Watching your friends get in while you're getting rejection emails is its own specific kind of awful.

Jacklyn lived that for three cycles. She's honest in this episode about how discouraging it got, which I appreciate, because the highlight-reel version of this process helps nobody.

What she did between cycles: worked as a medical assistant, retook science courses, shadowed, volunteered. Not one dramatic fix. A stack of small, boring improvements that added up.

She's now in the inaugural cohort at Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, and she's proud of that - being part of the first class at a program is its own kind of opportunity. Newer programs are worth a serious look, especially as a reapplicant.

Three cycles is a long time to hold onto something. She did it.

What we cover:

• Three application cycles and what changed each time
• Working as an MA to build patient care hours
• Retaking science courses to move a GPA
• Handling it when peers get in before you do
• Choosing a brand-new program and what that's like
• Staying committed when the timeline stretches

Resources:

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

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

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

Pre-PA Academy: https://prepaclub.thepaplatform.com/landing/academy

Mentioned in this episode:

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Welcome to the Prepa Club Podcast.

I know it's that time in the cycle where people are starting to get a little bit worried about whether they'll have to reapply.

So today we have Jaclyn sharing about her experience as a three time applicant and how she got into PA school.

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 Pear.

Let's get to it.

Hello and happy Friday.

This is Savannah Perry, your host of the podcast and I am a dermatology PA and the creator of the PA platform.

I'm so happy you're here.

Thank you for joining me to listen in, whether you are a new podcast listener or someone who's been with us for all 266plus episodes.

But I hope that you find this podcast valuable if you've been listening for a while.

If you could leave us a review, share with your friends, that would help more people find us.

And I'm about to start recording some upcoming interviews and episodes.

If there's anything you want to hear about on the podcast that you don't think we've covered or you want to hear more about, please let me know.

Most of our episodes are also on YouTube and you can always reach out on social media or through email.

If you have any questions or just need some extra help, we are here for you.

We know this process is long and difficult and frustrating at times, so let's just do it together.

Today's episode is an interview with Jaclyn.

You can find her on Instagram jaclynthepa and we'll put the link and everything in the description.

But Jacqueline was a three time applicant and she said she just really worked to strengthen her application by working multiple jobs as a medical assistant assistant, taking and retaking science classes, shadowing, volunteering and applying to a bunch of schools.

And so we talk about how it could be disheartening when she was seeing other people getting in on their first try, but she really worked to not give up on her goals of becoming a pa and then she was able to get accepted into the first cohort of PA school at Keck Graduate Institute in Clermont.

So she was able to stay close to home and she is in PA school now and she's done very well.

So I hope you enjoy hearing from her experience and I think by sharing other people's stories, hopefully you get little tips and tricks that maybe you haven't thought about, can see yourself in those stories.

And think about ways that you can improve your application.

Maybe I don't want to say become more competitive, but make sure that the schools are a good fit for you.

There are just so many parts to this and so many gray areas that it makes it a little bit difficult at times to feel confident that you can do it.

But trust me, I see so many different application types each year that get acceptances and interviews.

And so I know you can do it.

And I'm happy to help if you need help.

Didn't want you to forget that.

You can use the code Future PA on the PA platform for a discount on our mock interviews or essay review.

We're going to be having a lot of great specials coming up with Black Friday and the end of the year, so make sure you're following along on our email list and you can find us everywhere on social media at the PA platform.

So let's get into hearing from Jaclyn, and I hope you enjoy this interview we did.

My name is Jacqueline and I live in Southern California.

I'm from Orange county, and then I go to school now I am.

I just finished my second semester of PA School of Didactic, and it's in LA county, so I'm in Claremont, so I'm only, like, 30 miles from home.

So it's perfect because it's, like, close enough to see family, but also, like, far enough away.

Yes.

That I'm not distracted.

Yeah.

Did you move or are you.

I did.

Okay.

Yeah.

I am actually on campus.

Okay, cool.

Yeah, I commuted for undergrad and I didn't like it.

I felt like I was, like, wasting a lot of time on the freeway and in traffic every single day.

Yeah.

That's just.

So now I'm on campus, I get to walk to school.

It's like, less than five minutes.

Miss that.

Yeah, it's nice.

That was my undergrad and I miss it so much.

Yeah, that's just something that comes up.

I see people asking, like, do you think I should commute an hour or an hour and a half each day?

And I'm like, oh, if you can do it, maybe.

But we do have quite a lot of people that are commuting.

Really?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's.

They say it's fine, but I'm like, I already did it.

