I audibly laughed today when I opened up an email and saw that I got invited for an interview that was 6 days away. The interview is also TWO days long and Tuesday-Wednesday so smack in the middle of the wk.
it baffles me that schools can require so many PCE hours but then not realize that we have jobs that won’t jet us take 3 days off with less than a weeks notice. I applied there because I have family there, I LOVE the city, and I was genuinely interested in going. I would love to interview but I don’t think I’ll be able to.
The school is 4 hours from me which I’ve travelled farther for interviews before but it was fine bc they were all on Monday or Fridays. It also makes me feel like I was not actually wanted since the application deadline was in July and I just got the email (even though my stats honestly blow them out of the water)

I am a low gpa applicant 3.01 science 3.2 post grad 3.46 (upward trend), 6,500+ hours, first generation student
and i’ve applied to 13 programs this cycle and have gotten rejection but majority. Still waiting on 3 programs but I don’t have much hope. Of course i’m trying to stay optimistic so i will be taking more advanced classes starting now so that I will be ready for the next cycle. unfortunately no matter how many more classes I take, my gpa can only move so much. I also plan on volunteering more as well to help my application. Any advice? hoping to find a mentor that won’t charge me and genuinely wants to help😭
anyway just wanted to rant in here in case there was someone else who was in my shoe and doesn’t feel alone

Red Flag PA Program
If you have other options for programs, please choose them. I am just trying to save other people from stress and lack of an education. 

ICPA has a high staff turnover rate. No one stays working in that program for long. The 1st director left the program and an interim was appointed in 2024 and she left in summer 2025. Their clinical director just recently left in summer 2026 as well. They overwork the few teachers they have and they can't do everything as much as they have tried. Students throughout many cohorts raised concerns about lack of teachers, issues learning, and lack of preparation for clinicals and were shot down by the previous director anytime it was brought up. They have hired a couple more teachers in the last year but still struggle to fully staff the program. 

As far as curriculum goes, they will bring in PAs from different specialties to teach blocks like Nephrology, Dermatology, and other units when they don’t have regular staff, but there isn’t much structure. Slides aren’t that helpful as there is less structure, 100s of slides, and don’t necessarily have all points you need to know about diseases from the PANCE Blueprint. Be prepared to teach yourself! Look up the NCCPA 1st time PANCE pass rates because they just keep getting lower(69% most recent). 

They were just placed on probation by ARC-PA so look that up on their website for the report. ICPA did just get a new director and she may turn the program around but everyone has to wait and see. She is making lots of changes but more to benefit how the school looks and scoring, not how students are learning or how to receive support from the program which is what they should be focused on. They constantly talk about professionalism and flexibility but don’t convey or be an example of that themselves. They expect students to be professional and flexible but never give them that in return. They have chronically not updated students on progress or announcements of the program, have so many last minute changes and basically tell us to deal with it and that being a PA is about adapting to justify their actions. They constantly move the goal post and blame students for poor performance or scores when their curriculum is lacking.

If you have other options for school, go elsewhere if you want structure and support, at least until this program gets it together. If this program can keep staff and have good teachers that actually want to teach, it could improve. 

hello !! long long time lurker of this sub :) i'm a non-traditional applicant and this is a career switch for me. i applied mostly to New England/east coast schools

stats breakdown

• cGPA: 3.88
• sGPA: 3.84
• GRE: 317
• PCE: ~1500 at time of submission as a PM MA
• HCE: ~2000 in DME operations
• non-healthcare employment: ~5600 in corporate operations
• volunteer: ~100 primarily involving food waste/insecurity and urban greenery
• shadowing: 75 with neurosurgery PAs
• extracurricular: 112 with food systems advocacy
• leadership: ~150 within my operations jobs
• LORs: 1 DO, 1 NP, 1 PCE supervisor, 1 professor, 1 manager from operations
• applied mid-May

preemptively addressing some possible questions + some thoughts i had during this cycle:

