Annie, College of Saint Scholastica PA Program
Name: Annie Lo
Accepted to: College of St. Scholastica PA Program, Duluth
Major: Biomedical Sciences
Undergrad University: UWRF
Work at ACR: I’ve worked at ACR for 6.5 years. I started as a direct care staff in June of 2014. Four years later, I took on the RSA position at my house. A year after that I took over the RS position. I started off wanting to be a pharmacist because I wanted to be in the healthcare field but thought I would have minimal human interaction if I passed medications all day. After I started working at ACR, I knew I was very wrong in thinking that. As I gradually started developing meaningful relationships with my residents and learning more about healthcare, I decided being a PA was the path I wanted to go to. The most important thing I learned from ACR is the value of patient interaction whether it is verbal or non-verbal communication.
Total PCE hours: 8551 hours at ACR
Shadowing hours: 88
Other volunteer hours: 200
Extra: ~480 hours of internship experience through ACR
How many programs did you apply to? 7
How many programs did you interview with? 0
Were there any helpful resources you used to get through the application and interview process?
I mainly used google to find PA programs throughout the US. I picked specific regions/areas and then looked up the schools there!
– http://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation/accredited-programs/
– https://directory.paeaonline.org/
Any other advice for other pre-PA students?
– Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the application process and school itself! I wish I asked more questions when I started applying and knew more of what I was getting into.
– Don’t give up! It took me 4 years to apply to school. I spent a lot of time and money into those applications and I finally got into school this year. It’s hard and discouraging but I never gave up and knew I would continue to try my best to get in.
– Utilize all the resources you can. Join ACR Facebook groups and ask your fellow ACR coworkers questions about applying. Do an internship and gain some experience through there!
You always see people get into school but never know the back story. I see people apply and get into school right away after 1-2 years, but never really hear the stories of people applying multiple times. After many years, I finally got in and am thankful I continued to try to pursue my dreams!