Back to a straight Q&A episode, answering what you all sent in.

This round covers a lot of ground: personal statements, interview strategy, and how much your healthcare experience really matters compared to everything else on your application. Those three come up over and over, which tells me they're the parts people feel least sure about.

The running theme in my answers: admissions committees are trying to figure out whether you know what you're signing up for. Experience proves it. Your essay explains it. The interview tests whether both were true.

What I answer:

• Personal statement questions from listeners
• Interview strategy and what to prepare
• How much healthcare experience programs want
• What kinds of hours count and how they're weighed
• What admissions committees are actually evaluating
• Where applicants tend to second-guess themselves

Resources:

Free personal statement worksheet: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-personal-statement-worksheet-download

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

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

Pre-PA counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Mentioned in this episode:

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Alright, y', all, I'm so excited for today's Just faq.

I love a good Q and A and this one was a good one with a lot of great topics covered.

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, thank you so much for tuning in to the Pre PA Club podcast.

I haven't done an intro in a while, so I'm Savannah.

I am a dermatology PA and I'm also the founder of the PA Platform, which is a blog that helps people figure out how to get into PA school and how to become PAs and whether they want to do that.

So thank you so much for joining me.

If you are new or if you've listened to every episode, I am so grateful for you.

I always just kind of sit at my computer talking to myself, wondering if anyone even listens.

But I love it when I get messages from you guys that a certain podcast episode helped you out.

I love it when you share on Instagram or in the Facebook group and then I like to reshare those too.

But thank you so much.

Today is a traditional Q and A.

So this is kind of the follow up to last week's episode where I was talking to a Pre PA club.

And if you have a Pre PA Club that you need a speaker for, please let me know.

I'm happy to Skype in.

I actually love doing that.

So we opened up for questions at the end and they had some great ones.

I mean, we really covered everything from Jerry, personal statement interviews.

So it's a great just overview, which I live for.

So we will jump to that in just a second.

Before we do, I wanted to take a second and thank the sponsors of the podcast, MyPA resource and PA school preps.

So MyPA resource is a personal statement editing service specifically for PAs or PA students and they use PAs and you can use the code futurepa for a discount there on any editing service.

And then we also have PA School Prep, which is an online course to help get you prepared for PA school after you've been accepted.

It's an overview of anatomy, physiology and med terms.

You can also use that code futurepa there.

Those codes also work on the PA platform for both our courses.

Those are [email protected] the book, and then for mock interviews, which we've been really busy with lately.

So if you have any questions about anything, please always know that you can reach out to me and I love seeing your comments on the podcast by leaving a review and make sure you subscribe if you haven't already subscribed.

So let's jump into today's episode and I hope you enjoy it.

This is also on YouTube if you want to follow along.

Hi, Sue.

Hi, my name's Eric.

Since we're talking about hours, can I ask, just is there any general rules of thumb for let's say, my case, I was in the army and I worked as a medic for seven years.

Two of those years being a flight medic, I couldn't try to like divide up all the hours.

But is there like a general rule of thumb for pulling experience from 1 to 2?

Wait, say the last part again.

General, like rule of thumb for let's say one year of experience working full time.

Oh, how many hours is it?

Yeah, yeah.

So you can kind of split that up.

So a year of working part time is about a thousand hours.

Or if you work full time for half a year, that's about a thousand hours.

But that's kind of a general amount of hours you could go with.

Okay, thank you.

You're welcome.

That's great experience, by the way.

Anybody else?

Is there a preference for the kind of like healthcare hours?

Because I'm a dental assistant and I know that my cancer tap.

So it depends on the programs you're applying to.

That's one of those things that's very program dependent, whether experience counts or how it counts or how it adds up.

And so I would go by whatever.

Like definitely look at the programs you're interested in.

If they don't specifically have your experience listed as what they considered on the website and ask them.

These programs are very happy to help and answer questions and they would, I think they would even prefer you ask, then apply and not be what they're looking for.

Have the experience.

So shoot them in.

I prefer email for contact because it leaves a paper trail.

So if they were to come back and say, oh, that doesn't fit what we require.

You say, well, I actually asked and you said it did and just say you'll have of something to fall back on whether that would do anything or not because they have the final say.

Who knows?

But yeah, so I would just double check the websites because there's no, there's just nothing set across the board.

Every single program is so different.

I have a question.

Yeah.

On your presentation you said that you have like your Own book form.

People that are going to interview.

Do you have, like, any, like, short tips you can give us for people that are going to apply sooner?

