OT Colleges :)

[Funfunfun]

Congrats to her regardless of what she decides! Has she visited the school, sat in on classes, spoken to current students and alumni, or even spent a weekend there? If not I would start there. It's so hard as a HS senior to know what you really want from a program. Honestly, if this is a program that is well respected within the profession of PAs AND they are giving her $ to attend and be finished in a shorter amount of time than to do her BS and then apply to a graduate program, I would highly encourage her to pursue this opportunity. If she can minimize the number of years in school as well as her long term debt, I would try to make her see the bigger picture.

Yes, she has visited this school, toured the campus with a PA student and we know a "friend of a friend" who is currently in the program who she has spoken with. The program is ranked #18 out of about 180 schools who offer a PA program so it is well respected. There are only about 30 schools that offer seats to high school seniors so she really has a great opportunity. I think I will take your advice about having her sit in for a day of classes or stay for a weekend, that may help her to see if she can really picture herself living there for 5 years. As an adult, it is easy for me to see this as an amazing opportunity, I will try to get her to see the bigger picture, that is great advice, Thank you!

 

[njallday]

Yes, she has visited this school, toured the campus with a PA student and we know a "friend of a friend" who is currently in the program who she has spoken with. The program is ranked #18 out of about 180 schools who offer a PA program so it is well respected. There are only about 30 schools that offer seats to high school seniors so she really has a great opportunity. I think I will take your advice about having her sit in for a day of classes or stay for a weekend, that may help her to see if she can really picture herself living there for 5 years. As an adult, it is easy for me to see this as an amazing opportunity, I will try to get her to see the bigger picture, that is great advice, Thank you!

congrats to her! what a phenomenal opportunity, that i'm sure she worked very hard to get!! (and i'm sure her momma had to instill some great work ethic in her)

i think it's wonderful that you are really letting her take the reigns and making the decision and looking back now, i would choose any opportunity that allowed me as little debt as possible (this, coming from a girl who just signed herself up for a $150,000 doctorate program on top of my now deferred again loans from undergrad ugh.)

Is she absolutely, positively sure that this is what she wants to do? not to be debbie downer, but i ended up with a similar decision as your daughter, but with nutrition. (the program isn't nearly as intense as PA, but normally to be able to sit for the exam to be a registered dietician, you have to be in a very specific program, get your bachelors, then there is a 1-2 year internship after the degree, and then the exam) There was a college smaller than my high school that had an accelerated program that allowed the internship in conjunction with the bachelor degree, so when you graduated you could immediately sit for the exam. they also offered me a very large, substantial amount of money. so i went with it, because 5/6 more years of school sounded like forever to 18 year old me (which is comical now, because once i am done, i will have spent 8 years in college.) any who, long story short - i went, realized i didn't want to be a dietician, realized once you took away the major how much i hated the school, and i was miserable. and transferred after one semester.

i would hate to see her have a similar fate that i did, so i think the attending classes and spending more time on campus is a wonderful idea!! if you haven't already, i would also find a PA and ask if she could shadow them for a day or two. i thought my love of nutrition could get me passed my lack of love for the school, so i now know how important it is that you love every aspect of college, especially for the price (unless it's a full ride, i think i could get over that) i'm sure with your guidance she will make the right decision for her. good luck to all!!! and congrats again to her!

 

[SmileCat]

just thought I'd ask... does anyone go to Michigan? i got accepted last week and I'm not sure how I feel about size and cost.

Hoping to get accepted once I get my AA in a year and a half… but the cost for out of state is going to prevent me from going there but hey, at least I can say I got accepted! (hopefully)

 

[Funfunfun]

congrats to her! what a phenomenal opportunity, that i'm sure she worked very hard to get!! (and i'm sure her momma had to instill some great work ethic in her)

i think it's wonderful that you are really letting her take the reigns and making the decision and looking back now, i would choose any opportunity that allowed me as little debt as possible (this, coming from a girl who just signed herself up for a $150,000 doctorate program on top of my now deferred again loans from undergrad ugh.)

