accepted first cycle very low HCE hours

Just wanted to share that I was pulled off a waitlist to start school soon! I had interviewed in the summer so I’m a bit shocked but I wanted to share here because I rarely see anyone posting about “weird” cases and hope I can encourage others to not give up because they don’t fit the mold because I’m going to an amazing school that I believe is going to be an awesome fit for me!

I had totally expected to have to wait until next cycle to get more hours (I’ve been working as a PT aid for the past few months and have almost tripled my hours) and shadow quite a bit more. I had an interview I was very happy with with one of the “elite” schools so my confidence was up for sure. I realized I just was missing that experience.

I was a student athlete in college with a transfer right before my senior year so my transcripts were a bit funky! I frankly didn’t have the time to work during school. I was able to graduate in 3.5 years but then... COVID kinda hurt my ability to get certifications for PCE/HCE. I ended up doing home health care when I could.

I think my letters of rec and personal statement were strong. I really tried to sell my story and leadership intangibles.

Stats (at time of interview):

Undergrad: Bio cGPA: 3.78 sGPA: 3.79 GRE: 306 PCE: 300 HCE: 100 Volunteer: 500 Leadership: 2500 (counted quite a bit of my athletics stuff in here) Research: 200 Shadow: 8 LOR’s: PA (who I hadn’t shadowed), Academic advisor, Supervisor, coach Schools applied to: 10 Rejections: 4 Interviews: 2 Acceptance: 1

So yes, this is ugly. Not the standard situation. I honestly didn’t have high expectations. But all it took was one school and I’m okay with that :). I certainly didn’t fit a mold but my dreams are coming true!