The Application Process

for Physician Assistant Programs

Presented by:
Brian Sowka
1

Some important notes before we

begin
The application process
is a very long and
painstaking process.
It could be equated to
taking a 3 credit course
during your semester.
Be prepared to do a lot
of work.
This is by no means a
complete presentation
of every thing you will
need to know, rather an
overview.

Schools = Physician
Assistant Programs
Getting into PA School has
many similarities and
differences to medical
schools and is just as, if
not more competitive.
Why?
Class sizes.
Creation of the physician
assistant.
1960s.
Charles Hudson.
First class was all Navy
Corpsmen.
2

Some important notes before we

begin
I urge you to read
An Applicants Guide to Physician Assistant
School and Practice
by Erin Sherer, PA-C.
A lot of points in this presentation are made off of her
excellent book.
Her second edition is from 2012, very recent.

PA Programs
Currently there are 156 physician programs in the United
States (all accredited).
List of all PA programs available at www.arcpa.org/acc_programs/index.html
Do your research and look at schools you are interested in.
Some things to think about:

Program reputation.
Drop out rates.
Location.
Housing options.
Cost.
Types of rotations offered.
Type of Degree offered.
Travel requirements.
Program Curriculum.
Opportunities you want (study
Acceptance rates.
abroad).
Pre-requisite requirements.
PANCE Pass Rate (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam).
4

What are PA Schools Looking For?

The average PA student

Average age is 25.2 years old.

71% are female.
50% hold a degree in biology.
79% had worked in healthcare before applying
(part-time or full-time work).
27% of students had less than one year of
healthcare work experience before applying.
Average accepted students undergrad GPA is 3.5.
Average debt incurred from student loans during
PA program is $55,321.

Data from www.aapa.org

5

What are PA Schools Looking For?

Make a strong first impression!
Every school evaluates applicants slightly
differently (assign point values to criteria).
Below are listed main criteria schools will look at
first:
Overall GPA
Science GPA
Non-Science GPA
GRE score
Healthcare experience
Letters of recommendation
6

CASPA General Information

The big online application
service (for PA schools).
Opens in mid-April for the
start of the application cycle.
Application can be submitted
any time after that.
After submission application
can take between 1-4 weeks
to verify by CASPA.
Cost is $135 for 1st school,
$45 for each school after (if
selecting schools before
September).

If you want to begin a

PA program right after
college you must apply
in your junior year.
The application process
lasts a year (closes in
mid-March).
Does not carry over
year to year.
CASPA Policies and
Procedures Manual
PDF
7

Things to do Before Opening CASPA

1. Read through all of CASPAs policies, instructions, and frequently
asked questions.
2. Research your schools to determine what types of references they
require and line up references and their contact information.
3. Request official copies of transcripts to be sent to you to help you
in filling out the coursework portion of the CASPA application
(these can NOT be the same ones later sent to CASPA).
4. Compose your narrative. CASPA has a character limit of 5,000
characters, including spaces, line breaks, etc. Notepads character
count seems to be more reflective of CASPAs than the system
employed by Microsoft Word.
5. Research your schools deadlines and what is required for each
deadline a submitted, completed, or verified application as this
can greatly affect your timeline for submitting documents and
completing your application.
6. Determine PA programs requirements regarding standardized
8
tests, supplemental applications, foreign evaluations, etc.

CASPA

CASPA
Applicant Information
Contact Information
Materials under a
different name?
Preferred Mailing Address
Address and phone
numbers.
Permanent Address

10

CASPA
Applicant Information Personal Data
Demographic Information

Citizen Status
State and County Residency
Gender
Date of Birth
Place of Birth
High School

Certification
Highest Degree
Earned to Date
Professional Degrees

Ethnicity, Race and

Background
Race
Economic Status
Geographic area of birth (urban,
rural, etc).
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CASPA
Additional Information Additional
Ever attended a PA program? How did you hear
about PA profession?
Academic misconduct?
Most influential factor
Misdemeanor or felony?
in bringing you to PA
Revocation of certification,
profession?
registrations, licenses?
Military experience?
Authorization for release of
information to pre-professional
health advisors?

