 So in this video, I am going to give you guys a step-by-step explanation on what you need to do, every single thing you need to do to get into PA school. What's up, you guys? Zidana. Welcome back to my channel. For those of you who are new, go ahead and subscribe. Join me on this journey right now and hit that notification button so you can know exactly when I do a new video every week. I just want to give a disclaimer you guys. All right, now this is for your typical PA schools. PA schools, there is like a gamut of them. There are some that are starting that are probably going to be doctorate degrees where you'll do a master's and a doctorate at the same time. There are some that have a doctorate already attached to them so you would go through the master's program and then you would kind of be grandfathered in, I guess, or like slide into the doctorate degree. And then there are some that are bachelors and master's degrees. So there's a gambit of different types of PA programs. However, what I'm going to be talking about is your typical PA program, the master's degree. Okay. Also, I'm going to be kind of giving you a start to finish in the application process, like step-by-step about that. Like, you know, you're in high school and you want to do this as your profession. So what do you need to do? But if you're in college or if you're, you've gone through college and you're, you're in your profession and you want to switch professions, like you can pick up from this video, like at any point in my steps. Okay. Cause this is literally going through the various different steps. So you can jump in at any point. So don't think that this video is just for like the high schooler or just for the college student. It's for everyone. Okay. I just wanted to put that in front, in the forefront of your mind. All right. So you want to get into PA school. Let's say you are in high school where that's where you're going to be starting from and you want to get into PA school. First things first, definitely look up the profession. You need to make sure that this is really what you want to do, that this is a profession that's right for you. And if you do still have the desire to become a PA, then you need to go to college because you have to graduate from a four year accredited college or university. So with respect to PA schools, again, the typical PA school, you have to have a college degree and undergraduate degree. Now with that being said, it does not have to be a science based degree. It can be a degree in engineering or sociology or anthropology or zoology, various different things. As long as you have the degree, that is that's important. But you need to understand that with respect to your degrees, when you're choosing your degree, how is that going to be beneficial for your PA path, right? So if you choose something that's science based, you're more than likely going to have the science prerequisites that most PA schools require to get into their program. So with that being said, it would behoove you to actually choose a science degree. Otherwise, like let's say you choose psychology or sociology, that's not truly a science. It's more like, what is it? Like a social science, not a natural science. So you're going to have to supplement that with some of these more natural sciences where you're going to take your general chem and general bio and your ochem and your biochem, those things because those are your general prerequisites that schools require. After you've chosen what major you wanted to do, I suggest if you're trying to get into PA school right out of college, then it's important for you to get certified in something because you have to have, you have to have health care experience and not just health care experience, but patient care experience. And there is a difference between PCE and HC and you can figure out that difference by going to CASPA's website. So CASPA is the central application site that a large number of the PA schools participate in. You would have to go on that website, fill out the application so that you can then send off that application to the various different PA schools. So you can find that information in CASPA's frequently asked questions section. And I will link all of this information in the description box below. So don't worry about that. Okay. But yes, there's a difference between patient care experience and health care experience. And you're going to need like direct patient care experience. So it's important for you to get certified in something become an EMS and EMT and a CNA, a PCT, an ED tech, a nurse, if you're already a nurse, you know, like those are the things that you need. So you're going to need health care experience. So get certified in that throughout the summertime. That would be smart. Maybe the summertime from your senior year to your freshman year of college, senior year of high school, freshman year of college, or, you know, in that summer between your freshman and sophomore year of college. Those are like good areas to do it because then it gives you time to actually obtain health care experience in those hours. And then you're more likely to be able to just go ahead and apply straight to PA school right out of undergrad. So once you've gotten certified, you've or chosen what you want to get certified in, you've chosen your major, you need to make sure that you're doing really well in school. So make sure that you are not bombing any of your science courses because your science GPA is very important. And then also make sure that your overall GPA is up to par because the majority of PA schools require a 3.0 or above GPA. That's the minimum, but you don't want to do the bare minimum. You want to be like an overachiever in a sense. So you definitely want to go ahead and try to shoot for that 3.5 or above. And that's with both your science GPA and your overall GPA. Once you have made sure that you're doing really well with your GPA, as well as your certification and you're working and you're just doing your thing, you also need to make sure that you can get some shadowing hours in. And now you guys, this is like, it sounds like a lot to do, but if you plan your time really well, then you will be able to get all of these things done. So you're going to have to shadow a PA. It's important just to know like what the various different specialties are, what the role of the PA is in that particular specialty. And it just opens your eyes up to the profession a little bit more. And most PA schools require some form of shadowing. The numbers may vary, but requiring shadowing is becoming a norm. So you're going to have to find a PA to shadow. And this can be very difficult if your school is not affiliated with like a hospital or you know, because of HIPAA and all this stuff. So it's important to start early, start searching for that early. And shadowing does not have to happen in college. It can happen in high school. It