how hard is it to get in to pa school?

[illmatic925]

i know nothing about this field. Is it really competative

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[deleted6669]

i know nothing about this field. Is it really competative

YES- typically 300 or more applications for 50-75 interviews for 30 or so spots. don't let the low minimum gpa/gre requirements fool you.no one with the minimums gets in most applicants already have a degree and a few years of experience before they apply.
for general info see www.aapa.org
for residency (optional ) info see www.appap.org
for an interactive pa forum see www.physicianassociate.com

 

[nev]

how hard is the GRE and what score for it will be considered good....& what woould be a good GPA to enter.

Nev

 

[deleted6669]

how hard is the GRE and what score for it will be considered good....& what woould be a good GPA to enter.

Nev

varies by program. in general:
prior experience>gpa>recommendations>community service>gre when it comes to factors influencing admission.

 

[Monika]

Goto the aapa.org website & check out the student stats for last year's matriculants. They usually give you age, gpa, experience, degree info, etc.

Several people in my class were not accepted the first time around. If I remember correctly, my program gets roughly 400-500 applications, they usually interview about 100 of those, & accept 36 people.

Glad to see you are interested, it's a great field...don't let the numbers scare you.

M

 

[tony1853]

The PA program I am entering is a B.S. program given at the College of Staten Island - CUNY. There aren't any requirements to declare yourself a PA major...you choose that major and take the requisite coursework in the first 2 years.

You then apply to the hospital (didactic/clinical) portion, which is 28.5 months long. This is where it gets competitive - minimum overall GPA required is 3.3, although most applicants have 3.5+, and 3.7 or better in the sciences. Experience is also important.

If you get the attention of the adcomm on paper, you are invited for an interview.

 

[illmatic925]

woah 3.3 is the minumum....okay i guess i try and do something else....i have a 3.1 in all my classes and preq should i even bother applying.

 

[melcal]

woah 3.3 is the minumum....okay i guess i try and do something else....i have a 3.1 in all my classes and preq should i even bother applying.

just a friendly suggestion, you may want to do more research about the PA profession and shadow a PA if you don't know much about it (as mentioned in original post), before actually applying. you may never know if it is really something you'd enjoy. also, in another thread you started, you mentioned that you are a kinesiology major. have you considered physical therapy? it's also a good field also in demand. you'd have a great background for it with your major.

 

[dental2008]

Apply to Nova PA program if you have poor stats. The class is bigger, I think my wife said her class was over 70 students.

She had no experience shadowing or working, 3.0 sci and over all gpa and an avg GRE. She also took the mcat and scored a 27.

She applied to PA school bec she was rejected by every single med school. She ended up getting into 3 PA programs. This is kinda funny, one of the schools she was accepted to told her at the interview she had no idea what a PA is or even does...but she still got in

The whole point of my post. Do your research before you apply and if you apply to the right places you will get in. Don't let these people on here fool you that PA school is hard to get into...yeah the top programs are but there are a bunch that are cake to get into

 

[toughlife]

i know nothing about this field. Is it really competative

All you need is a pen to fill out the application.

 

[dental2008]

All you need is a pen to fill out the application.

I wouldn't take it this far.

Here is another thing to worry about. I was talking to my wife on this subject today and she said her class started with 90 students but only 75 graduated

So at these schools that have lower avg stats, ask about there graduation rate. It might be easier to get into some PA programs, but by all means it does not mean the education is easier. You will still need to work hard.

 

[niko327]

She applied to PA school bec she was rejected by every single med school. She ended up getting into 3 PA programs. This is kinda funny, one of the schools she was accepted to told her at the interview she had no idea what a PA is or even does...but she still got in

I call bull**** on that.

 

[dental2008]

I call bull**** on that.

And why so? Why don't you belive me. I just took a pic of her diploma and I will scan her MD rejection letters (not sure why she kept them) and PA accpetance letters with MCAT and GRE scores.

Everyone on SDN (Med, Dental, OD, DO, PA, RN) all think they are super applicants and the avg joe can't get it and their profession is the best.

All I'm saying is the avg person can and most likely will get in, but people on this forum tell them there is no chance in hell. As a matter of fact I just went to the PA website and it said ~20% of people accepted to PA school have ZERO healthcare/shadowing back ground.

 

[djquick83]

You make a good point. Sometimes the average joe is the one who can do a good job without being all cocky. Happens so often with med students who dont know how to talk with the rest of the medical staff. PA and nurses may not have had the best experience or grades, but they know how to get along with everybody else and make the medical community what it should be.

 

[djquick83]

I think the thing that PA schools look at most is how involved these applicants were, for ex. quality of volunteer servies, shadowing a PA, and other things such as CPR certification which show interest of these ppl in makign a difference in other ppls lives. Grades are important, but they arent as important as the other things mentioned. Hence, thats what medical schools do. They look at grades and start weeding ppl out. PA schools separate well rounded ppl from those that are just good in grades. Best thing to do is show em the whole you and hope that they see your dedication to the field.

 

[niko327]

I think the thing that PA schools look at most is how involved these applicants were, for ex. quality of volunteer servies, shadowing a PA, and other things such as CPR certification which show interest of these ppl in makign a difference in other ppls lives. Grades are important, but they arent as important as the other things mentioned. Hence, thats what medical schools do. They look at grades and start weeding ppl out. PA schools separate well rounded ppl from those that are just good in grades. Best thing to do is show em the whole you and hope that they see your dedication to the field.

Oh yeah and have a clue about the job, that might help.

 

[djquick83]

Oh yea I forgot that one. KNOW WHAT A PA DOES.

