Need college advice from fellow PAs

amother

Mon, Sep 21 2020, 9:42 am

Not sure where this topic belonged, so put it under working women.
My dh is trying to finish his prerequisites to get into PA school. We have no guidance on the basic courses he'll need to get in. He is getting a general BA through a frum program which has both Hebrew and English subjects. He doesn't want to have "extra" Gemara credits or something where he could have taken statistics or the like that is required to get into PA school.
We are looking for the necessary subjects he will need to get in (besides the basic math, english, etc that is required in any BA).
Also do graduate programs (specifically in NY) care where the credits are coming from?
Any advice would really be helpful.

DrMom

Mon, Sep 21 2020, 9:48 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I'm not a PA, but the issue seems to be a general one:

Why don't you look at a few programs in your area, read (on their websites) what the prerequisites are, and take classes accordingly?

amother

Floralwhite

Mon, Sep 21 2020, 10:58 am

Find someone in real life who recently went to PA school. You seem to be missing a lot of on the ground knowledge about the process. They'll be able to guide you. I'm not writing this to discourage you, just to give you a realistic picture of what the story is.

I don't know the entire picture but this is what I do know. My sister is in school now (2nd year) and there are a list of rigorous requirements. Each school is slightly different - some want an extra specific math or certain science. You can check each school's website. There is a general list of things they want - math and science and such. He needs to be doing all the sciences, not just what the undergrad school says he needs for their requirements.

It is very, very hard to get into PA school. (some say it's even harder than medical school) many people apply in their senior year of undergrade but don't get accepted. They apply again the next year - after they finish all their credits and usually have better luck then. This forces them to have a gap year that they aren't in school.

You also have to apply to every school in your area and hope you get into one. My sister (who is really smart and had straight A's) applied to 9 or 10 schools in the tri-state area and only had an interviews at 2 schools. She only got into 1.

Then once they start, the schooling is grueling and all consuming. My sister didn't do anything but drive to school, sit in school, drive home and studying. She studied non stop - including on shabbos and Yom tov (obviously not writing then).

It's also important to find a school that will work with people regarding Yom tov. Some schools are more flexible than others. But expect that he will go to school on purim and chol hamoed and come home on Friday right before shabbos.

If you have any other questions, please ask. I'll ask her and come back and answer.

amother

Bronze

Mon, Sep 21 2020, 11:30 am

amother [ Floralwhite ] wrote:

LOL.
the odds of getting into medical school: 2.4 % PA school: 6%
So its definitely NOT harder.

cnc

Mon, Sep 21 2020, 11:36 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

He is going to need a number of science and math courses which most likely are not offered in this program....
A BS in Biology would make the most sense .

amother

Babyblue

Mon, Sep 21 2020, 4:48 pm

I'll say the opposite of almost everyone else above. My DH did what your husband is doing. He got a BA from TTI and got into a top PA school. He did end up though with a lot of extra gemara credits.
There were two things he needed
1. Get a BA as quickly as possible
2. Lots of very specific prerequisites

It was faster to get the BA with gemara credits than to try and fulfill enough upper level science classes to get a BS. Many of the science classes needed for the BS were not required for PA school, so it would have been a waste of time and energy and potential for a knock to his GPA. The gemara tests were simple for him and easy As

Sit down and make a list of all the PA schools he wants to apply to and then make a spreadsheet with all the requirements for each one. Many things will overlap, but you'll also find that each school will have something different than everyone else. My husband took some classes that he needed for only one of the 10 schools he applied to - but he felt it gave him the best chances of getting in.

At the end of the day, he applied to 10 schools around the country, was invited to 5 interviews. He accepted a spot at his first choice school and withdrew his application from the other 5 before he heard back from them.

All that being said, I would caution you that the field is extremely flooded, the job market right now is brutal, and it is very very hard to get a job if you're not willing to work on shabbos. Please talk to a lot of people before choosing this career.

amother

Mon, Sep 21 2020, 7:34 pm

amother [ Babyblue ] wrote:

Thanks! That feels reassuring. He did do a lot of research before deciding this is what he wants to do. Can I ask which school your husband went to? Dh plans on applying to places outside of NY also to have variety in case he doesn't get in to anywhere here.

amother

Babyblue

Tue, Sep 22 2020, 12:10 am

Quote:

Can I ask which school your husband went to?

I'd rather not say as people may figure out who I am.
Schools out of NY may be more competitive, but on the other hand your husband may stand out as someone diverse and they won't think twice about his "Jewish" bachelors degree. I strongly suggest looking out of NY if you can, there are very good schools with tuition a fraction of the cost of what you'd pay in NY.

amother

Chartreuse

Tue, Sep 22 2020, 12:12 am

amother [ Orchid ] wrote:

I'm in PA school, I second the spreadsheet, not just for pre reqs but also for things like gre, recommendation letters etc. I personally got a BS but recommend spending less time, and getting a ba.
In terms of applying out of the tri state area, many of those schools are even more competitive.

Would love to chat with you! Which program are you in?
And OP- This is why I meant by spreadsheet with all the info.

amother

Vermilion

Tue, Sep 22 2020, 9:40 am

amother [ Ruby ] wrote:

Not sure the exact data but if you include DO and off shore medical schools then I think that it is harder to get into PA school.

Not to completely derail this thread, but the data does include all medical schools, but even more importantly, you’re comparing apples and oranges. To get into PA school might be “harder” simply because there are less schools. But the level of the applicants isn’t comparable. A pre-med would almost certainly have the grades to get into PA school if they wanted (my husband personally advised many people who want to do something in medicine but don’t want to invest the time/money/sacrifices to become a full physician to go to PA school) but some (NOT all, but some) PA applicants are people who couldn’t get into medical school so this is the next best thing.

And sometimes they say things like “I’m basically a doctor” and I want to shake them with all my pent-up fury of massive medical school debt and 10+ years of residency and fellowship that’s STILL not finished. But I digress.

amother

Blush

Tue, Sep 22 2020, 10:01 am

My husband is a PA. He actually had an issue with his yeshiva BA, because it turns out he needed a BA from a Regionally accredited program and the yeshiva BAs (I.e. BMG degree) were nationally accredited, not regionally accredited. The school only noticed the issue after they had already accepted him though, so they decided to let it go but if they had noticed beforehand, they would not have accepted him.

Bh he got in easily, applied to about 5 schools in the tristate area, had one interview and got into that one. Each school has different requirements and since he wanted to try to avoid taking organic chemistry, and he didn't take SATs, many of the schools weren't an option. If he hadn't gotten in to a school on his first try, he would have taken the above requirements so he had more choices to apply to the following year. Before he started he also met with a college/career adviser who helped him make a list of what pre reqs he would need, which he did at a local college. That took 2 years.

Pa school itself was very difficult and intense and he studied nonstop, all day every day.

Bh he did get 2 job offers immediately after graduating last summer (he was approached by people who knew him, not by applying to jobs on his own), and he just got a second, very part time job as well.

He loves his job and is very happy with his decision.