r/prephysicianassistant

Hello all,

I’m sure there are multiple people in the same boat as me, applied early June to about 8 programs. Been flat out rejected from one, interview waitlist from another & radio silent from the other 6.

Starting to feel like my second application cycle is also going to be a bust. I’m constantly on the edge and anxious. It’s all my fault for being ambitious & only applying to programs I’d be happy to go to. Seeing my friends I graduated with (‘25) either already in PA school, just started or already accepted makes me feel like a failure & I should start looking for another career path. Just all around depressing.

Hi everyone! Tomorrow is my first day shadowing an inpatient PA and I’m super nervous. I’m planning to bring a small notebook to take notes but I’d really appreciate advice on proper shadowing etiquette.

I don’t want to interrupt their workflow by asking too many questions, especially if they’re busy. Should I mostly stay quiet and be a fly on the wall then save my questions for downtime? Is there anything you wish students knew before shadowing you?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I really hate myself for being so unmotivated during college and I feel like I’m wasting my 20s. My GPA sucks; I have almost 0 PCE hours I’m already taking one gap year and I almost definitely need another to even be remotely competitive. And who knows if I’ll even get in after all that.

My parents are hounding me for not choosing nursing or going to med school since I’m taking so many gap years. It sucks seeing others having high paying jobs or getting into PA programs with 1 or even 0 gap years. I know everyone on this sub says it’s normal to have a few but it just feels really bad to be working a very low paying PCE job that I don’t even need my bachelors for.

My advisor during college didn’t know anything and frankly I don’t think I know enough either. I know I need LORs, minimum 2000 PCE hours, and a good GPA, shadowing, GRE, but it just feels so overwhelming and unobtainable.

Any words of encouragement or advice? What can I even do with a Biology degree for work if I can’t do PA?

I’ve done a couple of interviews and I received my first acceptance today!!! Feels surreal- I’m excited for this new chapter in my life🥹

im really sorry if this is a stupid question or if this is the wrong place to post but i am kind of a prospective student.

im a teen (not in college yet) and my parents sometimes talk about their jobs to me in hopes they can give some advice about my career journey. but one of the things they circle back to is they wish they had more autonomy and weren't reporting to someone who looks down on them. (they work corporate)

i know PAs need a supervisor but does it ever feel like a rigid structure that holds you back? or is it more like a team structure?

again im sorry if this sounds silly but im pretty young and informed. im just looking to make the right choice.

I’m a senior/pre-PA student and I’m trying to make a decision during my school’s add/drop period, so I’d really appreciate some outside opinions.

My current GPA is a 3.88, and my original goal was to get it to a 3.90 by graduation so I could graduate Summa Cum Laude. It’s realistically possible, but I would basically need to get A’s in all of my remaining A-F classes. I have 4 rigorous classes where I’ll need to study for exams and maintain strong grades, and while I’ve definitely handled difficult semesters before, the idea of realistically guarantee all A’s is scary.

My other option is to change one 3-credit class to S/U. It would still count toward my degree as long as I pass, but it wouldn’t affect (help or hurt) my GPA. If I do that, I’d also drop a 1-credit class that I was planning to take mainly as a GPA booster.

The obvious downside is that I’d give up my chance at a 3.90 and graduate Magna instead of Summa.

But I’m also thinking about the fact that this is my senior year. I’ve worked really hard to get to this point, and part of me wants to actually enjoy my last year of college instead of spending the entire year stressing over every exam and whether I’m getting an A. I still want to work hard and finish strong, but I don’t want to look back and feel like I spent my entire senior year miserable just to gain 0.02 on my GPA.

I’m also thinking about this specifically from a PA school admissions perspective. I know a high GPA is important, but I also need to balance clinical hours, shadowing, work, applications, etc. I’m wondering if there is actually any meaningful difference between a 3.88 and a 3.90 for PA admissions, or if I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself for a distinction that won’t make much of a difference.
I think my biggest concern is regret. If I choose S/U, I might always wonder if I could have gotten the 3.90. But if I keep everything A-F and end up with a B or two, I could end up making my senior year significantly harder without even reaching the 3.90 anyway.

If you were in my position, would you:

1. Keep everything A-F and give yourself a shot at the 3.90/Summa, knowing you’d have to work really hard for it?

2.Take the S/U option, keep the 3.88-ish GPA, and have a more manageable senior year where I can actually enjoy my last year of college?

I’m not trying to take the easy way out. I just want to make the decision that makes the most sense for my PA goals while also allowing me to actually enjoy my last year of undergrad.

I’m so happy to be making this post as a first-generation Hispanic-American! I started off this journey as a pre-med student and switched over to pre-PA last year. After 3 gap years and many days of self-doubt, I finally did it! I am not the most competitive applicant (cGPA and sGPA sub 3.5) but I’m passionate about medicine!

I’m so thankful for this forum and everyone who has helped me!