 

[dental2008]

I have no clue what she said at the interview, but I do know that she did/does know what a PA is. Her dad is an MD in a large group practice with 5 PA's

I'm just telling you thats what she told me her interviewer said at the end of her interview.

Maybe they were playing games with her, I have no idea, but she does not lie.

 

[dental2008]

As a side note, for my dental school interviews one of three interviewer's asked me to explain the only "c" I had on my transcript. I said I had a really hard prof and that the class avg was a 65 with no curve and he did not believe in curves.

His response: " So you don't think we have hard professors here. Apparently you have no idea what it takes to be a dentist"

When I left, I was like "What the Fuc! was that about?"

So maybe she had a werido like I did

 

[niko327]

I have no clue what she said at the interview, but I do know that she did/does know what a PA is. Her dad is an MD in a large group practice with 5 PA's

I'm just telling you thats what she told me her interviewer said at the end of her interview.

Maybe they were playing games with her, I have no idea, but she does not lie.

I should've read more closely, sorry my bad, but I still think it's a miracle she got in with mediocre stats. I deleted my previous post. Anyway congrats.

 

[nishiator]

hi! I just graduated from a BSN RN program at Northeastern UNiversity. I have a 3.5 gpa and many accelerated sciences..I have over 3000 hours of patient care experience!

Will it be hard for me to get into PA schools. IT's all I ever wanted to do, know everything about it. I chose nursing as a basis for excellent clinical background. I know my stuff!

Any suggestions, comments..

 

[primadonna22274]

Hello, welcome.

You should have a good shot at many programs as your GPA is good and experience is solid/high quality (we like high responsibility direct patient care).

You need to have ALL of the required sciences when you apply. Your competition will have all the courses and many will have far more than the minimum. Generally these include one year of general biology with lab, one year of general chemistry with lab, organic or biochemistry, a full year of A&P, microbiology with lab. And the survey courses for nurses generally don't count--they need to be the "for majors" courses. You may find you're retaking some things you think you know. If you're lucky you'll already have taken the "for majors" sequences. Many PA programs are now requiring Genetics as well and I think you're well-served to take it as it is now in the accreditation standards for all PA programs to cover medical genetics. This is pretty tough stuff if you don't already have a working knowledge of Mendelian inheritance etc.

Work with a few PAs, if you haven't already. As an RN I sincerely hope you have. Learn from the ones who will teach you. Get to know them and get rockin' letters of reference FROM PAs as well as physicians and you will be in good shape.

Best of luck.

Also, do check out the links at the beginning of this thread that EMEDPA posted. I believe they're all still active, for sure the PA forum is alive and kicking.

Lisa

hi! I just graduated from a BSN RN program at Northeastern UNiversity. I have a 3.5 gpa and many accelerated sciences..I have over 3000 hours of patient care experience!

Will it be hard for me to get into PA schools. IT's all I ever wanted to do, know everything about it. I chose nursing as a basis for excellent clinical background. I know my stuff!

Any suggestions, comments..

 

[foreverLaur]

hi! I just graduated from a BSN RN program at Northeastern UNiversity. I have a 3.5 gpa and many accelerated sciences..I have over 3000 hours of patient care experience!

Will it be hard for me to get into PA schools. IT's all I ever wanted to do, know everything about it. I chose nursing as a basis for excellent clinical background. I know my stuff!

Any suggestions, comments..

At the schools I have been looking at... the clinical hours you accumulate while a student do not count. Although that is a lot of hours from just being in school. Where did all those hours come from if you just graduated? I'm just curious.

 

[primadonna22274]

Good point Laur. I just ASSUMED these were paid hours AFTER training. Silly me.

At the schools I have been looking at... the clinical hours you accumulate while a student do not count. Although that is a lot of hours from just being in school. Where did all those hours come from if you just graduated? I'm just curious.

 

[lapelirroja]

Good point Laur. I just ASSUMED these were paid hours AFTER training. Silly me.

Northeastern University is a cooperative education school, so our degrees take 5 years to complete, and we have either a year or a year and a half of paid work experience built in. Semesters of paid work alternate with semesters of class. It's a great program, and it's how I discovered after spending a year in pharmaceutical research that research blows and that I'd much rather be in patient care. PA school in 2 months!!!

 

[kaeg04]

Can you tell me which of the schools your wife got into? I'm trying to decide what PA schools I want to apply to. I live in Texas and am thus applying to most of the schools here, but want to apply to a few out of state too. I've been having a hard time finding any sort of ratings or ranks of the schools as far as difficulty to get in goes. I am currently working in several ERs and thus have a good amount of healthcare experience, but my GPA is 3.28 and my sci GPA is 3.1. I know these are not ideal, but I feel like the rest of my application as well as my grades for the past year are strong. Any suggestions? Anyone know more about the reputation of PA schools outside of Texas than me? I could use the knowledge...

 

[foreverLaur]

I usually based mine upon how long the school has been around, where they do clinical rotations at, and their PANCE pass rates.

 

[deleted6669]

Can you tell me which of the schools your wife got into? I'm trying to decide what PA schools I want to apply to. I live in Texas and am thus applying to most of the schools here, but want to apply to a few out of state too. I've been having a hard time finding any sort of ratings or ranks of the schools as far as difficulty to get in goes. I am currently working in several ERs and thus have a good amount of healthcare experience, but my GPA is 3.28 and my sci GPA is 3.1. I know these are not ideal, but I feel like the rest of my application as well as my grades for the past year are strong. Any suggestions? Anyone know more about the reputation of PA schools outside of Texas than me? I could use the knowledge...

ask this question over at www.physicianassistantforum.com and you will get a wider audience...

 

[Sidic1sa]

What are the chances of getting into an out of state pa school?[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]