• i graduated 2021 with a BA in biological sciences. i took A&P I and II last year at a community college. i had three Ws on my transcript (accounting, organic chem 2, biochemistry and i did not end up retaking any of these)
• i used the GRE super power pack to study. i bombed the math portion (37% percentile). the schools i got accepted to did not require the GRE. two of the schools that invited me for an interview did require it
• my first response this cycle was a rejection. i honestly wasn't too upset with it but was kicking myself because i knew that i didn't match their matriculated students average stats, so i could've saved myself the application costs
• speaking of costs, yes, this was egregiously expensive. did i need to apply to 21 schools? probably not, since i withdrew from essentially half of them. however, i wanted to cast a wide net bc since a) this was the last year that 90% of my prerequisites would be valid b) i didn't want to potentially go into a second cycle. from taking the GRE to attending interviews and putting down deposits, this whole cycle has cost me $6,113.86 (my forfeited deposit was $2k lol)
• that being said, this process is hugely inaccessible. i am very privileged to have saved up money from years of employment, but i recognize that many people are not able to cast a wide net on a whim. many PCE jobs, which realistically, many applicants see as just a stepping stone, are often careers that people have, and they do not pay livable wages. i live (rent) in a HCOL and i took close to a 60% pay cut when i started working as a MA. without savings, this process would not have been possible. it also especially stinks when you pay so much money for some schools to ghost you (not that i'm saying the 6 no response yet programs are ghosting me, but i'm well aware that 1-2 of those programs do not respond)
• if you are considering adding more experiences on CASPA after you've submitted, make sure you've filled out every single field before you save/exit. i absolutely fumbled when trying to update my PCE because i wanted to double check the address/phone number/etc and left the description part as TBD, but apparently, once you exit out of that experience, it's locked forever lol needless to say, i did not update any of my schools bc of that
• stats are not everything. i have a high GPA, which helps, but i did also have below average/median PCE. however, i do think that my PS and strong LORs helped do a lot of the heavy lifting
• i started drafting my PS about a year prior to submission. i know it's intimidating and difficult to start, but i found that word-vomiting everything onto a doc was the best way to go about it. i had like three different storyline ideas and i couldn't decide which one i wanted to use but i wrote all three of them down and just went from there
• i didn't pay for any PS revision services but i did have a couple of my friends (both PA and non-healthcare friends) review and give their thoughts. however, it is easy to get lost with feedback; my PS looks nothing like how it first started, but more so structurally. i received a lot of (well-intentioned) feedback that made me feel like my PS wasn't my own voice anymore, so recognizing where to draw the line so you can still retain your voice is so important
• in terms of interview prep, i bought the Savannah Perry interview guide off Facebook Marketplace for $5 and that was it. i did not pay for or do any mock interviews, although i know some people have found those helpful. i recommend having a bank of meaningful experiences that you can pull from for situational questions. all of my interviews were in-person but i do recommend recording yourself when you prepare answers, especially if you're like me and sometimes struggle with eye contact lol
• please just be yourself in your interviews and don't memorize/recite any answers. this sounds obvious but try to be enthusiastic and interact with the group that you get put with. if you have time in a panel/1-1/MMI interview and they allow it, ask your interviewer questions. know your application inside and out because there is a chance that the faculty you're interviewing with has read every single word on your application
• this process is random af. some of my interview invites were for incredible programs and i never heard back from/withdrew from "lesser known" programs. we may never know what these schools are looking for
• for the love of god, stay off pa forum and caspa-tok. i could've used this advice myself and it just leads to constant, unnecessary stress
• to my non-traditional applicants - you got this! in the grand scheme of things, i'm still quite young, but i was often the oldest one in my interview groups, even only in my late-20s. it's hard knowing that most of the applicant pool is extremely young and straight out of college, but adcoms do value applicants with lived experiences, and i do believe that there is a difference in maturity with older applicants
• shoutout to u/Status_Hand_6791, to whom i got acquainted with via this sub. we commiserated through this cycle together and now we are both going to be PAs !!

I’ve finally been accepted after FOUR YEARS of applying!!!! Do not give up hope I can’t believe I’m finally writing this post🥹 so many people told me “just do NP” but I’m so glad I didn’t give up bc I would’ve regretted it for the rest of my career. If you’re reading this, KEEP GOING!!!

