Hey everyone,
Not sure if this is an appropriate place to ask, but heck why not. Here's a brief intro to my story, what I've done, and where I'm heading and advice would be greatly appreciated.
I graduated from UCSD in June 2012 and I've been working at a pharmacy as a pharmacy technician since. At first, I had no clue what I wanted to do after graduating, but after working at a pharmacy for two years, I decided I'd love to be on the other side of the phone being the one calling in prescriptions and being the provider seeing and diagnosing the patient. After much thought the past few months, I've decided to pursue becoming a Physician Assistant.
I'm a California resident (specifically southern California) and so my obvious choices are USC, Western, and Loma Linda. So far, these are the only schools I've looked into so far and I do plan to look at others up north as well as out of state. I'm looking primarily into primary care / internal medicine. (Suggestions of programs would be great too)
Here are my stats and the coursework I've taken already and have left to take.
Taken:
Chem + lab - 1 year
Ochem + lab - 1 year
Writing - 1 year
Physics + lab - 1 year
Biochemistry
Cell Biology
Spanish - 1 semester
Anatomy & physiology
Psychology - 1 semester
Speech - 1 semester
Nutrition - 1 quarter
Need:
Microbiology + lab
Another semester of Spanish for usc
Sociology
GRE
Shadowing experience
GPA as of now:
UCSD: 3.4, 3.392 science gpa
Community college: 3.83, science gpa 4.0
Extracurricular:
Heavily involved with church - helped with college ministry and leading men's groups, have done administration with the church, as well as leading larger groups within the community for spiritual growth
Looking ahead:
I've been very tight on finances because my parents do not have the ability to financially support me and I also help pay for the bills as well. Because I've graduated from UCSD, I no longer qualify for FAFSA and I have to look for outside/private scholarships for additional funding.
Any suggestions from those of you that are pursuing PA or are in PA school? I'd appreciate any feedback that you have for becoming a more competitive applicant.
Not sure if this is an appropriate place to ask, but heck why not. Here's a brief intro to my story, what I've done, and where I'm heading and advice would be greatly appreciated.
I graduated from UCSD in June 2012 and I've been working at a pharmacy as a pharmacy technician since. At first, I had no clue what I wanted to do after graduating, but after working at a pharmacy for two years, I decided I'd love to be on the other side of the phone being the one calling in prescriptions and being the provider seeing and diagnosing the patient. After much thought the past few months, I've decided to pursue becoming a Physician Assistant.
I'm a California resident (specifically southern California) and so my obvious choices are USC, Western, and Loma Linda. So far, these are the only schools I've looked into so far and I do plan to look at others up north as well as out of state. I'm looking primarily into primary care / internal medicine. (Suggestions of programs would be great too)
Here are my stats and the coursework I've taken already and have left to take.
Taken:
Chem + lab - 1 year
Ochem + lab - 1 year
Writing - 1 year
Physics + lab - 1 year
Biochemistry
Cell Biology
Spanish - 1 semester
Anatomy & physiology
Psychology - 1 semester
Speech - 1 semester
Nutrition - 1 quarter
Need:
Microbiology + lab
Another semester of Spanish for usc
Sociology
GRE
Shadowing experience
GPA as of now:
UCSD: 3.4, 3.392 science gpa
Community college: 3.83, science gpa 4.0
Extracurricular:
Heavily involved with church - helped with college ministry and leading men's groups, have done administration with the church, as well as leading larger groups within the community for spiritual growth
Looking ahead:
- Thinking about pursuing EMT for solid clinical experience
- Another option is being an MA
- Last option is doing an accelerated BSN and then pursue PA (or even NP at that point).
- Note: I can apply for medical school, but I'm just not willing to undergo the financial costs as well as the time for training. This is one big reason why PA is a huge appeal to me.
I've been very tight on finances because my parents do not have the ability to financially support me and I also help pay for the bills as well. Because I've graduated from UCSD, I no longer qualify for FAFSA and I have to look for outside/private scholarships for additional funding.
Any suggestions from those of you that are pursuing PA or are in PA school? I'd appreciate any feedback that you have for becoming a more competitive applicant.
