PA-S Interview

Here is an Interview I did with a PA-S at Texas Tech in Midland.

1) Tell me about your interview and application process (which schools did you apply to, how was interviewing, etc)
I submitted my CASPA app basically ASAP in June. I applied to all of the Texas schools and I received interviews to Tech, Baylor, UNT and Pan American. I did not go to the Pan American interview because I had already gotten into Tech by then and I did not want to go to Pan American. I felt most relaxed with the Tech interview... I felt like the professors there actually wanted to know who you are as a person and what kind of PA you will make verses the other schools that did psychological mind analysis and asked you weird "thinking" questions to see how you would react. Baylor's last 2 days but the other interviews were just a 1 day thing.


2) What things made Tech stand out and be your choice?

To be honest, the reason why I went to Tech is because out of the schools I interviewed, Tech was the only one that accepted me. I was wait listed for the other ones, but Tech accepted me AND gave me $1,000 to come to their school. The PA program is the only Tech program in Midland, the there is only 1 building and it's only for the PA students. I think this is both bad and good.... good to be like the "spotlight" students but then again bad because we are isolated from Lubbock Tech and we can't network with other students. The building and classrooms are very new and very pretty!! The Physical Exam room is amazing!!!


3) What is life in Midland like? Where were you living before?

I moved to Midland from Plano, and Midland is very different haha. It has about 100,000 people there and pretty much everyone there works in the oil and gas business. Midland basically has everything you need... walmart, starbucks, CVS, standard restaurants/shopping..... but it's just not Dallas. There good things: NO TRAFFIC EVER hahaha and it's always warm/less rain and storms (If you like warm temps).


4) Tell me about your didactic experience (how large class, professors approachable, study strategies, etc)

My class started out with 61 and we now have 55..... so 6 people dropped during that first summer semester..... which is A LOT. In the past, only 2-3 have dropped out but I guess our class was special hahaha. One of the best things about Tech is the professors are SOOOOO approachable and SOOOOO nice!! They ALL want you to succeed and do well in school. They answer emails so quickly and will forward emails to the entire class if they feel we should all know the information. I am more of an independent studier, so I always studied at home alone. Some people would form groups and study at starbucks though. For most exams, they give you a really good review and as a class, we would divide that review up and share it. For the most part, my class is very nice with sharing and not being competitive and helping everyone out. Also, the professors really get you excited about becoming a PA and make you feel very proud for doing what you are doing.


5) Where have you been for rotations/where will you go for rotations?

I will start my rotations on August 15!! My last classroom school day in Midland is August 4 and then that weekend I will be moving to Abilene. I picked Abilene because it is close to Dallas. We have done a few things in Midland during the past year like working at the city health fair doing blood pressures and examining teens for scoliosis at middle schools.