How to GET INTO PA SCHOOL with a LOW GPA

0:00 intro
0:47 you CAN do it
1:35 grades DO matter
4:00 history of the PA profession
4:40 PA school applicants are younger now
5:55 make a PERSONAL connection with admissions
7:20 pre-medical post-bacc
11:15 designing your own post-bacc pre-med curriculum
13:35 master's of science
15:45 other medical field bachelor's like BSN, respiratory therapy, etc.
17:00 summary and outro
List of pre-medical post-baccs: mec.aamc.org/postbac/#/index
#paschool #physicianassistant
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My name is Boris, I'm a Board-Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C)
This channel is all about living a happy, healthy life. I also make videos about getting into PA school, improving your CASPA application, and study skills!
If you would like to get my help personally or if you would like to collaborate, please reach out to me through my website: www.boristhepa.com
Or send me a DM on Instagram: / boristhepa
Check out my Spring store here for cool t-shirts, mugs and stickers that help support my work and this channel: my-store-11543391.creator-spr...
Please share this channel with anyone you know who loves health and self improvement and/or needs to learn how to study and/or needs help getting into PA school! / @boristhepa
Click • Get Into PA School | M... to watch a video about my journey to PA school. Taking myself from a completely non-competitive applicant with a 2.9 GPA and 0 patient care experience hours to becoming the kind of applicant PA schools were excited to admit to their program.
Click • How to GET INTO PA SCH... to watch a video about how to get into PA school with a low GPA
Click • PA School Admissions D... to watch a video in which I interview the director of admissions for my PA school, where she shares amazing tips about your CASPA personal statement, interviewing for physician assistant (PA) school, and much much more!
Click • How To STUDY (how I me... to watch a video where I describe teach you the fundamentals of studying, which is something you will really need if you want to become competitive enough to get into PA school and then survive in PA school, graduate, and pass your PANCE!
Click • How To Write Your PA S... to watch a video in which I go into great detail and show you how to write your PA school personal statement (CASPA essay) step-by-step.
Click • How I Went to PA Schoo... to watch a video where I describe several options to go to PA school for FREE!!!!
**Disclaimer: I am not a PA School admissions professional. The advice I provide in my KZbin videos and any advice or feedback I provide during consulting sessions is for informational purposes only and is based on my own knowledge, experience, personal research, and success as a PA School applicant and student. I do not provide medical advice online. Nothing I say, write, or reference in my KZbin, Instagram, and Facebook posts is medical advice and any viewer that uses the information I provide does so at their own risk and assumes all risk with taking these actions. All of my content is for entertainment purposes only. All views expressed through email, in phone and video consulting sessions, on my KZbin channel, and in my Instagram and Facebook posts are my own and may not reflect the views or opinions of my school, employer, or anyone else.**

[@BorisThePA]

Buy the BEST personal statement writing book: a.co/d/6vHt4EK In the book, I show you how to write a powerful personal statement step by step. I also share my best tips for filling out the CASPA application!

[@sensasian9689]

Hello! Would you consider scribe work to be on-hand patient care experience?

[@BorisThePA]

@@sensasian9689 I would, but some programs do not so be careful! Make sure to check their website and look at their list of acceptable patient care experiences, if you can't find it, speak with their admissions office :)

[@Josephamac]

I was accepted with a 2.56 GPA. Thanks to videos like yours that gave me a boost when I was feeling hopeless. Thank you! To everyone else with a low GPA, YOU GOT THIS! I’m rooting for you

[@slfirmin23]

Congratulations!!! 🎉 Would you mind sharing the steps that you took to get to accepted into PA school? This is very inspiring !!!

[@BasicallyBosco]

Thank youuu!!! Im glad im following these tips to get in.

[@BorisThePA]

You got this :)

[@taylorskyblue9413]

This video is gold!! Thank you for posting this! I've been trying to improve my GPA for 10 years. I'm serious. I graduated college in 2011. It's been a very long time, my GPA won't budge much, and I'm so broke, I even went to nursing school. I am giving nursing school a break right now. I'll try your advice! Thank you so much!

