Grades, grades, grades

Your grades are crucial to the admissions process.  In many institutions, the entering GPA of PA students is higher than that of PT or medical students.  Many programs will dissect your grades and look at both your total GPA as well as your science GPA (your GPA in all of the science classes you have taken).  Research has shown that a student's science GPA is a good predictor of their academic success in PA school.

The admissions process in PA programs is HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, although the minimum GPA criteria varies from program to program.  There is typically a published "minimum GPA" however, you may want to ask the admissions coordinator what the typical entering GPA is for their students.  You should find out where your GPA needs to be in order to truly be a competitive candidate.

If you find that you have a couple of grades (particularly science classes) that are low, you may want to seriously consider re-taking the class for a higher grade.  If you had bad year or ran into a not-so-hot instructor and got a C in biochemistry, think about investing the time and money to re-take the class in an attempt to get a better grade.  Look around at community colleges, etc in the area which might offer the course at a reasonable cost.  Everything you can do to raise that GPA will help!