PA School Admissions Director Shares Tips for CASPA, Interviews, Personal Statement, and Much More!
Channel: Boris Temkin, PA-C
Date: 2020-09-02

0:31 What does the Office of Graduate Admission do?
0:49 Who decides which students get into PA school?
1:20 How long is Le Moyne College's PA program, and what kind of student are you looking for?
2:26 GPA isn't everything!
3:39 Describe the ideal PA school applicant
4:44 Why the personal statement matters
6:20 It's not all about the stats!
6:54 PA school application red flags and common mistakes
8:35 Where to describe your experiences in CASPA (and where NOT to)
9:31 Your personal statement should be personal, not a list of your experiences
10:20 How to describe PCE duties and experiences in CASPA
12:15 What makes an applicant stand out in the interview
16:11 Interview red flags and common mistakes
19:41 If you're invited to interview, you have a chance to get in
21:26 How to answer the question "do you have any questions for us?"
22:40 How things are different this year because of COVID-19
23:05 Virtual interview tips
25:26 What is considered a competitive GPA?
26:43 Is it ok to apply with the minimum number of Patient Care Hours?
29:42 Low, medium, and high-quality Patient Care Experience hours
33:33 Is there a preference for local students?
35:28 There is an emphasis to recruit students who have lived and/or worked in rural or other medically under-served communities and want to work as a PA in those areas
35:50 It's good for applicants to have diverse knowledge and experiences
40:02 Do I need to emphasize the fact that I did a post-bac or had an upward trend in my grades, even though my overall GPA is on the lower side?
41:33 It's very important to do well in science courses, especially biology courses
42:24 Things NOT to do if you have a lower GPA
43:08 General tips for non-traditional applicants and those with lower GPAs
43:33 How do I emphasize the fact that I did a post-bac or had an upward trend in my grades?
44:28 How do I fix a low GPA?
46:56 One C, D, or F will NOT hurt your application, but be ready to explain why you got that grade 
48:35 Biggest piece of advice for pre-PA students and PA school applicants

The Interim Director of Graduate Admissions for Le Moyne College sat down with me for an hour-long interview to answer some excellent questions about applying to PA school, interviewing for PA school, and filling out your CASPA! She provided some great information that I have not heard before, and I know it will be very helpful to so many of you out there who are applying to PA school right now! I have posted a list of topics we discussed, with timestamps, in the first pinned comment below.

A few of the topics we covered were: why GPA isn't everything, why the CASPA personal statement matters, how to emphasize to the admissions office that you have made up for your low GPA by doing a post-bac, things not to say in your personal statement, things not to say/do in your PA school interview, things to focus on in your personal statement and in your interview, tips for virtual interviews in the time of COVID-19, high/medium/low quality patient care experience (PCE) hours, how to fix a low GPA, and her biggest advice for PA school applicants!

For more information about the Physician Assistant (PA) program at Le Moyne College, please visit www.lemoyne.edu/pa
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My name is Boris, I'm a current Physician Assistant (PA) student. My passions are educating people about healthcare and learning about medicine! Please subscribe to my channel to help me reach more people and stay tuned for more great content including: interview tips and stories, essay writing tutorials, interviews with medical, PA, and nursing students, and much more!

If you would like to get my help personally, please email me (see my YouTube channel page for email address) to set up a pre-PA consulting session, CASPA personal statement review, or mock PA school interview.

If you just have a quick question, I prefer that you post it to the comments so that other students can benefit from the question and from my answer, but if it's something personal then I'm more than happy to answer quick questions for free over email or direct messaging on Instagram.

***Disclaimer: I am not a PA School admissions professional. The advice I provide in my YouTube 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. All views expressed through email, in phone and video consulting sessions, and on my YouTube channel are my own and may not reflect the views or opinions of my school, employer, or anyone else.***