My stats: 7000+ hours as a scribe primarily in a dermatology RHC but numerous other specialties, sGPA 3.32, cGPA 3.45, 60 hours of suture practice, a few hundred shadowing hours, ~50 hours of volunteering, 298 GRE but only one program required it, and worked really hard on my essays. The first 2 years I didn’t get any interview offers. Last year I applied early to 31 programs (I know, crazy but I was so desperate to get in) and got 2 interviews then denied.

This year I applied late in the last week of July to 11 schools and got interviews at the same 2 programs, one acceptance and one waitlist from my top choice dream program. Then got another interview offer last week, and 2 denials from other schools. Obviously I’ve only been accepted to one program so far but I’m optimistic about my waitlist and other interview offer.

My question is, between these schools which one would be the best option? If I get in to the waitlisted dream program I would definitely go there. But what about the other 2, if I’m not taken off the waitlist?

Accepted: provisional accreditation, small cohort of 24, I’d be in their third class, interviewers were very nice and welcoming. Tuition is super high due to being an out of state applicant ($212k) and is in the middle of nowhere, like no bigger towns for hours around in all directions. Plus huge moving costs. Middle of nowhere makes me a bit nervous as my partner will need to find work and have some quality of life lol. Obviously I will go happily if it’s my only option but was at the lower end of my “top” choices, and my partner also agreed to come with me here despite the isolated area. Starts 8/2027 and is 28 months long.

Pending interview: unsure about the cohort size and the program has only applied for accreditation so I’d be their first class, but they are part of a large school system with other successful, long established programs and clinical sites across the country. I think they’ll definitely be accredited. Tuition is $170k but it is an online hybrid program where I’d have to travel to campus for five one week stents, but could live anywhere in the country during didactic which would give me a better support system and my partner wouldn’t have an issue finding a job. They also have some other hybrid programs within their system where you go in person a couple times a week instead of once per semester, but it tells me they have some experience with online didactic year. Being $40k cheaper is enticing due to this OBBB stuff with the loans. Starts 9/2027 and is 32 months long (extra cumulative semester since it’s online).

—> TLDR: which school would you choose??
$212k in-person program as a member of their third class, high moving costs and unsure if my partner will find good work in this area but I do like the program
—OR— cheaper $170k mostly online hybrid program as a member of their first class but part of a large school system with successful and other hybrid programs, can live anywhere during didactic year so partner has no problem with working and I’d have a better support system

Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone applying 🫶🏻

*\* edit: the $212k is for total COA, including housing food and transportation

Hi folks, I recently just graduated with a bachelors in environmental studies and criminal justice ethics. Love my degree but I have since been working as an MA and have really found myself become passionate about the work. I’ve also talked to a lot of PA’s and wish to pursue it as a career. I have about 40k in student loans right now that I’m about to start paying off. The pre-reqs for PA school would take me another 2-3 years depending if I go part or full time, and I’d pay using the rest of my allowed loans with FAFSA and out of pocket. If I got into a PA program, I would have to take out private loans. Would this be worth it? Are there other options I’m not seeing?

Sankey

35yoM, married with a kid and a 3.15% mortgage. Can't afford to move. Why only 2 schools? Because they're the only ones that accept online labs. I don't have the time to take in-person labs at a uni, so I cannot apply to Duke, UNC, or HPU (applied anyways, was ignored).

TLDR: Lots of PCE. Low GPA. Didn't finish prereq's, and don't have in-person labs so my choices are limited.

PCE/Leadership: Total hours >23,500 and growing

2010 EMT Cert

2013 B.S. Parks, Recreation, Tourism - Program Management Degree

2014 AEMT Cert

2015 Paramedic Cert and Associates in Applied Medical Science

~8 years EMS 911. Average 1100-1300 patient contacts per year. Very busy agencies.

