If you have been following us for any amount of time, you know we adore trail running! There is nothing like surrounding yourself in nature on some gorgeous single track!

In the trail running world we have something we call “Ultrasignup stalking”. 

Ultrasignup is a race registration website that many trail races use to register runners. The nice thing about this site is that it keeps track of ALL the races you’ve done (AND how you placed).

When signing up for a race, many runners lurk around on the Ultrasignup to see who else has registered in their age group. Then they “stalk” those registrants by clicking on their names to see how he/she has done on similar races in the past.

Why do they do this? Because they want to see if they are competitive! Winning a race is sometimes all about who else shows up…if elite runners come to the race…your chances of winning plummets. 

The fact the phrase “Ultrasingup stalking” exists just goes to show how common this behavior is.

Pre-PA students can do the same thing!

We get asked all the time, “How do I know if I’m a competitive applicant?”

The answer to this question is very complex and depends on ALOT of factors, but we will give you a short cut…stalk current PA students and see!

Many PA schools will list on their websites the STATS of their incoming accepted PA students. They will post the class average GPAs, GRE scores,  number of patient care hours etc. 

This is an excellent way to see if you are a competitive applicant for that PA school!

How do you compare to the average incoming class? Are you stronger? Do you have a weaker area? Or are you Goldilock-ing it by being right in the middle?

Having an idea on what other students they’ve accepted have as stats will give you a great metric to gauge how competitive you will be to getting an interview invite and accepted at that PA school.  

Remember, you don’t have to be perfect…these will be averages meaning some students exceed them and others are below. 

Check out your dream schools and see how you compare…then highlight your strengths and work on the weaknesses. 

And if you really want to make sure you are on the right track to applying to the right PA programs for you and your strengths, look into our Program Matching Bundle, which includes our PA School Directory (updated every year and you get every future update free) and a Zoom Program Matching session with us to make your list of PA schools that will be a great fit for you to apply to for your highest chances of getting accepted this cycle!