Hannah got rejected. She fixed what was broken. She's in now.

She's a first-year PA student, and she came on to walk through exactly what she changed between her first application and her second. Not vague advice. Actual changes.

If this is your second cycle, or you're bracing for one, put this on.

What we talk about:

• What her first application looked like
• How she figured out where the gaps actually were
• The specific things she changed the second time around
• Staying motivated through an entire extra year
• What her first year of PA school has been like
• What she'd say to a reapplicant sitting in it right now

Resources:

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

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

Have me review your essay: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-essay-review

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

Hey guys, welcome to episode 32 and get ready for an interview with Hannah from Palindrome, Pennsylvania.

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, welcome to the Pre PA Club podcast.

If we haven't met before, I'm Savannah.

I am a dermatology PA and the creator of the PA platform and the Pre PA Club podcast.

So thanks for being here.

I'm really excited about today's interview.

It was really fun and I got to learn more about somebody that I usually just see on social media, which is a lot of fun.

Before we jump into that, I just wanted to remind you guys about some of the things we have available as CASPA gets ready to open in a couple weeks.

If you're listening to this in live time, make sure you're following along on Instagram.

I'm happy to answer any messages there.

I'm a little slow at it sometimes, but definitely send me any messages at the PA platform.

You can email me if you have questions.

I want to make sure that you know that I'm here for you to answer those questions.

So I know that it can be a really confusing process.

It's not always straightforward, and I know there are a ton of other PAs and PA students on social media who are happy to help you out as well.

Another great resource is the Reddit for Pre Physician Assistant.

Great place to ask questions, get some answers.

People are really quick to respond there.

I try to hop on there and answer some questions as well.

We have a Facebook group for the Pre PA Club that's run by myself and Brian Palm, who is the creator of MyPA resource.

So you have PAs in there answering questions.

Like lots of PA students.

Everyone's great in that group.

So on Facebook, that's the Pre PA Club and I'll put a link to that in the description as well.

So lots of stuff out there.

Physicianassistantforum.com is a great resource.

If you've been following along with me, you know that I just came out with an interview book, the Physician Assistant School Interview Guide.

I'll put a link to that in the description as well.

And we'll be talking about interviews a lot more in the coming months.

But yeah, so lots of stuff out there.

If there's something that you feel like would be helpful to you, please let me know.

Leave a comment, leave a review, do something to let me know that you're out there and that you have an idea and we'll get to it.

So I know some of you have sent me ideas on episodes.

So in the future we're gonna be talking about things like gap years, but we will get to all of that.

And so for today's episode, I was able to get in touch with, I guess she kind of got in touch with me, Hannah from Palindromepa on Instagram.

And if you listen to episode number 27, Amber is actually in the same class as Hannah.

So they know each other and that's pretty cool.

And they were able to kind of get us connected and do this interview.

I think Hannah has some really great insights.

And she was a re applicant.

She's someone who had to apply twice to get in.

And she was successful and she did a really good job of improving her application and doing what she needed to do to make sure that she secured that spot.

I think you're going to get a lot out of this, but here we go.

Let's get into our interview.

Okay, so my name is Hannah.

I am a first year PA student at usc.

I went to UCLA for undergrad and I'm now coming to the other side of the house.

So I have the Bruins Trojans thing going on, which is a lot of fun.

I have been in LA for almost 10 years, so I would say pretty much call Los Angeles home now.

It's provided most of my opportunities to me as far as my volunteering opportunities before school, school, all of my work life before school.

It's been really great to be here.

I feel very fortunate.

So I was a clinical lab technician.

So I worked in the hematology department.

I was an EMT and then an ER technician also before I came to school.

Okay, cool.

What was your major?

I was a bio major at ucl.

Okay, awesome.

So as far as PA stuff, did you always know you wanted to become a PA or did that decision come later?

How did you kind of make that call?

Yeah, so that decision definitely came, I would say, a little bit later for me only because when I started at ucla, I had originally planned to be International Development Studies.

That was called ids.

For us, that was the closest thing we had to international relations.

So I left high school really inspired by language.

I had run my high school newspaper for a couple years.

I was really looking forward to maybe even doing something like working for the UN one day.

Had really big goals for helping, you know, interpret and translate languages, all kinds of stuff like that.

And then got to UCLA and the major didn't have as much funding as was originally proposed for it.

So the major actually got shut down while I was there, which was totally fine because what happened was I joined the rowing team my freshman year.

So my classes kind of got determined by around our team schedule, which was probably a good thing at the time because I loved being on a team sport at ucla.

It was so fun to be part of athletics.

I got such a great team environment and got to work with some amazing coaches.

I really got like that great college sports experience.

But through that, my sophomore year, when I started realizing that a lot of my friends were pre med, a lot of my friends were in the nursing track and they were taking all these classes on this part of the school called South Campus.

I was like, what is South Campus?

And they were like, that's where all the science classes are.