12

CASPA
Additional Information Health Related Training
Where you enter health care
work experience and/or
training.
Required Categories:

Type
Agency/School/Sponsor
Attendance Date From
Attendance Date To
Did you Receive a Certificate

Examples:
Certified Nursing Assistant
Technician
Phlebotomist

Health Care Experience

is required and highly
recommended by most
schools.

13

CASPA
Additional Information Health Related
Training Tips
Traditionally PA programs were designed for people who had
experience in healthcare (nurses, medics, etc.) and wanted to
advance their careers.
Type of work is important, must be healthcare related with
patient contact.
Note: Shadowing is NOT considered patient contact (Still
something you should do).
Should have a commitment to this job or experience.
PA schools will usually have a class profile on their website
saying how much experience or hours successful applicants
have.
You will need to research schools to see how many hours their
classes have. Can be between a few hundred to thousands or
14
full time years of experience.

CASPA
Additional Information Narrative

5,000 character text box to write in

your motivation for wanting to become
a PA.
Take this statement seriously (this is
the only way the school can get a feel
of who you are before the interview).
Again have several different people
review and proof read your statement
LRC is a great resource!
Mike Pagel (Assistant # 715-346-3938)

Set yourself apart from everyone else

and make the statement interesting to
read (Admissions committees will be
reading thousands of these).
This will take a lot of time to write, I
would start early on it when you have
a lot of free time.

How to write it?

The Want
The Why
The Can
The How
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CASPA
Additional Information Narrative Tips
The Personal Statement on the AMCAS application: TAKE THIS WITH YOU FOR EDITORS!
PA School Admissions Committee members are looking for the following in the essay

The ultimate goal THE READER REMEMBERS YOUR ESSAY!

Great writing skills demonstrate a professional attention to detail and thoughtfulness. PAY
ATTENTION TO GRAMMAR AND SPELLING!
Have several people (writing lab, advisor, others) read the essay for correctness and interest.
Personalize the essay and give it life(!!) beginning with a STRONG INTRO. You have only a couple
sentences to pull in the reader. Tell a story. Do not make a laundry list of your activities; that is the
job of the resume! Think of an experience you have actually had that shook you up and made it
clear you wanted to be a doctor, whether or not you thought of it before.
Overused lines: I have always wanted to be a PA since I was a kid. I was in a car accident and
was fascinated by all the doctors that patched me up. The human body really interests me.
Your story should show your sincerity, maturity, empathy, compassion and motivation toward
Medicine
You could enter any number of clinical fields. Why are you choosing Medicine? As a vocation or as
a Job?
What are your personal strengths that qualify you for Medicine? (See Six Competencies above.)
How do these traits make you unique and how will these help you be a great PA?
Dont sell yourself shortend with a STRONG Conclusion.
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CASPA
Additional Information Work and Volunteer Experience
Enter Work and Volunteer Experience Under the Following Categories:
Patient Care Experience
Experiences in which you are directly responsible for a patients
care; for example: prescribing medication, performing procedures,
directing a course of treatment, working on patients as an active
EMT, etc.
Other Health Care Experience
You are working in the health or a health-related field but are not
directly responsible for a patients care; for example, filling
prescriptions, performing clerical work, delivering patient food,
cleaning patient rooms, working as candy-striper or hospital
volunteer, etc.
Health Care Shadowing
Time spent officially following and observing a health care
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professional at work.

CASPA
Additional Information Work and Volunteer Experience
Research
Research projects done in addition to classroom work; research
should NOT appear as credit on a school transcript.
Community Service
Volunteer work done outside of the health care field; for
example, working for Habitat for Humanity, tutoring children,
participating in or working for a fundraiser walk or blood drive,
etc.
Other Work Experience
Paid work done outside of the health care field; for example: a
retail or restaurant job
Awards, Honors, and Leadership
Relevant awards earned or leadership positions held as a
college student or post-college. High school honors should not
18
be included.