Is she absolutely, positively sure that this is what she wants to do? not to be debbie downer, but i ended up with a similar decision as your daughter, but with nutrition. (the program isn't nearly as intense as PA, but normally to be able to sit for the exam to be a registered dietician, you have to be in a very specific program, get your bachelors, then there is a 1-2 year internship after the degree, and then the exam) There was a college smaller than my high school that had an accelerated program that allowed the internship in conjunction with the bachelor degree, so when you graduated you could immediately sit for the exam. they also offered me a very large, substantial amount of money. so i went with it, because 5/6 more years of school sounded like forever to 18 year old me (which is comical now, because once i am done, i will have spent 8 years in college.) any who, long story short - i went, realized i didn't want to be a dietician, realized once you took away the major how much i hated the school, and i was miserable. and transferred after one semester.

i would hate to see her have a similar fate that i did, so i think the attending classes and spending more time on campus is a wonderful idea!! if you haven't already, i would also find a PA and ask if she could shadow them for a day or two. i thought my love of nutrition could get me passed my lack of love for the school, so i now know how important it is that you love every aspect of college, especially for the price (unless it's a full ride, i think i could get over that) i'm sure with your guidance she will make the right decision for her. good luck to all!!! and congrats again to her!

Thank you! Yes, she has worked very hard over the last four years so I am very happy for her to see her hard work has paid off. She is not 100% sure he wants to be a PA. She knows she wants to do something in the medical field. She doesn't want to be a nurse. Originally she wanted to be an anesthesiologist, then she moved on to nurse practitioner and now we are on PA. We talked again today and went through the curriculum and she seemed more excited and thinks she can see herself there. She is very interested in the surgery aspect of the role so I am going to call and see if she can shadow a student in the program for a day, that is a great idea, thanks for your suggestion. Should she accept this seat, she knows she will needs to work very hard over the next 5 years. She is a hard worker and I can see her in this role. She is patient and compassionate and has always been able to see the big picture which I think is important in order to be successful. Thanks again for your advice!

 

[uacheerleader0910]

Hoping to get accepted once I get my AA in a year and a half… but the cost for out of state is going to prevent me from going there but hey, at least I can say I got accepted! (hopefully)

Out of state tuition will kill me too. I applied for some scholarships though and I may get a scholarship through honors that would make it possible. Best of luck to you!

 

[Daniellerae]

So I'm a senior in high school right now and tryouts for the college I plan on attending are in April. I'd like to continue cheering in college, but my mom is worried about it affecting my studies. Does anyone have experience cheering with a pre-nursing course load? The team is newly competitive and cheers at home football, hockey, and basketball games, so I don't think that should be too big of a time commitment since they don't travel. I also plan on taking summer classes at home to lessen my stress during the year. Will it be too difficult to balance?

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Thank you! Yes, she has worked very hard over the last four years so I am very happy for her to see her hard work has paid off. She is not 100% sure he wants to be a PA. She knows she wants to do something in the medical field. She doesn't want to be a nurse. Originally she wanted to be an anesthesiologist, then she moved on to nurse practitioner and now we are on PA. We talked again today and went through the curriculum and she seemed more excited and thinks she can see herself there. She is very interested in the surgery aspect of the role so I am going to call and see if she can shadow a student in the program for a day, that is a great idea, thanks for your suggestion. Should she accept this seat, she knows she will needs to work very hard over the next 5 years. She is a hard worker and I can see her in this role. She is patient and compassionate and has always been able to see the big picture which I think is important in order to be successful. Thanks again for your advice!

Two of my roommates were PA majors at Seton Hall (another great 5 year program). It was a TON of hard work, but they loved that they were with the same group of students for all 5 years. There's a great sense of camaraderie and they all used to study together (and go to happy hour ).

 

[retiredl5cheer]

So I'm a senior in high school right now and tryouts for the college I plan on attending are in April. I'd like to continue cheering in college, but my mom is worried about it affecting my studies. Does anyone have experience cheering with a pre-nursing course load? The team is newly competitive and cheers at home football, hockey, and basketball games, so I don't think that should be too big of a time commitment since they don't travel. I also plan on taking summer classes at home to lessen my stress during the year. Will it be too difficult to balance?