And so I was sitting in a political science class my first quarter of my sophomore year and decided I couldn't stand it.

I didn't understand anything they were talking about.

It wasn't interesting to me.

And I got so frustrated.

And I thought to myself, what was my true first academic love?

You know, coming out of high school?

And I love Spanish, I love running my school newspaper.

But my favorite favorite classes were my bio classes.

And so I never really thought, given much thought to being, you know, being a doctor, being a nurse, being in medicine at all.

Because I really didn't love needles, really didn't love blood.

All the classic things of, oh, I can't stand that.

So I never considered it.

But then I just remembered how much I loved my bio classes.

Taking AP bio in high school was one of my favorite experiences.

We had such an awesome instructor.

He encouraged all of us to major in bio in college.

And I've already kind of brushed him off.

But I thought back to that day and I was like, you know what?

That would probably be a good idea.

So I switched everything around.

I went to our counselors, I changed my major.

I was starting a year behind everybody else, which actually kind of worked out because all my friends already had their textbooks.

So I got to borrow their textbooks, which was really nice.

I was like 2/4 behind everybody, so I'd have to pay for books.

Ended up doing the main core of the pre med track, which got me into knowing a lot of my friends a little bit better who were on the pre med system.

I got to learn about what they were shooting for, how their timeline and plans are working out.

And that's when I started volunteering at the hospital at ucla.

So I started volunteering at Ronald Reagan Hospital my sophomore year just because I'd had such a great experience with my brother being hospitalized a few years before.

And I just.

I'm one of those people who really loves the hospital environment.

I know not everybody likes it, but I really love how much is going on there and how much.

How many people are being cared for and how much, you know, active medicine is going on and change and innovation.

So I loved getting the chance to volunteer over at Reagan, and that is when I really started.

My eyes were open to all these other roles that happened in medicine.

So I learned about the emergency department technicians, which were these, like, super energetic, super young people and these bright, bright blue scrubs at ucla.

And I was like, hey, how do you guys get this job?

And so they told me about what it takes to become an EMT and how they got their job now, and they got to show me all kinds of stuff they were doing in the emergency room, and I just fell in love with that.

And when I started to figure out how many other types of roles there were in medicine, that's when I really started investigating.

And so when I went home that summer, I had a family member be like, you know what?

You'd probably be a really great pa.

I was like, what is a pa?

Because I had never heard of one before.

And so I started investigating from there.

And it was just this wonderful role that I am so in love with now, and I'm so glad someone introduced me to it.

And so my main decision to really go down the PA route was with my first shadowing experience later that year.

So I shadowed my friend's cousin who worked for a cardiology team up in the Bay Area in Redwood City, and he took me on a couple days when he was doing rounds on the floor, and he was just working with the most wonderful patients.

He was working with very acutely ill patients.

He was working with recuperating patients.

And they were so thrilled to see him.

And he was so knowledgeable and had been in on all their procedures and was, you know, following all their cases and doing all their charting.

I just really saw how much.

How wide the role is and how much care you can give people through it.

So basically, through all those little pieces kind of leading me down that path, that's how I eventually got into where I am now.

Awesome.

Well, I have a question about something you mentioned at the beginning, because this is actually a question that I get a lot, is if I'm scared of needles and blood and the gore, should I stop still pursue this.

So in my experience, it's something that gets easier because I, I've never thought I had a problem with it, but the first couple times I saw biopsies, I did get light headed.

And then I've talked about before, but broken bones still, I still can't really handle them.

So is that something that once you started working in the medical field and gained more exposure, you were kind of okay with it, or is that something that you still struggle with?

It's something that I would definitely say I've become desensitized to and that's what I tell people is the best thing to do.

I've run into a couple people actually as recently as a few weeks ago, who, when they've met me and my friends, they're like, oh, you know what?

I had really thought about the PA role, but, oh, I just can't stand the sight of X.

Whether it's needles, whether it's blood, whether it's vomit.

And I asked them, I was like, is that the only reason you haven't considered it?

And they're like, well, yeah, I don't think I can get over it.

And I was, I told them, you can absolutely get over it if you really want to do this.

I said, the thing I tell everybody is I used to be so afraid of primarily, I think, not needles as in like needles the concept, but as a needle thing anywhere in my body.

My favorite story to tell is when I was 14 and I was going to get my wisdom teeth out, I went to the consult with the surgeon and my mom was there.

You know, you're a freshman in high school, you're already awkward and, you know, sweaty and confused all the time.

And they were, they had taken my X rays and all they were doing was explaining the procedure to me.

They were just pointing at a picture.

They were.

And they had said something about where they were going to insert either the anesthesia or one of the tools.

And I completely passed out, like, just from the explanation.

And so when I woke up, I was like, you know what?

I don't know if this stuff is going to work.

And I used to hate getting shots.

I mean, what kid doesn't like not getting shots?

But I hated getting my blood drawn.

I hated getting shots.

