There is no major called “pre-physician assistant”, nor is there any particular major which is required for admission to PA schools. Bradley University offers a wide range of excellent majors, courses and opportunities which prepare students well for admission to PA schools. Students should choose a major based on their personal interests and abilities, and then meet with both their Academic (within their major) and Pre-Health Advisor regularly to ensure that they are taking the necessary courses (and at the right time) to meet their major and graduation requirements, as well as required and recommended courses for admission to PA schools. These pre-requisites can be taken as part of the major, Bradley Core, or free electives toward graduation, thus allowing students flexibility with their choice of major, and the ability to customize their pre-physician assistant plan.
The following majors and minors are most popular among pre-PA students, because they incorporate many of the pre-requisite courses into the major requirements:
Majors
Minors
Below are listed the most common pre-requisites for physician assistant schools and the Bradley courses which will satisfy them. Be aware that each physician assistant school may establish their own specific pre-requisites which may vary from this list, so it is your responsibility to carefully research the admission requirements for schools to which you plan to apply. Pre-requisite courses may be taken as part of a Bradley major, minor, Bradley Core or free electives. Work with your academic and pre-health advisors to plan the best timing and sequence for completing pre-requisites for physician assistant schools. All science courses should be taken with labs unless otherwise noted.
See PAEA Program Directory and individual PA school websites for program-specific requirements.
Recommended:
Competitive applicants to Physician Assistant programs are well rounded and have pursued a wide range of experiences to develop not only their scientific background and skills, but also interpersonal, teamwork, and leadership skills, and professionalism.
Patient Care Experience, Internships & Job Shadowing
Most PA schools require students to observe PAs in a clinical setting to understand their unique and distinct role on the healthcare team. In addition, because graduate PA training is so condensed, most PA schools expect students to have a significant amount of hands on patient care experience even before they apply to PA schools, either paid or volunteer. Many pre-PA students will obtain certification* and work as CNAs or EMTs, but there are also many entry level jobs in healthcare which do not require specific licensing or certification (home health aides, personal care assistants, dietary aides in nursing homes, etc.). The Smith Career Center can also assist students with finding employment opportunities to gain necessary patient care experience, and often register these experiences so students can also earn internship credit.
*These certifications are not available through Bradley University.
Volunteering and community service, whether or not it is in a healthcare setting, demonstrates your commitment to serving others, as you will as a future physical therapist.
Get Involved
Becoming a leader in a student organization, job, etc. gives you experience working with teams, communicating, and working together to share responsibility for accomplishing shared goals. Consider joining organizations such as BU Med, Alpha Epsilon Delta honor society, HSO, or GMT and working your way toward an executive board or other leadership role.
The GRE General Subject test is required by most (but not all) PA programs. Competitive scores are usually at least at the 50th percentile or higher (minimum ~300 combined Verbal + Quantitative), but vary by program.
Some programs are now also requiring or recommending applicants to complete and submit scores for a situational judgment test (SJT) such as Casper, to assess your social skills, behaviors and professionalism. You are presented with a variety of scenarios and asked to think about what you might do in these situations. Casper does not require significant preparation and is taken on your own computer, but it must be taken in the year that you apply to PA schools. Be sure to check the requirements for EACH PA program to which you are applying for their specific requirements and deadlines for Casper scores (if any).
Casper scores are NOT automatically posted to your CASPA application. You must request scores to be sent to each specific school that you apply to that requires them.
GRE Prep
Although we do not offer a formal GRE prep course at Bradley, the Health Professions student clubs often hold a GRE Workshop and offer an on-campus practice test day to help students develop a personalized strategy, timeline, and study plan to meet their individual needs. There are many commercially available GRE prep materials and services. We do not endorse any one over the others, but can assist students in choosing products and services that fit their learning style, timeline, and budget.
GRE Testing Locations
The GRE is administered year round at Prometric Testing Centers. The closest testing centers to Bradley University are:
Sylvan Learning Center
7501 N University, STE 218
Peoria IL 61614
Sylvan Learning Center
2405 E Federal DR
Decatur IL 62526
Sylvan Learning Center
1035 Lincoln Rd, STE 307
Bettendorf IA 52727
PA School Information and Resources:
Entrance Exam:
Application Service:
Fee Assistance Programs:
Since 2013, Bradley graduates have been accepted to and continued their education and training at many physician assistant programs around the Midwest and across the US. We are proud of the success and accomplishments of our alumni.
Physician Assistant Schools
Offers also received from: Chatham University, Kettering College, IUPUI, Lock Haven University, Nova University, Samford University, St. Catherine’s University, Union College, University of Lynchburg, University of South Alabama