Like, I don't want to do it again.

Yeah.

Yeah.

My.

I lived across town for PA school, and not really, but it was about 25, 25 minutes if I left when there was no traffic.

Like Friday at 5 if I. Oh, yeah.

If we Got stuck in lecture.

Like, I was like, please let us out by 4:30.

Please let us out.

Because if I got in that 5 o' clock traffic, it was, it was going to be like 45 minutes to an hour just sitting and trying to get home, which was painful for me.

But I recommend it for everyone to be like super close.

Yeah.

It makes it easier.

Yeah.

Give us a little background on how you ended up finding the PA profession and feeling like that was what you wanted to do.

Yeah.

So I originally, I think I was doing community college courses first because I didn't really know what I wanted.

Then I like landed on medicine.

And then my only real exposure I had was with physical therapy.

And I was like, oh, I could do that because, like I play a lot of sports.

I got hurt all the time.

Like it just seemed, yeah, I could do that.

Yeah.

So then I did the health scholar program, which is like a hands on volunteer at the hospitals here.

Okay.

And so I like did all these double shifts, all to get to the ortho floor.

And then I got to the ortho floor and I hated it.

I was like, oh my God, I can't do this.

And then I also had another injury.

So I was like with another physical therapist and I was just like, I don't see myself doing this.

It just wasn't for me.

And it was so disheartening because I like amped it up in my mind for like at least a year.

And then I was like, now what.

Am I going to do?

But that program through the hospital, you get to go through every single floor.

And so that's when I like met my first PA and then he just, I think we were talking for 30 minutes and that's what first got me just introduced to the profession.

I didn't even know what a PA was.

And he was telling me about his work life balance and like how school was for him.

And then that's when I did my own research.

And then I was part of the pre PA club at school.

And then I was a part of another like little PA club that we had with other people.

And I never looked back.

That makes sense.

And that's a pretty common path, I feel like, is you gravitate towards what you've been exposed to and then figure out whether it's a good fit or not.

One of my best friends in PA school kind of had a similar story.

Like college athlete, lots of pt, thought she was going to go to PT school and then got into that setting where she was actually shadowing and seeing what PT did and felt like, oh, this is not for me.

This is very repetitive.

This is boring.

No, hate to the pts, but then found and then met pas and so she pivoted towards that.

So I think that happens a lot where it's like you have that thing in your mind, even like med school, where you think that's like the only thing and you just find other options like PA that are.

Yeah, I just didn't know.

Right.

Yeah, you did more exposure.

Right.

So many people don't know about it.

So when.

At what point was that.

Was that during your undergrad that you decided or was that something that came after?

I. Yeah.

So I.

Once I transferred to a four year, I was already like on the PA route.

Yeah.

So I only had two years in undergrad, so I was still doing, like, my volunteering and then I was like on board for the prepa club.

I did community service chair, did all, like, the medical missions, working as medical assistant and just building my, like, all of my stuff for my application.

Because I knew I wanted to apply right away.

I didn't want to waste any time.

Yeah.

Just jump in.

Just because I felt.

Yeah.

I felt like I was older than what, like most people are, but I guess I'm the average age for PA school because I'm 28.

Yeah.

I think that's probably about average.

Yeah.

Because I did.

I did.

Yeah.

Because I did four years of community college and then I did undergrad.

So I was like, I don't want to waste any more time.

I want to get this.

I want to get my life going.

Yeah.

So once you're doing everything, decided to apply, tell us a little bit about your application cycles and what that outcome was.

So my first application cycle, I knew I wasn't like, I only applied to five schools in the area and it was just to see how the app, like how CASPA is.

If I got interviews, great.

But if I didn't get in that cycle, I just didn't want to feel like I wasted any time.

But I only.

It was like five programs.

I still had C's on my transcript.

I didn't have as many letters of rec.

It just wasn't a very strong application.

So sometimes I.

In my mind I'm like, that one doesn't really count.

Did you.

And then knew that at the time and just tried for it anyway, or do you feel like it wasn't until you looked back that you're like, okay, wait, I should.

I wasn't quite where I needed to be.

I Knew I think I should have waited, but I think I was just so eager to just try.

I was like, there's no harm in trying.

You never know.

And I didn't want to just miss out.

But it was still good because I did get a lot of my stuff in on time.

And then it rolls over to your next application cycle.

So it wasn't like I lost time or anything.

And then my second application cycle was Covid.

And so, yeah.

Yeah, I was like, just started working full time and I was like, great, I'm going to have all these paid hours because I had a bunch of unpaid hours, but I needed more of the paid hours.