So one thing I did throughout high school is I started going to blood drives to sort of get my.

I would volunteer at them, you know, to see if I could get myself used to seeing somebody giving blood and seeing the setup, which took some time.

I wasn't great with it.

At first, and then I stepped up to, like, donating blood, which I do with high frequency now.

And so what happened was, is I just.

I knew it was so important to me to try to get over it, that I put myself in situations that were going to make me uncomfortable.

And it was.

I remember those moments.

They're not fun.

But now that I've come out the other side, I really think there is absolutely a way to get over it.

If it's something you really want to achieve, and if it's the only thing holding you back from considering a career like this, I would definitely tell people to go for it and find a way to become repeatedly exposed to things.

I think that's.

I think that's one of the main ways we get over anything we're afraid of.

It's just constantly putting ourselves in the face of it when it's safe and when it's reasonable and just making yourself kind of expand your boundaries little by little.

I would definitely say that's the way to do it.

For me, it was really working in the er, where you don't have a choice.

There's something going on everywhere you turn.

And the very first day I was there, I had to help a nurse hold down a patient's arm to start.

It was kind of a tricky iv, and it was this elderly patient.

She was a little more frail, so her veins were kind of flat and kind of hard to find.

So the nurse had to take a second or two to find it.

And just standing there holding her arm, watching her try to put it in, almost put me on the floor.

And I remember calling my mom, saying, you know what?

They're going to fire me.

There's no way.

They should have hired me.

I can't even watch somebody put an IV in.

This is ridiculous.

And she said, take a deep breath, like, they obviously hired you for a reason.

Go back and try to figure out the triggers and try to figure out what works for you and what doesn't work for you.

And doing that three, four days a week for two and a half years, you basically get used to just about anything.

Yeah, no, I.

That's funny.

I remember from some of my shadowing experiences, the first time I saw a punch biopsy, and then the first time I saw a joint injection, I had to leave the room.

Yeah, it's hard.

It's really tough.

And the good thing is, you know, to leave the room because you don't want to make a patient uncomfortable.

Right.

And you really don't want to make another situation for the person in the room.

Because when you're about to pass out, then we have to worry about you too.

Yeah.

So, yeah, I tell people to be aware of.

Yeah.

Tell you.

And be aware of how they're going to feel about it and maybe let you know in advance if it's a possibility.

But don't let that be a fear that stops you.

Yeah.

And learn how to handle.

I mean, that's how you'll learn how to tell if you're gonna pass out.

But, I mean, you can tell if you don't feel good.

And that's what I remember specifically the ortho PA I was shadowing.

He wasn't paying me hardly any attention, but I said, I'm just gonna step out and go to the bathroom.

Right.

And so I stepped out and I laid on the floor in the bathroom.

Oh, yeah.

And that's good.

And you know what to do.

I mean, you have to get yourself into a position that allows you to reset and.

Yeah.

So, I mean, I can.

It's.

I think it's great to tell people how to work through those moments but not let it stop them.

Well, and if it makes you feel better, too, I've definitely had patients who, when we don't do.

I mean, we do procedures, but we don't do a lot of stuff on kids in our office.

But they have to have blood work drawn sometimes for a medicine called Accutane, and had a couple that were talking about whether that would be a good option or not.

And I kind of like you.

I just mentioned, like, oh, you'd have to have your blood drawn once a month.

And I've had two pass out completely with me just telling them that.

And I was like, I don't think this is the medicine for you.

Yeah, maybe not.

Maybe.

Maybe not right now.

Yeah, maybe we'll move on.

But, yeah, so it's.

Yeah.

That's interesting, though, because, I mean, that's just something people, I feel like, have questions about as far as a limitation.

When it came time.

So you made this decision.

You're doing all this stuff, volunteering, working, getting everything in order that you need to get in order.

When it came time to apply, how did that process go for you?

Was there anything on your application you were worried about?

Any weak spots?

Anything that made you stand out?

Yes.

So I am a classic re applicant.

Okay.

I applied to about 14 programs at that time.

Did not get into any of them that cycle.

So I spoke to a couple people, and when I was you know, relatively crushed at the end of it, like most people are.

You realize how important this becomes to you as something you want to achieve.

And so I sort of took a hard look in the mirror and said, okay, what do we need to fix?

And it turned out it was any number of things.

I.

So I basically took a year off in between application cycles.

And on that off cycle, as they call it, I basically went back and fixed just about everything.

So I retook a couple classes and by a couple, I think maybe ended up being like seven or eight, I think over the course of those two years.

So one of my weak spots for sure was definitely my overall and my science gpa.

I tell people that it's something that they can't.

You can control it to a point, basically like to work on some classes and improve your scores.

But it's a number that is composed of so many pieces of your life.

It's all the college classes you took, you might have taken for credit when you were in high school, it's everything you took during undergrad, it's everything you take in after that, and it's all those numbers compiled together.

