A GUIDE FOR PARENTS OF FUTURE PAS
Your child wants to be a PA. Here is what that really means, and how you can help.
Physician assistants are one of the fastest-growing, best-paid careers in medicine, and getting into PA school is harder than most families expect. This page explains the profession in plain English, lays out the road to acceptance, and shows the specific ways parents make the biggest difference.
Not sure PA is the right path yet? Start with the "Is the PA Profession Right for You?" session.
THE PROFESSION
What exactly is a PA?
A PA (physician assistant, also called physician associate) is a licensed medical provider who diagnoses illness, orders and interprets tests, develops treatment plans, performs procedures, and prescribes medication. PAs train in the medical model, the same approach physicians use, and practice in collaboration with physicians across every specialty, from family medicine and dermatology to surgery, emergency medicine, and psychiatry.
$135,880
Median annual pay for PAs (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)
21% growth
Projected job growth from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average
About 27 months
Typical length of a master's-level PA program after a bachelor's degree
Every specialty
PAs can change specialties without retraining, a flexibility most medical careers do not offer
How PAs become PAs. After a bachelor's degree, students complete an accredited master's program (roughly two to three years of classroom study plus clinical rotations), pass a national certifying exam (the PANCE) to earn the PA-C credential, and obtain a state license. From there, PAs keep their certification through continuing education and periodic recertification.
Why so many students choose it. Compared with medical school, the PA route gets your child practicing medicine years sooner and with far less debt, while still offering a six-figure income, real clinical responsibility, and the freedom to move between specialties. It also tends to allow a more predictable schedule, which matters to students who want a life outside of medicine.
THE COMPARISON EVERY PARENT ASKS ABOUT
PA vs. physician vs. nurse practitioner
These three roles overlap in what they do day to day, but the path to each one looks very different. Here is the short version.
- Training: bachelor's degree, then a 2 to 3 year master's program
- Model: medical model, generalist training
- Specialty: choose after graduation and switch freely
- Total time after high school: about 6 to 7 years, plus patient care experience
- Training: bachelor's degree, 4 years of medical school, then 3 to 7 years of residency
- Model: medical model, deepest training and full autonomy
- Specialty: locked in at residency; switching means retraining
- Total time after high school: 11 to 15 years
- Training: nursing degree (BSN), RN experience, then a master's or doctorate in nursing
- Model: nursing model, population-focused (family, pediatrics, psychiatry, etc.)
- Specialty: chosen during school; changing usually requires another certification
- Total time after high school: about 6 to 8 years
Bottom line for parents: if your child wants to practice medicine, wants flexibility, and does not want to spend their twenties in training, PA is often the best fit. Our counselors talk through this exact decision with students every week.
WHAT YOUR STUDENT IS UP AGAINST
The road to PA school, step by step
PA school is competitive. Programs typically fill a small class from hundreds of applicants, and most successful students spend two or more years building their application before they ever apply. Here is what the journey involves.
Any major works, but programs look closely at the overall GPA and the science GPA. Prerequisite courses usually include anatomy, physiology, chemistry, biology, microbiology, statistics, and psychology. Grades earned early matter, so freshman and sophomore year count.
This is the requirement that surprises families most. Many programs expect 1,000 to 2,000 or more hours of direct patient care, earned in roles like medical assistant, EMT, CNA, scribe, or phlebotomist. Students often work these jobs during school, summers, or a gap year.
Admissions committees want proof your student understands what a PA actually does. That means shadowing PAs in multiple settings, being able to explain why PA and not MD or NP, and often documenting those hours in the application.
Some programs require the GRE or the PA-CAT; many have dropped testing entirely. Knowing which schools require what is part of building a smart school list.
Most PA programs use one centralized application (CASPA) that opens in late April each year. Many programs review applications on a rolling basis, so submitting early and complete matters. The application includes transcripts, experience hours, references, and the personal statement.
A 5,000-character essay that has to explain who your student is and why they belong in this profession, followed by school-specific supplemental essays. This is where strong applicants separate themselves, and where most students most need an experienced editor.
