Get Into PA School | My Story

It's been 11 years since I decided to pursue a career in medicine, and 3 years since I decided I really wanted to be a PA. I was not a great student in high school or college, and I was a very non-traditional PA school applicant. I hope that my story will motivate some of you to keep going and never give up on your dream of being a PA!

0:00 intro
0:35 engineering was NOT for me
1:16 Scrubs
2:15 I need human connection in my work
2:20 decided to go pre-med
3:35 not a competitive pre-med student
4:02 first introduction to PA profession
4:35 not a competitive pre-PA student
5:20 joining the military, US Navy
6:20 how the Navy changed me
7:05 rediscovering the PA profession
8:45 why I wanted to be a physician assistant (PA)
11:00 minimum GPA is NOT enough
12:09 did not get into PA school
12:50 how I finally got into PA school
14:50 improving my GPA
16:45 post-bacc at Cornell University
20:56 needed patient care experience
22:35 emergency room scribe
23:25 medical assistant
23:30 finally competitive for PA school
25:50 outro
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Hi everyone! I’m Boris, and I am going to start PA school this August (2019)! My channel is all about making videos to help pre-PA hopefuls achieve their dreams of getting into PA school! Stay tuned for more great content including: interview tips and stories, CASPA essay writing tips and ideas, ways to get in with a low GPA, ways to get improve your chances of getting into a specific school, interviews with PA students and practicing PAs, and much more!

All the views expressed in my videos are my own personal opinions based on my experiences as a PA school student and applicant. My views may not reflect the views of my school, my employer, or any other person or institution.

My name is Boris, I'm a Board-Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C)

This channel is all about living a happy, healthy life. I also make videos about getting into PA school, improving your CASPA application, and study skills!

***Disclaimer: I am not a PA School admissions professional. The advice I provide in my YouTube videos and any advice or feedback I provide during consulting sessions is for informational purposes only and is based on my own knowledge, experience, personal research, and success as a PA School applicant and student. I do not provide medical advice online. Nothing I say, write, or reference in my YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook posts is medical advice and any viewer that uses the information I provide does so at their own risk and assumes all risk with taking these actions. All of my content is for entertainment purposes only. All views expressed through email, in phone and video consulting sessions, on my YouTube channel, and in my Instagram and Facebook posts are my own and may not reflect the views or opinions of my school, employer, or anyone else.***

[BorisThePA]

Buy the BEST personal statement writing book:
In the book, I show you how to write a powerful personal statement step by step. I also share my best tips for filling out the CASPA application!

[rummiii]

I’m literally taking classes at a community college... re-taking them that is So I can get my gpa up. Seems like a long battle but your video motivated me again. However I am only a part time student as I pay out of pocket and have bills so still unable to go to school full time. But my basic dream is also to get into PA school. Your story resonated with me A LOT, looking forward to more content. Please shed light on caspa app. And how your past grades were calculated along with your post-bac grades.

[candicecisneros]

this was the most authentic, honest and real videos. thank you

[hoab]

Thank you for sharing us your experience. It gives someone like myself hope that even with low GPA I can still fulfill my dream of becoming a PA😊

[davidramos]

I can't tell you how grateful I am that you shared your story. It is extremely motivating and what resonated with me most is "nothing less than excellence was accepted". I was pre-PA but gave up and graduated with a BBA. This video has motivated me to break down the process into baby-steps and not give up on my dream- thank you Boris.

[felisha]

Your story is so inspiring!! I’m currently in the Marine Corps stationed in Hawaii and my service ends in Sept. I’m hoping to transfer to a college in FL or MO to finish my Bachelors in Health Science and then apply to PA school since it’s my ultimate dream! I’m nervous because I feel like I’m starting late since I’m 22 and all my peers have already graduated college and I have no experience in the medical field as I was doing administrative work in the Corps. However I’m trying to stay positive and doing everything I can to prep myself for PA school. Since I don’t start college until Jan of 2024 my plan is to take a medical assistant course through US Career Institutions and get certified before starting college so I can get PCH for PA school. Thank you for sharing your story !!

