I was under the impression that I would receive no more contact from other schools that I had applied to. It was around 8 months ago when I actually applied. Some schools I did receive rejection letters fairly quickly, and other schools I received nothing... At the end of January I received an email from the University of Toledo inviting me for an interview!
I had already made my choice to go to Pacific University, however it was still very flattering to get another offer for an interview. Especially because I thought I was not going to get any more contact from other schools. I just thought I would let everyone know the exciting news that made me feel good to be wanted by another program.
I am VERY happy with my decision to be a part of Pacific University and they have been my top choice since I started this journey and I couldn't be more happy with with my selection. I should be in contact with the rest of my class this month, a forum is being created by Pacific that will allow our class to ask questions and get to know each other. Stay tuned for this next part of my journey!
I rushed to get my CASPA application completed as quickly as possible, in fact I wanted to be the first one done!... well it turns out thats not always the best situation to have.
I had 2 pre-reqs that were considered as "in progress" on my CASPA because the actual grades didn't post until May, and CASPA opened the end of April. I would have had to wait until May, sent in my transcripts, and then when they were received by CASPA, submit my application... this would have put me like a month later than when I wanted to apply. So I figured it would be best to get my application IN than to have to wait for the 2 pre-reqs labeled as 'in-progress' to be changed to complete.
My first rejection letter I received from A.T. Still University (Arizona School of Health Sciences). The letter informed me (like most schools do) they were VERY competitive this year. They had a LOT of applicants... I think only 7% got interviews, which is not unusual for PA schools. The other reasoning for not being considered was because I had 2 per-requisite courses as 'in-progress' on my application. I think they leaned towards applicants who had everything completed, and they could because there were so many applicants.
So my suggestion is to get all of your courses as 'completed' on your CASPA, even if it sets you back a few weeks, your more likely to get a better response from the schools you apply to.
Just a quick note, even though CASPA opens the end of April, they didn't actually send any applications to the schools until the middle of June... even though I had everything completed at the beginning of May.