People that have interviews?

Oh, gosh, I could talk about interviews forever and ever, which Amelia probably knows from my course, because that's what I did.

But okay, so the biggest thing I was talking about, you know, the biggest mistakes I see in interviews is a lack of confidence.

So, which I know you're nervous.

Like, everyone's nervous.

You just have to kind of accept that and not let that get in the way.

The other thing I see is people not giving, like, thorough, complete answers.

A lot of people stay very superficial with their answers.

So just some rule of thumb, like, if what you're saying could be looked up on Google, it's too generic.

It needs to be personal.

You've got to, you know, show them who you are.

And if you get to the point of having an interview, that's a big deal, because at this point in time, schools are getting thousands of applications, and then they have to take that number down to a couple hundred, maybe, who get interviews.

Usually schools will interview one to four, not one, two to four people for one spot.

So that's a good shot.

I mean, you're looking at a 50% chance, 25% chance that you're going to get accepted.

And at that point, it's an even playing field where the schools are really just looking to see if you're a normal person, if you would fit in well with their class, because they do have some things that they tend to look for.

Make sure you like the program.

It's just a little bit of a hurdle.

But if you can get in there and impress them and show them that you're ready for PA school, that's the other thing.

Keep in mind that you are applying for an interviewing for PA school.

You're not applying for a position as a pa so no matter how much experience you have or shadowing or whatever, like, you've got to assume the role of a student and show that you're going to be able to succeed academically and be someone who is receptive to instruction and ready to get in there and learn.

And you want that school to be the place that you do that.

And so it comes down to just really, the confidence is the big thing and then not any major red flags, like talking about how you couldn't get into med school or not knowing the name of your profession and saying physician's assistant.

Like, some people really, really care about that.

And so trying to Just show yourself, but also not be too nervous.

And then every interview type is different, too.

So some of them, like the MMIs, don't give you as much of a chance to show your personal background.

And it's more about, you know, being able to show different personality traits and how you interact with patients, how you communicate.

So you have to really just be ready for anything and ready to kind of walk in, like, it's a few hours.

You just have to go there, do the best you can, and then leave everything you can on the table.

Yeah, I have another question.

It's been a while since I looked at caspa, but if I'm not mistaken, there's a section that says, are you a part of any organizations?

Do you recommend having me sign up for, like, AAPA, something that costs like, $100 a year or something like that?

Or is it just indifferent?

So.

So, yeah, you can definitely list, like, y' all could list your society, which would be great.

I think there is value in being involved in either state or national organizations, even at a prepa level.

And I don't know how y' all state society is if it's really involved or.

Can y' all hear me.

Okay?

Or if it is.

I don't know.

Some.

Some allow prepaid students, some don't.

But.

The way I look at it is if you.

Let's say you applied and you had the same stats as another person, and this school is looking at two different people, two different applications, trying to differentiate them, and they see, okay, well, student A is a member of aapa.

They're, you know, supporting this profession that shows a level of involvement that they hope will continue as a PA student and as a pa, where you're supporting your profession as a whole and not just somebody who goes to work and goes home and doesn't ever.

You know, this is.

This is PA Week.

So, you know, there.

It's all about, you know, kind of sharing the profession right now.

So I think it is.

I don't think it's 100% necessary, but I do think it's kind of like that gold star that makes them go, oh, well, this person.

Like, they're actually invested in this.

And it's that little, like, extra sprinkle on your application.

Thank you.

Welcome.

I have a question.

Yeah?

How.

What kind of question should you ask at the end of interview?

Wait, hold on.

It broke up a little bit.

Try that again.

What kind of questions should you ask the faculty at the end of your.

Interview with the TA School because you.

Want to come with something.

Right?

Yeah.

Well.

And okay.

So the one thing of that is you've got to feel out the situation and, like, feel out your interviewers.

You can't necessarily have, like, a set thing you're going to ask because you may just, like, get a weird vibe or it may be, like, short on time.

Like, you just kind of have to see how it goes.

But there's a few different ways to approach it.

So, number one, any questions that you feel like you really want to know the answer to that aren't already answered online or at a tour or by a student, definitely use that opportunity to ask those questions.

So whether that's about, you know, life on campus or rotations or advising, whatever you really want information about to make your decision about that program, use that opportunity.

Beyond that, I think it's most effective, and I think interviewers like the most if you ask personal questions.

And so that would be, you know, asking things about, you know, how did you end up working at this school?

Or what specialties have you worked in?

