Pre Physician Assistant Studies

WHAT IS A PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT (PA)?

A physician assistant (PA) is a medical professional that diagnoses illnesses, develops and manages treatment plans, prescribes medications, and can serve as a patient's principal healthcare provider. PA's can specialize in many medical settings and have thousands of medical training hours. They can also assist in surgery, make rounds at hospitals and nursing homes, perform procedures and physical exams, counsel on preventative care, and do clinical research. PA's work with physicians. 

EDUCATION LEVEL: Master's degree (27-month program on average)

QUALITIES of COMPETITIVE PRE-PA STUDENTS* 

*NOTE: Each student's path is different! Holistic review takes several factors into account. MYTH: It is "easier" to get into a PA program vs. a Medical program. 

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STAY CONNECTED & UPDATED

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NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

 

UTA PRE-HEALTH ORGANIZATION 

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 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

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SPECIAL PROGRAMS

  • PARKLAND HOSPITAL OBSERVATION PROGRAM
    • The experience is designed to increase career awareness, fulfill education/application requirement and help model behavior through example. Eligibility and additional information can be found on the website.
  • STUDENTS ENGAGED in ROUNDING and VOLUNTEERING PROGRAM (SERV)
    • The SERV Program is a two-semester long volunteering and shadowing program at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. Eligibility and additional information can be found on the website. Applications are accepted at certain times of the year. 

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SUGGESTIONS FOR HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCES

Gaining shadowing and direct patient care experience is very important in becoming a competitive candidate for PA programs. Direct patient care includes any experience where you are directly interacting with the patient and responsible for some aspect of patient care. Shadowing is usually not considered direct patient care. Some programs may expect hundreds to thousands of hours of healthcare experience with a focus on direct patient care. Therefore, getting an early start is helpful. Below are suggestions for pre-PA students. Visit our Special Programs page for additional resources.

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PREREQUISITES

The prerequisites for PA programs can vary by school and can have a 7-10 year expiration. The courses listed below are typical requirements for most programs. The courses must be for science majors and are taken with your major classes. You can major in any subject; however, most students choose Biology. Students should visit the specific school's admission website for complete requirements. Recent coursework is preferred and most require a LETTER GRADE of C or better. The average GPA of accepted student is 3.6-3.8.  

Course # of Hours Required UTA Course Codes
General Biology (prerequisites to upper level Biology) 8 hours- 6 hrs lecture & 2 hrs lab

BIOL 1441 - Cell and Molecular Biology

BIOL 1442 - Evolution and Ecology
Genetics 3 hours BIOL 3315 - Genetics
Microbiology 4 hours - 3 hrs lecture and 1 hr lab BIOL 2444 - Microbiology
Human Anatomy & Human Physiology (For SCIENCE Majors) 8 hours- 6 hrs lecture & 2 hrs lab

BIOL 3446 - Human Anatomy w/lab

BIOL 3442 - Human Physiology w/lab

(NOTE: BIOL 2457 & 2458 DO NOT COUNT)
General Chemistry 8 hours - 6 hrs lecture & 2 hrs lab

CHEM 1441 - General Chemistry I w/lab

CHEM 1442 - General Chemistry II w/lab
Organic Chemistry with Lab 4 hours - 3 hrs lecture & 1 hr lab CHEM 2321/2181 - Organic Chemistry I w/lab
Statistics 3 hours (1 statistics course)

MATH 1308 -Elementary Statistics

BIOL 2300 - Biostatistics

PSYC 2300 - Statistics in Psychology
Psychology 3 hours PSYC 1315 - Intro to Psychology
Recommended Courses (Some schools may require)

CHEM 4311 - Biochemistry I (prerequisite Organic Chem II; required by UTMB)

NURS 3309 - Medical Terminology (required by UTMB)

BIOL 3301 - Cell Physiology

BIOL 3312 - Immunobiology

BIOL 4312 - Intro to Virology

PSYC 2317 - Basic Concepts in Human Sexuality

SPAN 1441 and 1442 - Spanish 
Average GPA of Accepted Applicants: 3.6-3.8

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PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PROGRAMS - 254 U.S. Programs

TEXAS PROGRAMS:  

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APPLYING & APPLICATION SERVICE 

Students may be ready to apply at the end of junior year, but it is becoming more common for students to apply senior year or later. It will depend on your current preparedness and circumstances. Applying is a competitive, year-long process; therefore, it is important to apply only when you are a competitive candidate. Students should become familiar with the application service used to apply to PA programs early in their cycle. HELPFUL VIDEO: Gap Year Before Medical School: How to Decide if it's Right for You 

GPA Calculators: 

  • Suggested Timeline
    • 10-12 weeks prior to deadline: students should get together transcripts, enter coursework, and checking in with evaluators
    • 6-8 weeks prior to deadline: application should be submitted; students should be monitoring their application status and other to-dos daily
    • 4-6 week prior to deadline: continue to monitor and check status via email and check status tab within app

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ADMISSION TEST - GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION (GRE)

  • The GRE is currently the more common admissions test requirement for PA Programs
  • SCORE: 130-170 in reasoning sections and 0-6 in writing section
  • SECTIONS: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing
  • COMPETITIVE SCORE: >150 in each reasoning section and >4 in writing
  • COST: $220
  • IDEAL time to TAKE: Can vary; summers are ideal
  • Register at: GRE ETS Site
  • General information

TEST PREP RESOURCES 

 

NEW ADMISSION TEST - PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT COLLEGE ADMISSION TEST (PA-CAT) - currently not required for Texas PA programs

***A NEW admissions test will be required for some programs (PA-CAT). This admissions test is not currently a common requirement for most PA programs. For more information on this test please visit : PA-CAT FAQ 

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CASPer TEST (Acuity Insights formerly known as Altus Assessments)

Some programs also require the CASPer Test, an assessment of an applicant's personal qualities. This test is taken during the application cycle and valid for 1 year. More information can be found on the CASPer Website.

 

Changes for the 2024/25 cycle

Although the Casper test’s format is not changing (e.g. it will still have 14 scenarios), we are adding a couple of improvements to the way applicants and programs can find information.

  • Applicant experience: We are improving the experience at takecasper.com so applicants can more easily find key information about taking the Casper test
  • Percentiles in Insights: Percentiles will be available for all programs that do not have access to this information yet. This gives them another way to look at how an applicant performed on Casper, in addition to their scores

2024/25 Casper test price

  • US health professions applicants: $50 plus $16 for each program scores are sent
  • US medicine programs applicants: $85, which includes 7 score distributions ($18 for each additional program scores are sent to)
  • Applicants who have been approved for a Fee Assistance Program will have their fee waived if they provide proof of approval when reserving their test (e.g. AAMC, CASPA)

The following Texas Schools currently require this test:

  • UNTHSC - University of North Texas Health Science Center Ft. Worth
  • UTMB - The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
  • UTRGV - The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley
  • UTSA - The University of Texas at San Antonio
  • WCU- West Coast University Dallas

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LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATIONS, PERSONAL STATEMENTS/ESSAYS, INTERVIEWING

 

For detail information & resources on these topics visit the LOR and PS Page.