As a pre-physician assistant, you are embarking on the often challenging journey to secure admission to PA school. The application process can be rigorous, with high competition and limited available seats. It can be disheartening for pre-PA applicants who have worked hard but find themselves not receiving interview invitations. If this sounds familiar and you are ready to change your outcome, here are some common reasons why you may not be getting PA school interviews and some valuable insights to help you navigate this hurdle.

1. Picking the wrong PA schools for YOU and YOUR strengths and stats. Let’s face the hard truth: PA programs receive a ton of applications each year. The competition is fierce, and if you are applying to PA schools that don’t require the things that make you a strong candidate, then it’s likely you are getting overlooked. But if you apply to PA schools that require (ie value) what makes you shine as a PA school candidate, now THAT’S how you stand out from the crowd. For example, if you didn’t do well on the GRE or PA-CAT, then don’t apply to schools that have this as their PA school pre-requisite because you aren’t going to stand out. PA program pre-requisites are like the answers to the test…they are telling you EXACTLY what they want from candidates, so align your strengths with their requirements! This may mean you have to expand your horizons and cast a wider net when applying. It may mean going to a PA school no where near you. By diversifying your options, you increase your chances of snagging that PA school interview invite. Keep an open mind, because you never know where your dream PA program might be hiding! And by the way, your dream program is the one that accepts you!

2. Pre-requisites. PA programs have some pretty rigorous prerequisites. If you’re lacking prereqs, this may be the stumbling block for you. If you don’t meet a schools pre-requisites, your app will never cross the desk of a PA faculty member. In the same arena, shore up weaker parts of your application. No PCE? Go get that PCE position. No shadowing? Definitely go get some. And so on…

4. A Personal Statement and or supplemental essays that aren’t compelling or convincing. These are your chance to shine, to show PA admissions committees who you really are. But here’s the thing, if your personal statement or supplemental essays fall flat or you write what you think PA schools want to hear, it’s not going to grab anyone’s attention. Your essays need to be outstanding AND you need to back up what you are claiming in your essays. Share your motivations, experiences, and personal growth. Explain why you specifically want to be a PA, and demonstrate how your values align with the profession. 

5. Lackluster Letters of Recommendation: Don’t underestimate the power of your LORs. You need strong letters of recommendation and you need one from a PA, even if a program doesn’t specifically require this. If your recommenders say something negative in your LORs, even if you have a perfect application with perfect stats, this will get you put in the NO pile. Remember, these are professionals telling us about you…this goes a long way in our eyes, so make sure your LOR writers can write you a STRONG LOR by first asking them, “Can you write me a strong LOR for PA school?” If they say no or seem un-enthused by it, then move on to someone else. You don’t want to spend all your time creating a perfect application, just to have one bad LOR that takes you out of the entire game for an entire cycle.
6. Lastly, not highlighting yourself and your strongest duties and responsibilities in every single CASPA entry! For each CASPA entry, you get a chance to describe what you did in that role and this is one of the most underrated pieces of your PA school application that candidates don’t take full advantage of or they leave so much on the table when explaining all the things they’ve accomplished! Make sure you use your characters to highlight yourself and all you’ve done! 

Overall, take an honest look at your PA school application to see where the disconnect may be. And if you want to create your strongest, most competitive CASPA application, including program matching, CASPA Experience Details and personal statement writing, (and later a mock interview), you will love our VIP Day! We complete your entire app with you on Zoom so you are ready to submit, and you submit your absolute greatest CASPA app! Here are the VIP Day details. Keep up the great work!