Many of my teammates were nursing majors. We cheered for volleyball & women's and men's basketball, so similar situation. A lot of them cheered the first two years, when their course load was lighter, and took the last two years off to study. If you're someone that needs to be busy to be productive, it works out really well.

 

[12mowerd]

Just got my acceptance letter for the University of Maine for secondary education!

The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[Just-a-Mom]

Just got my acceptance letter for the University of Maine for secondary education!

The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

Congratulations! That's really awesome. You should be really proud of yourself.

The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[12mowerd]

Congratulations! That's really awesome. You should be really proud of yourself.

The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

Thank you very much! My community college years are over lol

The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[Funfunfun]

Two of my roommates were PA majors at Seton Hall (another great 5 year program). It was a TON of hard work, but they loved that they were with the same group of students for all 5 years. There's a great sense of camaraderie and they all used to study together (and go to happy hour ).

Yes, we visited Seton Hall. They told her she would make the cut for admissions and get some scholarship $ too. She just could not see herself there for 5 years so she did not apply. We know a few people who go there and they are very happy. It seems with any PA program the courses are so specific you end up with the same core group of students in all your classes.

 

[ashscott41]

@Funfunfun Ok, I'm getting on this a few days late, but thought I'd chime in anyway. A few years ago I was in your daughter's shoes. I got accepted directly out of HS to an accelerated pharmacy program, but was only like 85% sure I wanted to be a pharmacist. I accepted the seat, attended for three and a half years, struggled greatly, and ended up dropping and changing my major. Here are some things I wish I would have considered beforehand-

1) degree program itself- the program I was in was a Pharm D only program, meaning students did not receive a bachelor's of any kind; we were all pursuing clinical doctorates from day 1. For an 18 year old with that is a LOT of pressure. Also, if you wanted to drop at any point, you didn't have any lower degree program to fall back on. I'm spending an extra year in school now because so many things were pharmacy specific and did not transfer to any other program. I'd look at the curriculum for her program and see how many of those classes could be applied towards a biology or psychology (or whatever else she is interested in) degree should she later decide to pursue another career path.

2) size of the program- I was one of 28 students in my program. We were together for every single class we took. It was nice to always have a study buddy, but things also got very gossipy and clique-y pretty quick. Also, since we spent every second together in class, we didn't really want to see those people outside of class for any free time. It made for some lonely Saturday nights in bed with Netflix. This kind of depends on your CPs personality, but it may be something to think about.

3) age of other students in program- I was only the second person in the history of this program to be accepted directly from HS. Everyone else had at least one year of college experience, and about half of them had a four year degree already. This put everyone else at 22, and me being 18 this was another isolating factor. I was still getting used to living on my own, being responsible for myself, and I couldn't go out with them since I was under 21. They probably won't be able to tell you, but it's worth a shot at asking someone from the program how many of the students will also be coming from HS.

4) availability for on campus involvement- due to the nature of the program, I was not allowed to join a sorority or cheer (or join any other organization, but those were the ones that mattered most to me). We were only allowed to be in pharmacy organizations, so that's just more time spent with those same 28 students, and more isolation from the rest of the general student population. This made it hard to make many "outside" friends. Also, since we weren't an undergrad degree program, I was unable to live in a dorm and I feel like I missed out on a lot of the college experience because of that. Yes it was awesome living in a house, and as an only child I would have hated sharing space in a dorm, but I do feel like it is an important part of college that people should experience if they want. I'd ask an upperclassman in the program about what kind of things are available outside the classroom for bigger picture on campus involvement.

Those are the big things that come to mind about what I wish I would have known. If I think of anything else I'll PM you, and if you have any other specific questions feel free to PM me. Sorry this is so long, but I went through a similar decision process and knowing what I know now I would not have done things the same way. Congrats to your daughter for all her hard work paying off, and good luck to her and your family during this exciting time!

 

[Daniellerae]

Many of my teammates were nursing majors. We cheered for volleyball & women's and men's basketball, so similar situation. A lot of them cheered the first two years, when their course load was lighter, and took the last two years off to study. If you're someone that needs to be busy to be productive, it works out really well.

