ndf8331 Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Hello, I am a current 68W working on prereqs for civilian PA school. I currently have a masters in another field but am trying to transition into the civilian world as a PA. Are their any army 68w vets or current active duty that have done this before or are trying? I have about 2 years active left. Specifically, I was wondering how Civ PA schools view vet applicants? Will i have trouble getting interviews? GPA is 3.3 undergrad 3.88 grad 3.45 overall 3.3 science top 50% GRE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurePA87 Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I was a 68W. I had interviews at every school I applied, and I was accepted to most. From my experience, and because of the history of PAs, prior military service is an advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndf8331 Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 Thanks for the info.... Did you have a very strong science background besides the pre-reqs?, such as a BA in Bio or BA in Chem? I am concerned my science background will not be strong enough... no science bachelors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpshoe Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Thanks for the info.... Did you have a very strong science background besides the pre-reqs?, such as a BA in Bio or BA in Chem? I am concerned my science background will not be strong enough... no science bachelors... Former 68W here applying this cycle. I'm applying this cycle and have had a lot of great feedback from the schools I've applied to. I'm in my last semester of undergrad and my degree will be a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies so I'm not a typical science degree by any means. I was in the same boat as you (minus the masters) and I believe my military service has put me over the edge in terms of getting in places. Of the seven schools I applied to I have gotten six interview invites (waiting to hear back from other) and two acceptances right away so I decline the other 4 interview invites I received. Overall GPA is comparable to yours and as long as you get good LOR's (I had two from Army Pa's I worked with and one from a professor of a health science class) and a strong personal statement, you should be golden. I think programs realize the quality of the healthcare experience we have versus the million CNA applicants they coast through every cycle. I wouldn't worry so much about your science coursework, as long as you have decent grades in them you should be fine. I did school after the Army so I have been away from healthcare for three years now. The information is still fresh in your mind and I believe that will get you a leg up. You have plenty of time to do your research now and find the programs that fit your style, just stay focused on the end goal and you will get there. Feel free to PM if you have any questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will352ns Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I was a USAF medic and my experience was well received. Your stats are pretty good and your HCE is better than most. Just don't blow the interviews that you will most likely get. I had a non-science major. Doesn't matter as long as the prerecs are good. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Specifically, I was wondering how Civ PA schools view vet applicants? Will i have trouble getting interviews? GPA is 3.3 undergrad 3.88 grad 3.45 overall 3.3 science top 50% GRE Looks good to me. Keep up the good work. Look for Vet friendly PA programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbell03 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Hey there. I'm a current 68W in the national guard. I just got accepted into school. Our medical experience is highly valued. I had PA from my old unit our state surgeon and a science professor write my LORs. Just like people have said I think you will get interviews with you stats just focus on your interviews! Good luck! Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc56 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I was a 68W-F (flight medic). I applied for PA school in Afghanistan. I think that made my application stand out a little bit. Also one of the sitting interview board people was a retired Army soldier. I feel it helped being military in general, maybe even being a 68W. I went to PA school with an associates when they did that. Over all 4 people did not have a BA or higher in my class, 3 of us were military. I think a total of 48 (ish) in the class and I know we had 3 people still in a reserve status and at least 5 total with military service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger777 Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Thanks for the info.... Did you have a very strong science background besides the pre-reqs?, such as a BA in Bio or BA in Chem? I am concerned my science background will not be strong enough... no science bachelors... Did you mean BS? Science BAs are sort of a major-minor. I just posted on ipap thread some stuff about my School U. Of St. Francis Ft. Wayne which is a PBL program. We seem to informally reserve a seat for a vet and it def. Helped push me over the top. it doesnt seem like we get as many mil. applicants as some schools like Daemon where half my interview group was. We had one i knew of at last interview out of 40 and i think she was accepted. You should get an interview if you apply and you should. I applied to 35 progs and got 11 interviews and 2 admits, but I am old and have a "complicated" academic history. Saving grace was I had not taken a lot of science courses before so had a relatively clean slate there. I was a political sci. major for my BA. We have another guy out of 24 who just finished a masters in Medeival Lit. A school which saw it as a negative might care more about math gre butI don't think we place a lot of value on gre scores beyond the 50 percentile req. Our director did a lot of analysis of scores corr. To perf. And the only one that significantly correlated was verbal, interestingly. Not a big deal at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger777 Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Like shelbell I had 2 PAs I deployed with, one the dep. ss write my letters along with one MD prof I had for a prereq. Keep the military stuff prominent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger777 Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Any of the 3 ny Touros would be good probability admits for you. Talk to Geoff Slack there. COL (ret) Geoffrey Slack Director of Veteran Affairs Touro College P: 631-665- 1600 ext. 6317 geoffrey.slack@touro.edu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syoung236 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Agree with much of what already been said. Military looks good not only on the school application process but in the job market as well. I happen to know a hiring manager at a prominent facility in Austin, TX that will hire ex-military over Ivy's or other prominent programs every time (assuming all your other ducks are in a row). She doesn't have a personal bias for or against, but has found military PA's to excel in almost every area. I have found this to be true in my experience as well. If you're on active for another two years, you should look into the Interservice PA program at Sam Houston. World class training and you make officer pay while doing it (HUGE deal as you can end up $40-60,000 ahead of the game as opposed to behind). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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