Decisions, decisions, decisions...

[HawkJ2010]

Background info: 20 year old undergraduate, graduating with degree in Psychology in May 2012, little to no sciences classes, little HCE.

I have done some shadowing in the PA world and have decided it is something I really want to do within my future. However, I have recently made this decision and do not have the proper pre-requisites to move forward into a Master's PA program.

So I have two options...

1) Apply to a 5-year PA program where I will complete a BS/MS within the time-frame. Con's of this situation are expenses... these schools are not cheap, but they do guarantee going into PA school from the get-go.

2) Seeing as how I am young I can go back to school (local university or community college) and complete the pre-requisites within 1-2 years. Pro's: live at home, cheaper tuition. Con's: no guarantee into PA school, need to find a job for HCE


Any advice is greatly appreciated.


Thank you and have a great day
-Hawk

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[PamEganNP]

My advice is to get your education out of the way before embarking on your career. If you can afford to take on either of the options you mentioned without taking on full-time work, by all means do it. I started out as an LPN, and am now an NP. Getting to that point took more than two decades as I had a family to take care of and could not afford to not work. The last decade has been great though, and it was definitely well worth the wait.