 So transitioning to PA programs pathologist assistant training programs. So because it's such a desirable job I'm assuming PA programs are pretty competitive. So how difficult is it to get into PA school? You know, I don't know if I can Say exactly how many applicants I know that there are hundreds of applicants and each program only accepts Maybe two or to 25. I think the largest group is 25 That's pretty low percentage Yeah, because they're not taking a lot of students every year. It really limits. I mean, that's what makes it competitive Right limited spots. So who gets those spots? Right. So here's what you can do to kind of beef up your your application I think it is incredibly important to be familiar with this profession Meaning that you have worked as a growth tech side-by-side with a PA at minimum You have should shadow a PA and know what their day-to-day looks like and make sure that that's right for you It's a two-year program and it is it's a it's an intense two years So you should really make sure that you want to do this before before you get started and If you can't work as a growth tech, I have had classmates that didn't have any grossing experience But they did have autopsy experience. So they worked as a deaner So either get yourself some autopsy experience work as a as a growth tech Which you can you don't have to have a bachelor's degree to be a growth tech You just have to have a minimum number of Biology and chemistry classes taken already So close usually it's like junior senior year of like a biology degree if you have enough science credits to qualify to be a growth tech So go do go do that Observe an autopsy because I don't think you know You can handle that until you're actually in the room So if you can sometimes that can be difficult if you don't already have connections in the hospital to observe But if you can try try and get as much exposure to pathology as you can You're gonna have to take anatomy and physiology If you have TA experience in anatomy or physiology that would look really great They like to see genetics and biochemistry those are not required, but they like to see those classes as part of your undergraduate degree What else So being proficient in a lot of the higher level science courses, especially obviously anatomy and physiology Experience you said might even be more important than grades You have to know what a PA does and you have experience in the autopsy lab Preferably in the lab just making sure you know what you're getting into or that you really want to do it Yeah, I think if you can demonstrate you have a good understanding of the profession that that is really important. I Had really good grades. I think that that does make you competitive some programs require the GRE some do not so Maybe that's a factor in where you apply Is there like a minimum number of hours of experience that you need in a gross lab or a pathology lab or anything like that Or is it just you need to demonstrate that you understand what you're doing? Yeah at this to my understanding at this moment programs don't have a minimum requirement for shadowing PAs or even autopsy because they know that it's difficult for People to find that if they're not already in if they don't have a network that allows them to do that, right? So they don't have that as a requirement, but that's what makes you competitive Okay, so it's not required, but it is the best thing for you to do And so that in addition to good grades is what you really need to get into PA school Yes So would you say anything else as far as advice on how to get into PA school for people who might be interested in this profession else I think pick pick a program look at Look out their clinical partners And decide how you want your clinical year to be shaped and that can help you decide on where to go Okay, when you when you're applying I Think as far as getting into pathology assisting school as long as your your grades are really good And you've demonstrated that you know what a pathologist assistant does when you interview I think they also consider demeanor and if you present yourself as someone with energy and a good attitude and a willingness to learn and especially in excitement and passion for the a profession that that's also really important So there is an interview aspect of this If somebody out there really wants to be a PA a pathologist assistant good grades especially in anatomy and physiology and Experience enough experience that you can demonstrate that you know what a PA does and why you want to be one is the main things that you need I will say this as well Having prior working experience is also really helpful If you work as a med tech, that's awesome if you worked as a histo tech or a histo technologist. That's really great because The specimens you submit as a PA feed into histology, so knowing the histology department is really going to help you out Even even being Okay, an EMT does that is that right an EMT? What's the emergency medical people where they yeah like the people on the ambulance and EMT EMT yeah, so EMT experience is even really helpful because if you are doing Autopsies they come with all those I don't know if this is morbid or not, but the the bodies arrive with all the lines and Tubes with them, so you need to know what those are those are so you can document them Okay, so not just lab experience, but basically medical experience being a patient care tech and EMT something like that could also help you Yes 100% That's cool. That makes sense. So it sounds like there's no like strict guidelines for how many hours But you just have to demonstrate that you know The whole medical process you've worked in the medical field and preferably in histology and things like that That makes sense. So do you feel comfortable sharing your stats? I know pre-PA pre-med students always like their stats. What GPA do I need? How many hours? So what was your GPA? Sure, so I graduated With a degree in biotechnology with a 3-9. Wow. Does everybody need a 3-9 to have a chance at getting into PA school? No, I think that At minimum you need a 3-0 Keep this in mind The reason why I think they look at that is when you were in the program You need to maintain a GP of three of a 3.0 So even though you have 18 credit hours a semester and you are under all this pressure If you don't maintain that 3.0, you could be asked to leave program So they want to make sure that you've demonstrated in the past that you you've kept your grades up So you're more likely to be successful if they accept you into the program Yeah, it's interesting one thing. So one of my most popular videos is how to get into PA school with a low GPA And a lot of people who maybe didn't do very well in college still want, you know, an amazing job like being a PA A physician assistant or a pathology assistant But one thing that you really need to ask yourself is if you ended up graduating with a low GPA You may have had some struggles, some obstacles or some things that came up So maybe you are a good student, but something's happened But you need to look at it from the school's perspective and they have this incredibly rigorous curriculum And the job that you're going to do is incredibly important and difficult academically And people's lives depend on it So it does make sense that you really do want as high of a GPA as possible so that they can trust you And your academic abilities, but I guess what I'm looking for here is numbers So like you had a 3.9 you got in you said at least a 3.0 Just based on your experience about what was the average college GPA of the applicant that actually got in Oh, there. I feel like we're all type a High high strong perfectionist. So if they all weren't above a three like six, I would be I would be very surprised Okay, so definitely high Yeah, but I I will say this Depending on the the program that you could make up for it As long as you meet the minimum requirements, they're not going to you know throw those out of the The window for you, but as long as you meet the minimum requirements I feel like you could make it up with Experience you've worked as a growth tech for years You've worked as a a histotech for years or a dener to come With that experience. I think you could make up for a poor GPA