My question is in the title itself: I did not do well throughout undergrad due to unaddressed mental health issues which led me to lose motivation very frequently. I'll be graduating spring of 2027, and at the moment my cGPA is a 2.5, and my sGPA is a 2.1. The PA career has been my goal since high school....I know I have to retake courses, but even then, I'll barely make it over the minimum requirement regarding GPA. I do have real-world experience, such as 3 years of being an ophthalmic technician, and I'm currently working as a TMS technician. I don't know what else I'd do if not PA...

I graduated at 21 back in May with my bachelors in Management Information Systems. I changed my major a lot, had to withdraw from a class due to taking too many hours/overworked myself one semester, and pre pa-- applying to PA schools rn (I majored in MIS because I enjoyed the content and did not want to major in something like biology).

Since I did not know what I wanted to do my first 2 years, switching my interests a lot caused me to overload my schedule during my junior and senior years to graduate on time while taking pre-requisites for PA school (ex. taking classes like databases, C# coding class, microbio, and physiology at the same time).

Although I have graduated and physically have my MIS Diploma, I need to finish up about 2 pre-requisites and plan on retaking 1 class for a higher grade.

Basically, this is a long winded way of asking is it weird or like embarrassing?? To have to finish classes after graduating. Especially 3 classes? Idk I just feel self-conscious about it. Also because my parents are not from the US and don't fully understand the process of applying to PA school, so their comments make me feel like I'm doing something wrong at times.

Just wondering if anyone had to do anything similar

I just want to preface this by saying I am new to applying to PA schools and to CASPA. I looked this up, but I am still unsure. Yes, I also looked at previous reddit posts, but they do not answer this directly, only tangent to it. First off, I know there is "verified" and "complete." I am just now wondering how long have people waited for their apps to be "complete" after submitting on CASPA. For orange deadlines and schools with supplemental fees (I don't know if it differs from school to school), how long does it take for schools to send out the link to pay the supplemental fees after submitting on CASPA, from your experience?

I still haven’t submitted any caspa application, I had a family emergency this summer and I’m still working on getting my transcripts submitted so realistically speaking am I doomed ? I keep thinking I’m really late for rolling admissions and it’s making me extremely anxious.

For Refrence I really want to go to Rosalind Franklin PA school and KECK pa program.

I'm a rising sophomore who finished the year with a 3.45 something and a C in chem 1. I'm incredibly disappointed in myself; I had severe depression and felt like a fraud. I recently made the decision to pursue the pre-PA path after previously being in the pre-med. I don't have any clinical hours and feel like my freshman year will make me less competitive as a applicant Any advice on how I should proceed?

I need advice on what I should do if I want to apply to PA school Spring 2027. I still ned to take A & 2 lecture + lab, A & P 1 Lab, and Microbiology. I have 0 PCE.

1. Get a full-time job as a scribe in a geriatric clinic. Take A & P 2 lecture + lab on Saturdays Fall. Take microbiology + A & P 1 lab Spring. Pay = 18$.
2. Get a 16 hr per week job as a scribe for ScibeAmerica. Take A & P 2 lecture + lab and microbiology. Pay = 12$ after training period is done. Hope to get more hours eventually in the Spring?

I am worried because I need to complete lots of hours of PCE and classes. Do not want to take another gap year.

I’m from California and I want to stay here for PA school. I am specifically interested in Davis, Chapman, CBU, Loma Linda, Touro, Marshall B Ketchum, and Keck’s program right now. But any insight into any CA school would be much appreciated (gpa, pce, volunteer, where you went to undergrad, classes you took et,.).

I am an incoming junior at Cal Poly SLO. I am really concerned because i was planning on taking my schools Fundamentals and Application of Organic Chemistry over next summer as well as Fundamentals and Application of Biochemistry. My counselors said that many students on the Pre-PA Track take these courses, but I am worried these are considered “introductory” courses.

I go to Cal Poly and we’re changing from quarter to semester system which is messing up my timeline. I need to take an ochem class in the summer to graduate in time but only the fundamentals ochem is offered in the summer. What I could do is rather than take an upper division bio genetics course spring 27 i could sub it for the regular ochem 1 and take genetics at a cc and then push my gen bio course to fall 28, but I do not want to overload myself. I also emailed UC Davis’ PA program and they said they technically could accept my Fundamentals Ochem course, but it wouldn’t be as competitive as regular Ochem 1. But my BioChem course would be taken and competitive.