[@BorisThePA]

I graduated in 2011 too! You’re absolutely right, sometimes just taking more classes isn’t the right approach.

[@johnguillen68]

I have a low GPA (2.74) all I wanted to do is just get my BS and move on to the next level of education. In the end, I realized that it was wrong for me not to focus on these classes that pretty much had no baring for PA school. It's too late for me because I'm in my last semester of my BS in Biology and now my goal is to finish and focus on doing really great on the GRE. I'm hoping that my years of experience (15yrs) as a Paramedic in the emergency department, being a minority, and being 52 yrs old would put me on the radar for admission. I surely hope so.

[@BorisThePA]

You should take a look at my "How to get into pa school with a low GPA" video for some helpful tips and ideas! kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnuUhHufgsycp7M

[@johnguillen68]

@@BorisThePA I believe I can handle the circulum because I had to work while getting my BS and it was hard doing both. If I get into PA school I know that all my focus would be just school and all on health. I know that these schools want a straight "A" student so that their graduation % looks good. I'm not a straight "A" student but I'm a hard working student. It's been a year now since I got my BS and the hunt still goes on trying to get in. I have no money to pay for extra classes bad enough these applications cost a lot and I'm trying to make ends meet.

[@BorisThePA]

@@johnguillen68 based on what you said, maybe the accelerated BSN option would be best for you. 12-18 months so minimal student loans, and then a great salary once you're out. these programs aren't competitive compared to PA school. then after 1-2 years as a nurse, you can apply for PA or NP programs!

[@johnguillen68]

@@BorisThePA Thank you. I'm really thinking of this route. So far I applied at 2 PA schools of course I was planning on several more, but I'm looking into nursing school. Thank you for taking the time to write back.

[@BorisThePA]

@@johnguillen68 you're very welcome and good luck!!!

[@labowes19]

Hi Boris! Wondering if these post-bacc suggestions (taking a heavy course load/more than 2 courses at a time) applies to complete career changers? I'm not sure I can work 50 hours a week AND take 3 courses (mostly due to scheduling)? Would it be best just to save up money, quit my job, and take a heavier course load?

[@BorisThePA]

Hi Laura, I definitely cannot encourage you to make such a huge life change without knowing much more about your situation! If you'd like, please email me directly.

[@knov8224]

Would you also recommend retaking some science courses you didn't do so well in? (granted the person already has a bachelor's degree)

[@BorisThePA]

Kimberly, I would not recommend re-taking the same course. It would be better to take a different upper-level bio or chem course and do well. When I spoke with the dean of my current program about this, she said that an A in a class I haven't taken before looks much better than an A in a class I already took but didn't do well in.

[@simply_sophia]

@@BorisThePA oh nooo, I wish I saw this a year ago. I retook classes I had a C in to get an A 😭😭😭

[@BorisThePA]

@@simply_sophia it's all good, you got an extra A on your transcript now!

[@chinonsoibe2384]

I only have one more year of undergrad , and it’s my fifth year since I finally decided I wanted to be a PA my junior year. My cummualitive is around 3.2 and I haven’t done my science but I’m guessing it’s around that, I’ve been told if I took the science classes I have left for my major and it increases it to the most 3.4 gpa, it isn’t competitive enough, should I retake classes or what?

[@BorisThePA]

In your situation, you could go in one of two directions: 1. Keep taking classes to raise your GPA and get a lot of high quality PCE hours as a CNA, MA, EMT, scribe, etc. I am assuming you don't have many PCE hours right now. It will take 1-2 years, assuming you get very good grades and are able to find a job to get PCE soon, before you are competitive. 2. Find an accelerated BSN program for non-nurses. Most are between 12-18 months. Get very good grades. In the same amount of time that option 1 took you: you raise your overall undergraduate GPA, graduate with a BSN, and start getting great high-level medical experience and make good money. A year later, you are much competitive for PA school and you also have the option to apply to NP schools, which non-nurses cannot apply to. **I have to say that every PA school is different and it is possible that you can be accepted with your current grades, you just have to put yourself out there and personally contact some graduate admissions departments to ask what your chances look like and how you can improve!

