With apologies to Gene Autry, I’m back in the saddle again. CASPA, which is the Centralized Application Service for PA programs, opened up for applications for the 2024-25 round of PA school applications. I actually logged in last night, but there were no changes, at least as of 1:45 AM ET. So sometime between then and 10:00 AM today they finally opened things up.
So I’ve officially started the process for the second round of PA school applications. As loyal readers know, last year, my total was all “thanks for applying, but no” except for one school that waitlisted me. For various reasons I didn’t pursue that one very hard. While I had had hopes for being accepted last year (which would have meant I’d be taking classes now, or starting within a few months), the chances honestly where low. It’s actually pretty common for folks to take 2-3 attempts before getting in. There are a variety of reasons. So to play a bit on Arlo Guthrie’s words from Alice’s Restaurant Massacree, “Kid, have you rehabilitated yourself?” In other words, what’s different this time?
Well, my overall GPA is still an issue, there’s little I can do to completely fix that short of taking probably another 30-40 credits worth of classes. But my science GPA has improved and I’ve added a few more useful classes to my transcript that will help with a few of the schools I’m applying to.
Of course, as I mentioned some schools tend to want to see repeat applications, so I’ll be checking that box.
My patient contact hours are much higher. For the schools I am most interested in, the minimum number of patient contact hours was 1000 hours, I had barely met that last time I applied. Now I’m at over three times that number, with over 3000 hours under my belt. This also exceeds the mean average for most of the schools I’m applying to. I’m hoping this shows my dedication and interest. And as I’ve said before, the fact that it’s in the ED helps a lot because it shows I have a wide variety of medical experiences (things I’ve assisted in or observed first hand include several spinal taps, a thoracotomy, bone reductions, and more.)
And finally, better references. This isn’t to disparage my previous references; the people I had selected I have a great deal of respect for and I believe they share the same in regards to me (and at least one shared the letter of reference he sent on behalf and I was overwhelmed by his positive words). But this time around, with at least two schools, I will have far more targeted references, for example from graduates of their schools, so that tends to help. In addition, at least one professional reference is one that knows me even better than the reference I used last time. So, I’m hoping these references make an even bigger impact than last time.
I haven’t fully decided which schools I’m applying to this time, nor exactly how many, but the process is moving forward. There’s a few schools that are obvious choices for me, and a few that are on my no list this time around that were on my list last time.
But that said, this weekend (only because I’m starting a 12 hour shift in 2 hours and need to sleep tomorrow) I’ll be moving ahead quickly with the application process.
I’m excited and nervous!