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Hello everyone,

 

I was wondering if the ranking of the PA school you go to matters. US News has a ranking of PA schools - does anyone know whether this ranking system is a true reflection of the quality of education of the schools? Or of the quality of job offers you'd get after graduation? Thank you!

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I'm sure everyone else is passing over this because they do not want to waste their time. 

Here is the methodology US News uses to conduct their rankings:

 

"All the health rankings are based solely on the results of peer assessment surveys sent to deans, other administrators and/or faculty at accredited degree programs or schools in each discipline. All schools surveyed in a discipline were sent the same number of surveys.

 

Respondents rated the academic quality of programs on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding). They were instructed to select "don't know" if they did not have enough knowledge to rate a program. Only fully accredited programs in good standing during the survey period are ranked. Those schools with the highest average scores appear in the rankings."

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Hello everyone,

 

I was wondering if the ranking of the PA school you go to matters. US News has a ranking of PA schools - does anyone know whether this ranking system is a true reflection of the quality of education of the schools? Or of the quality of job offers you'd get after graduation? Thank you!

It's a subjective rather than objective ranking.

 

No, it's pretty much meaningless.

 

 

Sent from the Satellite of Love using Tapatalk

 

 

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The US News Report is really more of a popularity contest. Though looking at it, I will say many of the top schools are listed in the top 25. I wouldn't worry about getting into the 38th ranked school over the 68th though. Spend some time on this forum and you will learn some of the best schools. Pick a school you fit into well, has a solid PANCE pass rate, and that you can afford (though these days, that's becoming harder with the inflated prices of some of these schools).

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Hello everyone,

 

I was wondering if the ranking of the PA school you go to matters. US News has a ranking of PA schools - does anyone know whether this ranking system is a true reflection of the quality of education of the schools? Or of the quality of job offers you'd get after graduation? Thank you!

 

Well, my school is ranked pretty poorly. I received a military scholarship that paid off almost all of my tuition. My friends that graduated in my class now work in neurosurgery, orthopedics, general surgery, dermatology, and plastics. 

 

So it seems like it doesn't matter at all....

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Funny that Duke always gets that top ranking. Wonder if they get a bye considering it was where the profession was born......

USN&WR methodology is crap. They send surveys to other programs and ask them to rank each other based upon what criteria? And the respondents know this how? Its a popularity contest, not a scientific observation.

 

Important things to consider in a PA program:

 

1. Accredited by ARC-PA.

2. Affordable (or at least you can justify the price tag in your mind).

3. PANCE pass rate for last 3-5 years. 

4. Geographic fit ie do you want to be near home or do you want to be across the country from home?

5. Enough QUALITY rotation sites for the class.

6. They said yes, you can attend!

 

I think #5 is always overlooked but is the most important of all. The didactic year is where your knowledge base is started and is indicative how good a classroom learner one is but the clinical year is what makes you into a PA and a clinician, then you just have to pass the tests.

 

Reminder, every PA program has it's quirks and issues. Just focus on the endpoint: get decent grades, pass written and performance tests, gain knowledge, develop competent skills, get the -C.

 

Good luck.

George Brothers PA-C

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest wilsonct

National first time pass rates averages range from 91% to 94% for all takers over the last 5 years. Keeping all other variables constant - money, location, etc do want to go to a program like Quinnipiac University with 92-100% first time pass rate over the same period, or Shenandoah University with a 94-100% first time pass rate, or the University of Bridgeport with a 42% first time pass rate in 2013 when the national average was 94% ???

 

US News is famous for its ranking of all levels of education - and infamous at the same time - because there is nothing scientific about the process - just a beauty pageant based on what one school thinks it knows about another. The best objective information available is the program PANCE pass rate compared to national averages. 

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My PA school was "Top 15" and that was useful to me just a handful of times:

 

  • When I had applied and got an interview, it made me feel special.
  • When I was waiting to hear if I got in, I could say "well, it's a top 15 school, if I don't get in that doesn't mean I'm a bad applicant, just that I need to aim lower."
  • When I got in, it made me feel special.
  • When I realized that the MD program at the same school was NOT a top-tier program, it allowed for snarky comments about how easy the MD students had it compared to us. (I'm not sure any of it was true in a meaningful way, but as a coping mechanism it was pretty okay)
  • When I was having a tough time, I could think, "well, it's a top-tier school; of course it's difficult."

