Paying for PA school is a challenge. There are so many things I wish I had known starting school in terms of how many extra little expenses there are. Since I am less than a month away from graduating (insert jaw-dropping emoji here), I figured it's a good time as any to share my experience and advice with you all.
I am going to break it down into three sections so that this post can be helpful to everyone in regards to being in different seasons of your PA journey.
Pre-PA
1. Certifications - if you chose to become an EMT, phlebotomist, etc. before going to PA school, it will cost you a good chunk of money to get that certification. Granted that it is an investment and it will pay off in the long run, it is something to keep in mind.
2. Pre-reqs - if you are like me and are not a traditional student, you may have to go back to school to get your pre-reqs before applying to PA school. Yes, you can always apply for more student loans and pay for it that way, but if that is not your desired route, you will also need to be able to pay for those extra classes somehow. If you are a traditional student and are thinking of applying to PA school, look up what the pre-reqs are and make sure you take all of those courses before you graduate to avoid the extra cost!
3. CASPA - current CASPA fees include $179 for the first application and $52 for each additional program. Depending on how many programs you are applying to, this number adds up fast!
4. Supplemental applications - when I applied 3 years ago, a lot of programs required additional applications and guess what? Those applications had a cost attached to them too. Most schools require you to submit a supplemental BEFORE you are even invited for an interview/get accepted to PA school.
5. GRE scores - GRE scores can be sent to 4 programs of your choice for free. After that, each time you send your score it will cost you an additional $27.
6. Traveling - you may also want to consider saving up for flights if you've applied to schools that are across the country. Also keep in mind that you may have to get a hotel room for a night each time you have an interview.
7. Dressing the part - most of us had to go out and buy a suit to be able to wear to the interview. You don't have to break the bank, but you also don't want to slack in this department.
Didactic Year
1. Medical instruments - otoscope, ophthalmoscope, stethoscope are pretty expensive. I'm not sure about other programs, but we had to pay for our own and was not covered with tuition and other fees (our school did order it in bulk to get a group discount for us).
2. Textbooks/resources/subscriptions - I will suggest waiting until schools starts to see what books you need to buy. Don't go overboard and buy all the recommend books, except for anatomy (you will need those). Some of you may even consider paying for a subscription for different resources to help learn clinical medicine or pharmacology. Prices varies between different subscriptions.
3. Rent/bills - most of my classmates took out student loans not only for tuition but also for day to day expenses, paying rent and other bills. I am no financial guru but I would strongly suggest borrowing only as much as you need and not accepting the full amount that is offered. It is okay to borrow more to have a little cushion for emergencies but do not borrow too much extra money just to blow it off. Remember that you will have to pay it back with interest at some point. And yes, even if you will be making good money once you graduate, there is no need to be paying off student loans for the rest of your life. It may be tempting now, but your future self will thank you. I have said my piece, I will end my mom rant here ;).
4. Electronics - if you don't have a reliable computer, you may want to invest in one. Don't get halfway through didactic just to have your computer die on you like I did.
Clinical Year
1. Business casual clothes - if your school did not require you to wear business casual to class (like ours did), you will most probably want to expand your wardrobe.
2. Travel and lodging - some rotations may be far away and you may need to travel 30 mins - 1 hour to get to them daily. You may even be assigned a rotation far from where you live and may need to relocate for 4-6 weeks. Keep in mind that you may need more gas money than usual and also may need to provide your own housing if your program does not.
3. Resources - studying for EOR exams is a different ball game than studying for exams in didactic. You have to branch out and try to find other ways of gaining the knowledge to do well on the exams and to make sure you are getting a well rounded education. A lot of us from class would share books that we had bought with each other so it was easier on our wallets.
4. PANCE prep course - I chose not to go to a prep course before taking the PANCE but depending on which one you decide to go to, it can add up to $400-500. Even if you don't go to a course on site, you may chose to take one online or buy question banks to practice before taking the boards.
5. PANCE - although we all wish this was covered by the school, you are responsible for paying for the boards and it costs $500! You cannot sign up for a date to take it until you pay the fee.
These are the things that I thought were most important to share. If I have left anything out and someone has anything to add to the list, please share with the rest of us in the comments!
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