Or what has been your favorite specialty you worked in?

One of my favorite techniques, too, is to turn around and answer a question that they asked you.

So if they asked you a question that was unique or interesting, ask them the same one.

I did that in my reviews.

They asked me, if you have any other job besides being a pa, what would you do?

And so when they asked me if I had questions for them, they kind of asked that towards the end.

And so I asked them that same question.

And I think they weren't thrown off by it, but they were like, oh, like, no one's asked us that.

Like, let me think about it.

And so they kind of enjoyed getting to answer something, too.

And the one thing to also do is avoid questions that seem to show any doubt about the program.

You know, sometimes people will be like, well, I want to ask, you know, what kind of tutoring do you have available?

Or, what do you do to make sure students pass pants?

Or what do you do if a student fails a test?

Like, you don't want to ask any questions that indicate you're planning on failing.

That just doesn't look good on you.

It doesn't show confidence in the program.

So that's not the place to ask those questions.

Ask them anonymously online if you really need to, but, like, not the place in your interview.

You want to be as positive and optimistic as possible.

Awesome.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Be kind of like more of a general question, like, what kind of resources does this offer to incoming Students.

Like.

A combinator, like more of a general.

Instead of saying like, hey, you know, do you offer tutoring services?

Yeah, I mean they're probably going to cover that in like their tour or information.

And to be perfectly honest, there aren't a lot of resources offered to PA students.

Like it's a grad school level program.

So beyond like access to your teachers or advisors, there's not usually much else beyond that.

Like they definitely expect you to be self sufficient in your learning.

And so it would depend on how you could phrase it, but yeah, I mean, personally I wouldn't really ask anything like that, but.

And it would also probably depend on your interview or two and kind of the vibe you get from them.

Another question, what is the specialization process?

Hold on.

I broke up at the end pursuing.

Like a specialization in case.

So there really isn't necessarily one that can.

That's kind of changing a little bit.

But you don't specialize at all in PA school.

If you want to choose something to do your electives in, you can.

But that's still not considered, you know, specializing in any way.

Once you graduate from PA school, you have a couple options.

You can go straight to a job, get trained on the job by your supervising position.

There are some now PA residencies and fellowship programs where you can go, you know, specialize, but you don't.

It still doesn't mean that you're stuck in one career.

So unlike a residency after med school, that's all you can do unless you go to another residency.

If you go to a PA school residency for emergency medicine and hate it, you don't even have to work with that residency ever again.

Like you can switch to something else.

And there's the general boards for PAs, and then there are some specific types.

Test in different areas if you want to, you know, show your knowledge in a certain area.

But those as of right now aren't required and aren't typically like a job requirement or anything that someone's looking for to hire.

Anything else you guys can ask about anything about life as a pa, about application, about interviews.

She has a lot of podcasts.

Just put out one about personal statements.

It's really good to listen to it while you try to write your personal statement.

I'm fast.

That's good.

Yeah, yeah, I'm kind of an open book.

Do you have some tips for like personal statements while we're on the subject of personal statements?

Oh, gosh, yeah.

Probably go listen to that podcast.

I felt like it was time to do a little refresher on those, I have a lot of personal statement pet peeves, because I read a lot of.

Them.

And I think I talked about in that episode a little bit.

But with your personal statement, I mean, I think, like, the best ones I've read are the ones that don't try to be dramatic or fancy or anything.

They just answer the question of why they want to be a pa.

So, like, at the end of reading it, feel like I actually know that person.

I'm like, oh.

Like, I feel like I know you and I understand what brought you to this point and, like, why you want to do this.

And, like, I feel good about you becoming a pa. And so it's.

It is important to use stories and examples, but they have to be relevant.

And that's the other thing.

Like, people have this story that they want to use, but it's kind of a reach.

And if it doesn't specifically relate to why you want to be a pa, it really doesn't have a place in your personal statement.

And so that's something to just take into consideration.

And sometimes that means cutting out something that you really like or saving it for your supplemental applications down the road because those give you a lot more room to expand and put more information in.

But, yeah, so personal statement, usually I would say start it at least the January before you apply to PA school.

That gives you enough time, and you can definitely be making notes ahead of time with things you want to put in it.

But that is one thing that before you get to Casper, before you get to applications, try to have it ready to go.

I mean, if you're still working or starting your personal statement, it's going to consume a lot of your kind of headspace, and you really want to be able to focus on your application at that point.

So it's something that you can work on ahead of time, and you will.

