REJECTION & PLANNING TO IMPROVE
Rejection can be very discouraging in the PA school application process. Putting time and effort into applications, filling out endless supplemental questions, paying hundreds of dollars… all just to be rejected is extremely disappointing. However, rejection can also be motivating! Applying to PA school and being rejected is not a total loss. You have already constructed your personal statement, gathered letters of recommendation, and completed your CASPA applications. Applying this cycle, even with rejections, allows you to better understand the application process, reevaluate your application, and plan to improve for the following cycle.
Ask yourself, what the strengths of your application are and what the weaknesses are. Working on your application weaknesses can make all the difference for the following cycle. If your GPA is solid and you have great patient care experience, consider taking a deeper look into your personal statement. Perhaps it did not come across the way you intended to admissions committees. A great next step would be utilizing myPAresource services! MyPAresource offers various packages for personal statement revisions by certified PAs. This service reviews your personal statement for content, grammar, and flow, in addition to providing constructive criticism and helpful edits. Your personal statement should not be re-used verbatim from cycle to cycle. Revising it is imperative, and myPAresource can help!
GET PERSONAL STATEMENT HELP
If your GPA is not as competitive as you’d like, consider taking a few classes before the next cycle. It may be hard to do this if you have a full-time job, but there are many online, self-paced courses offered by colleges to help boost your GPA. More tips for a GPA boost is taking courses that interest you, but are not necessarily difficult (get that “easy” A!), take post-bacc classes at a local community college after graduation, complete a post-bacc program or a Master’s program, or retake courses you may have received a B- or lower in during college. You may also boost your science GPA by taking high-level accelerated science course(s) over summer/winter breaks during college so you have the time to focus your attention & achieve better grades than if the course was lumped into your semester course load!
Although GPA is important, it isn’t everything! Work to improve the other factors of your application. This can be achieved by gaining more patient care experience hours, volunteering, participating in extracurricular activities, holding leadership positions, etc! A great way to become involved around your community is finding volunteer positions. VolunteerMatch.org can assist you with finding volunteer opportunities in your area! Also, check out websites for local hospitals and health care clinics for potential volunteer positions. A lack of patient care experience may be your applications downfall. Most PA programs take this requirement very seriously. Great PCE can make you stand out amongst the rest and be valuable to your application.
If you have applied to PA school during one cycle or even multiple cycles with no success, consider finding a mentor! A current PA student, recent PA school grad or a practicing PA may be able to provide you with personal insight that the internet cannot. There is no one set of advice that fits every reapplicant, so take the time to reflect on your individual application. Avoid comparing yourself to others. Although this is hard, it will benefit you in the long run. Rather than taking this experience as a negative, turn it into a positive and improve the best you can.
“Different judges, different winners.” This saying is very pertinent to the PA school application journey. You can receive 25 rejections and one acceptance… and that one acceptance is all you really need! Also, there is no shame in reapplying if you do not get in the first time around. According to the PAEA 2018 Student Survey, 33.2% of respondents had previously applied to PA school. Reapplicants are able to show that when faced with rejection, they can learn, grow, and become better. This is valuable, as learning and growing is a never-ending cycle as a PA student and a healthcare provider
