Admission Requirements

The Physician Assistant Program will admit students for Fall Semester only. All applications for Fall 2009 must be submitted by January 15, 2009 (with all supporting materials such as transcripts, GRE scores and references received by February 1, 2009).  However, to be most competitive, files should be received from CASPA by early fall.  The Admissions Committee will invite qualified candidates for interviews after a completed file is received from CASPA and reviewed.  Invitations will be provided two-six weeks prior to the interview date.  Generally, the PA Program offers five to six interview dates annually beginning in the early fall and concluding the end of March.  Early interview invitations and acceptance decisions will be offered to outstanding candidates. 

To be considered for the Physician Assistant Program, applicants must comply with the following:

1. Submit all application materials to CASPA, the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants, including official transcripts for all institutions of higher education attended, and three recommendations.  You must also submit official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test scores, from exams taken within the last five years.  These must be sent directly to Shenandoah University, college code 5613.   While there is no minimum GRE score required for admission, the successful candidate generally has scores above the 50th percentile.  (Note:  GRE test scores are not required if the applicant already possesses a relevant graduate degree.)

International students must have their transcripts submitted for independent evaluation of equivalency by an acceptable credential evaluation agency.  International students are also required to demonstrate English language proficiency by submitting scores from TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) as outlined in the Graduate Catalog.

All applicants are asked to read and adhere to the CASPA Admissions Code of Cooperation available on the CASPA web site at: https://portal.caspaonline.org/caspa2008/admissions_code.htm.

2. Preference will be given to candidates who can demonstrate a commitment to practice in primary care in rural or urban medically underserved areas. Candidates requesting this preference must do so in writing directly to the PA program and include their rationale for the request along with supporting documentation. This can be documented through prior work or community volunteer experience.
    
3. Candidates with formal health care experience must submit copies of any license, registration, or certification related to that field.  These should be mailed directly to the SU PA Program.
    
4. As part of the CASPA Application, candidates will prepare an Admissions Narrative, which will be evaluated by the Admissions Committee and must be considered graduate student quality.  Use this narrative to explain why you are interested in becoming a physician assistant.  In addition, candidates are encouraged to use the CASPA narrative to explain any aspects of their application that may require clarification (e.g., gaps in education or work, etc.)
    
5. Health care experience (voluntary or paid) is not required but highly suggested and considered by the SU PA Admissions Committee. This will also be documented within the CASPA application.
    
6. Academic Requirements:
   Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) undergraduate cumulative grade point average (GPA) to be considered for admission.  A candidate with less than a 3.0 undergraduate grade point average may be considered for admission with regular student status if he/she has completed at least 15 semester hours of applicable coursework at the graduate level and has a minimum GPA of 3.0 in these courses.  Generally, candidates with overall and BCP science grade point averages (GPA) of less than 2.90 are not considered to be competitive.  (BCP consists of biology, chemistry, and physics grades.)

Applicants must complete the following prerequisite coursework (documented via official transcripts).

Notes:
Science courses, identified above, (except Biochemistry) must include lecture and laboratory.  In order to satisfy a prerequisite, courses must have been passed with a grade of C or better at an accredited college or university.  C minus (C-) is not accepted.  In order to be competitive, however, it is strongly recommended that prerequisites be completed with a grade of B or better.  Science courses must be current within ten (10) years of application.  Distance education formats are discouraged for the science courses that require a laboratory component.

Anatomy and physiology sequence should be taken at the same university to ensure continuity and comprehensiveness and must cover all body systems.  Functional anatomy or fundamentals of anatomy and physiology courses are generally not counted toward the two semester requirement.

7. Interviews may be offered to applicants with complete files who meet the minimum entrance requirements. However, the selection process is competitive and just meeting minimum entrance requirements does not guarantee an interview or admission to the program.  The following are considered in the decision to offer an interview:  overall and BCP science grade point averages (as calculated by CASPA), references, personal statement, health care experience (type and amount) and prerequisites.  Interview sessions include a presentation about the PA Program and local community, individual interviews with members of the Admissions Committee, group interviews, and opportunities to interact with current students. 

   The PA Program uses a rolling admissions process.  Early application is strongly encouraged.  Based upon a point scoring system, the Admissions Committee may recommend one of the following:

   1. Acceptance: Candidates with the highest scores (based upon the candidate’s complete application and interviews) will be recommended for acceptance. The number of candidates recommended for acceptance will be determined annually by the PA Program class size.
   2. Admission Alternates: A limited number of applicants will be ranked as alternates and will generally be notified of their admission status on or before August 1. Applicants not admitted from the alternate list must reapply if they wish to be considered in subsequent years.
   3. Non-Acceptance: Applicants denied acceptance will be notified in writing. Candidates wishing to be considered in a subsequent admission cycle must reapply, and must satisfy all admission requirements for that cycle.

8. Other Requirements.  Applicants selected for admission to the program must provide evidence of good health and up-to-date immunizations prior to matriculation. Prior to beginning health professional courses, a student is required to authorize and submit to a criminal background check with fingerprinting, including sex offenses and crimes against minors.  Students may also be expected to submit to random drug testing required by clinical practice sites.  Non-compliance with the criminal background checks and/or drug testing policies may be cause for dismissal from a program of study.

In addition, students are required to maintain health insurance and liability insurance coverage.  Further information will be reviewed in detail at orientation.  Accepted students are required to attend all orientation sessions scheduled by the program.