So if it's not stellar to not spend too much time being super upset about it because you can't fight that number.

And so what I tell people is that if there is an area for improvement, the best thing you can do is to show programs that you are trying to improve, that you are taking more classes and that you're going to do well in those classes.

So I chose things that would be similar to PA school classes.

So I chose a lot of upper division science courses.

I think I took immunology, cancer, bio, pathology.

What else did I take?

A couple other things up in those categories that really worked out to get me sort of prepared to be at like a graduate level and to be in school again and to do some mild improvement to my gpa.

So I definitely worked on improving my gpa.

I.

Let's see, I doubled my patient care, my paid patient care experience hours, so my work at the hospital.

So I think I went from 2,500 hours on my first application to I think over 5,200 on my second one.

I think that was a big changer for me because I really showed that I had stayed in the field and had done a lot of more, done a lot more work since the first time I applied and I had stayed dedicated to it in spite of not making it in the first time.

And to be honest, that extra two years of work in the ER is what changed everything for me.

I learned so much from those providers and I don't think I would have traded that experience going to school earlier.

I like to think I knew quite a bit on my first application and might have been ready, but I knew I was so much more ready the second time I applied because of all the experience I gotten.

I worked with incredible doctors, incredible PAs, fabulous nursing staff.

I have a journal from my two and a half years working there of all the things I learned and I go back and read it every now and then.

All these cool cases that we saw and techniques that were shown to me that you probably might not learn in school definitely doubled up on my work experience.

That helped tremendously.

I doubled my volunteering hours.

So I was fortunate to volunteer at a clinic down here in Southern California that does take students or people who are working, but not necessarily have like an MA or an LDN license.

So you can volunteer as a clinic assistant.

So I get to work with the patients doing their workup.

So we get to bring them back, you know, to the workup rooms, take their vitals, work on their HPI with them.

And that's where I practice a lot of my Spanish.

So that was really helpful getting to do that for an extra two years.

So I love that opportunity.

I worked on volunteering at some other non healthcare related places.

So especially for usc, one of their things that's super important to them is volunteering outside of healthcare to show that you're really dedicated to serving your community, not just in medicine.

So I worked a lot at the local food bank here.

I worked with the no Kill LA division of the Best Friends Society.

So they have a couple shelters out here that I got to work with the dog teams for a couple years.

And those dogs are just so incredible.

I love those dogs so much.

They're so much fun to volunteer with.

And let's see, I also went on a medical mission with my hospital.

Oh my gosh, that was two years ago already.

So we went to Guatemala for a week with the surgical team and did surgeries for I think four or five days.

So I got to go as like a support staff person with my EMT license.

And then I also got to take pictures and write the blog for the trip, which was a really fascinating experience to see how far and wide those patients were coming from to come see us at the hospital.

Some of them hadn't seen a physician in over a year and had come for surgical evaluation.

So their films were 12 months old.

And we were trying to work with the cases we could take and the cases we couldn't take.

And some of these people were children who hadn't been to school school or adults who hadn't been back to work from something as simple as, like a hernia or, you know, a gallbladder removal.

So we got to be with that team for a week, and that was absolutely incredible.

I.

Let's see.

I worked on getting my undergraduate research finally published.

So I volunteered with a serotonin lab at ucla and I had worked with one of their grad students pretty closely while I was an undergrad there.

So that was really cool.

And so as far as applying the first time, I think I know that I worked really hard at filling out the application and it was working with the old Cast Web platform.

So CASPA has been updated since then.

So I worked on the old platform and the new one.

So it was interesting to work through that older platform.

I think the new one is definitely a lot better now.

It's more easy to understand for people.

Yeah.

And I would say the second time around, what I knew I needed to do was be in super early.

I was super prepared for it.

I knew when it was opening, I had all my letter, I think all my letters of recommendation, I think were into my Casper application in the first eight hours of it opening.

Because I was like.

Because I told my people, I said, we're going to do this right the second time.

I'm going to have everything ready to go.

So actually, one thing I did do that I recommend to people who are reapplying is if they still let you do it is on my off year.

I feel people might get caught up with applying if they don't realize that when you manually enter your transcripts and you manually enter all your experiences, you need them to be accurate.

You need them to be well worded.

And that, I think is the most time consuming.

So I did that on my off year.

So if anyone's considering reapplying.

That's something I definitely recommend doing.

And I think my whole application, my primary application, was submitted within, like, the first four days.

It was really, really quick.

I wanted it like Christmas for me.

I was like, I want this thing out the door.

I want people to be looking at it.

I was so ready to go my second time.

And I think I applied to 24 schools on my second application.

Okay, how.

How many did you apply the first time?

Did you expand?

I think 14.

Yeah, I added 10.

Gotcha.

Your first time, was there any.

Did you get any feedback, like, any interviews, any response?

I didn't get any interviews.

I got a couple wait lists to interview.

Gotcha.

I did not receive any interviews my first time around.

