According to the ARC-PA’s website, there are currently 300 accredited PA programs in the United States. 

WOW! That’s a LOT of PA schools to choose from! Which is good news for all you Pre-PA students out there. 

We know it can be hard to narrow it down to the handful of schools that fit you and your unique experiences. It can seem overwhelming to wade through all the different application due dates, prerequisites, and required supplemental essays.

But it’s smart to do your research before investing in 2.5 years and ~100k (or more!) in PA school. 

For PA school applicants, the sentiment is: If you apply in haste, then apply more slowly the next cycle and this time do it right.

It’s important to make sure the PA schools you apply to are a good “fit” for your application and your stats. That you are choosing to apply to the programs that value what your individual and specific strengths are. Let us explain.

Take this example:

School Y Prerequisites:

Minimum GPA: 2.75        PCE hours: 2,500      Shadowing hours: 50   

 Courses: 8 hours Gen Bio, 8 hours Gen Chem, 1 upper Bio elective and 1 English class

Supplemental essay explaining your commitment to volunteering and your community 

School X Prerequisites:

Minimum GPA: 3.2 overall, 3.0 science, 3.0 pre-req       PCE hours: 200        

Courses: Gen Bio 1&2,  Gen Chem 1&2, Organic Chem 1, Biochem, statistics, gen psychology, microbiology

These two schools have VASTLY different pre-reqs and you can infer from their different requirements what each school places more emphasis on. 

School Y has a lower than average GPA requirement and requires fewer specific classes. But they want you to have a significant amount of patient care experience (2,500 hours PLUS shadowing)! 

This leads us to believe they care less about your undergraduate grades and more about your experience in the workplace and commitment to your community.

School X is very different. They have numerous GPA requirements but only a token 200 hours of PCE. They also have a longer list of classes they require and no supplemental essay. If I was a student who got excellent grades and took many upper level science courses but lacked patient care hours….THIS is the school I would apply to! 

This school seems to place MORE emphasis on grades and courses than PCE according to their admission criteria!

And on the other hand, if I were a PA school candidate who didn’t have the most competitive GPAs, but had excellent clinical experience, the School Y would be a better fit!

You see how you can judge a school’s desirable traits in a candidate by just looking at their pre-reqs and comparing it to your application?

Try and find the schools that match YOUR STRENGTHS and you will have the best chance of getting that invite to interview!

And we love getting all those elated messages when you get accepted…keep them coming so we can celebrate with you!!

Also, if you want to easily see which PA schools you match with best, definitely check out our PA school Directory HERE. This is the easiest, quickest way to see what PA schools value and to pick the best PA schools for your stats and that value your specific strengths! You can see at a GLANCE which programs you match best with. Cause baby you’re worth it!