Dilemma- accepted to PA school but prefer med school...

[chicago12]

So I started this process in January of 2016. I'm about to be 33 soon, and because of my age, my plan was to apply to both PA and med school, and initially, my thought process was that whatever I get accepted into first I will go to. Well...recently I got accepted to a PA school, a day after interviewing. I was pretty shocked to be honest, since I took/ am taking post-bacc courses at a community college.
Over this past year and a half, my confidence has grown and my heart has steered towards the med school route. While I am honored to be accepted to a top ranked PA school, I have a feeling that I may regret not trying to at least take the MCAT to try to get into med school. I applied to PA school first because I had the pre-reqs completed for it first, and also took the GRE last summer and did well on it.
I have Physics 2 and Gen Bio 2 remaining for med school pre-reqs, as well as the MCAT. I am taking those courses this semester, and plan on taking the MCAT by January. The only course I wouldn't have completed, that only a few schools require, is Biochem, which I do not plan on taking since I want to dedicate enough time to study for the MCAT these next few months, and the state school I want to get into doesn't require biochem.
I have to put the deposit for PA school down within a few weeks. I'm torn because getting into PA school is competitive as it is, and the fact that I got in so quickly makes this dilemma even tougher.
The PA school I got accepted to would start next May, and the earliest I would start med school (if accepted), is fall of 2019. Despite this extra year of waiting for med school, and even with it not being guaranteed, I still feel like I have to put my best effort to take the MCAT.
I've also heard that it is common for students to put the deposit down for a school and change their mind later on and back out if they get accepted to another school that was a better fit for them. So should I put the deposit down for PA school and take the MCAT in January to see how I do? Or since my heart is set on med school, would putting the deposit down for PA school be a waste of money?

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[Ad2b]

I'm not sure if I have an answer that helps.

You were accepted to a program that you thought long and hard about. You had to put in 2000+ hrs of direct patient care to be accepted, correct?

Questions:

1. Can you afford to lose the deposit money should you eventually not attend?

2. If you do NOT get accepted to med school, are you okay with that? What will you do then? PA schools might reject you for fear that you'll back out again (not sure if they can see your acceptances/rejections/withdrawals like med schools can or not)

3. Do you feel like your age is pushing you to make a rash decision?

To me, take things one step at a time. What is your first step? Do that. Take the next step... and so on.

You do not have decide how to manage the world today; just the next step.

 

[chicago12]

The thing is, I did not put in 2000+ of patient contact experience, and that's what's even more crazy about the situation. I have around 300 hours of volunteer experience (4 hours a week in a local er for the past few years), and non patient contact healthcare experience (worked for the business side of a clinic part-time while finishing my undergrad). I had leadership/management experience in my last career in sales, had an above average GRE, all A's on post-bacc coursework, president of the pre-md/pa club at my community college, and a very solid personal statement. That, combined with my interview, must have been enough for them to accept me so quickly?! At the end of the interview day, the told us it would take a few months for them to let us know about being accepted or not, but I got an acceptance email the next day. So I feel extremely blessed and humbled to get accepted, but at the same time it's a tough decision because I don't want to regret things later on in life in not going for med school. I've personally talked to PA's who wished they thought about the long run and went to med school instead of PA school, mainly due to issues in getting respect from peers, especially MD's. At the same time, there are many PA's who love their career. It is what we make it I guess...
Anywho...you posed some great questions for me to think about. Thanks a ton for the advice... it means a lot.

 

[Ad2b]

I've talked to PA's who wished they thought about the long run and went to med school instead of PA school.

I did too before deciding to dip my toe in the pound. The two that I spoke with before doing the pre-med thing regretted not going to med school. Med school offers a whole other spectrum of loan forgiveness, for one thing, that PA school does not.

My own physician has a PA that I routinely see. The other day I asked her if she'd ever contemplated med school over PA. She said no, not ever.

Her reasons? Family, debt and she LOVES the patient contact which she gets more of as a PA than she would have had as a physician.

Also wanted to address the respect factor re: MDs. There will always be someone in any profession who skank-eyes someone else and their choices. I would never make a choice based on respect of peers; internal respect/dignity > all because it exudes out anyway.

Which leads me to another question: do you thoroughly enjoy patient contact?

Every doc I shadowed, including a former boyfriend, spent at max, 10 mins with each patient and that was only for 1 terminal patient who was being told they were terminal, and 1 13-week pregnant mom when he couldn't get a heartbeat on the fetus. Those were the 10 min appt's. All others were 5 - 8 mins. Kind, caring, compassionate during those minutes but very limited contact.

 

[chicago12]

I did too before deciding to dip my toe in the pound. The two that I spoke with before doing the pre-med thing regretted not going to med school. Med school offers a whole other spectrum of loan forgiveness, for one thing, that PA school does not.

My own physician has a PA that I routinely see. The other day I asked her if she'd ever contemplated med school over PA. She said no, not ever.

Her reasons? Family, debt and she LOVES the patient contact which she gets more of as a PA than she would have had as a physician.

Also wanted to address the respect factor re: MDs. There will always be someone in any profession who skank-eyes someone else and their choices. I would never make a choice based on respect of peers; internal respect/dignity > all because it exudes out anyway.

Which leads me to another question: do you thoroughly enjoy patient contact?

Every doc I shadowed, including a former boyfriend, spent at max, 10 mins with each patient and that was only for 1 terminal patient who was being told they were terminal, and 1 13-week pregnant mom when he couldn't get a heartbeat on the fetus. Those were the 10 min appt's. All others were 5 - 8 mins. Kind, caring, compassionate during those minutes but very limited contact.

Did you end up going the PA or MD route?

 

[Goro]

So I started this process in January of 2016. I'm about to be 33 soon, and because of my age, my plan was to apply to both PA and med school, and initially, my thought process was that whatever I get accepted into first I will go to. Well...recently I got accepted to a PA school, a day after interviewing. I was pretty shocked to be honest, since I took/ am taking post-bacc courses at a community college.
Over this past year and a half, my confidence has grown and my heart has steered towards the med school route. While I am honored to be accepted to a top ranked PA school, I have a feeling that I may regret not trying to at least take the MCAT to try to get into med school. I applied to PA school first because I had the pre-reqs completed for it first, and also took the GRE last summer and did well on it.
I have Physics 2 and Gen Bio 2 remaining for med school pre-reqs, as well as the MCAT. I am taking those courses this semester, and plan on taking the MCAT by January. The only course I wouldn't have completed, that only a few schools require, is Biochem, which I do not plan on taking since I want to dedicate enough time to study for the MCAT these next few months, and the state school I want to get into doesn't require biochem.
I have to put the deposit for PA school down within a few weeks. I'm torn because getting into PA school is competitive as it is, and the fact that I got in so quickly makes this dilemma even tougher.
The PA school I got accepted to would start next May, and the earliest I would start med school (if accepted), is fall of 2019. Despite this extra year of waiting for med school, and even with it not being guaranteed, I still feel like I have to put my best effort to take the MCAT.
I've also heard that it is common for students to put the deposit down for a school and change their mind later on and back out if they get accepted to another school that was a better fit for them. So should I put the deposit down for PA school and take the MCAT in January to see how I do? Or since my heart is set on med school, would putting the deposit down for PA school be a waste of money?

I suggest that you follow through with your decision, because if you drop out to try for med school, or try while still in PA school, we'll wonder if you'll bail med school like you did for PA.

 

[Ad2b]

Did you end up going the PA or MD route?

MD route...Rural family is my hope but we'll see; gotta get in first