Hard Work Pays Off – Sato I.

Hey everybody, hope y’all are doing well and your CASPA applications are coming along nicely! Here is PA-S, Sato Ikeda, with a few words of encouragement and advice to help y’all get through this cycle. Keep up the good work and I hope you enjoy what Sato had to say! – CL

Hello, my name is Sato. I am a former UCLA Bruin, current 2nd year at the Duke University PA Program, and future ER PA. I was a 6-time applicant, applied to 29 different programs, and submitted close to 70 applications over my 6 application cycles. The PA profession has definitely become more popular and competitive since I first applied close to a decade ago. Despite the numerous “we regret to inform you…” e-mails and letters I received over the years, I never once truly considered giving up. Sure, there were days where I questioned whether I would ever make it. However, at the end of the day, I knew that if I gave up I would regret it for the rest of my life. I could not imagine going into a desk job every day thinking what if…

What if I applied one more time?

What if I tried harder in undergrad and got better grades?

What if I just needed to be better at interviewing?

So, what did I do over the 6 years to become a better applicant? I feel that rejected applicants have at least one weakness in their application. Whether it is their GPA, patient care hours, volunteer hours, shadowing hours, or interviewing skills. The most important thing to do is address the weakness or weaknesses in your application and address it early. Do not wait until you receive your rejection letter to improve your application. By that point, you may have lost 6 to 8 months where you could have been taking extra classes to improve your GPA or gained extra volunteer/shadowing hours.

My glaring weakness was my GPA. My cumulative undergraduate GPA was a 2.67 (science GPA was a 2.60). After being rejected the first time, I reached out to some of the programs I had applied to and asked them what my weaknesses were. They all told me that my GPA was not competitive enough to be invited for an interview. So for me, my improvement was simple, I just had to re-take science classes that I had a B or C in and raise my GPA. I took 21 classes in total over 5 years, while working 60 to 70 hour work weeks, and maintained a 3.80 cumulative GPA and a 3.74 science GPA. That raised my cumulative GPA to a 3.03 and my science GPA to a 3.11. Just let that sink in, it takes 21 classes (6 to 7 quarters worth of classes) in which you get an A- in every class just to raise your cumulative GPA by 0.36 points. My advice to those of you who are still in undergrad, forget trying to get patient care hours and healthcare hours while you are in school. Focus on your GPA. You can work a year full time and get enough hours to apply to PA school, but it can easily take several years to raise your GPA while working full time.

At the end of the day, I do not regret the journey I took to PA school. I would never trade my journey for getting in earlier. Over the 6 application cycles, I worked as an ER scribe for 2 different companies, an MA in primary care, and an ER tech. I met a ton of amazing individuals who have mentored me and shaped the way I practice medicine today. The wealth of knowledge I accumulated over my 15,000+ hours of healthcare experience has been irreplaceable. It allowed me to establish a solid foundation on which I have built upon during PA school, and it has made PA school a whole lot easier. It is easy to become discouraged and compare yourself to your peers, especially on social media. Everyone has their own journey. Everyone has their own timeline. Do not fall into that trap. If you are rejected, apply a second time or a third time. Every second you invest in this journey will be worth it when you one day don the full length white coat and say, “hi my name is __, I am a PA and I will be taking care of you today.”

I wish all of you the best of luck. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me on IG at @hardwork_pa_ysoff29