The Program does not have a model candidate. PAs work in a wide variety of jobs within the medical field. The role of the PA program is to educate people who can fill that wide variety of jobs. Therefore, the program selects candidates with a wide range of abilities, backgrounds, and interests who will combine their PA education with those varied interests and fill a broad range of PA positions.
Below is a statistical profile of candidates admitted to the PA program over the past few years. We expect some year-to-year variation in these ranges and means. They are offered here to help candidates gauge how competitive they may be with other candidates. Where provided, the ranges are more significant than the means.
Student Characteristics:
| Year Enrolled - Year Graduated | ||||
|
2023-
2025
|
2024-
2026
|
2025- 2027 |
2026-2028 | |
| Number enrolled |
32
|
36 | 36 | 36 |
| Average credit Hours Prior to PA School | 150.04 | 137.2 | 139.8 | 126.2 |
| Average Undergraduate Overall GPA | 3.55 | 3.68 | 3.66 | 3.72 |
| Average Undergraduate Science GPA | 3.51 | 3.64 | 3.57 | 3.62 |
| Highest prior degree held | ||||
| Doctorate: |
0%
|
0%
|
0% | 0% |
| Masters: |
6%
|
6%
|
6% | 3% |
| Bachelors: |
94%
|
94%
|
94% | 97% |
| Hours of Direct Patient Care Experience (mean) | 4,912 | 3,368 | 3,086 | 5,816 |
| Hours of Direct Patient Care Experience (range) | 1,000-38,976 | 1,000-18,162 | 1,000-12,280 | 1,571- 50,560 |
| Sex | ||||
| Female: | 72% | 83% | 86% | 81% |
| Male: | 28% | 17% | 14% | 19% |
| Age (mean) | 25.6 | 23.3 | 24.8 | 24.8 |
| Age (range) | 22-44 | 20-30 | 22-35 | 22-45 |
| Students with Prior JMU Coursework | 13% | 17% | 22% | 11% |
| Students from Virginia | 62% | 64% | 56% | 58% |
| GRE Analytical Writing (percentile) | 80th | 72nd | 65th | 63rd |
| GRE Verbal Reasoning (percentile) | 63rd | 62nd | 38th | 65th |
| GRE Quantitative Reasoning (percentile) | 50th | 47th | 54th | 37th |
Interpreting the Table:
This profile was assembled for reporting characteristics of enrolled students. It is not a list of selection or admission criteria. Not all the characteristics listed are admission considerations or criteria.
- With GPAs it is important to consider the table gives an average not a range. Also, students' performance is seldom uniform throughout their academic work. So, the average may not reflect that their more recent academic work may be better than their average. In such situations the Admissions Committee may be more influenced by the recent work.
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235 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
