University of Toronto PA Program: Aurthi's Acceptance Story

By: Savanna Perry, PA-C

TL;DR

Aurthi applied to ten PA programs — three in Canada and seven in the United States — received three interviews, and was offered a seat at all three, enrolling at the University of Toronto. She had a 3.61 cGPA, roughly 1,500 HCE and 1,200 PCE hours, and 1,500 volunteer hours. Her biochemistry grade fell below what Manitoba considered competitive, and her healthcare hours were light for several US programs. Her spreadsheet method for mining your own experiences is the standout tip.

Last Updated: August 2, 2026

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How many programs did you apply to?

2 in Ontario: University of Toronto and McMaster University

1 in Manitoba: University of Manitoba (Total 3 in Canada)

7 in USA: Augsburg College, Hofstra University, Rutgers University, Northeastern University, Pace University, Le Moyne College, Pacific University of Oregon

In this post:

How many programs did you interview with and what were the outcomes?

3 interviews and 3 offers

In Our Experience

In our experience at The PA Platform, Aurthi's experience spreadsheet is the single most useful preparation tool in this post. Columns for experience, hours, reference, skills learned, and examples force you to convert a list of jobs into a bank of specific stories you can pull from for your personal statement, supplemental essays, and interview scenarios. Most applicants never do this and end up giving vague answers about experiences they actually learned a great deal from. Her cross-border application strategy is also instructive — Canadian and US programs have genuinely different requirements, and applying to both means tracking two sets of rules.

Where will you be attending?

Currently a first year PA Student at the University of Toronto (Canada)

Every Pre-PA Should Know...

Aurthi received offers from all three programs that interviewed her, on her first cycle, with only 40 shadowing hours. She also warns that over-preparing made her first interview feel scripted. [VERIFY] Confirm the University of Toronto PA program's current admissions requirements.

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Any red flags on your application?

My biochemistry mark was below what is considered “competitive” for prerequisites to apply to University of Manitoba

Did not have a competitive number of healthcare hours to apply to the States (some universities required at least 2000 hours to be considered “competitive”)

Anything you found surprising about interviews?

It is possible to over-prepare for interviews and come across “scripted”—after my first interview, I had to step back a bit to find the perfect balance between preparing adequately but also going with the flow during the interview, so it’s more natural.

Were there any helpful resources (books, websites, apps) you used to get through prerequisite courses, the application or interview process?

Doing Right

MMI for the Mind

Kira Talent (for McMaster Supplemental App)

Practicing interview questions with friends/family (over skype/in-person) and asking for feedback.

Any other advice for other pre-PA students?

Make sure you do your research thoroughly for any school you want to apply to and for the PA profession (especially considering it’s a growing profession in Canada)

Take time to reflect on your healthcare experiences and try to come up with the skills/lessons you learned from each experience so that you can utilize them to write your personal statement, answer essay questions or apply it to a scenario during interviews. To do this, I used an excel spreadsheet with the following columns: experience, hours, reference, skills learning, examples.

If you can, try to shadow a PA in order to observe what they do in a clinical setting (and in different specialties if possible), to confirm it is the right career for you

Where can we find you? (website, instagram, etc)

Instagram: @aurthi.pa

Need to Know:

Undergraduate education: BSc. Honours Specialization in Kinesiology & Minor in Medical Sciences
Overall GPA: cGPA 3.61
Total HCE hours: ~1500 hours
Total PCE hours: ~1200 hours
Shadowing hours: 40 hours (Shadowing PA)
Other volunteer hours: 1500 hours (Habitat for Humanity Mission Trips, USC – Ethnocultural Support Services, Air Cadets, Burlington Green, etc.)
LORs: 3 (Professor, Varsity Tennis Coach, Physiotherapist I worked with as a Kinesiologist)
How many times did you apply?: 1
Age: 23
Gender: Female

FAQ

How do you apply to PA school in Canada?

Canadian programs use their own application systems rather than CASPA and have distinct requirements. Aurthi applied to the University of Toronto, McMaster, and the University of Manitoba — McMaster required a Kira Talent supplemental assessment. Research each program's process individually.

What GPA do you need for the University of Toronto PA program?

Aurthi was accepted with a 3.61 cumulative GPA. [VERIFY] Confirm the University of Toronto's current published admissions requirements directly with the program.

Can you apply to both Canadian and US PA programs?

Yes. Aurthi applied to three Canadian and seven US programs in one cycle. Be aware that requirements differ significantly — her healthcare hours were competitive in Canada but light for several US programs that expected 2,000 or more.

Can you over-prepare for a PA school interview?

Yes. Aurthi found that heavy preparation made her first interview sound scripted, and she deliberately loosened her approach afterward. Prepare your content and know your stories, but let the conversation move naturally rather than delivering memorized answers.

How do you organize your experiences for a PA school application?

Aurthi built a spreadsheet with columns for experience, hours, reference, skills learned, and examples. This turns a list of roles into a bank of concrete stories you can draw on for your personal statement, essay questions, and interview scenarios.

How can I be featured in an Accepted! post?

Email [email protected] or use the contact form at The PA Platform to share your acceptance story.

CLOSING

Aurthi went three for three on offers in her first cycle, across two countries' application systems. Her spreadsheet habit is worth copying before you write a single word of your personal statement: list every experience, then write down what you actually learned from each one.

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University of Toronto PA Program: Aurthi's Acceptance Story