• Preceptor

• Field Training Officer

• Tactical Paramedic

• EMS Captain

2021-23 Critical Care Transport Paramedic - Ran 1100 calls over 2 years. Started science prerequisites, asynchronous online via Community College and Portage Online.

2021-26 Community College Tactical EMS Course Coordinator, Part time (Lead Instructor)

2023-26 Emergency Department Nursing Staff

• 90% of scope of RN role in freestanding ER. 4 pt's at a time, range of 10-18 unique pt's per shift.

2025-2026 Cycle

Undergrad sGPA: 3.38

Undergrad cGPA: 3.36

Post Bacc sGPA:3.46

Post Bacc cGPA: 3.52 (Final Prereq in-process at time of application)

Shadowing: 44 hours (all ER)

Teaching: 835 hours

References: 2 ED Physicians, 3 ER PA's (One was an alumni to the school that ignored me).

2026-2027 Cycle

Undergrad sGPA: 3.38

Undergrad cGPA: 3.36

Post Bacc sGPA:3.46

Post Bacc cGPA: 3.55 (finished last prereq, Biochem with A-)

Shadowing: 286 hours (Urgent Care, Primary, Psych, ER)

Teaching: 1400 hours

Official References: 3 ED Physicians, 2 PA's (Same Alum, same school ignored me. One Urgent Care PA I shadowed).

Unofficial References: 6 additional ER PA's, 4 Alumni, offered to write emails and called AdComm on my behalf.

What I did differently between cycles:

-Rage quit for early 2026.

-Completely revamped my PS. Rewrote it 11-12 times and honed it over several months.

-I cannot positively swing my GPA. Over 380 post-bacc B/B+ hours from my associates make it unchangeable.

-I needed to finish Biochem. Turns out I was right in my prediction. I was waitlisted while it was processing, finished on 10/6, Transcript posted on 10/14, Accepted 10/15.

-I received direct feedback from my first cycle to "shadow more to explore the career". So I quintupled my shadowing hours while working a full time and 2 part time jobs.

-I pulled every string I possibly could and treated this cycle like a political campaign. I became more than a paperwork candidate. I made myself human.

• Made it known I was reapplying and needed support. Colleagues and APP's I've worked with for over a decade all offered to reach out.

• Attended virtual sessions for my priority school.

• Scheduled a private, off-calendar, campus tour with the priority school.

• Emailed my priority school after CASPA, to let them know they are my primary school and to explain why my GPA is less-impressive (their supplemental didn't have a section on underperformance).

• When I finished BioChem, I emailed them again with an unofficial transcript and thanked them for the wait-list opportunity.

I interviewed 7 weeks ago for a newer program. After my interview I was told they would provide updates but to be patient. During another interview with a different program I received my admission decision in less than 2 weeks. I know every program is different but this wait has felt so tough for some reason.

After waiting 6 weeks I received an email that was addressed to the “members of the class of xxxx”. The email provided an update about their accreditation and then continued to use confusing language about being welcomed to the family and congratulations. I had no other communication of an admission decision so I waited about an hour then called to ask for clarification and was told that it was just an update on the accreditation status. I understand the language was vague but confusing nonetheless. It’s now been a week and I haven’t heard anything else other than a very generic email that I received a few days later going over the accreditation update again.

Tomorrow will be exactly 7 weeks after my interview and the waiting has been kind of awful. I know everyone feels this way but I guess there’s nothing to do but continue waiting? I only know of 1 person who claims they received an acceptance 1 day after their interview and that was 2 weeks before I interviewed. If that’s true I’m uncertain but even more confusing.

Wishing everyone goodluck this cycle!

Hi all. I was recently accepted to a PA program that starts in the summer of next year. I have been working as a medical assistant at a dermatology office for 3 years and was thinking about putting in a month’s notice. The management is extremely toxic… my boss (the physician) is constantly disrespectful towards me and treats me differently than her other employees. If I forget the smallest thing, it gets blown up and she rants about it for a week to me and other employees. She goes out of her way to humiliate me for little mistakes in front of patients when I am scribing for her. She’ll even rant about it for days to me and bring it up in our daily group meetings in front of everyone.