So one thing I did do, which I highly encourage people applying to do, is I reached out to the programs to say, hey, what can I do better?

And a lot of the programs simply do not have the time or the staff to respond to you, which I understand now being on the inside of a program and seeing how hard our admissions faculty works.

But for the schools who do reach out to you, it makes a big difference.

USC actually was one of the places who sat down with me individually on the phone and went over where my areas were weak, things I needed to improve, and that's the school I ended up at.

So I always tell people to.

Even if they say they can't get back to you, just try.

You never know who might be in the office that day, who pulls up your file and is like, oh, right there.

That's where you drew the red flag.

And if it's a fixable red flag, then you know what to do.

I would say for me, it was a huge difference finding out what to do from programs, because what I thought I needed to do is not what I ended up doing.

Yeah, well, it sounds like you really took the time to improve every single part of your application.

Yeah, I really did because I knew how competitive the field was.

And if I didn't even come close the first time, I knew that everything needed an overhaul.

And so what I try to convince people who come to me for advice about applying, I say when a school has a minimum, like a minimum hours for something, you should at least be doubling that, if not more, to be super competitive.

And so I understand from an applicant standpoint, it can be frustrating because what's listed as a minimum requirement is Usually not very indicative numbers wise of the people who are applying.

So I tell everybody, don't look at the minimums.

I mean, you have to look at the minimums to make sure, like your GPA and things do hit their standards, but for everything else, look at their average incoming applicant profile.

And that is much more reflective of where you at least.

Where you at least need to be coming close to, if not exceedingly.

Because what you want to do is try your best to exceed those numbers to the best of your ability so you can be the strongest applicant possible.

Because everybody who's applying is great.

Everybody who's applying has a bunch of hours and you need to be absolutely stellar.

Yeah, no, I agree with those things, especially you have to at least meet the minimums.

But also keeping in mind those are minimums.

They're not preferred numbers.

They're the minimum.

Exactly.

And so if you don't even hit those, you're wasting your time and your money even trying.

But because.

Because there are plenty of applicants who do meet the minimums or like you said, exceed the minimums that they.

You're gonna get weeded out.

And so that's just kind of.

It sounds harsh, I feel like, whenever I say that, but it's kind of the hard, hard truth of the matter at this point with just how competitive things have become.

Yeah, it's just.

It's just the landscape.

And I tell everyone, I say, if you.

If you want this as badly as most, you'll do everything you can to get to the top of that list.

And that sometimes just means it takes a little more time.

And that's totally okay because I think everything I got in my quote unquote off years between undergrad and now has served me so well.

There are so many experiences I never would have had had I gone to school any earlier or had I gone to school somewhere else.

Yeah.

I really believe that if you are, as an applicant working as hard as you can to have the best presentation on that piece of paper when you hit submit, the universe is really going to line it up for you.

You just have to look at yourself and say that you absolutely did everything you could.

And don't let any area of the application kind of sit back because they will find it.

The schools will always find the part of your application that you either didn't put a lot of effort into or something that you aren't super proud of.

And that's okay.

We all have those areas.

But it is your responsibility to then do everything you can to make sure every Other piece of it is just fantastic.

Yes, totally agree.

So your second time applying, you improved your application.

Done all of that, applied to a lot more schools.

What was the outcome there?

I mean, were you getting interview invites at that point?

How was that going?

It was really great for me because I got, I think what did I have?

I had four interviews last cycle and then was accepted to two schools.

So I was accepted to usc.

USC was my last interview and my first acceptance.

And then I was taken off the waitlist at one other school further down in the summer and I'd already accepted for USC at that point.

So it's, it's tough because you apply to so many places and you put yourself out there and you wait.

I think that's the hardest part for people, is for somebody like me who had their whole application in May 1, and then I think my first interview was late August.

Yeah, the waiting game is hard.

And some schools do rolling and then they get back to you right away.

Some schools don't do rolling, some schools say they do rolling, but then they only review it in chunks.

And so you really just have to be patient.

It's a, it's a complete year long process from start to finish.

So the hardest part is definitely waiting and not getting nervous when by Christmas you don't know where you're going.

I think that happens to a lot of people.

We hit the holidays and you still don't know.

And it's terrifying because you put yourself out there for eight months and every time an email pops up on your phone, every time the phone rings, you go through the same minor panic attack and it's hard.

It's definitely a process, but if you go into it expecting that a lot of places are going to say no, a couple places are going to say maybe.

And at the end of the day you only need one place to say yes because you only get to go to one place.

You only need one seat because you can't go to four different schools and pick what you want from each.

So you get one opportunity at one fabulous place and that's all you need.

Well, it worked out for you, but you worked hard to get there, obviously.

Yeah, I felt really fortunate about that.

I think.

I know a lot of people come to me and they feel very frustrated and I totally understand.

I completely empathize.

We all work really hard.

Yeah.

And everybody puts their best selves out there.