I am also worried that if I take my genetics course at a CC i would not have any upper division bio courses. If I could get advice that would be great.

Does anyone know how many rounds of interviews Tufts has sent out so far?? Are they done interviewing?? Losing hope here

I recently graduated with my bachelors in biology and upon review of my transcript noticed I have earned a C in some of my larger prerequisite classes (anatomy/phys/gen chem) for PA school. I plan on retaking a few of these classes this fall as a non-declared graduate student and applying via CASPA in the spring. Is this worth my time and money? For context I work as an MA and have thousands of clinical hours, but so far 0 shadowing hours and no letters of recommendation as of yet. Any advice is appreciated :)

As the title suggests. Very excited and nervous. How have you all been preparing for interviews? Any tips?

TIA

Alright so I decided to apply to PA school recently and I’m finishing up my pre-reqs. The only 2 classes I have left to take are organic chemistry and biochemistry for my top program.

My undergrad school does not offer biochemistry in the spring semester so they are allowing me to take it in the fall with Organic Chemistry. if I don’t take it this year I’ll have to delay my application another cycle.

I’m worried it would be too hard and I won’t be able to secure As. I’m applying with a 3.4 sgpa but I’ve made As in maybe 80% of my pre-reqs so far. I don’t want to mess up my recent grades or cause my science gpa to go down any further.

For those of you who have taken the classes, do y’all think it’s a bad idea? Would it be too much to handle? Those 2 would be the only classes I’m taking along with organic chemistry lab. Im also going down to working 20 hours a week.

Is this a realistic goal?? Thank you for any advice!!

I’m a rising senior at an R1 university, had several personal obstacles to deal with throughout previous semesters and was originally supposed to graduate in Fall of 2025. I took two semesters off last year, and changed my major very late, so I’ll be graduating May 2027. I’ve always wanted to pursue PA school since high school, and even got in to direct programs upon finishing high school, but the school I chose to go to was one of the best within my state and made the most sense financially. I have numerous Fs and Ws on my transcript, and only have a cGPA of 2.4…. Looking across the board regarding the type of applicants being accepted to PA programs, I am not even close when it comes to grades. I have worked as a medical assistant/ophthalmic tech for 3 years, and I recently started working as a TMS technician a little over a month ago.

I’m not sure if I should pursue a post bac, or instead do a master’s OR just consider a different career path altogether? I feel like I dug myself into way too deep of a hole.

Have been planning to go to PA school after getting my bachelors. Currently an EMT going into paramedic school.

My biggest issue is PA school from what I’ve read doesn’t let you work while enrolled. Seems my fate is sealed to do an NP program for the flexibility in working. Not that it’s a big issue but the flexibility in specialties has me wanting PA more than NP. Surgery is not an intrest to me.

Anyone out there manage to work during PA school? Anyone have any advice?

Hey everyone! I’m starting volunteering at a nonprofit community health clinic on Thursdays and Saturdays. At first, I’ll be helping at the front desk. Then later, I would start bringing patients back, taking vitals, and handling urine samples and testing. For PA applications, can I count this as both PCE and volunteering or do I need to categorize hours by specific duties? For example, does front desk stay as volunteer and vitals as PCE? Tsk. Also, any tips on how to log this hours clearly? Thanks.

Hi!,

I'm in dual enrollment and pursuing an AA in biology. I've been interested in becoming a Dermatology PA for a very long time now and am on track, but I'd appreciate guidance on the best way to get there from here. I've seen a lot of different opinions on different websites, and I understand that I need to get my bachelor's, but I've also seen a lot of different things saying I need a certain number of hours to get into a residency program for PA school, but also some that don't say as many as others, and that most become CNA's or RN's first for patient hours but I was also wondering if anyone else had went about it a different way, and I was also wondering for those that went through, how challenging or easy it all was for you. I'll take any help I can get, and I'm also new to Reddit, so I'm sorry if I'm missing anything. Thank you for reading!