CASPA
Additional Information Work and Volunteer Experience
The Format of Entering Information
for Work and Volunteer Experience:
Position Title:
Employer:
City:
State:
Supervisor:
Start Date: Month, Year
End Date: Month, Year
Frequency: Part time, full time,
seasonal, varied hours
If you enter Seasonal or Varied
Hours a text box will appear
which requires explanation (250
characters).
Average hours per week:

Hours accrued at the time of

application:
Still current: Presently working?
Were you paid:
Employer telephone:
Duties:
660 character text box in
which you outline what you
did specifically in that job.
Best format to use is resume
like or bulleted list.
Superfluous statements
should be removed, be
concise and to the point. 19

CASPA
Additional Information Work and Volunteer Experience
Most importantly schools want to see something you are
passionate about. This can be any activity, but it should be
something you took the initiative on, something you created,
or expanded upon. This will show your passion in that area.
Simply being a passive member in an organization will not
get you anywhere.
Its also important to have a hobby or activity outside of
school and work. You will be asked about this at an
interview. They want to know if you have a life, compassion,
empathy (that youre human).
None of these activities have to be medical. Its best not to
go into activities with the intention of looking good on a
resume. Do something you enjoy.
However, in spite of all this you will need a job in health care
to accrue experience to be a good applicant.
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CASPA
Academic History Tests
Several, but not all PA Schools
require applicants to take the
General GRE (Graduate Record
Examination).
Research schools to see what
scores most applicants achieve.
Recommendation for
competitive PA program
applicants is to achieve scores
in the 70th percentile.
Verbal Reasoning: 156
Quantitative Reasoning: 157
Analytical Writing: >4.0

On CASPA you can self

report scores and
percentiles of GRE.
However, most PA
programs will require you
to send scores to their
school.
Schools will have a GRE
code you send scores to.
Register early for the
GRE. Seats fill up fast!
http://www.ets.org/gre
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CASPA
Academic History GRE Tips

Test format: Computer based

Analytical Writing:
Analyze an Issue 30 minutes
Analyze an Argument 30
minutes
Verbal Reasoning
20 questions per section
Two sections, 30 minutes each
Quantitative Reasoning
20 questions per section
Two sections, 30 minutes each
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry,
data analysis
Can use an on screen calculator
Total test time is 3 hours, 45 minutes

It has been found to achieve a

competitive or desirable score
on the GRE test takers have
put in around 100 hours of
study time.
From computer based test
you will be able to view your
GRE Verbal and Quantitative
scores right after the test.
Writing scores will take two
weeks to process.
Paper test will take 4 to 6
weeks to score.
Cost for General GRE is
$185.
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CASPA
Academic History Institutions Attended
Where you enter every college youve attended or earned
college credit for.
Format
College
Attendance Date From
Attendance Date To
Degree
Degree Status (Degree earned already or planned)
Date of Degree
Major of Degree
Second Major or Minor of Degree
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CASPA
Academic History Completed Academic Coursework
Enter in all of your college
coursework for each
institution attended.
First select:
College
Academic Status (Freshman,
Sophomore, etc.)
Term
Term Type
Year
Session/Term Information
Status (Completed/Planned
or In Progress)

Next Page:
Course Title (exactly as
appears on transcript,
Organic Chemistry I)
Course Prefix and number
(CHEM 325)
Grade (on transcript)
CASPA Grade (inputs it for
you)
Numeric Value of CASPA
Grade (inputs it for you)
Credits
Subject
Type (Regular, Advanced
Placement, Honors,
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Pass/Fail, etc.)

CASPA
Academic History Completed Academic Coursework

PA programs want well

rounded individuals, but
grades are still huge.
Ask any Pre-PA Adviser on
campus or PA School
Admissions Committee and
they will tell you:
There are no substitutes for
bad grades.
The bottom of the
competitive GPA range is
3.5 (for both science and
cumulative).
Science GPA carries more
weight than the cumulative
GPA.

