Alright, folks. I am back with an updated list of PA schools that look at recent credit hours for 2023. I decided to make an updated list since I noticed that a lot of people were utilizing the old list.
Let’s start off with some changes that are new for the year 2023. For this year, we have 16 new PA schools that were accredited by the ARC-PA. And the good news is that some of the newer schools are a little bit more lenient when it comes to their requirements.
In our last post regarding those schools, we had a total of 43 schools for 2022. For this year, I found a total of 59 PA schools that look at recent credit hours, which is great because now, we have more options on the list. More options = better chances of getting in! And check out this post if you’re wondering how many schools you should apply to.
I’ve also made some improvements to the list for easier reference and to help you decide which schools to pick when building a list of your own. Accreditation status has been added to the list for easy reference to see if a school is starting out or established. Generally, established programs will have the ‘Continued’ status, and newer programs will have the ‘Provisional’ status. Some schools will have ‘Probation’ status, meaning that they’re not currently meeting the standards set by the ARC-PA.
You can read more about accreditation and PA schools here.
The required standardized tests have also been added to this list for easier reference to allow you to pick and choose schools depending on your situation. I also wanted to point out that I noticed several of the schools are moving away from the GRE standardized test, however, some of them are also starting to require the CASPer test.
In this updated version, I also added schools with ‘soft’ requirements regarding your most recent credit hours. What do you mean by ‘soft’ requirements? Well, I’m glad you asked. I’m referring to the programs that state explicitly on their website that they will ‘consider your most recent coursework’ (without having a set number of credit hours) or ‘will look at your application holistically if your GPA is less than 3.0’. You’ll see those schools down on the list and be able to tell which ones they are right away.
What and where to look when researching schools that look at your recent coursework
Although this list has been thoroughly screened and referenced, please make sure to double-check when choosing schools from this list so that there are no discrepancies. Information regarding admission requirements can change anytime and you do not want to waste time and resources applying to schools that you do not qualify for.
Here are a couple of places that you can look to double-check admission information, including whether a school looks at your most recent credit hours:
- Prospective students/applicants
- Admission requirements
- Admission FAQs
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Special considerations
Keep in mind that a few of the schools that you’ll see on the list will require you to send a request or a waiver to the admissions office for them to consider your most recent credit hours.
Disclaimer: This list was last updated in May 2023. 303 accredited programs were screened to identify whether they considered applicants’ most recent credit hours. Please make sure to double-check the information by clicking on the links below after you have found the schools that fit your criteria.
List of PA Schools that look at recent credit hours (Last 30/45/60 hours)
Note: *** represents newly added schools that were not on the old list. Schools were removed from the list based on the admission information that was provided on their website regarding recent coursework. These schools include:
- Frostburg State University
- Pfeiffer University
| State | School | Consideration Type | Standardized Tests | Accreditation |
| AL | Samford University *** | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | GRE required | Provisional |
| AL | University of South Alabama | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | GRE required | Continued |
| AR | Harding University *** | Last 40 credit hours > 3.0 | GRE required | Continued |
| CA | Dominican University of California | Last 30 hours of science courses > 3.0 | – | Continued |
| CA | Marshall B. Ketchum University *** | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | – | Continued |
| FL | Florida Gulf Coast University | Last 60 upper level credit hours > 3.0 | GRE | Continued |
| FL | Florida State University | Last 30 hours of graduate GPA upon written request | GRE & CASPer required | Probation |
| FL | University of Tampa | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | PA-CAT required | Provisional |
| GA | Morehouse School of Medicine | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0, Last 20 hours of graduate, post-bac GPA | GRE or PA-CAT required | Provisional |
| IA | University of Iowa | Last 40 credit hours of biological and chemical science GPA > 3.2 | – | Continued |
| IL | North Central College | Last 60 credit hours will be considered together with PA-CAT scores | GRE, PA-CAT recommended | Provisional |
| IL | Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine (formerly Finch) | Last 60 credit hours considered | – | Continued |
| IN | Indiana State University *** | Stronger recent coursework considered during evaluation (Does not state specific credit hours) | GRE required | Continued |
| IN | Trine University *** | Last 55-60 credit hours GPA | GRE required | Probation |
| KS | Kansas State University | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | – | Provisional |
