Monday, June 27, 2011

Information on Applying to Pathologists' Assistant Programs

When I was looking to apply for a Pathologists' Assistant Program I was very much focused on Duke, but in the interest of actually getting in somewhere if the program I really wanted didn't let me in I compiled some preliminary information* on the other schools. I thought it might be nice to share with prospective students (along with whatever first hand experiences I can get from other students/applicants like the WVU interview process blog Forrest wrote- which I will be reposting in its own entry).

In general, 1200 and above is a solid GRE score while 3.0 is an acceptable GPA. Higher is always better. Just like earlier is always better when it comes to when you submit your application. For the schools that practice rolling admissions a fairly high percentage of their incoming class is already filled with students from the previous application cycle.

There used to be a pdf from the NAACLS with program information but the links I've found to it no longer work. But if I remember correctly Rosalind Franklin accepts the most students (24 maybe?) but total there are fewer than 100 Pathologist Assistant student slots between all the programs each year.

So, in no particular order these are the programs and information I have about them:

Now available in delightful table form! Click for a larger version.


Duke's Program:
Requires the GRE - they will accept MCAT scores but strongly prefer the GRE
Does not have a minimum GPA
Applications are due January 31st of the year you are applying for, with classes starting in August.
Applications become available the preceding summer.
You cannot apply online.
Students are notified about acceptance with a phone call after all the interviews are complete. There is a wait list and you receive an email if you are placed on the wait list. From the time applications are due to the time acceptances go out it is less than two months.
You can also read my Duke application/interview process blog here.

Quinipiac's Program
Does not require the GRE
Has a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75
Applications are due December 15 of the year before you are applying for, with classes starting in June, but admissions are rolling and spots are awarded as applicants are interviewed.
Applications become available the preceding summer.
You can apply online, but will have to mail in (it looks like anyway) some supporting documents.

Rosalind Franklin's Program
Does not require the GRE
Says successful applications usually have a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) undergraduate GPA but isn't a hard and fast requirement.
Admissions are rolling, with the website listing Feb. 28th of the year for which you are applying as the deadline and the preceding Summer/Fall as the optimal time to submit your application.
Applications should be continuously available.
You cannot apply online.

WVU's Program
Does not require the GRE
Says successful applications usually have a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) undergraduate GPA but isn't a hard and fast requirement.
Applications are due by July 31st of the preceding year, with classes starting in January.
Applications open on March 1st of the preceding year.
You cannot apply online
Students are notified about acceptance with a phone call after all the interviews are complete. There is a wait list and you receive an email if you are placed on the wait list. It looks like class invitations go out in mid to late August.

IUPUI's Program
Does require the GRE
GPA is 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for both Math/Science and Total GPA.
Applications are due March 15th of the year you are applying for, with classes starting in August.
Applications become available the preceding fall.
You can apply online.

University of Maryland's Program
Requires the GRE with strong preference given to students with a combined score of 1200 or greater and an Analytical Writing score of 4.5 or greater
There is no minimum GPA.
Applications are due February 1st of the year you are applying for, with classes starting in June.
Applications become available the preceding summer.
You can apply online.

Drexel's Program
Appears to require the GRE/May accept the MCAT.
Does not have a minimum GPA
Admissions are rolling with applications due the second Friday in February, with classes starting in May.
Applications should be continuously available.
You cannot apply online.

Wayne State's program is transitioning from a BS to a MS in the near future; however, their website still has the undergraduate information so I'm going to hold off on putting up their information.
Western Onatrio University's PA program is no longer on the NAACLS list of accredited programs so I'm going to not list their information right now either. If it changes I will come back and update it.

Also, the links to the programs aren't necessarily the same links on the NAACLS list but rather the most direct link I could find to the PathA program information.

*I know this would be much neater if put into a useful reference table, but this is what you get. If you don't like it, feel free to put into a lovely useful table and email it to me :-D Thanks to the awesome reader that put everything into a table! Hope you guys appreciate the super convenient format! ;)

10 comments:

  1. Soooo...I got really bored and made that table. In the process I thought I would be helping both you and myself at the same time. What is your email?

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  2. Fantastic! Use tammy@ppspath.com

    Thanks!

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  3. Just wondering if this table could be updated to reflect this year? 2012? I like the table a lot but think some of the dates may be off?
    Thanks

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  4. Rosalind Franklin is a fucking scam of a program.

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry you feel that way, but it is an accredited program and has many graduates who are working as PAs.

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  5. Thank you so much for this information! I am a junior undergrad and have been trying to research how to become a pathologist assistant because I know it is what I want to do. This was so helpful and will definitely help me over the next year and a half.

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  6. Easiet and toughest to get into?

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    Replies
    1. That depends... some schools value GPA over GRE, some care more about experience and shadowing. Class sizes vary widely. Rosalind Franklin has the largest class size, but both it and Quinnipiac fill their classes from the waitlist from the year before so you might have to wait two years to get in, etc. There are too many variables to say which one is the easiest and which one is the toughest. Sorry that isn't more direct of an answer.

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  7. Which are the schools that focuses more on experience and shadowing?

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  8. Hello! So I'm currently a sophomore at a University. Is it possible if I could get your email and send you some questions? There are some specific questions where I'd like to get a PathA's perspective on. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete