collageDifferent sources have different PA school acceptance rates. These numbers aren’t always accurate and can be frustrating when you’re trying to decide which schools to apply to. What would be helpful is a one-stop source for information on PA school acceptance rates. After several hours of researching and gathering data, I’ve put together a table of various sources of PA school statistics, including the overall acceptance rate, the states included in their search, their rank and acceptance rate.
Collegelearners affords a plethora of information on pa school requirements, pa school gpa requirements, texas pa school acceptance rate and so much more. Ensure you peruse through our catalogue for relevant information on similar topics.
PA School Acceptance Statistics
To see our minimum academic requirements for consideration for admission, please visit Admissions Prerequisites.
| Admission Cycle Statistics (April-November 2020) | |
| Applications Received | 2095 |
| Candidates Interviewed | 75 |
| Matriculating Students | 26 |
| Class of 2023 Academic Profile | |
| Mean Overall GPA | 3.48 |
| Mean Overall Science GPA | 3.4 |
| Mean Verbal GRE Score Percentile | 68.2 |
| Mean Quantitative GRE Score Percentile | 54.8 |
| Mean Writing GRE Score Percentile | 74.2 |
| Class of 2023 Personal Qualities | |
| Identify Male | 4 |
| Identify Female | 22 |
| Second Language Spoken | 16 |
| Identify Hispanic/Latinx | 5 |
| Identify Asian | 10 |
| Identify Black | 2 |
| Northeast (CT, MA, NJ, NY) | 11 |
| Southeast (FL, MD, NC, VA) | 5 |
| Midwest (MN, MO) | 2 |
| Southwest (AZ) | 1 |
| West/Pacific (CA, OR) | 7 |
PA School Requirements
If you’ve decided to become a physician assistant, you know you’ve chosen a difficult road. But the end result will be well worth all your hard work—if you can get there.
First, you have to excel in rigorous PA school prerequisites. You have to impress professors and supervisors so they can write strong recommendation letters for you. And don’t forget—you have to acquire thousands of hours of healthcare experience as well.
If these PA school requirements don’t sound challenging enough, it doesn’t help that each PA program has its own GPA, GRE, and experience hour requirements. And, more often than not, the stated minimums aren’t enough to actually get you accepted to PA school.
It easily becomes overwhelming. You want to make yourself a competitive PA school applicant, and you’re willing to put in the effort, but you just need to know what to do.
This guide simplifies the steps you need to take to get into PA school. It provides you with all the information you need to meet every PA school’s requirements and get accepted to competitive physician assistant programs.
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PA school degree requirement
Every PA program in the U.S. will require the completion of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. This degree requirement can also be fulfilled in the course of completing a competitive BS/MS Physician Assistant program.
Students can apply to PA school as they finish their final year of undergraduate study, although many PA applicants choose to earn a few years of work experience before applying (more on this later).
To become a physician assistant, you must complete an ARC-PA-accredited master’s program involving classroom instruction and clinical training.
After completing a PA program, you’ll take the PANCE to earn certification as a physician assistant, after which you’ll seek licensure from your state in order to begin practicing.
(Suggested reading: PA vs. MD: The Biggest Differences)
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PA school course requirements
What are the prerequisites for PA school?
This is where applying to physician assistant programs becomes complicated. PA school requirements vary with every program, so it can be overwhelming to decide what classes to take.
Here is a list of science prerequisites almost guaranteed to be required by all PA programs:
- General chemistry: Lecture: two semesters or three quarters | Lab: one term
- Biology: Lecture: two semesters or three quarters | Lab: one term
- Microbiology: Lecture: one semester or two quarters | Lab: one term
- Anatomy: Lecture: one semester or two quarters | Lab: one term
- Physiology: Lecture: one semester or two quarters | Lab: one term
Most PA schools require you to take the following non-science prerequisites as well:
- English: Lecture: two semesters or three quarters
- Statistics: Lecture: one semester or two quarters
- Psychology: Lecture: one semester or two quarters
Now, these are the minimum PA school requirements held by the majority of programs. But only completing these courses will limit your options and decrease your competitiveness as an applicant.
For this reason, we highly recommend you take additional coursework to fulfill the stricter requirements of more selective PA schools. It’ll require a more rigorous undergrad curriculum, but the extra effort will increase your program options and your chances of getting accepted.
Make yourself a competitive PA school applicant by taking the following classes:
- Organic chemistry: Lecture: one semester or two quarters | Lab: one term
- Biochemistry: Lecture: one semester or two quarters | Lab: one term
- Medical terminology: Lecture: one semester or two quarters
- Genetics: Lecture: one semester or two quarters
- Physics: Lecture: one semester or two quarters
- Sociology (or a different humanities course): Lecture: one semester or two quarters
- Foreign language: Lecture: two semesters or three quarters
- Organic chemistry: Lecture: one semester or two quarters | Lab: one term
- Biochemistry: Lecture: one semester or two quarters | Lab: one term
- Medical terminology: Lecture: one semester or two quarters
- Genetics: Lecture: one semester or two quarters
- Physics: Lecture: one semester or two quarters
- Sociology (or a different humanities course): Lecture: one semester or two quarters
- Foreign language: Lecture: two semesters or three quarters
pA school gPA requirements
GPA and GRE
“Any Pre-PA I talk to is always nervous about their GPA because they want to know how they stack up to other students,” Palm shared. Most PA programs have a minimum overall GPA requirement and a minimum science GPA requirement between 2.75 and 3.2. These are non-negotiable. “If the school you’re applying to has a minimum of 3.2 and you have a 3.19, your application won’t even be considered.”
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