Totally agree with James. I applied to 15 PA programs (only one program in-state and the rests out of state), got interview offered to 9 programs, went to interview to 3 programs and accepted to 2 programs. Highly recommend to invest money on your first cycle; otherwise, you might feel depressed and lost motivation to re-apply for next cycle.
haha. Congrats for your acceptance to Touro too. I am starting my program in June at ATSU (Arizona). I am sure we will be studying our butt off for didactic year, but can't wait. =)
I think race does play a small role. A large majority of PA students are caucasian and I think it's slowly shifting to be much more mixed, which I think is awesome. I think my PCE, GRE, personal statement, letter of recommendations, experiences, and interview all played a role in helping me get accepted to PA school :)
Brianna Wintren I'm on my phone and it lets me tag names on my phone so here is my response from when you asked your question a week ago! If you see I did respond the same day
Wow thanks for the advice! I thought I was being too much when I decided to apply to 10 schools. Your video made feel a lot better, time to apply to more schools!
Hey James! Congratulation getting into PA school! I was wondering if you are opened to reading personal statements or maybe give some tips on how to start a personal statement?
Hey! So I made a video called Top 5 Tips for a Great Personal Statement on my channel and in the description, there's really helpful links in the description of that video as well. You can also send me your personal statement to jameskimlifestyle@gmail.com and I'll do my best to provide feedback in a timely manner. Good luck friend :)
고마워요. 촣은 information 잘 받았습니다. I'm in the process of re-taking my prerequisites because my GPA is kind of low plus, some courses are over 10 years though I have been working for the past 9 years in the hospital.
The cost math is incorrect. Supplemental fees need to be considered. An average additional estimate of $60 per school. On top of that, I personally believe you don’t need to apply to 15-20 schools. Instead, I would work on getting an EMT, nursing, phlebotomy, etc. certification. Chances are that your low gpa (in his case) will carry onto PA school and this certification will certainly boost your application and medical expertise.
Hi James! How many schools did you apply to? This is my 2nd time applying. Last cycle I applied to 8 programs and got an interview at 1. So far I plan on applying to 15 this cycle.
please if this isn’t me (I am planning on majoring in human philology (already taking a lot of classes as a PSEO student) and getting certified as an EMT (with PSEO) and I am starting to get scared but I really want to be a first time applicant )
I am applying this cycle and want to apply to as many schools as possible but I am worried about the cost. Do you mind saying how much it cost for you to apply including fees and travel costs? I am thinking of possibly taking out a loan to cover the costs. Thx!!
Hey Taylor! So the costs of applying to ~18 programs including CASPA fees, supplemental fees, GRE score fees, flight + hotel fees, uber fees, transcript fees will come to between $3K - $5K depending on how much money you can save in certain areas. It is DEFINITELY expensive but it will be worth it in the long run! Best of luck to you
Strictly on CASPA application costs - $175 for the first program and $50 for every program after that - you then have to include secondary application fees, transcript/GRE request fees, transportation/flights if given an interview so it does add up quickly!
I have some volunteer hours but I’m not consistent (I tried) but have zero patient care hour but does have some healthcare hours. Do you think I should take a gap year or should I go for it?
Hey James do you think becoming a BS Respiratory Therapist with hopes of getting into PA school is a non-exhaustive route? I know getting a BSN just for PA school isn't the best route, wanted to know your thoughts on this
Just to clarify, you would get a Bachelors of science on Respiratory therapy? I think if thats the case and it helps you to land a great direct patient care job before applying to PA school, that would be a great option! If it doesn't help you get a patient care job and you don't enjoy it, I say choose another route. Choose a major/route you enjoy, it will make your life easier/better. Best of luck my friend
Definitely! With a kinesiology degree you can work as a physical therapy aide (which I did for PCE) and you get pretty great patient interaction. With a psych degree, it's a little tougher but I believe there are opportunities in clinical research that some programs count as patient care experience! Hope that helps :)
If you're still considering a bachelors in something: Do Dental Hygienist! 4 years and you make great money coming out vs the other degrees which are less in CA! Definitely helps to save up for PA school.