And for me, for example, I completely blew my first interview.

If I'm being perfectly honest.

I prepared for months.

I had a friend from Med school do mock interviews with me.

I used a bunch of available resources to print off, like, a completely comprehensive list of interview questions, which it sounds like you now have in your new book, which is awesome.

So I went through and did, I think, 65 or 80 questions.

And I had answers, like, brainstormed for each of them.

And I practiced those for months.

I would time myself.

I would do it on the way home from work.

I do it in front of the mirror.

I would put myself on camera and not.

Not at all to memorize anything, but to have something coherent to say.

And I think the best thing, the best advice my friend from med school gave me was try to get yourself to be able to talk about yourself, you know, consistently, fluently, for, like, eight or nine minutes at a time.

And get comfortable with, like, that not being interrupted.

Because some of these interviewers might have one question and they just will let you talk.

Yeah.

And if you give them one or two sentence answers, they might be really thrown off.

And if they only want four or five minutes, they'll cut you off, and that's totally fine.

But if you have the natural ability to keep going and to keep saying constructive things about yourself and share your experiences and give them all the opportunity you can to let them find out about you in those couple minutes, you'll be really well prepared.

So I did all that, and I got to my first interview, and I completely blew it.

Super embarrassing, and it's frustrating.

So you can do all this hard work and write an amazing personal statement and put all the good thoughts into the universe and have everybody supporting you, behind you, and there are still steps where we all as applicants can misstep.

And it happens.

So I tell people when that happens to not get super discouraged and to just keep.

Keep at it.

Do you feel like those nerves that got you.

I misunderstood the question and I answered it very.

I started to answer it poorly to begin with, and then I backtracked and asked her to repeat it.

And then I.

It was such a simple question.

I was so silly, and so.

And I just knew that I tried to answer it, and it was.

We were their first group of the day, and I was the first student in our little group of four.

And I just.

I knew it was over.

I just.

It just.

I just stumbled really hard, and that happens.

I'm not telling people you can't do that.

It's just you.

You sort of just know, so.

Yeah.

Well, you got your one acceptance, so you're good now that you're in PA school.

And what point are you at right now?

We are finishing up our.

Well, not finishing.

Goodness.

We're a couple weeks away from ending second semester.

Okay.

And y' all get a summer break, correct?

We do.

Okay.

Which is kind of unique for PA School.

It's very unique.

We are very grateful.

I. Yeah, we're really grateful.

We are.

Feel a lot of respect for our friends who are up other programs who go straight through.

I am impressed by them every single day.

We are really grateful to get a little bit of time off.

I'm looking forward to, honestly, having a chance to review some of what they've taught us without getting more information right away.

There's a lot of things I would really look forward to making more solid in my brain from May to August.

Some, like, really important cardio concepts and some really important culinary concepts and things.

We.

I mean, everybody.

Everybody goes through the material so fast because there's so much to cover.

And sometimes the hardest thing is feeling like you can't stay on top of it as much as you want.

Because we truly do want to absorb all this information.

And it's just so much that everybody goes through.

So we feel extra lucky that we'll have a chance over summer to kind of make some of that information really, really stick.

That is nice.

I mean.

Yeah, that's.

Enjoy.

Enjoy your summer while you have it.

Because in the working world, that's not a thing.

No, I know.

It's really funny for.

Because this is the first year in years that I've had any sort of break.

Like when you're working at the hospital, as, you know, like, the random holidays don't exist.

Christmas break does not exist.

Spring break.

And so this year, when we had Christmas break for a month blew my mind.

I had no idea what to do.

And we had, you know, we had spring break for a week and we travel with our class.

But if I'd been at home, I would have been super confused.

Like, I do not understand these, like, concepts of breaks.

So it's nice.

I am definitely enjoying it, but I'm, Yeah.

Definitely aware that this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What has surprised you about PA school or what have you.

You enjoyed what's been most difficult for people who are kind of looking forward to that as their next step?

The most, Most surprising thing.

I think the most surprising thing would be.

I don't even know if I want to call it surprise.

I think the type of everyone tells you that when you get to PE school that it's, you know, the didactic Portion is completely non stop and your relationships will change and your family may or may not understand why.

You're gone seven days a week for, you know, so many months and you're just kind of under this rock.

And I think I mentally prepared for that pretty well.

But the, the phys.

I don't know how to say the physical, it's just, it's just a different type of anxiety that I don't know if we were expecting.

It's.

It's very interesting to try to manage on a day to day basis.

And it's not what I thought we were going to feel, but that comes paired with so many other amazing things that we're getting in our program that I had no idea we were going to get.

We have faculty that like blow our minds every single day.

They are so accessible, they are so kind, they're so knowledgeable.

They go out of their way to make sure that we have different modes of learning and if something isn't working for us, they will go in and change it and see if another tactic works better.

So I think I.

What I actually, you know what, I take that back.