 

After I graduated, and probaby some time before that, I stopped caring. Which was pretty much when I realized nobody else cared, either. And most of them probably never had.

 

Which is how it should be. Rankings are silly.

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Hey there Pre-PAs! I'm a first year student at Touro University of Nevada, and in line with this thread topic, I keep a blog in which I write about everything that's going on with me on a weekly basis in and out of PA school. If you're at interested at seeing what it's all about, check it out sometime! Best of luck on your applications and interviews! This is an amazing field -- you won't be disappointed!

Link to my blog: ReviewOfSystems.WordPress.com

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Hey there Pre-PAs! I'm a first year student at Touro University of Nevada, and in line with this thread topic, I keep a blog in which I write about everything that's going on with me on a weekly basis in and out of PA school. If you're at interested at seeing what it's all about, check it out sometime! Best of luck on your applications and interviews! This is an amazing field -- you won't be disappointed!

 

Link to my blog: ReviewOfSystems.WordPress.com

 

I read your blog just FYI. I will be starting PA school in the fall at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. You write well and it is interesting see what the life of a PA student is like as I will be there shortly. Keep up the good work.

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Hey there Pre-PAs! I'm a first year student at Touro University of Nevada, and in line with this thread topic, I keep a blog in which I write about everything that's going on with me on a weekly basis in and out of PA school. If you're at interested at seeing what it's all about, check it out sometime! Best of luck on your applications and interviews! This is an amazing field -- you won't be disappointed!

 

 

How is that in line with this thread's topic?

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

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How is that in line with this thread's topic?

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Yes, AAmbrosino, it's cool to hear from you but please be careful to pick your targets well, and don't run the risk of appearing as though you are just spamming. Wouldn't want you to get the ban-hammer upside your business.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Rankings? Don't matter.

 

School reputation can help with getting your first job. Both job offers/interviews I have had were a direct result of my schools reputation (this was actually said by hiring people. Both jobs were hard to get jobs as a new grad due to specialty or location.

 

I can't imagine it makes a huge difference past your first job, and even people from the lowest ranked school can get amazing jobs right out of school. It is not like law school where only the top 25% of the top 10 schools get good jobs.

 

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey there Pre-PAs! I'm a first year student at Touro University of Nevada, and in line with this thread topic, I keep a blog in which I write about everything that's going on with me on a weekly basis in and out of PA school. If you're at interested at seeing what it's all about, check it out sometime! Best of luck on your applications and interviews! This is an amazing field -- you won't be disappointed!

 

Link to my blog: ReviewOfSystems.WordPress.com

I just read this some of this blog, too. I couldn't help laughing because I was reading your post about charts and outlines while I had my chart and outline (on pituitary functions and disorders) open in an adjacent window. It's interesting to see two PA students who have progressed about the same length through their training using similar study methods, but have never met. (Sorry about the run on sentence.)

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Something to keep in mind...professional schools like business and law schools host interview days and employers from around the country send recruiters to meet with interested students. Naturally, they are looking for the best students from the best schools. It makes a difference what school you go to, particularly if you are in the top quartile of your class. I haven't yet heard of a hospital, let alone urgent care clinic, in California, sending recruiters to top schools to recruit the best PA students. It's just the way society values people. Law and business graduates aren't smarter than PAs but they can generate a lot more money so they get to go for the brass ring. I doubt that school ranking has ever been much of a factor in hiring a PA.

There can also be a BIG difference in starting pay for top business and law students. For PAs, the specialty you work in can affect your pay but, within a specialty, any pay difference is unlikely to be affected by the school you attend.

Finally, aside from the meaningless USN&WR rankings, most people rank highest, schools with multiple great graduate and undergrad programs (law, business, medicine, engineering, etc) and will attribute that ranking to all of their programs.

Sent from my Kindle Fire HDX using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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