Admissions

Admissions Requirements (submitted through CASPA)

• A personal statement/essay evaluated by admissions faculty
• Minimum of three letters of recommendations with at least one from a practicing PA or physician, and/or college professor and at least one from a supervisor from paid or volunteer experience to validate your work or service hours evaluated by admissions faculty
• A 3.00 minimum cumulative GPA as calculated by CASPA
• A 3.00 minimum science GPA from all colleges attended. CASPA will include all Biology, Chemistry, Physics grades to calculate science GPA or “BCP Total” as it is referred to on the CASPA application.
• The applicant must be bilingual (English and Spanish)
• Transcripts of all coursework from all colleges/universities attended. Updated transcripts for all coursework not verified in the CASPA application may be submitted directly to the Office of Admissions as they become available.
• Submission of a completed CASPA application
• Direct Patient Contact Health Care Experience verification of a minimum of 200 hours of direct patient contact health care experience, either volunteer or paid, must be documented on the CASPA application. Direct patient contact hours must involve interaction with patients. Some examples include, but are not limited to paid or volunteer EMT/Paramedic, work/volunteer in a doctor's office, nursing home or emergency department as a medical assistant or nurse's aide, phlebotomist, LPN, RN, Respiratory Therapist, athletic trainer, scribe or technologist. Admissions favors the number of direct patient care hours of experience in addition to the type and level of experience. Applicants who are certified in their field, but not working clinically in that field will not receive the same scoring as a certified applicant who is also working clinically in that field. Admissions will favor the latter
• Applicants will be assessed based on their level of community service, volunteering experience, mission work or Peace Corp volunteer keeping in line with our PA Program Mission of community health and responding to the health needs of underserved populations
• Applicants will be assessed on leadership qualities: group or club involvement (Pre-PA club, student government), student athlete, military service, teaching or TA as well as experience in research or publishing

The CASPA application deadline is October 1 for courses that begin in January. A minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution is required for consideration. The program will accept qualified candidates who may not have completed their bachelor’s degree or prerequisite coursework and who have a projected graduation/completion date in August, one semester prior to the January start of classes. Confirmation of graduation must be received by the Program at that time. Pending coursework may delay review of a candidate's application. All science prerequisite courses must be completed within 10 years of matriculation. Exceptions to those limits may be granted for applicants with documented healthcare experience at the discretion of the Admissions Committee. GRE is not required.

Foreign academic credentials must be evaluated by an approved credentialing agency. The PA Program does not award academic credit for experiential learning.

REQUIRED prerequisite coursework is listed below. Applicants must achieve grades of C (2.0) or better from an accredited University, College or its equivalent:

*Applicants who completed two Anatomy & Physiology courses for less than a total of 8 credits must satisfy the credit requirement by completing an additional elective in Biology or Chemistry. One semester of Anatomy with a Lab and 1 semester of Physiology with or without a Lab is acceptable if equal to 8 credits.

Please Note: Meeting the minimum requirements listed above does not guarantee an interview or admission to the program.

Recommended but not required

• Microbiology, acceptable as additional biology course
• Medical Terminology course
• A minimum of 30 hours shadowing a PA to understand the PA Role

Admission decisions are made by the PA Program Admissions Committee and are based on an assessment of the applicant's past academic performance, potential for success in the program, as well as his/her understanding of and commitment to the PA profession. The program Admissions Committee evaluates an applicant's completed application and considers the following qualitative factors:

• Quality and content of the personal statement
• Strength of recommendations (minimum of three letters)
• Cumulative GPA minimum 3.0
• BCP Science GPA minimum 3.00
• The applicant must be bilingual (English and Spanish)
• Outstanding academic performance (above 3.00 GPA)
• Academic awards such as dean’s list, president’s list, cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude, valedictorian, etc.
• Significant volunteering experience, community service, medical missions, leadership qualities and research experience (see above)
• Nature and extent of health care experience

Based on this evaluation, selected applicants are invited for a personal interview where they are assessed regarding their understanding of the PA Role, their motivation to learn and become a PA, maturity level, intellectual qualities, insights, and interpersonal skills.

All these factors will be taken into consideration when reviewing the quality of the applicant. None of these factors will be used as the sole determinative factor for admission into the program.

Applicants whose native language is not English, or who did not attend college in the U.S., U.S. Territories or another English-speaking country, must also demonstrate proficiency in English and will need to submit the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination with a score of at least 560 (paper-based), 220 (computer-based), or 83 (Internet-based).

A non-refundable certified check or money order in the amount of $100 payable to San Juan Bautista School of Medicine will need to be submitted to hold your seat in the class and will be applied to your first semester tuition. Additional health forms will be required to submit upon acceptance including a statement of good health and proof of immunizations. All Students are required to submit a background check and are conditionally accepted until this is completed and approved. All students are required to provide their own personal laptop for lectures and testing.