What I'm most surprised by is how supportive my faculty is.

Not that I wasn't expecting it, but going to public high school and a giant public undergrad university.

I'm not adjusted to teachers like knowing my name and asking me how my weekend was last weekend because they knew I was going to a party or something.

And they are just so wonderful.

I think I'm really surprised by how much support we are given.

It's.

It's amazing.

We're super lucky.

So I would say that's like a surprising thing and also a really nice thing that we're finding.

Yeah, that's awesome.

Okay, so when do y' all start rotations then?

January.

Okay.

So you've got about six months before that.

Gotcha.

The schedule is so different from what I'm used to.

Yeah, it's a little different.

And we like it because we, we like our.

We do module learning.

So we're in the middle of GI right now.

We just finished cardio before spring break.

I love the way our program runs.

We get farm specific to each module, like within the module.

And right now our clin skills class lines up with our medicine class.

So we're now doing like the GA exam while we're doing GI and our medicine class.

So it's working out really nicely.

The material totally overlaps and becomes very usable in many different Ways.

So we like how it's going.

We feel really lucky.

That's really interesting.

Okay, so at this point, is there anything, looking back now, you have basically a year under your belt almost.

Is there anything looking back that you think you could have done differently to make yourself more prepared for PA school.

Or not really prepared for PA school?

Not necessarily.

I think people do give you really good advice.

If you're accepted and you're going soon.

I would say there's the argument to like, relax and spend time with your family and your friends as much as you can.

I totally agree with that.

One thing I've also found that is helpful if you're in a situation where you can is work as much as you can actually and save up as much as you can before you start school.

It's a very different mind shift.

And I know everyone pays for school differently, so this applies to people who are going to take out loans.

It's a very interesting shift to come from an income earning status to living on a fixed amount that comes from a loan.

You.

You attack things that you want to pay for very differently mentally.

And so if you are in a position where you can work a little bit extra before you start school and give yourself some extra, I don't want to say spending money, but just like a little bit of a mental buffer as far as, like when expenses come up and things like that, it would be really helpful.

That's like one thing I wish I'd done.

I think I did a decent job of it, but I know I could have probably done a little bit better.

So that's one thing I definitely recommend.

And as far as I think the one thing I definitely would have done differently as far as the applying stuff goes is on my year, the first time I was applying, so in 20.

Oh, gosh, 20.

During that cycle I did.

I did not know that I was not going to get in.

I did not know that it was not even going to come close for me.

So I would have been.

I was working at that time, so I was getting good patient care hours, but I would have stayed taking classes.

Because what I tell people is that when you hit that submit button on your application, nothing else matters after that because you can't.

Most schools that I found are not particularly interested in what you've done after you apply.

So it's great if you come back and are like, oh, yeah, I got, you know, 2,000 more hours here and I took four more classes and got A's.

If it's not on that paper, it's not gonna affect you.

So what I would have done differently is taken more classes on that time period.

Because you always have to think of what are you doing in your off space to make sure that you're constantly adding good things to the application because it's so time sensitive and it's such an interesting time of year to apply to when Castle opens in April.

Yeah, it's kind of random.

Yeah.

Like, not everyone's spring classes are done, and then you have to report them as, you know, in progress and all that kind of stuff.

So that really makes a big difference of what you have, like, actually completed and on a transcript, documented hours, that kind of stuff.

Have as much of that done prior to applying as possible.

Yeah.

And so one thing you kind of mentioned, and my advice to people is, everyone your first time applying should apply with the intention of applying again.

Like, even if you do think your application is amazing, just go ahead and still be working on it during that application year, because it's a whole year, and if you just are sitting back relaxing, banking on getting in at the end of that year, you haven't done anything necessarily to improve your application, maybe besides working a little bit more.

So, yeah, I think in hindsight, you've realized that.

But, yeah,.

That's super good advice.

I wish I'd had somebody who would have told me that the first time and everything works out.

And I'm totally happy with where I am, and I'm thrilled to be trying to give everybody the best advice I know how.

That's why I think what we have in this social media community now is so great, because there are so many people who are very candid and very transparent with their answers and what they've done.

I love telling people about how reapplying works out because it really is a roller coaster.

And you go through those moments of feeling.

You go through all the what ifs, like, what if this doesn't work out the second time?

What am I going to do?

How am I going to come back from this mentally?

And you go through all these pieces, and it is definitely a journey and it is something so huge to learn from.

But, yeah, to.

For everyone to absolutely treat the whole thing as sort of a fluid, moving process of you should always be consistently improving yourself.

There are absolutely no guarantees.

And to the other things some people come to me that I find interesting is a lot of applicants have approached Me asking about how to pick a PA school.

Mm.

And, well, I asked them.

I'm like, are you picking schools to apply to, or are you picking schools to, like, get acceptances from?

Because those are two very different questions.

They said, if you're thinking about where to apply, think about, well, first of all, the places that you meet the requirements, because there are a lot of schools where you might not meet something very specific to them.