You could edit it forever and never feel like it's good enough.

So eventually you've got to get to that point where you're just ready to submit and kind of leave it be.

I have a question regarding that, if you don't mind.

So there's a bunch of reasons why I want to be a PA Summer.

Not as romantic as reasons.

One of the reasons is it's a master's level program that immediately afterwards I can raise a family.

Wait, sorry, I lost you at the last part.

Should salary or anything like that be omitted as, like, a reason why?

Okay, so my personal opinion is that I don't encourage putting that in your application or your essay For a couple reasons.

So, number one, you have to think about your audience, and it's an admissions person who is part of the program, and, like, they really want people who want to do this job, you know, And.

And we all know the perks of being a pa. Like, we know it's flexible.

You can switch specialties.

Yeah.

You get a good salary.

Like, that's why we're all here.

Right.

But we also want to help people and patients.

And so I kind of want to know more about those pivotal moments that got you to this decision than just you're excited about the perks of the career.

And then, personally, while this does, like, play into most people's decisions, including my own, especially, like, being able to graduate quicker and all of that, I don't think talking about, like, how it gives you more flexibility at home or anything like that is something that should be in your essay, because I think that's a personal choice no matter what your career is.

So whether you're a pa, a physician, whatever, that's up to you.

So I got my old practice.

Before I switched, I worked more than any of the doctors.

They all worked less than me.

And that was their decision, so that they could be home with their family, was to do that and have PAs who worked more.

Whereas at the practice I'm at now, I work the least out of anyone there.

And then there's another PA there who works more than the doctor.

So it all just kind of varies.

But I think for your personal statement purposes, the main thing in there, as far as your reasons should be, like, the job itself, like, talking about the roles, the responsibilities, the date, daily, like, kind of, like, I don't know the word.

Just what you do on a daily basis.

Teamwork.

That's another pet peeve.

If a personal statement never mentions the collaboration with a physician, that raises serious doubts for me that you understand what a PA is.

Yes, we talked about independence and autonomy, but ultimately, like, there is a collaboration, there is a teamwork involved with being a pa, and that's really, really important to show that you understand, because that is a quick way to let schools know that they need to cut you out of the running is if they feel like you're someone who's going to come in there, be a cowboy, and just not be respectful to the profession as a whole.

Awesome.

Question about grb.

When is a good time to take it?

How long should you prepare for it?

And what kind of score is the score that a school is looking for?

Okay, so the first one, when should you Take it.

Okay.

So ideally, you know, at least six months before you apply because I think that gives you enough time to retake it and you don't want to take it too early because it can expire, but it lasts for five years.

So ideally about six months before the.

As far as studying, don't do it.

I did.

I studied for a week, which was not wise, but the time was just what I could make work.

So I recommend, you know, I think one to three months, depending on your schedule and how much time you can devote to it, is adequate for studying.

And it depends a lot.

Like, it depends on what kind of test taker you are.

Like, I, I know that I'm pretty good at standardized tests.

Like, I may not be good at chemistry tests, but I.

A standardized test can typically do well.

My husband will tell you he's awful at standardized tests.

He's like, I'm so glad you didn't take the mcat because I think you have done better than me, even though that one is kind of knowledge.

And now schools are doing this, like, PA cat.

Don't be freaked out about that if you've heard about it.

I don't really know why they're doing that, but is that interviews right now?

But, you know, if you give yourself enough time to really study, the one thing that's really hard to study for quickly is vocab.

And that's what I found in my one week of studying.

And so I wish that I had, you know, gotten some flashcards, downloaded a vocab app, done something to where I was constantly kind of working on that.

And so I would definitely recommend that there's some podcasts out there too.

The other stuff is a lot more strategy based, so you can kind of practice, practice it and get a feel for it and then a good score.

So some schools will have a set score or minimum.

Some will say their averages across kind of the board.

The general expectation is around a 300 combined score.

So your math and verbal writing doesn't matter for the most part.

And then with that, so.

And greater than 50 percentile in both of those sections.

So you kind of gotta look at both of those things.

Like, if you do really great in one, you're like 90th percentile, but the other one you're like 10.

You may want to retake to try to get that 10 up.

And the GRE is interesting because it is an area that you can keep working on, you can repeat it and try to do better, and schools are going to look at that highest Score.

Awesome.

Any other questions?

Okay, so let me make sure I heard you right.

So if it's.

If your GPA in CASPA is lower than what you thought it was, if you retake classes, will it be recalculated the next time?

Okay.

Yes.

