Are pa schools with provisional accreditation generally easier to get into?

[TripleUpbeat]

I'm sure everyone suspects pa schools with provisional accreditation are easier to get into, but does anyone have any more info on this?

[rev ronin]

Revised answer, now that I re-read the question:

Provisional accreditation means "new school", but what I've been hearing is that new schools get as many or even more applicants than established schools, because a ton of weak students bombard them with applications on the assumption that new == easier to get into. I wouldn't bet on the field being any easier.

 

Original answer:

 

If you go to an interview at a school that is or has recently been on probation, pretend like it's the only place you ever wanted to go in the first place. Under no circumstances ask tough questions on your interview day, unless you just don't want to get an offer.

 

Having said that, if you did get an offer from such a school, I'd think really long and hard about accepting it.

[greenmood]

It depends. Some new schools don't manage to get it together for CASPA in time for the first year of applicants. I remember interviewing at Northwestern... they were admitting their second class and the students in the first class had much better odds than anyone in subsequent years because there was so much work involved in applying to the school without going through CASPA that fewer students did it. Rewards perseverance. Much harder to apply someplace when you can't just click a button.

 

Generally, I agree with rev ronin. People hear "new school" and think "risky". The weak applicants assume that means the strong ones won't bother, but people who really want to get in to PA school will apply everywhere. Maybe that new school isn't a strong applicant's first choice, but they still apply. No new school wants to start off with a weak class, so they don't have any incentive to admit the ones on the bottom. They want to make that program as attractive as possible to the shiniest stars.