied to one until January.

But my plan of attack is that I am taking a certificate class in anatomy, gross anatomy.

So that will be my plan.

It's an eight week class.

If I do not get into any of the two schools that I'm waiting to hear back from.

And I know that that's going to be really helpful because I know a lot of people struggle with anatomy and physiology their first semester PA school, you know, and if I've already had the, you know, a program under my belt where I dissect and, you know, have medical school education around gross anatomy, I know I'm definitely gonna have a leg up and be able to do well when it comes to that class.

Yeah, I mean, that should definitely be helpful.

Is there anything looking back that you feel like you could have done differently in undergrad to help you out more?

Whether that's taking certain classes or besides taking less classes freshman year?

But any other.

That's one thing that people ask a lot.

Is there other courses they should have taken for PA school?

And after honestly going to PA school, I don't really have a great answer for that.

But just curious if there's anything you wish you did differently so far now that you're in your application process.

Well, I am retaking some of my prereqs to get A's.

You know, I did B pluses and stuff, but, like, that's not good enough.

You know, I have to be more competitive.

So I am taking general pharmacology.

Pharmacology right now.

And I do think that's really helpful.

Just learning drug classifications, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics.

And I know a lot of students can struggle with that.

I know they teach you it in class, but just to have some kind of background knowledge, at least.

I've heard of NSAIDs and cholesterol and beta blockers and all that kind of stuff.

So I've definitely learned a lot and I think that that will come in handy just having some background information when it comes to prescrib medications.

And I also use that knowledge when it comes to my job as a medical assistant because I work really closely with the PAs.

I'm able to not necessarily diagnose, but I do take patient histories.

So I could go to the pa. You know, I think this looks like shingles.

And they will tell me more information about, like, what you can do to treat it.

And just certain things I'm able to apply, like duoneb versus albuterol.

I learned that in my pharmacoag.

My.

Sorry, my pharmacology class.

And I'm also able to apply what that means in the clinical setting as an ma.

Yeah, that's really, really good.

I mean, that.

That is the one thing that I'll say is pharm is, I think, the most difficult class of PA school because it's very difficult if you're not able to apply it, if you're just trying to kind of learn and memorize.

So, yeah, Farm is.

Farm is tough.

Not my favorite class at all.

Well, it sounds like you're definitely on the right track and hopefully we can kind of keep checking in.

Where can people follow your process and kind of find you?

I know you are great about answering questions in the pre PA Club Facebook group.

Yes, I do answer questions on there.

My Facebook.

I'll answer questions under Erica Lauren, which is part of my middle name.

And you can also find me on Instagram under Erica Loren.

E R Y K A.

And I'm starting up a YouTube channel.

It's not quite there yet, but you can also follow me there at Erica Lauren.

Awesome.

All right, there's our interview.

So we'll probably check in a little bit later on and see how Erica's doing and follow up with her and just again, follow her process.

So if there's anyone else or any stories you want to hear.

As far as interviews go, please let me know.

I'm going to do some question and answer episodes coming up, so if you want to send in your questions, you can always email them in, send them on Instagram, or you can leave a voicemail message as well.

So some of those will be in an upcoming episode.

And I still have some great interviews with you or for you.

I'd love to interview you too, but I hope everyone has a great Christmas, a great new year.

I hope that this is helpful to you and worth your time, so please let me know if there's anything I can do better.

Please leave a review on iTunes, preferably five stars.

That helps me out and helps other people find the podcast.

And I have some really exciting stuff coming up in the new year before this baby gets here, so stay tuned.

I'll be sharing a lot more about that.

And as always, if I can help you out or there's something you want to hear about, please, please let me know.

All right, see you next week, guys.