I also recently found out that I get paid only slightly more than an employee who started just 5 months ago (who doesn’t have prior experience). My boss is the reason as to why almost every MA I have worked with over the years have quit. There have been MAs who would cry in the work bathroom after talking to her. It is probably important to note that over a year ago, I said that I would stay until June of next year (prior to me considering applying to schools that don’t start until August/September and getting accepted to one that starts in May). I love the patients and my coworkers but all of my friends and family can see the mental toll that this job has taken on me, especially over the last year.

I tried to introduce working less hours to my boss and she hinted at what seemed to be a veiled threat: "I wrote you a letter of recommendation for school and I would hate for our relationship to sour". We are understaffed, so me leaving would rock the office. I’m scared to give a 2-week notice to quit because I’m worried about what she’ll say to me or how she’ll treat me in my final weeks. I am also thinking far ahead and am concerned about difficulty finding a dermatology position as a new grad PA (if I choose to pursue that specialty), because any new job would want to contact an old one and dermatology is a small world. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get over these fears or thoughts on how I should broach the topic with her? Thank you in advance.

I am currently a Junior in college! I basically have all my pre reqs. However, I am currently taking Orgo 2 anf it sucks. I was barely able to pass Orgo 1 with a C and now Im scared that my gpa will drop even more with orgo 2. Its not looking to well because I got a D on my first exam. I study but obviously I could study more and I feel guily. However, I am taking Genetics and Pathology with another course at the same time, while racking up my volunteer hours and working every week for my HCE/PCE hours. I cant tell if im overwhelming myself, but I end up comparing myself to others and feeling like what Im doing is not enough. Anyways, srry abt the rant. So, orgo 2 is needed as a pre req for biochem here at my school which is needed for most PA schools. I am scared to drop my gpa even more, so I am thinking to instead take biochem at an accredited institution (UC Diego of Extended Studies) and withdrawal from Orgo 2 since PA schools DO NOT need it. This saves my gpa, it also doesnt make me look bad because its orgo 2 as well. I just need opinions please!

???

Hellos! I wanted to reach out to see if anyone has any insight on ATSU or SMU's PA Program. I was fortunately accepted into ATSU this month, and I received an interview invitation to SMU. I'm debating right now whether I want to accept the invitation to SMU's invite because it's in CA and I'll be able to be close to home, but the tuition difference is around 50K and I heard they don't have good clinical rotation placements. If anyone attends SMU PA program and can share any insight that would be very much appreciated. Thank you!!!

Hello! I wanted to give hope to those that also have very low PCE. I just got early acceptance into my top program and wanted to share what I learned.

Stats below~

Low PCE
Even with my low PCE, I made sure to emphasize how valuable those experiences were, especially during the interview. Talk about a patient you remember vividly, what you did or didn’t do, and what you learned from that experience. For example, I talked about a time when I saw phlebotomy malpractice and felt like I couldn’t do anything. Then said that I now advocated for patients whenever possible, and I helped start phlebotomy trainings at a clinic.

Extracurriculars
I did many many extracurriculars, and not gonna lie I think this was what stood me out the most. I didn’t start a club related to health or Pre-PA but one that anyone can enjoy. I also managed multiple research labs, was involved in orchestra concerts, and have an ambassador position. I used all of these experiences to show how well I can manage my time and show my leadership/adaptive skills I gained from them. Would I recommend being this involved? Absolutely not, it was extremely stressful. But if you are, choose at least one and stick with it to show dedication. My research labs were how I ended up making connections with my professors, getting my ambassador position, and good recommendation letters.

Interviews
I personally thought my interview was bad, but I guess they liked what I said so here’s what I learned. Be vulnerable, realistic, tell stories, and focus on what you learned/what your impact was. One of the things I opened up about was although I love to keep myself busy, and I set high expectations for myself, I don’t want to burnout in the long term, so I’m taking this semester to focus on a balance. Also try to relate the conversation to the specific programs missions, goals, or even just mention one of the staffs names and specialty to show you’ve done your research. Lastly ask meaningful questions at the end. One of mine was, “What is one area of the program where faculty look for students to take initiative for improvement?” Overall it’s showing not only why you think you’ll be a good candidate, but you also want to help and grow their program.