25

CASPA
Academic History Completed Academic Coursework

Some Recommended Coursework for most PA programs

Basic requirements for most programs: (with UWSP designations in
parentheses).
General Chemistry I & II (Chem 105 & 106 or 117)
Organic Chemistry (Chem 220)
Biochemistry (Chem 260)
***Please note Chem 260 and 220 are survey courses. Some PA programs specifically
say in their requirements you cannot take survey courses for biochemistry or organic.
***Some PA programs also require 1 year of organic chemistry, not one semester (Chem
325 & 326).
General Biology (Bio 160)
Human Physiology (Bio 385)
Human Anatomy (Bio 387)
Microbiology (Bio 333/533)

Additional Requirements Very important to look into (vary from school to

school)

Genetics (Bio 210)

Medical Terminology (CLS 295)
Developmental Psychology (Psyc 260)
Statistics (Math 355)
Abnormal Psychology (Psyc 351)
Sociology (Soc 101)
Be sure to look into math courses as well, some may require pre-calculus or calculus courses.
26

CASPA
Reference Forms

Letters of Recommendation from

professors, physicians, PAs, etc.
All CASPA letters must be
submitted electronically, no
paper letters mailed to CASPA
will be accepted.
Once you hit the save button on
the References section it will
send an electronic request to
that persons email.
Be sure youve discussed the
request in person before with
recommender.

First ask the recommender if

they are comfortable writing a
strong or good letter for you.

Information to Enter:
Waive rights of access to
reference
References Title
References First Name
References Middle Name or
Initial
References Last Name
References Occupation
References Phone Number
References Email Address
General List of Letters from: 3 total)

PA, NP, MD/DO (some will require PA)

Professor (preferably Science)
Employer
27
Other/Personal

CASPA
Reference Forms - Tips

Professors, physicians, and employers

are busy people so ask at least 3
months in advance for a letter.
Set up a little interview with your
recommender so they can ask
questions to better help write the letter.
Before meeting with the recommender
have these ready:
Updated resume.
List of schools youre applying to.
A paper on what you may want
specifically mentioned in the letter
(see next slide)
(One professor actually
complimented me on how
prepared I was compared to other
students for requesting the letter).

The more personal a letter the better.

Dont ask for a letter from a professor
who only knows you as a good grade in
their class (thats all they can really write
truthfully).
We have a privilege at UWSP to have
classes with smaller sizes and many
professors who are very willing to see
you and talk about what they teach
(even if you are not struggling with it).
This is something you can do starting
your freshman year so professors can
remember you personally and write a
great recommendation for you.
Ultimately the letters are confidential, it
is up to the recommender if they will
share what they wrote about you.
28

The Big Picture*

Lets start with what Medical Schools think a good doctor should have at the end of
their training. These are really what they are judging Med School applicants
against can they accomplish the Six Competencies for a Successful Physician,
as stated by the American Medical Board of Medical Specialties?
Medical Knowledge competency
Patient Care competency
Interpersonal and Communication Skills competency
Professionalism competency
Practice-Based Learning and Improvement competency
Systems Based Practice competency
They only have your grades, MCAT scores, your Personal Statement, resume,
letters of recommendation and an interview to see if you have the potential to
reach these goals. Make sure they know from your Personal Statement, resume,
letters and interview that you do!
*I put this in for the medical school application presentation. I feel it is still relevant
for PA applicants. This should be taken with you for recommenders to write
about your competencies, if applicable.
29

CASPA
My Programs

Section in which you designate which

PA programs you will apply to.
Will appear as a list of all schools with
check boxes you check off.
After you double check your list you hit
the submit button.
If you apply to a school whos deadline
has already passed CASPA does not
even send the application there.
After submission some programs will
provide links to supplemental
applications on their websites.
Be sure to double check each
program you are applying to check if
they have a supplemental application.
Most do!