And so then Covid happened and then I wasn't working.

So I still knew my application wasn't going to be as strong as it was, but I was like, I.

It's fine.

I, like, I thought I was more like rounded.

And I still had a lot of hours, so I just applied everywhere.

My second cycle.

Everywhere.

All over the country.

How many?

And I got.

Yeah, I actually got, like a lot of interviews.

I got.

Okay, I got three.

Three or four.

And I was waitlisted.

Gotcha.

So it wasn't like.

Like I knew that something was gonna.

Happen on the right track.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Because I think if my second cycle, if I didn't get any interviews, I would have just been panicking.

Yeah.

Getting that.

And then by the time I got.

But I said getting that interview is like a big step.

Like that tells you your application is at least what they're looking for and.

Exactly.

I knew I was, like hitting the mark somewhere.

Yeah, definitely.

And it was like, my first interview was like on Zoom, and it was in Ohio, so it was on Eastern time.

So I'm doing my interview at 4 o' clock in the morning.

Oh, my gosh.

And it was one of the hardest interviews ever.

And I did the.

I did.

I paid the mock interview on your site and I was like, ready to go.

And it ended up being like a really hard interview.

It was about.

They wanted me to discuss gun violence and how as a pa, I was going to end gun violence.

You don't want to ask about the mission statement or my weaknesses.

Yeah.

With some of those off the wall things.

I want to be on the other side of the table where you hear, like, why would they ask that?

Because sometimes I wonder if it's just to throw completely and see what you do.

Yeah.

Maybe weed out the radical people.

Yeah.

I mean, I wasn't quite sure.

I tried to remain as neutral as possible.

Yeah.

I've heard.

I've heard people with these Zoom interviews where the interviewer will act like there's a technical difficulty, so they have to change things, but there.

There's really not.

It's just to see if you can.

If the person gets flustered or not.

Oh, they want to see you panic on Zoom.

Yeah.

See if you panic, if Zoom shuts down.

And if you can't figure out how to hear your interviewer, I'm just like, really?

Like, that's so unnecessary.

Oh, wow.

Those little tricksters.

Yeah, they're crazy.

Okay, so second cycle got some interviews.

Feeling good.

What did you do?

And I was waitlist.

And then I did get waitlisted.

Okay.

Yeah.

So what'd you do going into the third cycle?

Yeah.

And then.

Yeah, so I already had to start my next CASPA while I was on the waitlist.

Okay.

But, yeah, I think by the time of my third application cycle, I was feeling a little burnt out.

I just did not have it in me to apply to that many programs again.

Yeah.

Definitely was more selective on where I was applying.

I wasn't just take my 50 primary application fee.

I was being a lot more selective because I really was burnt out on, like, all the supplemental applications, and they're all asking the same thing, but one's 200 characters, the other one's 400.

It was just.

It took a toll.

And then my third cycle, I got five interviews.

Nice.

And four of them were all within 10 days of each other.

Wow.

That's a marathon.

Yeah.

I was, like, at work, and I started getting all these emails about interviews, and I was like, oh, my God.

I got an interview.

It was like 30 minutes later.

I'm like, I have another interview.

Oh, my God.

Oh, yeah.

Oh.

It was like my.

Were they.

Were those virtual or in person?

One was in person, and then the other three were virtual, and the one that was in person was 20 minutes from my house.

Yeah, that would have been a lot if those are all in person, too.

Yeah, it was a lot.

Oh, gosh.

Okay.

That I got accepted to kgi because that one was my first one of the four.

Yeah.

And then they told me three days later.

Oh, nice.

Didn't make you wait too long.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

And so then by the time I got to my.

My other interviews, I was like, okay, I already have one acceptance.

I can feel, like, calm down and.

Yeah.

Not feel like my entire life is on the line for all these interviews.

Okay, so you went through with them all, and then you ended up choosing to go to Keck.

Yeah.

Yes.

Okay.

Was.

Yeah.

I was waitlisted on.

I was waitlisted at another school as well, but I knew I did not want to go there at all.

Yeah.

Do you feel like, from the interviews you got, like, even if they were virtual, that you got a good feeling or vibe for what the school was and if it was somewhere you'd want to attend?

Like, I know that's hard when you can't go there and see it in person.

Yeah, I think so, because I did do it.

I did six virtual interviews.

So you got in.

Exciting.

Good to go.

Now, I know you said that you're in the first cohort.

Yes.

