Admissions to the top PA (Physician Assistant) schools in the U.S. are incredibly competitive. Admissions committees review applicants on diverse factors such as:
- Academic performance (based on the GRE, CGPA and Science GPA)
- Diversity in the healthcare experience
- Research or other academic work
- Any scholarly contributions such as journal publications or scientific papers
- Volunteer and social work, particularly related to healthcare
- Personal characteristics and traits that reflect on your application essays (generally submitted through CASPA) and interviews
PA applicants mostly come from non-quantitative backgrounds and therefore find GRE a significant obstacle in their application. Most students don’t want to take it because they know they won’t do well, no matter how much they prepare.
In this Article
Can You get Admissions in PA schools Without GRE Scores?
You can. 30% of the top 100 PA schools do not require the GRE or require either the MCAT or the GRE. Some of the PA schools have individual policies to waive the GRE score requirement. However, it is generally the case that non-GRE PA programs are a bit more competitive since many applicants don’t want to take the GRE. Therefore, you will have to work very hard on your overall application if you plan to apply only to them.
Here is the list of PA schools that don’t require GRE scores!
Some PA schools waive off the GRE but on certain conditions. Here are such schools and their respective policies for the GRE waiver.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center–Dallas
If you have the U.S.- acquired Master’s degree or higher, then you don’t need the GRE test.
University of Southern California
PA applicants to USC have the option to take either the GRE or MCAT examination.
PA applicants to Arcadia have the option to take either the GRE or MCAT examination.
Should You Apply to PA Programs where GRE is not required?
Now that I have shared the list of PA programs that don’t require the GRE test score, the next question that comes to mind is: Is it worth applying to them?
The short answer is Yes. In many other non-PA schools, programs that don’t require the GRE are considered less prestigious than those requiring the GRE. But in the case of PA schools, that is not the case. The list that I have shared above are all the programs that rank in the top 100 PA school rankings as per US news. These have the same prestige as the ones that require the GRE score.
Nevertheless, I recommend that you do a thorough analysis of the non-GRE PA programs and see for yourself if you fit into the school’s vision and mission statement. If you don’t fit in and yet apply, you may risk ending up in a non-GRE PA program that you later don’t enjoy. These programs have very detailed websites that you should explore before making the decision. Look at their faculty, research facilities, the curriculum of their courses, and, more importantly, their vision and mission statement. Do you gel in? If you do, then you should apply. But don’t force yourself to.
What if You don’t like these non-GRE PA programs?
If you don’t like these programs, then take the GRE. For PA programs, the GRE score requirements are not very high. Anything above 305 is considered a competitive score, and in my personal experience, one can get that score with 6-8 weeks of proper solid preparation. I guess that you will be a native English speaker, so the verbal score will be easier to get. The math portion will be a bit of struggle, but your goal will be to score somewhere around 153, which you can get by just getting 50% of the questions right. I bet that’s not too hard.
Another benefit of taking the GRE is that you will not be limiting your options. Since you will be spending a lot of money and time on your PA degree, it is worthwhile to take the GRE and apply to any program of your choice. On the other hand, if you don’t want to go through the hassle, go ahead, and apply it to the above programs only. But still, I would suggest that take one shot at the GRE test before doing that. If you fail, you will have no regrets later in your career – at least you tried.
Finally, in my experience, GRE scores are not a significant factor in PA school admission decisions. It has less than 10% weightage in all honesty. Most PA applicants have deficient scores but have fantastic well-rounded applications. Even if you do miserably on the exam, apply to the GRE programs by preparing an outstanding application. Maybe take the GRE a second time if you didn’t do well in the first attempt. If you fail again, still apply to the GRE programs while keeping some non-GRE PA programs as your backup.
To conclude, you can get into a top-notch PA program without a GRE score. However, I would strongly recommend that you do take the GRE and then make your decision.