Hi! Did you manage to get all your prerequisites done during your 4 years of college? I've also been wondering if it was okay to take a year off after obtaining the bachelor's degree, in order to finish the prerequisites before attending PA school.
I'm going to be e freshman in college next year majoring in biology. I was wondering if you had any recommendations on what minor I should choose to help me stand out when I apply to PA school.
So for CASPA, you submit one personal statement to all programs - so you don't want to make it school specific but more so to demonstrate your passion to become a PA. When you receive secondary/supplemental applications, you'll have time to answer school-specific questions :)
Thank you! I'm going to take your advice and really max out on applications! I'm a re-applicant and I need to move on before my ship sinks! I'm drowning as an ED tech, but this is my 3rd year so hopefully the patient care hours makes me a stronger applicant :)
ok cool, I am taking it as a summer course from may 20th to june 24th. I have every other prerequisite class that are required for most PA schools. If I apply to pa schools in mid may and I have everything else i need like letters of rec, gre scores, personal statement ect; will having this one outstanding class hurt my application?
+Steamy The answer is, it depends on the school. Some schools will allow you to have pending classes, while others want you to have all prereqs complete by the time you apply. Reach out to individual schools you are applying and ask them directly how they handle this issue as it varies from school to school. Best of luck.
Yup, just like Denis mentioned, it depends on the program so best thing to do is contact the programs you are interested in and see if they first require medical terminology and second if you are allowed to be concurrently enrolled in pre-req courses.
Hey Javonne! Taking pre-reqs at a community college is a great way to get the pre-reqs completed! Most (if not all) programs accept community college classes for pre-reqs and I took a handful of mine at a community college. Best of luck!
Hi James. Thanks for all the informative videos. I'm from Hawaii and it's definitely harder to find PAs, yet alone find people who know what a physician assistant is. Hawaii does not have PA programs which forces me to leave my beautiful home.. I hope through your upcoming videos that I will find more motivation and strength to keep going! 학교를 시작하신것같은게 힘내세요~!
Hey James! I live on the West Coast, and I plan to apply to PA schools in the states around here. Would you recommend applying to schools further away to increase my chance? Or does it solely matter on the number of schools I apply to?
Hey Sandy! It Is entirely up to you where you want to apply! I know California schools are a bit more competitive (from my experience) so I would think applying to a few not in the west coast would be helpful!
Totally agree with James. I applied to 15 PA programs (only one program in-state and the rests out of state), got interview offered to 9 programs, went to interview to 3 programs and accepted to 2 programs.
Highly recommend to invest money on your first cycle; otherwise, you might feel depressed and lost motivation to re-apply for next cycle.
Yes! You are a rock star! Congrats on your acceptances! Very happy for you :)
haha. Congrats for your acceptance to Touro too. I am starting my program in June at ATSU (Arizona). I am sure we will be studying our butt off for didactic year, but can't wait. =)
AcademicAmnesia agreed
Ahh that's awesome! Arizona is a cool place :) Yes we will definitely be studying 24/7 haha
Confidence plays such a big role in the application process. Nice video!
Yes very true! & thank you :)
I think race does play a small role. A large majority of PA students are caucasian and I think it's slowly shifting to be much more mixed, which I think is awesome. I think my PCE, GRE, personal statement, letter of recommendations, experiences, and interview all played a role in helping me get accepted to PA school :)
Brianna Wintren I'm on my phone and it lets me tag names on my phone so here is my response from when you asked your question a week ago! If you see I did respond the same day
Who else needed this to apply out of State? Many blessings. Thank you.
Be confident in yourself! You got this.
Wow thanks for the advice! I thought I was being too much when I decided to apply to 10 schools. Your video made feel a lot better, time to apply to more schools!
Good luck with the process!
No problem Catherine! Yes I recommend finding a few more programs that fit what you're looking for :) best of luck!
I'm currently applying to 33 schools. I have lower GPA. But interviews have a sponsor who is paying for flights and hotels
Good luck!
Did you get in? What tips do you offer?
Just got in yesterday and applied to around 13 schools!!! First time applicant!!!
