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5 tips to get accepted to PA school

 

So you want to be a PA –we are here to help. Here are 5 key tips on how to get that PA school acceptance letter.

1. Meet minimum requirements!

This is critical, if you do not ensure that you have met every requirement, you may as well not apply to that program! Most schools simply disqualify any application that is shy of any required entity. Check MyPAbox to see where you can apply to when originally choosing your programs to apply to, but also check again when you are ready to submit to ensure nothing has changed! Make sure that you have indeed met every required aspect that the program asks for – that means number of hours, letters of recommendation from certain people (supervisor vs. a certified PA are some examples), supplemental apps, GRE scores, and so forth.

2. Be a grammar perfectionist

Nobody’s perfect…but…try your best to be when it comes to this. There should be zero typos or grammatical errors. This does not just mean in your statement, but every written piece in your application. That means descriptions under your experiences, and even how you wrote your home address. Attention to detail is critical, and make sure you double –triple, check before you hit submit. You wouldn’t want application money wasted over a typo!

 

3. Differentiate yourself with your statement

This really is the portion of your application where you get the opportunity to “speak” directionally with admissions before the interview. Tell them about yourself and why you would be a great PA, but also what differentiates you. How are you different for all of the other statements they read? The statement can be the ticket to the interview.

 

“ Check MyPAbox to see where you can apply to when originally choosing your programs to apply to, but also check again when you are ready to submit to ensure nothing has changed! ”

4. Weave a theme throughout your application

If possible (and not forced), try to weave a theme throughout your application, connecting things when applicable. For example, if you were passionate about serving a certain type of community, or always volunteered with children and want to be a pediatric PA, connect that and weave that throughout your application wherever you can. This creates a clear picture to admissions that this actually means something to you, and also makes you and your application that much more unique.

5. Be thorough

Try to see the optional aspects of the application as required (unless it is truly irrelevant to your situation). If given a limit of characters, try to go as close to the limit as possible. That is YOUR space to explain what you have done to admissions, so use it! Add all of your applicable hours. That one service project you did and you think you’ll just leave it out because you already have a different one listed? Don’t! You did it, you deserve to add it to your application. At the same time, you don’t need to list that time you picked up a soda can outside the grocery store –keep it relevant, but give yourself credit where credit is due.

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This Post Has One Comment

  1. I am 53yrs old and did not pay attention to my GPA along my journey. All I wanted to do is finish school and move on to the next phase of my life. I graduated in 2021 with my BS in Biology but my GPA took a really hard hit along the way. I’m afraid that I will never be looked at because of this and all my dreams of becoming a PA will be gone. I’ve been in the medical field for the past 16yrs and always wanted to take my scope of practice to the next level and help people. I am currently trying to study for the GRE and get a decent score. I had no guidance throughout my whole educational life and here I am trying to make it.

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