Now, that's something that we get a lot of questions about, is, should I apply to a new program?

Should I have any reservations?

Should I.

You know what should I ask?

How has that been for you, being in a new program?

It was.

Well, I knew, like, I wasn't super nervous applying there because they're affiliated with the Claremont Colleges, which is, like, very, like, well to do around here.

So a lot of people know about the Claremont Colleges, so I wasn't as nervous because they have the good affiliation.

I think if it was a random PA program that had no other ties to anything, I think I'd be a little bit more nervous.

But I didn't think it was that big of an issue.

And there are, like, some kinks that we've had in the program, but if you're flexible, it's fine.

It's not the end of the world.

Sometimes they'll just switch a faculty member, or sometimes, like, our schedule will rearrange, but it's nothing crazy.

And we're.

We did get the accreditation.

Oh, yeah.

So it's not provisional or full accreditation?

No, but provisional.

Provisional.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's why, I mean, I tell people, if you are interested in program, go ahead and apply and then go through the interview, go visit the program, talk to them and see how you feel.

If you feel okay about it, then it's probably fine.

And I don't think people realize, like, how much goes into getting provisional accreditation.

Yes.

It's a lot.

Yeah.

They're not just going to hand it out to anyone.

Already done two years.

Yeah, it is a lot.

And so the schools are working really hard for that, and they want it to be good.

And then on the flip side, I went to a very established program, been around since the 70s, very set, and we still need to be very flexible because it's like they're.

Yeah, I think it happens everywhere.

Yeah.

They're always changing stuff.

They're always trying to make the program better and figure out things so they'll change things.

And I think that's a very common PA school thing, whether your program or not.

New.

Old.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's fine if you're flexible.

You're like, okay, yeah, let's do this.

Like, I'm not gonna.

Anything is, like, supported and.

Oh, definitely.

That stuff is important.

So how many students are in your program or in your class?

We.

40.

40.

Okay.

Yeah.

So about medium regular size.

Is there anything specific?

I feel like when we look at websites and stuff, all of it runs together and they all look the same and it's hard to differentiate.

Is there anything about your program that you feel like people may want to know that may be interested in it or that you feel like the students really like?

Yeah.

So what I found very attractive, like, just from doing my own research, is that this was the only PA program that wasn't primary care focused.

Interesting.

It's great to be primary care focused, But I think PAs and during education should be a little bit more well rounded because I know a lot of PAs don't go into primary care.

So this program was, like, the top three things that PAs go into is primary care, emergency, and surgery.

So that's.

Their focus is strong, emphasis on surgery and error.

Okay, interesting.

And I liked that.

Yeah.

I didn't want to be, like, pigeonholed into primary care only.

And specialties are bad.

I didn't want to feel bad for wanting to be in a specialty.

And, you know, you're still going to get all of it regardless.

Yeah.

But sometimes having that kind of extra focus can be helpful, especially if, you.

Know, it's just nice to, like, have.

An interest in those areas.

Mm.

So how has PA school been?

Has it been what you expected or not?

I thought because I struggled a lot in undergrad.

Okay.

Like, I was super stressed.

I was going to bed super late.

I was studying.

I, like, didn't have any, like, healthy habits.

And it's been nice.

Like, I think I set priorities for myself so that I know that I will be, like, supported.

Like, I know I'm not staying up.

I'm not staying past 10.

Like, I'm in bed.

Yeah.

And I'm not going to be studying all day, every day.

Like, I need breaks, I need to work out.

I need, like, I.

It's just not sustainable.

And it's actually helped a lot.

I don't feel stressed out.

The four, like, first time ever I've had two semesters of a 4.0.

Nice.

Yeah.

I feel like I'm, like, learning a lot, retaining a lot.

Everything's fun.

We.

I still study every single day, but it's just not like how I thought it was going to be.

Yeah.

It sounds like you.

And I think even just asking.

Mindset, too.

Yeah.

And I think just asking students from other PA schools.

Like, when I was in interviews, I was like, oh, so do you have time to work out?

Do you have time to prioritize your health?

Yeah.

And they're like, no.

They're like, I haven't gone to the gym in three months.

I don't talk to my parents on the phone.

They're like, all we do is study all day long.

And I was just.

I was like, oh, my gosh, that was scary.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I was scared.

So honestly, I was scared going into PA school.

I was just like, am I ready?

Let me get my passion planner out.

Am I gonna have to rearrange my entire life?

It's kind of one of those expect.

If you're expecting the worst and you build it up to be so terrible,.

And then, oh, I expect it can't.