They were all out of state as well
Literally in the midst of applying and this helped so much
Best of luck Ellen :)
Great advice yet again 🙌🏻 Love the bleeps 😂
Haha thanks a lot brother. Thought they would be a nice little touch ;p
Right on my brother!!....absolutely agree!
Yessir! Thanks for watching my friend :)
Great advice!
You are so helpful. Thank you so much.
You're very welcome!
Hey James! Congratulation getting into PA school! I was wondering if you are opened to reading personal statements or maybe give some tips on how to start a personal statement?
Hey! So I made a video called Top 5 Tips for a Great Personal Statement on my channel and in the description, there's really helpful links in the description of that video as well. You can also send me your personal statement to jameskimlifestyle@gmail.com and I'll do my best to provide feedback in a timely manner. Good luck friend :)
I heard none of the evaluations and recommendations transfer over for the application cycles so it sucks having to ask again for reapplying....
Ahh that is tough
That's true . I had to ask again and I found new recommendations
can't wait for your next video
Thanks for the support Roy!
Lol the mewtwo made me laugh so loud in the library hahah
고마워요. 촣은 information 잘 받았습니다. I'm in the process of re-taking my prerequisites because my GPA is kind of low plus, some courses are over 10 years though I have been working for the past 9 years in the hospital.
Sarah Lee 좋은**
@@Rarachelahn thanks!
The cost math is incorrect. Supplemental fees need to be considered. An average additional estimate of $60 per school. On top of that, I personally believe you don’t need to apply to 15-20 schools. Instead, I would work on getting an EMT, nursing, phlebotomy, etc. certification. Chances are that your low gpa (in his case) will carry onto PA school and this certification will certainly boost your application and medical expertise.
Hi James!
How many schools did you apply to?
This is my 2nd time applying. Last cycle I applied to 8 programs and got an interview at 1.
So far I plan on applying to 15 this cycle.
Me being 15 hearing about PA school becoming way more competitive while i have like 9 years until then: 👁👄👁
please if this isn’t me (I am planning on majoring in human philology (already taking a lot of classes as a PSEO student) and getting certified as an EMT (with PSEO) and I am starting to get scared but I really want to be a first time applicant )
Hi, can you do a video on paying for PA school?
Hey Brittany! I will add it to the list of videos to make :) Thanks for the suggestion!
I am applying this cycle and want to apply to as many schools as possible but I am worried about the cost. Do you mind saying how much it cost for you to apply including fees and travel costs? I am thinking of possibly taking out a loan to cover the costs. Thx!!
Hey Taylor! So the costs of applying to ~18 programs including CASPA fees, supplemental fees, GRE score fees, flight + hotel fees, uber fees, transcript fees will come to between $3K - $5K depending on how much money you can save in certain areas. It is DEFINITELY expensive but it will be worth it in the long run! Best of luck to you
I have 3.7 science gpa but don’t have any volunteer hours.. what are my odds??
Karen Bucio hey Karen! They look at gpa, patient care hours, volunteering, shadowing, your whole application, lots of components!
how much is it to apply to PA schools?
Strictly on CASPA application costs - $175 for the first program and $50 for every program after that - you then have to include secondary application fees, transcript/GRE request fees, transportation/flights if given an interview so it does add up quickly!
I have some volunteer hours but I’m not consistent (I tried) but have zero patient care hour but does have some healthcare hours. Do you think I should take a gap year or should I go for it?
Hey James do you think becoming a BS Respiratory Therapist with hopes of getting into PA school is a non-exhaustive route? I know getting a BSN just for PA school isn't the best route, wanted to know your thoughts on this
Just to clarify, you would get a Bachelors of science on Respiratory therapy? I think if thats the case and it helps you to land a great direct patient care job before applying to PA school, that would be a great option! If it doesn't help you get a patient care job and you don't enjoy it, I say choose another route. Choose a major/route you enjoy, it will make your life easier/better. Best of luck my friend
James Kim Thanks for the reply!! Do you think there would be any patient care opportunities with a psychology or kinesiology degree? Thanks again!
