 What's up you guys? Sit down and welcome back to my channel. For those of you who are new, you've never been here, take a look around. If you like what you see, go ahead and subscribe. So I wanted to make this video for you all because in the consultation sessions that I've been having throughout these past few weeks, people have been asking, well, like, what do I look for in a PA school? You know, like, how do I tell that this PA school is the right school for me and like, where do I find this information? So this video is for you all so that you can answer just those questions. So I think that there are really, like, three major things that you want to look for or try to find on the school's website when you are looking at PA programs and trying to decide which program will be the best program for you. The first thing I think that everybody should look at is their pass rate, right? So and also like their attrition rate if they have that in there. So you want to see, like, how many students did they actually allow into their program into that particular, like, cohort or the cohorts prior to them? And then how many students actually, like, matriculated through? And from that, you also want to see what was their pants pass rate. So again, like schools make a really big deal about, like, having a hundred percent pass rate or, you know, me, all of our students pass. And that is great and all, but you just kind of want to look at the program and see that their pass rate is in the 90th percentile or higher. And if it is, then that is a good program to actually apply to. When you're looking at the attrition rate, it may not always be on their website because schools don't always want to say, like, yeah, you know, we allowed 40 students to come into our cohort, but only 30 of them graduated because that is like a really low attrition rate. And you want to, you want to know about those things because you want to see, like, what is the retention? Are the students just not being taught well? Are they just not understanding what happened with those 10 students that they weren't able to, like, keep them and, like, help them matriculate with the rest of their cohort? So that is, I think, the first thing that you should absolutely look at because, hey, it's important to know that at the end of this, I will actually become a certified physician assistant. I think the next thing that you should look at is the student-teacher ratio. So for me, like, I went to a private undergraduate college, and so the student-teacher ratio, it was, like, a lot smaller than obviously your big public universities. And I liked that. I liked being able to have, like, a direct line to my professor, should I need anything, need any extra guidance, they were there. And to this day, I still have relationships with a lot of my professors from undergrad, and so because of that, I wanted that same type of feel in the PA school that I was going to be attending. And so when I was looking at the student-teacher ratio, I kept that in mind. Now, for the most part, most PA schools have a really small student-teacher ratio because typically your cohort is going to be about 30 on average students. You'll have schools that may have 20, schools that may have 40 or 60 students or even more, but on average, it's about, like, anywhere from 30 to 40 students in that particular cohort. And then you'll have about six plus teachers that are teaching various different courses. And so you're going to have a very decent student-teacher average or ratio, but if you want something, like, a little bit more personal, maybe you might just apply to those programs that are allowing 20 students in or 30 students in. But you just have to realize that now that makes that program even more competitive because there are less seats to fill, but still lots of students applying to those schools. So it's kind of a draw, like, a little bit of a draw that you're going to have to take in terms of, like, OK, well, do I want to be at a program that is going to be super competitive? Do I want to apply to that just because I want that small, like, homey feel? Or am I just trying to, like, shoot my shot and make sure that I get in where I can fit in? So those are things to take into consideration. The next thing that I think is, like, super duper important is the culture. So what do I mean by culture? Like, are you somebody that is, like, outdoorsy and you want to go and, you know, do mission trips and feed the homeless or provide for the homeless or the underserved or whatever the case may be, like, whatever your thing is, does your thing fit with that culture? So that is something that you want to look at. You know, obviously you have no idea what the cohort that you're going to be entering in looks like in terms of their particular culture. But you can look at the culture of the school, look at what they have done in the past through their past cohorts, and then also look at the website to see, like, if there is anything that they're talking about, like, oh, yeah, we do a yearly mission trip or two yearly mission trips to various different underserved countries. Those are things that you want to be mindful of, because if that's not your jam, then you might not want to go there and it might not be who you to apply to that program. But if it is, then go ahead and apply. Also, furthermore, I think a really good and actual, like, useful resource for you to use when you're looking or trying to determine a school's culture is the internet, obviously, and going to social media, specifically, like, Facebook and Instagram. So most schools nowadays have a Facebook page for the overall PA program and then, like, kind of, like, a little subset of Facebook page for the cohort, and they'll also have an Instagram page for the cohort as well, slash the PA program. So you can look and see, okay, like, in this particular program, like, what are they talking about on Facebook? Like, what are they doing in their community or outside of their community? Like, how are they helping others if that's what you're into? Or, you know, you're just looking to see what exactly the school itself is doing. And that is a really good place to find that information out. They put more information on Facebook and Instagram than they can on the actual school website, because that's more promotional, you know? So those are, like, major, major things that I think you should absolutely look at. And last but not least, I feel like another thing that you want when you're looking, well, we'll do, like, last-ish, but not least-ish, right? So I'm going to talk about two things. So second to last, but certainly not least, is actually looking at where the school is. So you want to see, like, is it up in the mountains somewhere? Or is there mountainous areas around it? Like, is it a school in, like, Denver, Colorado, or Boulder or something? Or is it in the city? You know, like, is it in D.C., like, G.W.? So you want to know, like, all right, so is this going to fit with the lifestyle that, like, I want to live or where I want to work? Or do I want to, like, be rural? So if you want to be rural, then you apply to schools in those rural areas that are going to mesh well with the type of medicine that you want to learn how to practice, and maybe even in a state that you want to live in in the future. And that's the same thing that you want to do on the flip side if you're trying to do something, like, more in the city, a little bit urban. You want to, like, be in those, like, underserved communities in terms of, like, more urban areas and deal with the various different disparities that they may have that you will see typically in urban areas. Another thing is, like, again, if you're outdoorsy or so, if you want to, you want to apply to schools that are, like, in the mountains or that schools that have, like, lakes nearby or lots of walking trails because you know that you like to be out, and that is what is going to help you release the most, you know, release stress the most. That's typically how you, that's your stress reliever, and so therefore you want to be in a place that will afford you the opportunity to do that. Lastly, you want to look at the price of the school so it doesn't fit with your budget. Now, obviously, not all of us has, like, $50,000 plus laying around, like, that's not necessarily everybody's budget, right? But there might be a certain amount that you want to spend or a certain amount in loans that you want to take out, and you need to know that cap and what you're putting that cap at, and therefore that will help you better narrow down the schools that you should be applying to. Not the schools that you can apply to because you can apply to as many schools as you want, but if you want to be strategic in your application process and choose the schools that are best for you, I think you should listen to these tips and take them into consideration. Hopefully, they're helpful. If you have any other tips, you should leave them in the comment section below because I'm sure the subscribers will love to see it. If you have any comments for me, go ahead and leave them as well. Follow me on Instagram and like this video. Thank you guys so much for watching. I will talk to you guys next time. Bye.