Be quite that bad.

Yeah.

No.

And it has been so much fun.

Yeah.

I think just having.

Making sure you prioritize things that are very important to you and make it happen and then everything's going to be fine.

Yeah.

And it is.

It's a lot of figuring out what.

How you study and what you like to study and who you study with and then changing it if it's not working and.

Oh, yeah, no, that's.

That's happening too.

There's.

Yeah, it's very involved.

So now that you're, like, in the program and you've been through this whole process, looking back, is there anything you wish you did prior to starting PA school, even through your application process or through your experience that you think would have helped you in any way or do you feel good with what you did?

I think I would have.

Maybe I go back and forth because I'm like, oh, maybe I didn't apply soon enough because of all the rolling applications.

Yeah.

But it was like, I waited because I was like, well, I need to make sure my application is strong because then once you submit it, you can't.

It doesn't matter, like, what you do after.

Yeah.

So I would go back and forth.

I'm like, did I apply soon enough?

Should I have just submitted in May and got all those, like, east coast applications in?

Yeah.

And then I was like, maybe I should have redone the GRE again because I already did it like three times and there was no way I was going to boost my score.

So I was like.

Was that the reason that, like, some schools aren't looking at me was because of my GRE score, But I think I was pretty proud of my application, so I don't think I was lacking in anything.

Yeah.

I didn't have the best gpa, but I felt like I was very well rounded.

Yeah.

And Kevin proving.

Yeah.

I didn't really feel like anything was lacking for all my other hours.

So I was pretty proud of what I had accomplished so far.

Yeah.

So now that you're in PA school, moving towards clinicals, what is there a certain area that you see yourself ending up in or working in or staying open minded or.

I'm trying to stay open minded.

Okay.

Because I did come from dermatology.

Okay.

Yeah.

That makes it hard.

Yeah.

And I was like, I already did it for like four years.

I'm like, do I really want to do dermatology again?

And then I All I know.

And then I also came from plastic surgery, and so I really like surgery.

Yeah.

So that's been like where I've been, like where I really want to end up.

But I'm trying to be open minded.

Yeah.

That's just funny.

It makes me laugh because one of my.

So I've talked about her on the podcast and stuff.

Before Taylor, she worked with me.

She's one of my best friends.

But she ended up working as my medical assistant for the first five years I was a PA and then went to PA school.

And so we'd talk and she's like, yeah, I think I want to do peeds or something else.

I don't want to do dermatology.

I already did that.

And then she got out.

She works in Durham and she ended.

Up in dermatology, like 100%.

But she.

It's nice that it's there in case I do want to go back.

And it's just.

It's what?

And yeah.

So it's just funny because she.

She fought it for a little bit.

And I think there's also sometimes some pressure from programs or classmates to not start in a special team.

Okay.

I've seen that more recently where someone, like, is super interested in a specialty and maybe even has an offer, but they just, for whatever reason feel like they need to get more general experience first.

Primary care, emergency medicine, which is fine.

It's personal preference, but in my mind I'm like, if the opportunity is there, and it's something you think you want.

Go for it.

Yeah.

We do have a faculty member and he's.

Guys just work in Durham.

You guys would be so happy.

The best work life balance.

It's hard to be honest.

I know.

But there's a lot of really cool stuff out there and there's even things that I feel like would try one day if I ever leave during.

Yeah.

So now that we're in this application cycle, do you have any last tips, last advice specifically for someone in that re applicant phase who's maybe feeling a little burnout, a little jaded on the process.

Maybe something you wish you had known or told yourself other than just all the people who say, oh no, you'll get in, don't worry about it.

What advice?

I relied a lot on my mentor, David.

He's a PA because he was like, people don't get in on their first cycle.

And I was like, oh, really?

Because all six of my friends did.

And so a lot of people send me a deal.

A lot of people don't.

Yeah.

So I just had to rely a lot on my mentor to help me and just other friends that were in PA school or that were applying and I.

It did help that I was.

When I was working in Durham, I had my co workers.

They were all like in application cycles as well.

So it was like we would come together and we would have our event session and go over.

Can you read this for me?

Does this sound right?

So I think just relying on like your support system.

Yeah.

And should just never give up.

Yeah.

If it's something you really want to do, keep going.

For sure.

Yeah.

Because then there are going to be.

People are like, okay, are you really going to try for your fourth cycle?

Yeah, I am.

This is what you want to do?

Keep going for it.

I think that's great advice.

And yes, thank you again for taking the time out of your busy PA student schedule to share.