PA school with an Excelsior B.S. in Science in Liberal Arts

[drashrafaziz]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to get some input on whether an undergraduate degree from Excelsior College would be looked down upon when I apply to grad school (physician assistant). My B.S. degree had credits transferred from various sources including a foreign institution and 4 CLEP exams. If anyone has previous experience and got accepted to grad school with a degree from the big three please share. 

Thank you.

[Ideas]

Lots of people get accepted with a Big Three degree, but a PA school will be picky about where you did your science prerequisites. They generally will want only graded credits from an RA school, no testing out. And they will usually calculate a GPA of just those prerequisites to consider.

[drashrafaziz]

Lots of people get accepted with a Big Three degree, but a PA school will be picky about where you did your science prerequisites. They generally will want only graded credits from an RA school, no testing out. And they will usually calculate a GPA of just those prerequisites to consider.

Thank you for replying to my post. All of my prerequisite courses have been taken in the US at a community college which is regionally accredited. They all have grades and none of them is credit by examination.

[Ideas]

Oh good. I know this is PA school and not medical school, but you can find information about medical school to get an idea. They might be suspicious that your prereqs were from a CC. I think they will still consider you, but you may have to be more competitive in other areas. https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/m...ge-credits

Do you have good recommendations and GRE score?

[High_Order1]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to get some input on whether an undergraduate degree from Excelsior College would be looked down upon when I apply to grad school (physician assistant).

I've been doing some research on this, actually.

It depends on two factors, in my opinion: 1) what is the learning path, and 2) what is the school.

In your case, it will highly highly depend on if you are going US or IMG. Caribbean schools are more accepting. Read into that what you wish.

The only real thing you can do, is make a list of the top ten, and contact an advisor at each.

PA slots are competitive, and so there has to be criteria to downselect when everyone has excellent grades, references, and MCAT/GRE scores...

[Ideas]

Yeah I think it depends a lot on your relevant work experience (clinical especially) and relevant volunteer experience too, because a lot of applicants will have a decent amount.

[cookderosa]

Oh good. I know this is PA school and not medical school, but you can find information about medical school to get an idea. They might be suspicious that your prereqs were from a CC. I think they will still consider you, but you may have to be more competitive in other areas. https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/m...ge-credits

Do you have good recommendations and GRE score?

EVEN IF there were truth to the CC mythology, you couldn't pay me a million dollars to RE-DO a premed science sequence at a 4-year uni when I've already done it at a CC unless I've applied to and been rejected from EVERY SINGLE PA PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY... and even then, maybe not.
Solid grades, solid letters, solid test scores, solid story - go into the cycle with your head held high.

[drashrafaziz]

Oh good. I know this is PA school and not medical school, but you can find information about medical school to get an idea. They might be suspicious that your prereqs were from a CC. I think they will still consider you, but you may have to be more competitive in other areas. https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/m...ge-credits

Do you have good recommendations and GRE score?

It's not suspicious to have all prerequisites from a community college. I know many people who got into PA school with CC prerequisites. Additionally, PA programs I'm applying to explicitly state they accept CC prerequisites. 

I have very recommendations from an MD, 2 NP, and 2 professors. I haven't taken the GRE yet.

Thank you.

---

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to get some input on whether an undergraduate degree from Excelsior College would be looked down upon when I apply to grad school (physician assistant).

I've been doing some research on this, actually.

It depends on two factors, in my opinion: 1) what is the learning path, and 2) what is the school.

In your case, it will highly highly depend on if you are going US or IMG. Caribbean schools are more accepting. Read into that what you wish.

The only real thing you can do, is make a list of the top ten, and contact an advisor at each.

PA slots are competitive, and so there has to be criteria to downselect when everyone has excellent grades, references, and MCAT/GRE scores...

I contacted advisors from potential schools and they all stated they don't care if my undergrad degree was from Excelsior, as long as it was regionally accredited (which it's).

---

Yeah I think it depends a lot on your relevant work experience (clinical especially) and relevant volunteer experience too, because a lot of applicants will have a decent amount.

I've been working as a physical therapist assistant for 8 yrs with lots of volunteer experience as well. Overall, I have more than 15k healthcare/direct patient experience hours.

---

EVEN IF there were truth to the CC mythology, you couldn't pay me a million dollars to RE-DO a premed science sequence at a 4-year uni when I've already done it at a CC unless I've applied to and been rejected from EVERY SINGLE PA PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY... and even then, maybe not.  
Solid grades, solid letters, solid test scores, solid story - go into the cycle with your head held high.

Thank you so much, Jennifer, for your positive feedback. My prerequisite GPA is 4.0. I will not repeat prerequisite classes for any reason. I have been working on those classes for 2 years and my family has sacrificed a lot for me to be able to go to school at night and on weekends at the CC. I'll follow your advice.

[Ideas]

Yeah, no need to worry then, you have the experience/recommendations. I think most people with years of clinical experience should be fine, if they know how to interview, etc.

[drashrafaziz]

Yeah, no need to worry then, you have the experience/recommendations. I think most people with years of clinical experience should be fine, if they know how to interview, etc.

Great. Thank you for your input.