By clicking on Fee Schedule

you can see how much it will
cost to apply to differing
numbers of programs:

1 = $175
5 = $355
10 = $580
15 = $805
20 = $1,030

30

Secondary Applications
After sending your primary application out through CASPA
most PA programs will require that you submit a secondary
application.
Secondary application will:
Be different for all schools.
Be posted somewhere on the programs website (CASPA will have
links to them)
May or may not come with an additional fee.
Deadline is different for every school (I recommend getting them
done ASAP). Since they are usually posted online you can access
them ahead of time, fill them out, and send them early.
Also usually ask for CASPA information, Autobiographical
information, prerequisites courses, GRE scores, professional
history/background check.
31

Secondary Applications
Secondary application will:
Usually consists of essays regarding why you fit well
with their school, vision, or mission.
Again I recommend having others proofread/critique these
essays.
If you are applying to many schools there could end up
being dozens of essays to write. Try not to get burnt out
and remember that each essay is important!

32

Secondary Applications
Other Essay Questions: (From UW Lacrosse PA Program)
Describe the physician assistants role as a member of the
healthcare team.
Provide a narrative in which you describe your future
academic and professional goals. With the program's
mission statement in mind, please include a rationale for
your selection for admission by the program. Additionally,
specifically state the reasons you have chosen to apply to
this program.
Describe a crisis/conflict situation in your life. How did you
deal with it, and how has it affected you?
What are your academic/career plans in the event you are
NOT selected for admission to the PA Program?
How have your past experiences prepared you to relate to
an increasingly diverse patient population?
33

Interviews - General Info

After your secondary application is reviewed and the PA program

feels you are a qualified applicant they will invite you for an
interview via email (it may take several months to hear from them).
Can be very short (half hour) to an all day event.
What will the interview be like?
This is the chance for PA school to see who you are in person,
before meeting you all they have seen is your information,
grades, GRE scores, etc. on paper.
There could be a one on one interview, or interviewing with a
few to several people on committee (varies from school to
school). MMI vs. Traditional style.
I recommend doing several practice interviews with different
people with different set of questions. This will help you feel
prepared and take away some of the stress of real interviews.
You may be asked to answer for bad grades, your weaknesses
on your application, or you may have a pleasant conversation.
34

Interviews Interview Day

Before the Interview
Research the program well.
Examples: Class sizes, focus of training program, professors
expertise, why you are a good fit for the class.

Interview Day
Usually start off with a welcome session where you can be
introduced to faculty members.
Followed by a tour of the school and classrooms.
Interviewed by a few faculty members and sometimes by
enrolled students.
Some interviews may require you to do a quick writing test.

35

Interviews - Topics
Topics to Know Before Interview:

The role of the PA, differences between PA, NP, MD/DO.

How PAs are reimbursed.
Different PA practice settings.
Why you want to be a PA.
Why should the program choose you?
How you will deal with stress of the program?
What type of work you want to do as a PA? (surgery, primary care)
Why are you interested in this specific program?
How are you unique versus other interviewees?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What are your hobbies?
Do you like working on your own or with others?
What will you do if not accepted into PA school?
What do you imagine PA school/practice will be like?
36
Be up to date on the healthcare system and how it works.

Interviews The Questions

Other Types of Questions:
Scenario questions (14 year old pregnant girl patient, what do you
do?)
Its ok to say I dont know. But if you do this get the interviewers
contact information and get them a response within a few days.
Science based questions (describe a red blood cell or what is the
importance of the Citric Acid Cycle?)
Its best to give answers you know, even if it only a short or simple
answer. And if you dont know do as I have said above.

Ask questions of your own and take notes during the interview.
Be confident and polite. Also be sure to smile and show your
passion for wanting to be a PA.
Wear a suit to the interview.
As long as your dressing and acting professionally for
interview, make sure your social media looks professional as
well.
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After the Interview

Three Categories After an Interview
Acceptance
Many PA programs require a deposit to hold your spot in
the class. Be sure to pay this on time!
This is non refundable (if you hold seats in two programs)
Technical Standards.
Wait List
Do not lose hope!
May want to consider sending another letter to the program
saying why you are a good fit for the program.
Can still be accepted a few days before program begins.
Rejection
Revaluate.
Focus on becoming a stronger applicant.
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End

39