[azariathomas]

I’m so happy I came across this video! I needed to see this because I’ve been struggling on what path I should take for applying to PA school. It made me see I need more discipline on the mental aspect to apply and to tweak things concerning my GPA and experience. I really appreciate this video and you sharing! Thank you!

[douglaslivingston]

Thank you for the awesome content Boris. It's a relief to find a PA I can relate to! Like you, I have bit of an engineering background with an associates in electronics, currently in the Navy working on aircraft. As rewarding as it can be, its certainly not my passion. Working in patient/health care has been my dream for a while now and I've finally gained the confidence to go that route. I have a long way to go, but soon I'll be starting a bachelors program once i discharge soon and am currently volunteering at the local hospital. Looking forward to more videos!

~Doug

[slomotion]

Bro I feel like your talking to me. I’m from Western Pa (from Pittsburgh) I’m active duty in the navy (ABH2) and I’m trying to become a PA when I get out in the next 3.5 years with a subpar GPA. This video definitely gave me some hope and a lot of insight. I appreciate it and wish you the best of luck shipmate 🤝

[chkkyci]

I was shocked while watching this because of how similar my story is to yours. I was in Chemical Engineering, my GPA at the time that I decided to pursue PA was 2.98 with 0 volunteer/clinical experience, and I had no prerequisites for PA school whatsoever.
I had no interest in the content of my Chemical Engineering undergrad and was always slacking off, sleeping in class, just generally unhappy and unexcited to be there... But I found myself watching Medical school vlogs on youtube, or "day in the life of a doctor" vlogs all the time just for fun.
I actually went to do a co-op which I thought was going to give me some sort of hope that my schooling was worth it.. but I ended up disliking it so much to the point of quitting in the middle of my co-op term. I could not find any joy, excitement, interest, or passion in running around in the lab, or doing calculations on the computer all day, or reviewing graphs and diagrams of processes.
There was no human aspect of the profession, and I came to realize that very quickly. Right after I realized that the profession itself just fundamentally was not going to be able to provide me with what I wanted in a workplace for the future, I went back to continue my schooling and shifted my path to PA.
Over the last 2 remaining years of my undergrad degree I took my prereq courses, volunteered/worked to get my hours in, and boosted my GPA from 2.98 to 3.23.
Luckily, I got into PA school right after graduation, and I am starting in 2 months!
It was crazy seeing how similarly your story matched mine!
I'm really happy to see things work out for you, and your story was really inspirational and relatable :)

[emilyfong]

subscribed! i'm a junior in college trying to apply as a long-shot applicant this year, and then a more competitive applicant next year after i graduate. looking forward to watching all your videos!

[raymundoserrano]

I had a 2.5gpa and still determined to become a PA. Working as a ERTech for now! Waiting for my medic job in the AF!

[mathgeek]

This is really inspiring. I just graduated with my BS in Biomedical Engineering but I really want to interact with patients and not in an industry setting. I’m hoping to apply to PA school in a few years because I have 0 patient care hours as well

[TheThorRs]

we really have a similiar story fr.

I've been contemplating the army national guard as a dental specialist to help me gain some patient experience, character development and more importantly tuition. It's just a bit difficult because signing a contract now means my goal of PA school will be pushed back a lot further when deployments occur. Despite my high GPA and being a senior in my undergrad, I haven't taken a full course load of hard science classes because I simply can't afford to haha..

Hopefully I'll get my head straight in the coming weeks as i contemplate this. If the odds were stacked against you and you made it work, maybe I need to do that too. We'll c

Thank you for sharing.

[lr-srrf]

This is amazing. Thank you for sharing. ♥️

[waleedmasseekh]

Boris I admire ur dedication ur video is motivate me thank u

[lisatryemka]

Thank you so much for sharing this Boris! That is a long journey but I'm really happy that you were able to achieve it and that all of the hard work and dedication payed off.

[rosendoramirez]

I have 50 credits left of under grad, unfortunately I’m sitting at a 3.01, it’s not because of the material, it’s because I didn’t take school serious before and I had the whole “Cs get degrees” concept

[AfroMedic]

Just learned that it's good to balance hard and easy classes to maintain a high GPA.

[zaceinherjark]

Very inspiring video. thanks for sharing.