[@chinonsoibe2384]

Boris Temkin, PA-S1 I already am trying to take the cna state exam to get my license I couldn’t earlier because of the quarantine and state shut down etc, so I’m still waiting to be rescheduled . Thank you for the advice though!!

[@BorisThePA]

@@chinonsoibe2384 Good luck!!

[@sensasian9689]

Hello. I’m in my last semester of BS. I thought strongly of going to PA school, but with my GPA below 3.00, I know I can’t make the cut even if I get straight A’s this upcoming Spring semester. What are your recommendations for post graduation plans if I still desire to pursue a PA career? What other professions should I consider?

[@BorisThePA]

Tough situation… although I would still push for straight A’s or as close to that as possible your last semester. A lot of schools, particularly with holistic application review process like Rutgers and Lemoyne might see that and still give you a shot. Especially if you do a masters or a post back or something. Did you watch this video and it’s entirety? All the answers to your questions are explained very detailed.

[@ronniea.4830]

Hello, Thank you for the video. My son in his senior year BS Microbiology decided that he want to be a PA. his final GPA 3.1 - Ochem killed his GPA with C,C- all the rest were A and B's. He now completing pre req Anatomy in a C.C. Are there any courses he can take to boost up his grade? He has 1600 hours paid as a Red Cross phlebotomist (he is certified) and volunteering. What else can he do? he is also looking to shadow a PA - if you have any insight on how that will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance

[@BorisThePA]

Ronnie GREAT question!! I'm answering it in a pre-PA Q&A video. But briefly just for you: GPA: find an online GPA calculator and play around with it to determine how many credits he will need to take to raise his GPA to at least 3.3-3.4. This will be different depending on how many credits he's already taken. You may also consider a structured pre-medical post-bacc program or master's degree, but that should probably not be necessary, he should probably only need 1-2 semesters of full time coursework to get that GPA up but again, calculate this before paying for any more classes. shadowing: go to any hospital/urgent care/medical office and ask if there's a PA working there that he can shadow. go out and ask 10 places and you'll find at least one that will let him shadow. or use your friends/family and see if someone knows a PA that will let him shadow. or use the school's career office/pre-PA club/pre-med club and see if they have any connections for shadowing.

[@greenkara09]

What kind of questions would you ask the admissions department?

[@BorisThePA]

I would start with "at your convenience, could you please take a look at my application and let me know what I could improve to be competitive for your program?" You want them to tell you exactly what you need to improve. You also want to already know some of the things you should improve and have several ideas to do so. Once admissions tells you what to improve, you should ask them which of your ideas you should implement, or if they have a better idea. Don't get discouraged if some of these improvements may take a year or two, be excited to improve yourself as a person and an applicant, and communicate this to admissions. Good luck, and let me know if I can help!

[@phammaitrinh6268]

Do you have any suggestion for HAND On PATIENT hour? Do you think I should take Medical assistance to achieve HAND on Patient hours?

[@BorisThePA]

Some of the most common hands-on PCE jobs are: certified nurse aide (CNA), certified medical assistant (CMA), patient care tech, and emergency medical technician (EMT). Medical assistant is certainly a good way to get your hours as long as the job involves more patient interaction than paperwork. Take a look at this video I did on the topic! kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3W8p5meat-dp7c

[@RohanKumar-zz5tc]

How long would you say it would take for programs to reply back after the interview process? Had my first interview a week ago, and I’m growing quite impatient lol

[@BorisThePA]

Congrats on the interview!! I’m sure you did great. It really depends on the program, and whether they do rolling admissions or not. Could be a few days, could be a few months. Hang in there!

[@RohanKumar-zz5tc]

@@BorisThePA thanks for the reply! It’s a new program that has it first cohort this year, however I applied to the second cohort! Just hoping for the best and have my fingers crossed.

[@darrenroberts637]

Hey, love your channel it’s vey informative and encouraging.. I’m thinking of Getting to Master in Radiology Managemment..I’ve many years of medical experience but dream is get into PA program. I have two problems my Gpa is not that high and I’m in my 55 …I worked for Kaiser Permanente for 25 years.. As an EmT, Lab assistant and Rad tech, in LA and SD area..Do you think getting Master Degree help me to get in ?? Or what is ur advice?

