In undergraduate, you had to take at least one or two math courses. And if you are on the pre-physician assistant track, you likely have tacked on statistics as part of the prerequisites you are taking to get into PA school.

So, you are basically a pro for this exercise…

Let’s do some pre-PA MATH (it will be fun… promise, just bear with us!). Let’s take a typical college senior who just graduated and is applying to 8 PA schools:

Cost of undergrad degree (tution, room, board, etc): $???,000 (alot)

Cost of GRE: $205 (first four schools) + 27*4 (next four schools) = $313

Cost of CASPer test: $12 test fee + $12 for one school fee= 24$

Cost of CASPA application: $179 (first program) + 55*7 (seven additional schools)= $564

Cost of flights/mileage to interview: $1500-3000 (may not be necessary if you have zoom interviews)

Cost of interview suit: $150

Supplemental application fees: $400

Miscellaneous expenses (missed work due to interviews, food, gas, etc.): $400 (this is likely underestimating)

Total (estimated): $$$$$$ (A significant amount!)

Now, this is just an estimate based on personal experience and online research, so your costs won’t be exactly the same but it’s eye opening to see it all laid out like this. Take a moment and calculate YOUR Pre-PA cost by plugging in your individual numbers and see what you get.

Many PA school applicants spend all of this money preparing for PA school….but don’t make a few tweaks that would help them stand out even more!

For example, one category we see this in all the time is the GRE!!

After spending all this money to be competitive for PA school WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU NOT PREPARE FOR THE GRE?

Listen, we get it! Spending a few hundred dollars on GRE books or a prep course can seem like a waste of money. After all, you’ve already paid for a college degree, right?

Well, the truth is, standardized test scores are a large part of your application. They are extremely important to those PA schools that require them. 

The PA schools that require the GRE use your GRE score to assess whether or not to invite you for an interview.

You don’t want to “wing” the GRE and make less than average or poor scores…because then you have a weakness on your CASPA application that you have to overcome. Not to mention having to spend the money AGAIN to retake the GRE, in addition to weeks of studying for it so you can move a low GRE score to a strength.

If you’re great at math, english, and writing then GREAT- go ahead and sign up for the GRE and see what you get. 

If you don’t get AT LEAST 300 (preferably higher than 305) then we recommended re-taking the test AFTER you do some studying. 

It’s worth the money for a GRE prep book or a GRE prep course if it helps you get into PA school the first time around….otherwise you will have another cycle of application fees next year…

We KNOW you guys can ROCK OUT your GRE if you just take a little time to prepare!

Remember Audrey Hepburn’s saying

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!”

So buckle down and study hard for the GRE if you are applying to PA schools that require this test!

And here’s a GRE prep discount – 10% all GRE prep plans with Magoosh using code PREPACLINIC