Pre-PA Strategy Consultation

Call us today for a 20 minutes free consultation.

General PA School Admissions Strategy Consultation

The admissions requirements for PA schools include courses in biology, chemistry, math, and
psychology. Many PA schools also require experience in healthcare as well as shadowing
experience with a PA, completion of the GRE or PA-CAT, and the CASPer assessment.

We help you seamlessly plan and complete all requirements for PA school.

We show you how to go beyond minimum requirements to become an exemplary candidate that PA schools want within their student body.

If you are a freshman or sophomore in college or in the earlier stages of completing your prerequisite courses for PA school, our consultants can help you plan your academic career. In just one hour, we can offer you strategies that would make you more competitive for PA school. If you are contemplating whether your application is competitive, email us or give us a call. We will review your application, give you honest feedback on how competitive you are, and offer you approaches for improving your candidacy for PA school. We have extensive experience working with non-traditional applicants to PA school and PA school re-applicants. Call or email us today to schedule your one-hour general strategy consultation!

What We Offer:

Assessing your chances of getting into PA school

Deciding whether to apply now or take a gap year? Our PA school admissions consultants evaluate your candidacy for PA school

Developing a roadmap for becoming a competitive PA school candidate

We design a roadmap to help you become most competitive for PA school

Planning academic, clinical, and extracurricular activities

We help you plan prerequisite courses, clinical and shadowing experience, community service, and GRE or PA-CAT preparation strategy

I was referred to Admissions Helpers by a friend and was so unbelievably satisfied with the help I received. The Admissions Helpers team is friendly, super organized, and extremely helpful. They broke down the admissions process for me when applying to PA school and helped me every step of the way–from brainstorming essay topics to proof-reading to providing me with guidance for the nerve racking interviews. I just got accepted into the top PA school of my choice and I cannot thank the Admissions Helpers team enough for all the hard work they put into my individual application. I recommend them to any and all students applying to health-related grad schools. You definitely won’t be sorry!

EA

USC Physician Assistant Program, Class of 2015

Speak with a PA School Admissions Consultant Today

20 Minutes Free Consultation

What are the Requirements for PA School Admission?

Academic Requirements

Virtually all PA schools require students to complete specific prerequisite courses such as anatomy, physiology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, general biology, microbiology, genetics, statistics, and psychology. 

    • Not all programs require the same combination of courses
    • Figuring out what courses to take to meet different schools’ requirements can be challenging

    How We Help

    • Our PA school admissions consultants review your academic transcripts and guide you on which courses to take.
    • We help you decide the when to take each course.
    • We guide you on how to balance your coursework with other commitments as a pre-PA student.

    Standardized Test  Requirements

    The GRE is required by many but not all PA schools. A handful of schools require the Physician Assistant College Admissions Test (PA-CAT) and more are expected to require this test in coming years. For schools that require a test, a good score is an important part of a strong application.

    How We Help

    • We help you plan your GRE pr PA-CAT preparation and decide when to take the test.
    • We teach you test-preparation strategies to make your studying efficient.

    Patient Care and Healthcare Experience

    Virtually all PA schools require applicants to have some form of clinical experience. Many require a minimum number of hours in the clinical setting. PA schools look closely at the nature of each applicant’s experience and evaluate the applicant based on their exact roles in healthcare. Not all clinical experience is acceptable and some experiences are favored over others. 

    How We Help

    • We help you apply for and secure healthcare experiences that PA schools favor.
    • If you are considering a certification program like certified nursing assistant (CNA), emergency medical technician (EMT), phlebotomy, or medical assisting, we help you decide which program would be most beneficial.
    • We show you how to get the most out of your clinical experiences so you can speak about them intelligently when you apply to PA school.

    PA Shadowing

    Many PA schools require shadowing experience with a PA, physician, or nurse practitioner and others recommend it. 

    How We Help

    • We help you identify PA shadowing opportunities in specialties that would make you most competitive based on your other experiences.
    • We show you how to reach out to PAs and ask for shadowing opportunities.
    • We provide shadowing opportunities with our team of PAs designed to give you exposure to clinical reasoning in the PA profession.

    Community Service

    PA school applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to service, particularly with underserved populations, are highly sought-after by PA schools. Demonstrating leadership in service is an especially valuable experience that impresses PA schools.

    How We Help

    • Our team of PA school admissions consultants have experience designing projects to support underserved populations in the United States and in developing countries.
    • We help you become involved in community service activities that demonstrate your passion for giving back.
    • We teach you to how design a service program from scratch or how to play a meaningful role in an existing program.


    Other Extracurriculars

    Other initiatives such as research, involvement in campus clubs, sports, music, or the arts can also add to the PA school application though they are not required by PA schools.

    How We Help

    • If you have such outside interests, you should not have to put them on hold during your pre-PA journey.
    • We help you incorporate these interests into your schedule and your goal of becoming a PA.

    Getting accepted to physician assistant programs is becoming more competitive as the demand for this cadre of professionals is increasing in an evolving healthcare system. When evaluating applicants, physician assistant program admissions committees look for several factors. First, and foremost, they want to know if you have the necessary science foundation and possess the ability to handle the rigorous academic coursework in PA school. To evaluate academic aptitude, schools use the GPA and in some cases, the GRE score.

    But a strong GPA and good GRE scores are not enough; physician assistant program admissions committees also want to assess an applicant’s interest and commitment to the physician assistant profession. Specifically, they want to know why you have chosen the PA profession over nursing or medicine. This is why clinical experience, especially experience working with a PA, is an important part of a successful application. Whether paid or volunteer, seek clinical experiences where you can spend time observing or assisting PAs or other clinicians directly and gaining insight into patient care. Take advantage of opportunities to interact directly with patients in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Focus specifically on primary care and seek experiences where you can work with the underserved. PA schools are more impressed by an individual who has worked in primary care with low-income patients than one who has worked in an upscale specialty clinic that serves an affluent patient population. You can further strengthen your application by taking part in community service and assuming leadership roles in organizations on or off campus. Do not become involved in too many activities at a superficial level. Instead, select a few valuable experiences and immerse yourself in these experiences.