can happen like after you've graduated, it can happen at any point in time. There's no cap on shadowing. So just shadow as many PAs as you possibly can. Once you've gotten that done, you should also be thinking about your personal statement because that is like, I feel like that is like one of the major things that gets you into PA school. If you're lacking in some of these other areas, like you're kind of a little bit mediocre, then actually having a bomb personal statement is going to be beneficial. And I talk about that in one of my videos. I will leave a link for that as well. And I talk about a lot of this in some of my other videos. So if you have not seen them, you can always search them in the search bar of my channel. And I will do my best to leave a link to the majority of these different things in my description box as well. Once you've done your personal statement, you've already chosen your major, you're doing really well in it. You've gotten your certification, you're getting like your hours in. Once you've done all of that, it's time to think about taking the GRE because that's also a really important part. And you have to do kind of really good on your GRE. I always say 310. I mean, I know there are some schools that are like 295 or, you know, like a 300. But I mean, I think that that's kind of low, especially if you are kind of low in other areas, like you choose, you try to do well in in everything. But if you can do really well in some of these different things, then they kind of make up for some of like the low impact. I always liken it to like your credit score. There are things that are high impact on your credit score. And there are things that are low impact. And you want to make sure that the high impact things you're doing really, really well at. And those things are like your GPA, your GRE. And I would say your personal statement. So make sure that you do really well on your GRE. You're going to have to sign up to take the GRE, figure out what location you're going to do it at, when you're going to take the GRE, and how you're going to study for the GRE. Because it's important for you to do well on it. So if you're in school and you're trying to do all of these different things that once, maybe it might be best for you to take it during a summer break. Like the summer before your senior year. If you're trying to apply for a PA program in your senior year of undergrad. If you're already out of school and you're just trying to figure out like, okay, what do I need to do next? Then yeah, you plan it around your life. But those are like, that's important for you to make sure that you know when you're going to take the GRE, how long the test is, and you know, the time that you're going to need to put into studying. So once you've done all of that, it's important for you to now go and apply through CASPA. You also need to have in the back of your mind, who are you going to ask for these recommendation letters? Because you're going to need letters of recommendation at minimum to, at max three, to send to CASPA. And CASPA will make those letters of recommendation available to the various schools that you apply to. While you're shadowing, while you're working, while you're just mingling in the healthcare industry, you're going to need a PA to write a letter of recommendation. The next one could be an MD, a DO, an NP, another PA. It can be like a co-worker, like, you know, like your boss. And then also like a teacher. So if you have to retake like micro, or you took it in undergrad, or whatever the case may be, have a teacher that you believe knows you well enough and will actually give you a good letter of recommendation to write those letters of recommendation. Once you've done all of that, and you have all of these different things set in place, those are like pretty much everything that you need for your CASPA application. You're going to then fill out your CASPA application. And so you're going to go to CASPA's website. I think it's caspa.org. I will make sure of that and then put that in the description box below as well. I'll link that for you guys. But you will go to their website and you will fill out that application. You'll put in all your personal information. You will put in your grades. You're also going to need to request your transcripts from your schools that you've attended for your undergrad to show that you've actually like completed undergrad. You have your prerequisites in all of that. So CASPA's going to have like a little printout that you're going to be able to print out and send off to your school and they'll be able to send it to CASPA and give them the exact information that they're asking for. So once you have done all of that and you've added all of that information into CASPA, now it's time for you to set up, okay, what schools do I need to apply to. So know your stats. I talk about this in one of my videos, knowing your stats, knowing the school stats, and then kind of matching where you sit next to these different schools and you kind of match it up. You rank your schools from top to bottom where you would most likely want to go, where you least likely want to go, where see where your stats line up to those schools and then you make your decisions based on those stats. Now with all of that being said, when it's time to apply to PA school, you're going to need some dough, okay. So you're going to need the first, at this point in time, I think the first application that you send out is $175 and then every application after that is $55, I believe it is. But all of that information is on CASPA's website. So you're going to have to have a little bit of change to apply to these different schools and so the more schools that you apply to, the more money you're going to need. And some schools require supplemental applications which have their own fees as well. So just keep that in mind, have a little stockpile of money set up and then once you've got all of that together and you've sent your application off, you just play the waiting game. So you've done all this hard work prior and now it's time for you to kind of just relax and wait for an interview to come and then you go and you ace that interview and then you get into PA school and we can be colleagues in the future. And so that is a step by step. I just broke it down for you, step by step, what everything you need to do to apply to PA school and then hopefully get in in the near future. Hope this was helpful for you guys. I hope this answers your questions when you're like, how do I get into PA school? I want to be a PA. And if you have any more specific questions related to this or any other thing, leave it in the comment section below. If you haven't already done so, go ahead, follow me on Instagram at adanathepa and like this video. Go ahead and like this video and subscribe. Thank you guys so much for watching. I will talk to you guys next time. Bye.