It's good to know that cheering for 3 sports isn't abnormal, that's mostly what I was worried about. I'll probably end up only doing it for 2 years as well, but I guess I am the type that needs to be busy to get anything done. Thanks!

 

[Funfunfun]

@Funfunfun Ok, I'm getting on this a few days late, but thought I'd chime in anyway. A few years ago I was in your daughter's shoes. I got accepted directly out of HS to an accelerated pharmacy program, but was only like 85% sure I wanted to be a pharmacist. I accepted the seat, attended for three and a half years, struggled greatly, and ended up dropping and changing my major. Here are some things I wish I would have considered beforehand-

1) degree program itself- the program I was in was a Pharm D only program, meaning students did not receive a bachelor's of any kind; we were all pursuing clinical doctorates from day 1. For an 18 year old with that is a LOT of pressure. Also, if you wanted to drop at any point, you didn't have any lower degree program to fall back on. I'm spending an extra year in school now because so many things were pharmacy specific and did not transfer to any other program. I'd look at the curriculum for her program and see how many of those classes could be applied towards a biology or psychology (or whatever else she is interested in) degree should she later decide to pursue another career path.

2) size of the program- I was one of 28 students in my program. We were together for every single class we took. It was nice to always have a study buddy, but things also got very gossipy and clique-y pretty quick. Also, since we spent every second together in class, we didn't really want to see those people outside of class for any free time. It made for some lonely Saturday nights in bed with Netflix. This kind of depends on your CPs personality, but it may be something to think about.

3) age of other students in program- I was only the second person in the history of this program to be accepted directly from HS. Everyone else had at least one year of college experience, and about half of them had a four year degree already. This put everyone else at 22, and me being 18 this was another isolating factor. I was still getting used to living on my own, being responsible for myself, and I couldn't go out with them since I was under 21. They probably won't be able to tell you, but it's worth a shot at asking someone from the program how many of the students will also be coming from HS.

4) availability for on campus involvement- due to the nature of the program, I was not allowed to join a sorority or cheer (or join any other organization, but those were the ones that mattered most to me). We were only allowed to be in pharmacy organizations, so that's just more time spent with those same 28 students, and more isolation from the rest of the general student population. This made it hard to make many "outside" friends. Also, since we weren't an undergrad degree program, I was unable to live in a dorm and I feel like I missed out on a lot of the college experience because of that. Yes it was awesome living in a house, and as an only child I would have hated sharing space in a dorm, but I do feel like it is an important part of college that people should experience if they want. I'd ask an upperclassman in the program about what kind of things are available outside the classroom for bigger picture on campus involvement.

Those are the big things that come to mind about what I wish I would have known. If I think of anything else I'll PM you, and if you have any other specific questions feel free to PM me. Sorry this is so long, but I went through a similar decision process and knowing what I know now I would not have done things the same way. Congrats to your daughter for all her hard work paying off, and good luck to her and your family during this exciting time!

@ashscott41 Thank you so much for your thoughts, you have given us a lot to think about. Is she 100% sure she wants to be a PA? I'm not sure it's really possible for a 17 year old to be 100% positive about what they want to do for the next 40 years. I've been in my chosen career for over 25 years and there are days I want to start a new career or wish I had studied something different many years ago!

We did look at the curriculum again and many of the first and second year classes are what you would expect, Bio 1&2, Chem 1&2, English seminars, A&P 1&2, calculus etc. there are a few course specific classes in there as well. After 3 1/2 years, the students earn a BS in Health Sciences and then at the completion on the program, they earn a MS in Physician Assistant Studies. Of course they need to pass a national test in order to practice.

I do know the program is small, I think they accept about 50 students and hope for a class of about 30. I would like to ask how many of these students actually matriculated through the program and earn the MS. Because the program is small, and the class will spend a lot of time together, it would be great if it were a large university , but it is not.

You bring up great points about the ages of the students and the ability to be involved in on campus activities, we will need to ask these questions.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, I really appreciate it! I feel she will ultimately make the decision that is right for her. I just want to help her by asking the appropriate questions to enable her to make that choice and not look back.