So if you.

Yes.

So if you retake classes and you have to reapply, you will send in those grades, and then your GPAs will be recalculated.

But just keep in mind, if you send in new grades while it's in the same cycle, your GPA will not be recalculated.

So it would have to be, like, after the fall.

Like, the fall.

A complete new cycle.

So not like I'm going to add new programs after I complete this semester.

They only calculate your GPA once.

And for anyone who's, like, graduating and applying or anything or finishing a semester, that's another reason to wait till, like, end of May or June.

Because you want those transcripts to be complete.

You want those grades to be in by the time you do that.

If you do it in April, that whole spring semester won't be included or verified on your application.

Hope that answered that.

I have one last question.

Yeah.

Can you tell me about your experience of getting married during pH.

Yeah.

So I actually have a whole video on YouTube if you want to watch, like 12 minutes of me talking about it.

But it is not encouraged, first of all.

Or wasn't it my program?

They told us that from the beginning.

Like, they even told us, you know, if your friends and family are getting married, like, go ahead and tell them you won't be there.

But personally, you know, I.

We had to make the decision of what was important to us, and that was to get married during school.

You know, it was either.

We didn't really have the option to get married before, so is there during.

Or we wait like another year and a half based on kind of when breaks were.

So we kind of made it happen.

I was living at home the first year, which helped because with planning a wedding, my mom was able to help a lot and really kind of get everything done.

And being that we were both in grad, grad school level, like medical programs, we kind of had this understanding of what each other was going through.

So really that first year of school, we would only see each other maybe once a week.

Like, we would try to meet up for lunch or meet in the library to study, maybe go to dinner.

Like, we went from being in college, where we had a lot of classes together, to that, which was fine because we both were Just busy and studying.

Had to understand that.

And so then once we got married, it was a lot better because we were actually around each other and with each other more.

And I was on rotation, so my schedule a lot of times wasn't that bad.

It was kind of like a regular schedule.

But, yeah, plenty of people do it.

I mean, I got married right in between didactic and clinical year.

And then there were.

Towards the end of clinical year, we had a couple breaks and a lot.

There were like.

Every time we had a break, there were weddings.

So, like, that first break, I think there were three weddings.

And then, like, the month after school, there were a bunch of weddings.

And so, I mean, relationships definitely started during PA school.

They also ended during PA school.

But it is definitely possible just based on your priorities and kind of figuring everything out.

And then if you watch my video, you'll hear how they changed the schedule on us.

And almost like, I just was basically like, y' all told me this was the schedule a year ago, and I won't be there for the first week, of course, class, because that's what you told me.

And so things happen that are stressful during PA school and you have to be really flexible.

But, yeah, it worked out for me, and I know a lot of other people have done it, too.

I think we have time for one last question, sir.

I don't know if you're asking me what.

Yeah.

Yes.

So if you don't get in.

So this is especially important, I guess, if you're applying this cycle.

But number one, reach out to the program.

So if you get rejected, if you interview and don't get accepted, if you get waitlisted, try to see if you can get some feedback.

Some schools will give it to you, some won't.

But see if you can find out why you didn't get in.

Be prepared, though, if they tell you something to do it and fix it.

And, like, make sure you do that for the next time if you reapply.

But a lot of schools do take into account RE applicants, and they want to see improvement.

So after you submit, you kind of have to keep.

Keep working towards things, but there's definitely a benefit in that.

And there are some schools that even, I feel like, almost challenge you and, like, want people to reapply to, like, show their dedication, which is a little silly.

But there's definitely.

I don't think, let's say you apply, don't get out.

Think you should just apply to all new places the next time.

Like, definitely consider reapplying to the ones you're really interested in because they'll be able to see that improvement.

One last thing.

Would you mind getting a picture with us?

No.

Great.

Yeah.

Awesome.

If everybody could just come up to the front and we'll get a quick photo.

You have to send it to me.

Yes, we definitely will.

That.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Let's give Savannah a welcome round of applause.

Thanks for having me.

Great Size thug.

Follow her on the QA Platform forum and also her podcast.

She has a lot of advices for anyone.

Who's going to go for an interview.

Even.

Do you want to say your Instagram and Facebook handle one more time?

Oh, it's just the PA platform.

So, yeah, you can find me on there pretty easy.

But, yeah, thanks for having me.

Thank you so much.

Bye.

Y' all have a good night.

All right, y', all, that's it for today.

Thank you for tuning in, and I will see you guys next week.

Week.

Have a good weekend.