And it is super important to go through and actually check every single requirement at every school.

I think some people get frustrated because they didn't realize that they don't have one class that doesn't meet their requirements, and then you sort of throw away your money with that, because if you don't meet those requirements, they can't accept you.

So I feel like doing your homework in that sense is super important.

And then if there's an area that, like, you absolutely can't leave because of a family member or a child or, you know, a husband or a wife or that sort of situation, like, take that into consideration, because moving far away, I've been told, is incredibly challenging, and your relationship shipped a lot of.

So keep that in mind.

But for many of us, it's not necessarily about picking a pa. People always say, well, what was your top choice?

And I tell them, my top choice was to go to school, to just get a seat somewhere, because we're at this point where it is so impacted and so competitive, which is great, because we're arguably going to be turning out a lot of amazing PA students because of that.

But it's not necessarily about what school do you choose.

It's what school ultimately chooses you, because you only need the one.

And I urge people to just sort of be, you know, have this sense of gratitude when you just.

You just get one.

And if you're amazing and you have a 4.0 and 10,000 hours as a medic and, you know, four published papers, you are an incredible human.

And if you get your five top choices, that's amazing, and I would love for you to teach me your ways.

That is so great.

Yeah.

But I'm running people who are like, well, I really want to only go here.

And I go, that's totally great.

That's a good goal to have.

But don't be disappointed if that particular path doesn't work out, because just getting a path of getting to go somewhere is really all you need.

And you'll.

You'll make the most of your education wherever you go.

And at the end of the day, this is about Becoming that amazing provider.

And you can do that at any number of places.

And it would be good if we were all really grateful for just wherever that opportunity lands us.

Yeah, I agree.

I mean, ultimately being a PA should be your priority.

And I mean, it's great to have schools you want to go to and all that.

And if it works out, awesome.

But if you want to be a pa, you almost have to have some flexibility there.

Exactly.

To get there.

But you mentioned social media stuff, so where can people kind of find you and follow along with the rest of your PA School journey and all that.

Yes.

So I am on Instagram.

I am at Palindromepa.

That's me.

Because my name is Hannah, which is spelled the same backwards and forwards, which everybody sort of loves.

And they're like, oh, that's what that means.

I got it.

But my sister's name is Hannah, but neither of us have H's on the.

End, so there you go.

Yeah.

Yep.

A little bit.

Savannah and Hannah.

Real creative.

That's so sweet, though.

I love that.

So, yeah, at Palindrome, Underscore PA and then my blog, which definitely needs some updating, but it is there.

So if people want to reach out to me on my website, it's palindromepa.com.

Okay.

And then you can find all of my entries.

My Instagram is linked there.

And then people can directly email me there if they ever have any questions.

Awesome.

And I'll definitely put links to all of that in the description of the episode too, so people can find you.

But yeah, any.

Any last advice or anything to add?

I would just say don't give up your fire.

If this is something you really want it.

Can you.

You.

You will go through those moments where you are not confident that it's going to be.

That it's going to come to fruition.

And it's scary.

And I don't tell anybody that it's not scary.

And you are completely entitled to feel that way.

But I also really believe that if people have this as their ultimate goal, it is such an incredible profession.

You meet the most amazing people.

My classmates are absolutely fantastic.

They come from such a wide background and they have so many amazing stories to share.

And if this is your end goal, just don't give up the passion for it and don't give up the fire and don't ever stop working towards it, because everything you do should be with intention.

And so if you're in the middle of applying and you wake up, you have another 24 hour opportunity to go shadow somebody, to go to work, to take another class, to revamp your personal statement, to do something with positive energy towards reaching your goal.

And if you do that every day, I really feel that it works out for everybody.

Yeah, no, you're very encouraging.

That's great.

Yeah.

And obviously, people can take your advice because you've been through it and you've been very honest about that, so.

Yeah, absolutely.

That's very good.

Well, thanks for coming on the podcast, and I'm sure everyone will come find you, and you'll probably get lots of reapplicate questions.

I'm happy to answer them.

I got a lot of good answers, so get ready.

Well, thank you so much.

Okay, thanks, Savannah.

I'll talk to you later.

Bye.

So there you have it.

And I think one of the things that Hannah touched on that we talked about at the beginning that was really important is having to do with not being used to.

To any kind of blood or gore or some of the things you see in medicine.

That's a question I get a lot, is if I am woozy or feel grossed out by these things, can I still work in medicine?

And you really have to put yourself out there to see.

So I'm glad she covered that.

But I hope you got a ton out of this episode.

If you want to make sure that you don't miss out on future episodes, make sure you subscribe on itunes and leave a review.

Let me know what you think.

If there's something you want to hear about, let me know.

We'll do it.

So.

All right.

I hope you have a great weekend, great week, and Caspa is coming, so I hope you're getting ready if you're applying this cycle.

See you next week.