And the most important takeaway is please do not compare yourself to others. I had the same issue comparing myself to everyone else that had 1000+ PCE, but remember that everyone’s path is different! If you’d like any help on applications, interviews or anything lmk!

Stats~
PCE - 150
GPA - 3.9
Sci GPA - 3.85
Extracurriculars - 1200
Research - 900
Leadership - 450
Volunteer - 230
Casper - 2nd quartile

HI! So help me to understand… I reached out to a program (with provisional accreditation) to inquire further about their requirements and application process. The head of the program informed me that my working full-time as an international board certified lactation consultant (inpatient, 4 days a week, 10 hours shifts, responsibly for at least 6 mom-baby couplets per shift) would not be viewed as competitive patient care experience compared to a CNA role. Please help me understand 🫩. I graduated college with a 3.9 gpa (health edu major + chemistry minor), I have a masters degree in public health (4.0 graduate school gpa), former epidemiologist and now full-time, hospital-based lactation consultant. How is my background less competitive compared to CNA work???😔. Getting this info has really shot my confidence. Unfortunately CNA work would not cover my bills so no way I can give up my well-paying clinical job that I ADORE (that has helped me solidify my choice to attend PA school). I’m about to give up completely yall idk.

Hi everyone!

I recently just completed 2 interviews and have 3 more coming up. The first one I over prepared and completely blew it. The second one I didn’t prepare as much but instead only researched about the program and aligned it with my experiences, and I feel like the interview went way better! Unfortunately, I have not heard back from either interview and they are already sending out accepting calls to other interviewees. This has left me in a state where I’m not sure how much more/less/different I need to prep to get ready for my next interviews as I prepared completely differently between my first 2.

Before I begin my next interview, I wanted to see if there were any good mock interview resources I could take advantage of and get advice from outside perspectives. At the moment, I am not in the greatest financial state and wanted to see if anyone had any free/low cost mock interview resources I could look into that would help me prepare? It would be greatly appreciated!

I recently had an MMI, and feel like I did poorly. I don’t think I did super bad, just not the best of my ability, and definitely messed up one of the stations. I was so nervous, I froze up and couldn’t process. I definitely bombed that station, but did ok on the rest. No I have this guilt that I didn’t do good enough and I’m just anxiously waiting for the rejection email to come in.

I applied to 12+ schools, rejected by 6 so far, not told why, received 1 interview, placed on waitlist, and haven’t heard from the rest. Everyone says they care about upward momentum but that’s not true. Last 30+ credits 4.0. And yes the rest of my GPAs are 3.2+. And before you ask, yes I specifically applied to “holistic” schools. I applied with 1400+ PCH with leadership experiences.
Significant hardships- yes, first gen-yes, rural underserved - yes. Legit every single “additional criteria considered” was a yes for me. Also a non-trad applicant. I have multiple recommendation letters from big leaders and PAs… none of it matters. Everytime the schools reject me they point me to their class profile. 3.8GPA and above with nothing but white-passing or white graduates. Let’s all cut the BS and tell prospective students the truth. Diversity is a marketing tactic by most schools and GPA is the number 1 thing they look at.

Interview this week contains a logic based quiz but not anything to study per the schools guidelines. Anyone had an experience and can give me some insight into this?

Would I essentially be throwing money by applying to a school that has a very specific mission fit (e.g. a school that prioritizes “Christian values”), if I don’t necessarily align?

I very distinctly remember blocking this subreddit 10 months ago because I would not stop comparing myself to other people’s statistics and acceptances, therefore I choose not to post mine. I will say, I was a “non-traditional” and “mature” candidate with different PCE. It’s crazy how much I doubted myself, and I encourage you all not to as the things I thought made me a poor applicant ended up being the best talking points in interviews after I embraced them ❤️ also don’t doubt yourself so you don’t drain your savings like I did applying to 18 programs because you’re an anxious gal 😭🫩