Pre-Requisite for PA Programs

[papplicant4190]

Hello, 

Do all universities require pre-reqs  be done in a US school?
I have a bachelors degree in physical therapy several pre -reqs were completed during my bachelors. 
During my PT license exam here in US all those were counted and I was given credit for them; but I am not sure when it comes to PA school ; will I have to redo all pre-reqs here in US or after WES evaluation whatever was credited ? Has anyone from Indian Medical school faced similar situation?

[Anachronist]

That will likely vary depending on the program, you could venture a call or email to specific ones and ask. CASPA does have a process for foreign transcript entry (that I believe is the similar across US universities.)

https://help.liaisonedu.com/CASPA_Applicant_Help_Center/Sending_Your_Official_Transcripts_and_Test_Scores_to_CASPA/Sending_Official_Transcripts_to_CASPA/Foreign_and_French-Canadian_Transcripts

[papplicant4190]

Thanks, I will contact all my universities after WES is completed (expecting next week ).They should be sending in my evaluated transcripts. 

This particular line shook me , and at its face value says , all the courses taken (anatomy,physio,chem,stats) in a non US college are no good and will have to be retaken. 

"All prerequisite work must be done at a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S." ; 

Found this one line in several universities FAQ section. 

[Anachronist]

Ahh yes that may indeed be the case for some (many?). I do wonder though, if you're "competitive" application wise, and you completed some of the prereqs with your bachelors in PT here in the US; often programs at least reserve the right to consider coursework on a case-by-case basis, so they may still consider it. And if you completed medical school in India, I would think that would carry some weight as far as undergraduate prerequisite coursework.

Just know that you'll have to jump through some extra hoops, but I would think you'd be able to find programs that will consider your application.

If you can, try and nail down some US standardized tests as a sort of "proof of knowledge" to include the GRE and if you can do well on it, the MCAT too (even though no PA program I know of requires it). If you did well on both of those, it would give admissions committees more confidence in your education.

We're also creeping into the mid-late application cycle, which isn't great, but if you do have to apply a second time around, you would have time this fall and next spring/summer to complete any non-US prerequisites at a community college.

Best of luck

(My fiancee is a foreign undergrad, and it was a long tedious process to get into a PhD program here in the US, she ended up getting a master's degree as a stepping stone; which depending on your situation might be worth considering, maybe a MPH and knock out those prereqs at the same time.)

[papplicant4190]

I do have a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Arcadia University and have GRE test scores and thousands of hours of direct patient care here in US as a therapist. Keeping my fingers crossed that it helps.
And I agree the mid-late application cycle life isn't ideal. Will create a thread eventually to know which schools are willing to accept prereqs from foreign institution after talking to some of them. 

Thanks again for the responses and best wishes.  

[papplicant4190]

For future this may be helful : For people with international bachelors 
1) Check with universities first , apart from 30-40 univs almost all univs require a US regionaly accredited degree  (none in NC, which is where I researched most)
2) Of the univs that accept non US Bachelors ; about 50% of them will require the pre-reqs be done in US institutions (no anatomy or physio no pre -reqs from non US are accepted , you could be a doctor , a nuerosurgeon , but you will have to do pre -reqs in US) So about 70 credits for most univs will have to be redone
3) Also check the requirements for time period for the remainder of colleges about 15 or so that will accept pre -reqs from international bachelors , about how long back will they accept ? 
All in all if you have non US bachelors, about 70% schools are not going to accept you, the remainder 30% will re quire you to do pre-reqs in US again (so plan about 2 years in advance)