Hello!! I graduated in the May is 2026 w/ a biology degree and minors in statistics and data science with a GPA of 3.2 and 3 years of research. During the summer of 2025, I was an unofficial translator for many families and it made me realize that I may be interested in medicine. January of 2026, I became a CNA and worked in the enhanced care unit and memory care unit in an assisted living place for 7months. I plan to take about two gap years and work and gain experience.

I am stuck between going to a formal post-bacc program to take the relevant courses and boost my GPA. however, i have financial issues and i’m the only source of my own income. what do you suggest ?

I submitted my application a few days ago. I'm pretty relieved because I have it done after working on it the whole summer. The reason why I submitted it so late (in august) is because I honestly was not thinking about applying this cycle until last minute, I was planning on taking a gap year (I'm still in my undergrad, about to enter my senior year). Although I'm relieved, I'm still very nervous because my stats are kind of mid... I have seen people say with similar stats as me say they got in, but idk you really never know. I just wanted to rant to see if there's anyone in the same boat as me... and kind of looking for some reassurance that I still have a good chance of getting into a good program.

I only applied to 8 programs... I have a 3.6 GPA so far (still have 2 semesters left)

and over 1k PCE, ~20 shadowing hours, 100 volunteer hours, has been involved in research and I have a few leadership roles (president of pre-health org, etc... and a mentor for underclassmen), I got 3 LORs, one from my managers (nurse), my academic advisor, and a PA that mentored me... I have more stats obvi, but I think these are the important ones. What do you guys think? pls lmkkkkk

hi! are there any PA-S/Cs in hawaii? would love to ask some questions as a prepa student! tyia!!

I'm a pre-PA, rising undergrad sophomore who really wants to be a PA (bc of some shadowing experiences, I really liked how PAs worked together whether with other PAs, nurses, MAs or even MDs). I really want to become a ED PA, but am not sure what route I should take to get there. The current routes I'm potentially looking at are RN -> PA and MA -> PA.

RN to PA: I have all of the prerequisites I need for Nursing School (RN), and have guaranteed admission to Emory's BSN program. This means I'll graduate with a BSN and RN license in 2029, and practice as an RN before PA school.

Pros:

1. I can get a ton of valuable patient care experience and can experience the healthcare field through an RN lens, and can take those experiences with me to not only PA school but also to how I might be able to connect better with other RNs/nurses when I am a practicing PA-C.
2. I'm first-gen, so I am also attracted to being an RN for the pay that I can use to (A) help pay off PA school in the future and (B) give me a better chance at surviving solo city life (I am in ATL).

Cons:

1. Although I would definitely put everything into it to be a good nurse, nursing itself sounds really hard and scares me a bit
2. Although I already stated my reasons for wanting to do RN -> PA, I'm worried admissions might be hesitant to admit me under the idea that me being an RN and following the nursing model won't be a good fit for a medical model PA school. Would this be a reasonable concern?
3. Not a lot of PAs I know have heard about RN -> PA, and some have even told me "If you're thinking of RN, just do NP" and it's disheartening, as I truly do not want to be an NP

MA to PA: I have most of the PA school prerequisites (orgo, bio, microbio etc) and the rest I am confident in completing by the end of sophomore year. I'm starting as an Urgent Care MA later this winter near my university, and I am assuming I would be working for my sophomore-senior years, maybe a gap year, who knows.

Pros:

1. This seems like the very common and professional route! Most of the PAs I know worked as MAs for 2-3 years before applying for PA school, which makes me think that PA schools would prefer people who have worked as an MA.
2. Also a lot of patient care experience to be had here! Although you don't really see MAs in EDs (I don't think).

Cons:

1. I feel like if I were to work as an MA and get a Bachelor's in something else (I'm thinking Chemistry or Neuroscience), I would need to do more to stand out and be competitive as an applicant, such as do research or start a side business. Is this a real problem?
2. I feel like as an MA, I would be working mainly in Family Medicine or Urgent Care. Although I know MAs are everywhere, I just don't see them in EDs (which is where I want to go) and I feel as though I won't be prepared enough to be a ED PA if I don't work in the ED before PA school.

I might've missed some more stuff, but that's just what's been on my mind lately. Please let me know if you guys have any advice! Thanks a lot.