[@BorisThePA]

Hey, thank you for supporting the channel! I’m sorry I don’t know nearly enough about your stats and application to know if a masters degree might help or not. I usually say no because they’re very time consuming and it would be easier to get your grades up by taking more undergraduate classes or doing a post-bacc, but again, every case is different.

[@darrenroberts637]

@@BorisThePA would you open to chat with my on the phone for few mins?

[@BorisThePA]

@@darrenroberts637 of course, I offer 30-minute pre-PA counseling sessions. please see my website, BorisThePA.com for instructions on how to book one of my services! (unfortunately I don't have time to do free consults anymore, that would be unfair to my paying clients)

[@jhanelventurina6632]

Is there a post-bac GPA when you complete the program?

[@BorisThePA]

There is, and your post-bacc classes are counted in your undergraduate GPA

[@justinabenson7229]

Another Question is If I already have an associate's degree from a community college before transferring to a 4-year university and graduate with my bachelor's can I still go back to a community college to get my PA prerequisites done at a community college still? I would gladly appreciate a response from you. Thanks a lot

[@BorisThePA]

Hi Justina, yes you can still get some prerequisites done at a community college even after you've graduated with your bachelor's from a 4-year university. That being said, you should check with the office of graduate admissions at each of the schools you plan to apply to and get their opinion. Based on my personal conversations with admissions folks, some community college and/or online courses are fine, but you don't want too many of your prerequisites to come from those sources.

[@justinabenson7229]

@@BorisThePA thanks

[@BorisThePA]

@@justinabenson7229 any time!

[@leemariiee]

@@BorisThePA just curious as to why that is? “Don’t want too many of those prerequisites to come from those sources.”

[@BorisThePA]

@@leemariiee that's what the director of graduate admissions of my PA program told me when I interviewed her

[@aneekarahman7242]

I am a community college student at the moment, I want to become a PA Do you think going to a clinical research program for 3-5 week and work as a clinical research for sometime can help me in becoming a Physician Assistant.

[@BorisThePA]

Aneeka, research is great but hands-on patient care experience is what PA schools require. It would be better to do a CNA or CMA certification course instead, if your goal is PA school.

[@aneekarahman7242]

Boris Thanks for your response. I need some more suggestions May I dm you in instagram for that?

[@BorisThePA]

@@aneekarahman7242 of course!

[@moeshamertilus9896]

What if you gpa is too low for post bac or masters?

[@clarkk52]

Is it at all possible to get accepted with an expunged misdemeanor?

[@BorisThePA]

I honestly don't know anything about that, but you can call or email the admissions office and they will have an answer for you!

[@rummiiis6667]

Can I get help from you? I am in a really bad place … in terms of gpa and everything … I don’t have much time to fix it because I have taken too many courses …

[@BorisThePA]

Of course, see my website BorisThePA.com for instructions on booking a zoom call with me

[@AsrifYusoff]

Great content and subscribed! Would love hear what you think of our grad school channel. Thank you very much.

[@BorisThePA]

thanks!

[@waltzjumper]

If you are trying to turn people against P.A.s you couldn't do a better job!

[@BorisThePA]

How so?

[@waltzjumper]

@@BorisThePA Intelligent people in the aggregate have high GPA's. Dumb people do not, again in the aggregate. You are giving potential patients the very reasonable notion that dumb people can become P.A.s; and quite easily I might add.

[@BorisThePA]

@@waltzjumper so let’s say an intelligent, passionate, caring person wants to be a PA or a doctor. Let’s say this person comes from an underprivileged background, like they’re a first generation college student or an immigrant, and they never learned good study skills and their GPA reflects that. Would you tell this person they should never be a provider and they should stop trying and go work at subway instead? (No offense to subway, I love their protein bowls and raspberry cheesecake cookies :)

[@waltzjumper]

@@BorisThePA Clearly you don't understand the meaning of the word aggregate. If you had a high GPA you might.

[@BorisThePA]

😏