PA Applications aka CASPA

My experience applying at OUHSC and OU Tulsa programs.

Two of the hardest parts + two important tasks you MUST complete.

The most overwhelming part of the whole thing. Applications. Neither of the OU programs have rolling admissions at this time, so applicants can submit any day prior to the October 1st deadline and have an equal opportunity of being accepted. Applications opened in June and it took me a solid month to even work up the nerve to look at them. I was extremely stressed about what I was about to get in to, but avoiding it only made things worse. I spoke to several PAs and current PA students while shadowing, but many of them did not use CASPA or had already omitted the memories of applying from their brains and could not give many tips.

When I finally created my CASPA and OU supplemental accounts, I realized that it was less scary than I had conjured up in my mind. The CASPA website is set up very simple and user friendly. I went through each step until everything had green check marks. Then checked, double, and triple checked each section again. You can add information and experiences after submitting, but you cannot change or delete anything. On the CASPA site, there is also a section for program materials. This section will have the things you need to complete specific to the program you are applying to. OUHSC and OU Tulsa are separate schools and each have supplemental applications with additional application fees. Do not forget to complete these and submit them before the application date closes. If a program gives you their resume template to follow, make sure that yours is in the same order and has the same headings/sections. Don't be afraid for it to go over the typical one page resume length. I sent my resume to my college career services center and the individual there cut it down to one page which is correct when applying for a job, just not for PA school. I had to add everything back to it because my PA advisor and PA program director told me the resume could be up to six pages and that they wanted it to be very complete.

One of the hardest parts for me was entering in all of my experiences. Programs want everything you have done since your first year of college. I mean everything. They want to see that you are well rounded. Even if you think that being in a sorority, participating in a fundraiser walk, or any extracurricular activity is irrelevant, add it anyways. My suggestion for underclassmen is to start a journal, a note on your phone, or any form of documentation you find easy to keep up with. The application will ask specifics; such as name, number of hours, description of activity, location, contact information (if available), etc. Unfortunately, I did not start documenting my experiences until the year before applying. In my case, my phone photos were a huge help because I document everything that way. They gave me exact dates and helped me remember other things I had done around the same time. I also sent emails to places I remembered volunteering at in order to get the number of hours I was there.

Another difficult aspect of the application process was entering transcript information. I believe when you get to this section, the website gives you the option to pay a company to enter the information for you. If you are able to do this, I highly recommend it. I think it would save a ton of time and insure that everything was entered correctly. However, I opted out of this because I honestly couldn’t afford it. I went to the office of academic records and had my unofficial transcripts printed for me. I used these to enter in the course numbers, sections, grades, etc. The important thing is that all of your numbers are correct and the subject you chose for each class is appropriate. It mentions that if there are too many errors your application will be sent back to you. No pressure, right? If you do get stuck on anything, the customer service email had a quick response time and answered all of my questions very clearly.

My biggest tip for those of you who know you will be applying in the next cycle, is to start thinking about your personal statement early. Even if the application is not open yet, you can get on the program website that you are applying to and most likely see the topic of the essay they want. This way you can start brainstorming ideas, creating rough drafts, and sharing it with others to help you edit it. My topic and what I think a majority of programs ask was “Why do you wish to become a PA?”. Most examples I saw were about a page long. I think the only requirement is that it is under 5000 characters, but don’t hold me to that. I sent my essay to my high school English teacher, my friends and family, my school writing center, my PA advisor, my academic department mentor, and to anyone else that was willing to read it. Each time I got it back from these individuals, there were little tips, suggestions, and grammatical corrections. Check my other blog post linked here to see the final version of my personal statement.

Finally, the two tasks you MUST complete. Attend an advising session and shadow a 2nd year PA student. These are specific to the OUHSC program I applied to, but I would check at programs you are applying to for similar activities. The OUHSC PA website has the advising presentation online, however, it is more beneficial to attend the session in person for the most updated information and a chance to meet some faculty, staff, and current students. There is also contact information online for you to shadow a student while they are in class. This was an awesome opportunity to ask questions and see exactly what you would be doing as a student. I am not sure how true this is, but several people told me that these two things are sort of check marks that the program looks for and gives you “points” for when looking at your application. Whether this is true or not, I urge you to do them anyways because they are very helpful.

If you have any other questions, please contact me! I would love to help!

Best of luck,

Destiny