I’m going to be a PA!!!😊🎉

So I was recently accepted to the Kansas State University PA program, which I am grateful for, however, I recently saw that ARC-PA updated their accreditation. I am not sure how this will affect me in my future, since I will be part of the class of 2029 if I end up accepting this offer. I have a week to decide if I want to proceed or not. I am awaiting an answer back from another PA program. What is your take on this?

has anyone tried confetto and is it worth it? what are some helpful prep for interviews

ok imjust gonna rant bc i am going a little crazy and need some outside perspectives/experiences if anyone would care enough to read all dis, i would post this to the PA community but its dead asf so sorry if this is annoying just ignore it; im going into my 3rd year of undergrad, and as an indecisive person i always knew i wanted to go into healthcare but never knew what. ive been between dental, pa, med, anesthesiologist asisstant, etc and have only been able to narrow it down to PA or med bc i although i like dentists lifestyle im not passionate about teeth. also i would want to be an AA but for whatever reason in canada they want ppl who were RNs or RTs beforehand, all imma have is a bio degree + i want to interact and care for patients directly which AAs dont rlly do. when i first heard about the PA profession all the research i did was based on US PAs who have a much broader scope of practice and earn alot, so i felt a sense of relief because it seemed like my dream career and i could finally commit myself to something, but when i found out thats not the case in canada im back to square one. i want to help people and study medicine but i dont like school and cannot fathom going to med school for yearsss after im done undergrad. med school is also really expensive and i dont want to be in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, so i would only really want to commit to my current universities md program as the tuition is lower, its 3 years instead of 4, id have a higher chance of getting in by being an in province applicant and i could live at home to avoid living expenses. with this logic i dont know if its worth it to even try for med school because theres only one id really wanna go to plus i know its insanely competitive and i just dont think i could compete with all my crazy smart peers with millions of extracurriculars. i also get sick to my stomach thinking about the MCAT or going through all of med school jsut to not match into what i wanted (derm, peds, or psychiatry which are all fairly competitive), and im also an easily depressed/demotivated person and consrtantly stressed so i think med school would chew me up and spit me out. everything about the PA profession appeals to me - learning medicine (obv not to the extent of a doctor) in a shorter amount of time, being able to practice and provide patient care after 2 years, lateral mobility, i like working in teams and i dont really care to be the top boss as long as im respected and can still have autonomy to treat and diagnose, etc. Its just the compensation and job scope in canada. Not being able to practice in the US is another thing deterring me, because originally i thought id just do PA school here inmy city to pay less tuition but then practice in the states and make US money. I could go to PA school in the US which would let me practice in both countries, but i have no idea how complicated that process can be as a non-US citizen and tuition is way more expensive there not to mention id be paying as an international student. i do know that the profession is growing in canada and if compensation went up with it i would probably just choose PA but i cant guarantee the future and that rlly scares me bc school is a big commitment and i am not from a wealthy family so i dont have any money to throw away. if any canadian PAs are out there (its hard to find any) pls give me some insight and your job satisfaction, or if anyone is/has been in a similar situation how did u make ur decision pls and ty

Disclosure: I applied last cycle, but had to defer to next year. Starting 8/2027

Cycle stats

1. Applied to 6 programs, 2 interviews, 1 acceptance

2. cGPA: 3.76

3. sGPA: 3.8 (Bio, Cell Bio, Biochem, Microbio, Gen Chem I/II, OChem I/II, A&P)

4. PCE: Dialysis Tech, in/outpatient: 5,000 hours at time of application

Leadership & Volunteering

1. Founded an LLC for my hobby (I'm a corporate magician)

2. Prison Education Volunteer

3. STD Testing Volunteer

4. Club President

5. Undergraduate Campus Recruiter

6. Fraternity Leadership (Philanthropy, Sergeat-at-Arms, New Member Educator)

7. LDS Missionary (trained 4 missionaries)

8. Skier 🎿

Good luck to everyone this cycle! Just wanted to share the good news and give some hope 😁😁

I’m really struggling with my PS and the thought of if I do get an interview, should I include why I want to be a PA? I’ve struggled with health issues for over 11 years. I live a fairly normal and active life but I do have several chronic illnesses and basically each time I saw a new provider who wasn’t able to give me answers, or a provider who would find the mystery bit of info that was bringing me one step closer to a diagnosis, it made me more intrigued about the healthcare field and the diagnosing process. After taking anatomy, physiology, and doing a suture clinic, I realized I wanted to help be a provider that gets people their answers. I looked into every medical career and I love that PA allows you to switch specialities. I love learning and I want to have a career where I never stop learning.

With that said, I don’t know if they’ll think I might not physically be up to the challenges of the program and career. Should I leave out that I have chronic illnesses? Or would including that info help show that I have a very empathetic view for patients? I personally think it’ll make me a stronger provider and I know my physical limits, but it may be hard for others to understand that from a PS. I think I could explain it clearly in an interview.

EDIT: I definitely would never say the word “useless” in my PS and I would explain that they just weren’t able to help me

EDIT 2: I think how I worded the post is making people not understand what I’m saying and asking, so I reworded it

I really had zero expectations since i disclosed substance abuse in my personal statement, almost 10 years in recovery. I guess my other stats made up for not being perfect!

There are two programs that I’ve completed applications and supplementals for.. they’re now asking me to submit my headshot. Wondering if this is common and I should expect more programs to request this or not? This is my first cycle so I never know what to expect other than what I’ve researched or seen on here 😂

The 2nd half of gChem series I got a C in and I can't retake it at any public university of junior college near me.

Every single counselor has told me I can't retake it since I've already "passed it".

This is a huge issue since every PA program I'm looking at in California requires at least a B- minimum.

How do I even work my way around this?

I would love to work with a supervising physician, and having someone I can consult with if there is any doubt.

But I know health systems are pushing less supervising, and PA organizations promote more autonomy and can be an unpopular opinion.

Should I mention it when asked about why PA?

hey guys, i have an interview next week and wanted to know if anyone has any tips or free resources that I can use for mock interviews. I see a lot of websites charging for mock interviews and I’ve already spent so much money this application season and just wanted to know if there were free options. Thank you!!

The white coat ceremony was last week and i’m still on the alternate waitlist should i give up or it there any hope?