| KY | University of Kentucky | Last 20 hours of Graduate GPA | – | Continued |
| MA | Northeastern University | Post-baccalaureate GPA (10 courses or 30 credits) | – | Continued |
| MD | University of Maryland Eastern Shore *** | Overall GPA can be recalculated based on Junior & Senior year upon written request/waiver (Only if cGPA < 3.0) | – | Provisional |
| ME | University of New England | Last 60 credit hours | – | Continued |
| MI | Grand Valley State University | Last 60 credit hours | GRE & CASPer required | Continued |
| MI | Lawrence Technological University | Last 60 credit hours | PA-CAT or GRE, CASPer required | Provisional |
| MI | University of Detroit Mercy | Last 2 years of undergraduate cGPA will be considered upon request (only if cumulative uGPA < 3.0) | GRE required | Continued |
| MI | University of Michigan-Flint | Last 60 credit hours of undergraduate GPA will be considered upon request, no graduate coursework will be considered | – | Provisional |
| MI | Wayne State University | Last 60 credit hours of cumulative undergraduate GPA will be considered upon request if GPA < 3.4 | GRE & CASPer required | Probation |
| MI | Western Michigan University | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | – | Probation |
| MN | Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences | Last 60 credit hours of higher education coursework | – | Provisional |
| MO | Drury University *** | Considers improvement over the last 60 credit hours | PA-CAT or GRE required | Provisional |
| MO | Missouri State University (formerly SWMS) | Last 60 credit hours | GRE required | Continued |
| MO | Stephens College | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | – | Continued |
| MS | Mississippi State University-Meridian | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | GRE required | Provisional |
| NC | Campbell University | Last 60 credit hours > 3.2 | GRE required | Continued |
| NC | Methodist University | Last 60 credit hours | GRE required | Continued |
| NC | University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | GRE will not be required starting in 2025. | Continued |
| ND | University of North Dakota *** | Significant improvement in recent science coursework considered | – | Continued |
| NE | University of Nebraska Medical Center | Last 40 credit hours > 3.0 | – | Continued |
| NJ | Rutgers University *** | If sGPA or cGPA < 3.2, further review may be considered upon letter request | – | Continued |
| NM | University of New Mexico | Last 60 credit hours | – | Continued |
| NV | Touro University Nevada | Will consider GPA from a Master’s level program or a cGPA of 3.0 or higher from at least one semester/term of a graduate-level program if GPA < 3.0 | GRE required | Continued |
| NY | Canisius College *** | Last 60 credit hours | – | Provisional |
| NY | Ithaca College *** | Overall GPA can be replaced by Grad GPA | – | Provisional |
| NY | Pace University- Pleasantville *** | GPA < 3.0 will be considered if applicant has completed a graduate degree in either biological or chemical sciences or obtained a Public Health degree | – | Probation |
| OH | Cedarville University *** | Last 40 credit hours | – | Provisional |
| OH | Mount St. Joseph University *** | GPAs will be calculated to represent the highest grade in every course retaken | GRE required | Continued |
| OH | Ohio University *** | Most recent grade may be taken into consideration if the applicant retakes prerequisite courses or a higher-level course | GRE required | Continued |
| OR | George Fox University | Last 60 credits considered if GPA < 3.0 | – | Provisional |
| OR | Oregon Health & Science University | If BCP GPA < 3.0, last 45 credits considered and must complete a minimum of 50 BCP credits | – | Continued |
| OR | Pacific University | Last 45 credit hours > 3.0 | – | Continued |
| PA | Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine *** | “Applicants who do not meet these minimum requirements (GPA of 3.0), but have a wide array of outstanding attributes, may be considered in the context of our holistic review.” | – | Continued |
| SC | North Greenville University | Last 60 credit hours | GRE required | Continued |
| SC | Presbyterian College *** | Takes the newer or better grade for prerequisite coursework | GRE required | Provisional |
| TX | University of Mary Hardin-Baylor | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | – | Provisional |
| TX | University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Last 60 credit hours > 3.0 | GRE required | Continued |
| UT | Utah Valley University | Last 60 credit hours if GPA 2.8 – 3.0 | – | Provisional |
| VA | Emory & Henry College | If cumulative undergraduate GPA, reevaluation may be possible upon request. | CASPer required | Continued |
| VA | James Madison University *** | Recommended overall GPA of 3.0, will consider proven continuous improvement | GRE required | Continued |
| VA | Radford University | Last 30 credit hours | – | Continued |
| VA | Shenandoah University | Last 15 credit hours of graduate-level coursework will be considered if cGPA & sGPA between 2.8 – 3.0 | – | Continued |
| WA | University of Washington | Last 60 credit hours | – | Continued |
| WI | University of Wisconsin – Madison *** | cGPA > 3.2, sGPA > 3.2 for the last 60 credit hours of biological and chemical coursework | CASPer required | Continued |
Final Thoughts
I hope this newly updated list can be of great assistance to you in your application. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or need some guidance in your pre-PA journey.
