Does PA school matter in your subsequent employment?

[tunafish]

Looking for an advice from experienced PAs. I applied to several schools this cycle and was wondering if school ranking really matter for your job hunting later after graduation? I talked to many docs with mixed responses and several PAs, who all graduated from the same school, so no objectivity here. I know it probably depends where and what you are planning to do afterwards, but in any case, what is your opinion? What to focus on the most when choosing your program? PANCE pass rate (yet I see there are years where EMORY has less than 90% pass rate and some no name uni has 100%). Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Tried to search for a similar thread but had no luck.

[UGoLong]

This topic comes up quite a bit, not just for PAs but for other professions as well. I've had a number of careers and, thus far, I haven't seen where you went to school being the major determinant of future career success.

 

There are many factors I think someone should consider in selecting a school (yep: you're still the customer here!), including:

 

- likelihood of getting to become a PA-C (PANCE pass rate)

- supportive nature of the program (weed you out attitude versus helping you succeed)

- Cost

- distance from home (and/or any other personal factors you might have)

- quality and variety of clinical rotations

- your personal chemistry with the faculty members

 

If you can satisfy these requirements -- and any others you might have -- then you might want to consider reputation, but I still wouldn't crawl over broken glass to go to a school you think might have a better reputation.

 

Good luck!

[HJK]

Unless one of top schools such as Yale, Duke and etc, I think the cost should matter the most. Had been accepted by three, one near NYC, one near Philly and the other on WV. Ended up saving at least $20k in living cost along, passed PANCE and working as EMPA just fine. What you do in school should matter more than where I think.

[JohnnyM2]

In some professions, where you went to school really matters. If you want to work at Goldman Sachs you better have an MBA from one of the top tier MBA programs or have some other "in". In the PA profession, I would guess that most people who are hiring don't really know the differences between schools though if you are looking for a PA job in a town or city with a PA school, employers might show some preference for their local school because they want to support it. It might also matter somewhat if you plan to eventually go into teaching but I doubt it. The previous responses are right on. Make sure the school works for you financially and that you like the environment and the entire teaching program including clinical rotations.

[KCMA79]

It has been my experience that what school you go to doesn't really matter.  As far PANCE pass rates some schools teach the PANCE while some teach medicine.  Big difference.

[rcreek]

If you are planning on doing a PA residency after PA school, I have heard that it could be considered with your application.

 

In any case, I think you should choose the program that will give you the biggest return on your investment - where you feel you are a good fit and would receive the best education for the lowest cost.

 

Some people say that as long as the PA program you attend is accredited that you will receive a good education, but I STRONGLY disagree.

[EMEDPA]

_{I think if your program is a big name program it can help you get the first job. after that it is up to you. at my interview for my first job the doc who would become my sp had been impressed that I went to hahnemann. he said" hey, that's a great school, I tried to get into their medschool but they wouldn't even interview me".}

[True Anomaly]

If you are planning on doing a PA residency after PA school, I have heard that it could be considered with your application.

Everything could be considered on an application, but where I went to PA school mattered nil when I was applying for residency. Many other factors are more important.

[AREID]

I wouldn't worry too much about the name. Haven't seen it be an issue or ever really brought up. I think having good clinical sites and a high PANCE pass rate are the most important. You need to pass PANCE to get licensed and seeing patients are what will teach you how to practice. The more you do the more you learn. Goodluck!

 

 

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[taotaox1]

My impression is a couple of school names might help you get a foot in the door for an interview, but it is pretty unimportant overall. Kind of like the GRE when applying for school... Good scores can help a tiny bit, but average scores don't really hurt.

 

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[rcreek]

Everything could be considered on an application, but where I went to PA school mattered nil when I was applying for residency. Many other factors are more important.

 

That's good to hear because at this point I am certain that I am going to do a residency after I graduate in 2016.