Definitely! With a kinesiology degree you can work as a physical therapy aide (which I did for PCE) and you get pretty great patient interaction. With a psych degree, it's a little tougher but I believe there are opportunities in clinical research that some programs count as patient care experience! Hope that helps :)
If you're still considering a bachelors in something: Do Dental Hygienist! 4 years and you make great money coming out vs the other degrees which are less in CA! Definitely helps to save up for PA school.
Hi! Did you manage to get all your prerequisites done during your 4 years of college? I've also been wondering if it was okay to take a year off after obtaining the bachelor's degree, in order to finish the prerequisites before attending PA school.
I took some after I finished my bachelor's!
Thanks! Also, what was your patient care experience like and when did you start filling up those hours?
I'm going to be e freshman in college next year majoring in biology. I was wondering if you had any recommendations on what minor I should choose to help me stand out when I apply to PA school.
Spanish :)
By when did you have all your applications submitted?
Early June
Did you use the same essay and just tweak them for all the different applications?
So for CASPA, you submit one personal statement to all programs - so you don't want to make it school specific but more so to demonstrate your passion to become a PA. When you receive secondary/supplemental applications, you'll have time to answer school-specific questions :)
Thank you! I'm going to take your advice and really max out on applications! I'm a re-applicant and I need to move on before my ship sinks! I'm drowning as an ED tech, but this is my 3rd year so hopefully the patient care hours makes me a stronger applicant :)
Ahh best of luck :)
This was very informative! Thank you very much :)
Glad you found it helpful! You're very welcome :)
did you have medical terminology as a pre-requisite when you applied to your schools?
Hey! I did take medical terminology as it was required by a good handful of schools that I applied to :)
ok cool, I am taking it as a summer course from may 20th to june 24th. I have every other prerequisite class that are required for most PA schools. If I apply to pa schools in mid may and I have everything else i need like letters of rec, gre scores, personal statement ect; will having this one outstanding class hurt my application?
+Steamy The answer is, it depends on the school. Some schools will allow you to have pending classes, while others want you to have all prereqs complete by the time you apply. Reach out to individual schools you are applying and ask them directly how they handle this issue as it varies from school to school. Best of luck.
Yup, just like Denis mentioned, it depends on the program so best thing to do is contact the programs you are interested in and see if they first require medical terminology and second if you are allowed to be concurrently enrolled in pre-req courses.
Great video! I'm switching career fields and wanted to know your thoughts on taking pre-reqs at a community college part time?
Hey Javonne! Taking pre-reqs at a community college is a great way to get the pre-reqs completed! Most (if not all) programs accept community college classes for pre-reqs and I took a handful of mine at a community college. Best of luck!
Hi James. Thanks for all the informative videos. I'm from Hawaii and it's definitely harder to find PAs, yet alone find people who know what a physician assistant is. Hawaii does not have PA programs which forces me to leave my beautiful home.. I hope through your upcoming videos that I will find more motivation and strength to keep going! 학교를 시작하신것같은게 힘내세요~!
Nothing wrong with relocating for a few years for PA school :) Hawaii is aweome!
Oh yeah. Hawaii's great but I definitely want to leave! :P I'm trying to get into phlebotomy for my health care hours. Would you recommend that?
Phlebotomy is great!
What camera do you use to film?
Hey Justine! I am actually just shooting with a Sony NEX 5T digital camera. Hoping to upgrade to a Canon 70D DSLR in the next year :)
James Kim thank you!! I apply this year to PA school, hopefully I get in 😊👌
Good luck Justine!
Hey James! I live on the West Coast, and I plan to apply to PA schools in the states around here. Would you recommend applying to schools further away to increase my chance? Or does it solely matter on the number of schools I apply to?
Hey Sandy! It Is entirely up to you where you want to apply! I know California schools are a bit more competitive (from my experience) so I would think applying to a few not in the west coast would be helpful!
When you say lower GPA what do you mean by lower?
Hey Johnny! I would say anything below a 3.3 can be considered a lower GPA
PA school matriculant average GPA is around 3.5
What was yours if you don't mind?
3.26 cGPA and 3.01 sGPA!
Thanks man