Physician assistant forums have been around for a long time, and in general, each board consists of comments about a particular PA topic. Pre-PA and PA forums discuss subjects related to the PA field, how to become a PA and the CASPA application process. Some PA forums have hundreds, if not thousands of posts. The danger of forums, especially those with numerous posts, is it is very difficult to moderate the conversation and there is no guarantee of the accuracy of the information presented. So, while there can be helpful information, much of it is outdated or downright wrong. 

In PA forums, there could be thousands of posts about the PA school application process from people who have actually never sat on the admissions board of PA schools. They’ve never reviewed a CASPA application, interviewed a candidate or chosen who to accept. Even if a post is written by an actual PA, (which might not be true as there is no authentication process) many PAs only know what they did to get accepted. They don’t have an in-depth knowledge of how PA schools score applications…they just know what they did to get accepted to a particular school. Sometimes their information is helpful, but everyone’s stats and path to PA school are different, so their individual journey is of limited use to prospective PA applicants. No one has the exact same experiences, and every PA school requires and values something a little bit different. So apples do not equal apples when it comes to applying to PA school. This is one of the reasons why we advise pre-PAs to STAY OFF the PA forums!

In some instances, PA forums can be helpful, but for the most part, the physician assistant forums for pre-PAs only discourage candidates and make them feel like they don’t measure up or aren’t competitive enough for PA school, when nothing could be further from the truth. 

So, when are forums helpful? For specific PA program information. For example, when you land an interview and want some insider tips about what the interview process is like for a specific program, the PA forums can come in handy. Sometimes former interviewees will provide specific details which will give you an idea of what to expect. On the flip side, don’t totally rely on pre-PA forums for this because PA schools may change things up. 

Overall, we recommend you stay off the physician assistant forums because more often than not, it messes with your mental game and you can’t depend on the information you read being accurate or up to date. Instead, take the advice of people who have worked at PA schools and know what you need to do–and not do–to get accepted.