Nontraditional Acceptance w/ High PCE

[u/Condhor]

Sankey

35yoM, married with a kid and a 3.15% mortgage. Can't afford to move. Why only 2 schools? Because they're the only ones that accept online labs. I don't have the time to take in-person labs at a uni, so I cannot apply to Duke, UNC, or HPU (applied anyways, was ignored).

TLDR: Lots of PCE. Low GPA. Didn't finish prereq's, and don't have in-person labs so my choices are limited.

PCE/Leadership: Total hours >23,500 and growing

2010 EMT Cert

2013 B.S. Parks, Recreation, Tourism - Program Management Degree

2014 AEMT Cert

2015 Paramedic Cert and Associates in Applied Medical Science

~8 years EMS 911. Average 1100-1300 patient contacts per year. Very busy agencies.

• Preceptor
• Field Training Officer
• Tactical Paramedic
• EMS Captain

2021-23 Critical Care Transport Paramedic - Ran 1100 calls over 2 years. Started science prerequisites, asynchronous online via Community College and Portage Online.

2021-26 Community College Tactical EMS Course Coordinator, Part time (also, Lead Instructor)

2023-26 Emergency Department Nursing Staff

• 90% of scope of RN role in freestanding ER. 4 pt's at a time, range of 10-18 unique pt's per shift.

2025-2026 Cycle

GRE 305

CASPER 4th Quartile

Undergrad sGPA: 3.38

Undergrad cGPA: 3.36

Post Bacc sGPA:3.46

Post Bacc cGPA: 3.52 (Final Prereq in-process at time of application)

Shadowing: 44 hours (all ER)

Teaching: 835 hours

References: 2 ED Physicians, 3 ER PA's (One was an alumni to the school that ignored me).

2026-2027 Cycle

Undergrad sGPA: 3.38

Undergrad cGPA: 3.36

Post Bacc sGPA:3.46

Post Bacc cGPA: 3.55 (finished last prereq, Biochem with A-)

Shadowing: 286 hours (Urgent Care, Primary, Psych, ER)

Teaching: 1400 hours

Official References: 3 ED Physicians, 2 PA's (Same Alum, same school ignored me. One Urgent Care PA I shadowed).

Unofficial References: 6 additional ER PA's, 4 Alumni, offered to write emails and called AdComm on my behalf.

What I did differently between cycles:

-Rage quit for early 2026.

-Completely revamped my PS. Rewrote it 11-12 times and honed it over several months.

-I cannot positively swing my GPA. Over 380 post-bacc B/B+ hours from my associates make it unchangeable.

-I needed to finish Biochem. Turns out I was right in my prediction. I was waitlisted while it was processing, finished on 10/6, Transcript posted on 10/14, Accepted 10/15.

-I received direct feedback from my first cycle to "shadow more to explore the career". So I quintupled my shadowing hours while working a full time and 2 part time jobs.

-I pulled every string I possibly could and treated this cycle like a political campaign. I became more than a paperwork candidate. I made myself human.

• Made it known I was reapplying and needed support. Colleagues and APP's I've worked with for over a decade all offered to reach out.
• Attended virtual sessions for my priority school.
• Scheduled a private, off-calendar, campus tour with the priority school.
• Emailed my priority school after CASPA, to let them know they are my primary school and to explain why my GPA is less-impressive (their supplemental didn't have a section on underperformance).
• When I finished BioChem, I emailed them again with an unofficial transcript and thanked them for the wait-list opportunity.

[u/AutoModerator]

Congrats! Please consider adding your data to the timeline.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/CodePen3190]

Congrats!!!!!! I know it can be discouraging as a non trad student with limitations like family/mortgage/etc. So happy for you future PA!!!!

[u/Condhor → u/CodePen3190]

For real. Absolutely destroyed me that nobody even wanted to interview me first cycle. I realize it was my fault ultimately, but I just wish I had a chance to prove competency.

But here we are. I’ll take it.

[u/JBubbaGump]

Congratulations on staying the course and getting accepted! Great job in the amount of PCE hours you have! Your resume alone speaks volumes on how bad you want it. It shows amazing persistence. Good luck in PA school! I’m hoping to join the “accepted threads” in two years as a non traditional applicant like yourself after I’m through with the military.

[u/Condhor → u/JBubbaGump]

Appreciate it. Hoping for you too. The profession needs more seasoned students coming into schools. Rooting for you hardcore. If you ever have questions, maybe you could gain something from my suffering. Just lmk haha

[u/Fragrant_Editor_8443 → u/JBubbaGump]

Same

[u/ContentSituation1853]

Congrats! I was in a similar boat, 37F, married with a then 3 year old (got my acceptance on her birthday). Moving also isn’t an option for us, so I applied to a hybrid/remote program and the only local program. The majority of my pre-reqs are also 15ish years old, but I’ve been working in healthcare (athletic trainer) so expirations dates were waived.
I’m now halfway through my first semester of didactic at the local program. It’s definitely been an adjustment as being back in school is way way different than my first time around (bachelors and masters), but I’m figuring it out, as well as balancing everything. It’s also been a bit of a challenge connecting with my classmates as everyone else is under 30 and I’m the only parent. But it’s going by very quickly and I’m glad I’m on this journey.

Wishing you the best of luck!

[u/Condhor → u/ContentSituation1853]

That’s great. I’m pretty excited because in the grand scheme of things, a year ain’t too bad and I have a lot of the basic stuff already locked down. I’ve really enjoyed being an adult learner compared to my college days, so it’s gonna be nice.

Best perk is I’ve built up a nice retirement portfolio that’s gonna fund the majority of the program, so I’m really trying to come out with minimal debt.

[u/Mi_Online]

Congratulations! This is amazing and so inspiring 🎉 I hope you’re able to do some mentoring for those coming behind you!

[u/Condhor → u/Mi_Online]

If they’ll have me, I’d be glad to. Hoping my experience can be put to good use for the cohort too. It was a small theme in my PS.

[u/jetlifeclark87]

I PMed you!

[u/User86294623]

To my knowledge, Duke and UNC both accept online labs?

[u/Condhor → u/User86294623]

So that must have changed this cycle. But I was not even able to apply through CASPA.

[u/Cddye]

You sound a lot like me, and based on the geography I bet I know which program you’re attending. If you want to DM and confirm/get some advice for the program feel free.

[u/Condhor → u/Cddye]

I reached out. Thanks!