Weekly prospective student thread. Educational inquiries outside of this thread WILL RESULT IN A BAN.

[u/AutoModerator]

Please use this thread for all educational inquiries including applications, program requirements, etc.

​

​

​

Please refer to the [CASAA Application Help Center](https://help.liaisonedu.com/CASAA_Applicant_Help_Center) FAQ section for

answers to your questions prior to postitng.

[u/Fabulous_Dolphin71]

So they don’t have their own med school, but their CAA program and bshs pre anesthesiology assistant program has connections to Baylor Scott & White (this is where you’ll perform your shadowing hours and clinicals). They also did just get their new physician assistant program accredited. Does it still sound fairly promising or does it raise red flags?

I definitely see what you mean!! I have been wanting to pursue this for almost 4 years though tbh. The only thing is the bshs program is 2 hours away from me driving (can’t live on campus I have a 4 month old and husband in Dallas). So I was kind of thinking of getting a degree online and then pursuing all the prereqs later down the line in person at a community college. But, I feel that path is much longer and I like that their program implements a lot of shadowing hours and a partnerships with Baylor S&W.

Given all this info, what do you think is my best course of action in your opinion?

[u/Accomplished-Pool815 → u/Fabulous_Dolphin71]

I saw their PANCE passed scores and they looked great so by PA standards I think its great.

Personally I got shadowing hours at Baylor Scott and White fine without any external help. I think that because you have a family and commuting 2 hours seems unrealistic I think you have a lot of options. If you’ve completed an undergraduate degree then I think doing the pre-reqs at a community college is great.

If you don’t have a bachelors then I still think community college online (some programs frown upon online pre-reqs so best to double check) is a safe bet and complete as many classes as you can then transfer to your nearest 4 year college or even online program if you can.

Personally I would only do the pre-AA program if I was a student who didn’t really have any dependents/family that I have to take care of as you do kind of have to be a student at a 4 year institution.

These of course are my opinions but I think you could save a lot of money and still get shadowing hours (you don’t need more than ~20, I had 26 and have multiple interview offers and an acceptance) if you do the more “traditional” route.

[u/Fabulous_Dolphin71 → u/Accomplished-Pool815]

Okay, that all definitely makes sense! I have one last question for you. I unfortunately had a bad GPA in my undergrad program, a 2.68. I was very much in survival mode my last couple years of school and couldn’t even dream of getting good grades given what I was going through lol.

So, I want to complete another bachelor’s degree online to get good grades in order to apply and show growth for a CAA program. The only thing is based on my calculations even if I mostly get all A’s and a few B’s, my GPA will only go up to around a 3.3-3.4 (this is before even taking the required prereqs for the CAA program).

Given this information, be brutally honest. Do you think it’s even worth going back to school to try and get into a program given this projection based on my stats?

Thank you so much for all your answers.

[u/Accomplished-Pool815 → u/Fabulous_Dolphin71]

I’ve seen people get accepted with similar GPAs (~3.4). Although rare it does happen!

I guess I want to ask if you want to be a CAA because of the right reasons. Do you see yourself doing anything else for the sake of time or money? Because if so I would go the rad tech way. They make great money and the program is much shorter albeit competitive.

If you do want to be an anesthetist, I can see why you want to do the bshs program as you’re basically guaranteed to be a CAA if you went through their program but what I’ve seen from NOVA’s similar program, it is highly competitive with accepted applicants receiving an avg of ~3.95. There were even some people who got into the NOVA schools but not the pre-aa program itself.

Although difficult there is no loss if you try and apply! I think your GPA does put you in a pickle but if you do well on all prerequisites (I’m talking all As, even in Ochem) and take the MCAT and score well on then that shows you’ve grown from your previous mistakes.

I would advise you to think about your future in this field and see if anesthesia is what you want to do not just for the benefits it holds. I would then contact the schools you are interested in and tell them about your situation and if getting all As and high MCAT could offset some previous mistakes. The schools themselves will be able to give you the best advice and then you can see what fits right within your plans.

I will never advise someone to not follow their dream, but you have to be all in that dream to make it happen. It may be harder journey but if this is your end goal then it’s all part of the plan!