tbingold Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Hey guys, I am curious to know if anyone knows how much weight the school rankings actually hold in regard to getting a job post-graduation? I'm asking because I am very interested in a school due to its core values/mission/philosophy, its location, PANCE scores and from feedback I have received from current students. I would be so grateful to receive a chair in the class after my interview, but want to ensure I will be able to get a job regardless of its "ranking" that can be found online. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 The precious -C after your PA credentials has more weight :P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 To my knowledge...none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoopeda Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Are you referring to US News and World Report rankings? If so, please realize those rankings are completely arbitrary and contrived. They are literally determined in a vote by whatever PA program directors happen to vote that year. If any future employer takes these seriously, you ought not to trust said future employer. Rankings are a joke. Just pass your PANCE on the first try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 3, 2014 Moderator Share Posted November 3, 2014 Generally what you hear is "my school>your school". in all seriousness, there are some really great programs and some not so great programs out there with a very weak correlation to what USN&WR says is a good program. for example U.Wa was not even ranked until they started an MS program, then all of a suden they are a top 3 program.... guess what? they were a top 3 program when they offered a BS too but USN only ranks grad school programs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 The rankings are mostly irrelevant and have little bearing on the job hunt. The only different I've seen is students apply from a program which is known to have students rotating at the place they're applying. Then it can be a slight advantage, but not much. It's all about the "-C" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoopeda Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 One thing is sometimes true. A bunch of the top ranking schools have been established for a while. This means their alumni network is bigger than that of a younger school which could potentially mean better word of mouth job referrals. You'd have to look at the hiring rates for cold call vs word of mouth to see if this would be an advantage. This is more dependent on program size and age than ranking, but it's worth looking into. I suspect, however, with pas in such high demand, that pretty much everyone is getting a job upon graduation. That's what they're telling us at interviews and info sessions anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddisilvestro Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Officially, there is no weight placed on this, however, there may be employers in certain areas that draw specifically from programs near to them, or programs with 'higher ranking'. But I can't imagine that giving weight to one applicant for the position vs. another one because they went to a 'better' program occurs often, especially when there is NO official ranking of PA programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 5, 2014 Moderator Share Posted November 5, 2014 Officially, there is no weight placed on this, however, there may be employers in certain areas that draw specifically from programs near to them, or programs with 'higher ranking'. But I can't imagine that giving weight to one applicant for the position vs. another one because they went to a 'better' program occurs often, especially when there is NO official ranking of PA programs. I think "reputation of program" can be a factor for new grads, not so much for experienced folks. I went to a "big name school" and was told at several of my interviews right out of school that the reputation of my program had weight in the decision to interview me across country from where I went to school. I'm now in a position to screen applicants for job interviews and I tend to weigh prior HCE >rotation sites>program attended>Gpa/other factors. All else being equal, I would interview someone from a program I know has been around for a while and has a strong reputation vs a brand new program or one with a less than stellar reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z PA-C Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 If you're interested this was a good read and actually has a methodology supporting their ranking system. J Physician Assist Educ. 2010;21(4):30-6. A novel approach to ranking physician assistant programs. Van Rhee J1, Davanzo MJ. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paeaonline.org%2Findex.php%3Fht%3Daction%2FGetDocumentAction%2Fi%2F118967&ei=cKe0VOv-MIHXoAS15YJg&usg=AFQjCNHzgrMVbA9ti5-tMAEFWR5axlrf1g&sig2=3B_0CFioTt_jkHq5Y48ZJQ&bvm=bv.83339334,d.cGU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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