Programs interview only a fraction of applicants. Formats range from traditional one-on-one to group and multiple mini interviews (MMI), and preparation makes a measurable difference. Savanna wrote the bestselling book on PA school interviews for exactly this reason.
Acceptances arrive on a rolling basis from late summer through spring. Many excellent PAs did not get in on their first cycle. A reapplication done strategically, with honest feedback on what to fix, is very often successful.
Prefer to start free? Download our free application timeline or explore the PA Program Map to see every program by state.
YOUR ROLE
Where parents help most (and where to step back)
After more than a decade of working with pre-PA students, we have watched which kinds of parent support actually move the needle. It is not what most people assume.
- Make the experience hours possible. Helping your student get certified as an EMT or CNA, or supporting a gap year in a patient care job, is one of the highest-return things a family can do.
- Fund expert eyes, not just tuition. A few hours of professional counseling, essay editing, or interview coaching costs a fraction of one semester and can decide whether they apply once or twice.
- Be the calendar. Deadlines, prerequisite planning, and CASPA timing are where students slip. Gentle accountability on timeline is a real gift.
- Ask good questions. "Why PA and not NP?" "Which programs fit your stats?" Practicing those answers at the dinner table is interview prep.
- Normalize the long game. Two application cycles is common. A parent who treats a rejection as information, not failure, keeps a future PA in the game.
- The personal statement. Admissions readers can tell when a parent wrote or heavily edited an essay. Your student's voice has to carry it. Let a professional editor coach them instead.
- Contacting programs. Emails or calls from parents to admissions offices hurt applicants. Programs want to see an independent adult.
- Choosing the school list for them. Prestige is not the goal; fit and acceptance odds are. A counselor who knows the programs will build a list around your student's actual numbers.
- Managing every detail. The application process is itself a test of whether your student can run a complex project. Support the structure, then let them own it.
- Carrying the anxiety. This process is stressful for everyone. Students do better when at least one person at home is calm and steady.
HOW THE PA PLATFORM HELPS
Expert support at every stage, delivered by practicing PAs
Every service below is one-on-one with a board-certified PA who has been through this process and has coached students through it for years. You can purchase any of them for your student. Pick the stage they are in.
A focused counseling session with a practicing PA that walks your student through the real day-to-day of the job, pay, training, specialties, and lifestyle, and helps them decide with confidence. Ideal for high school and early college students, and a great one to sit in on together.
The session most families start with. Your student leaves with a personalized plan: which prerequisites to take and when, how to earn patient care hours, how competitive they are today, and exactly what to do before they apply. Available for freshmen through career changers.
Line-by-line editing and coaching from PAs who have read thousands of pre-PA essays. We sharpen the story, fix the structure, and protect your student's voice so it reads as theirs, because it is.
A realistic practice interview with a PA, followed by detailed feedback on content, delivery, and the questions your student stumbled on. Built on the same approach as Savanna's bestselling PA school interview book.
For students who want structure and community for the whole journey, not just one session. The Academy combines guided curriculum, live access to our team, and a community of other pre-PA students, so your student has accountability and answers all year long. Available as a monthly or lifetime membership, and the lifetime option includes one-on-one counseling sessions.
Want to see everything, including reapplicant strategy, school list sessions, and CASPA review? Browse all services.
WHO YOU ARE TRUSTING WITH THIS
The longest-running pre-PA mentoring service, started by a PA
The PA Platform was founded in 2015 by Savanna Perry, PA-C, a practicing dermatology PA and the author of the Amazon bestselling book on PA school interviews. Since then, our team of board-certified PAs has helped tens of thousands of students navigate the path to PA school. Every coach your student works with is a PA who has been where they are trying to go.
QUESTIONS PARENTS ASK US
Frequently asked questions
No. It is the ideal time to make sure PA is the right goal, choose a college and major with prerequisites in mind, and start planning how patient care hours will fit around school. The "Is the PA Profession Right for You?" session is designed for exactly this stage.
Yes. Purchase any service and your student can schedule it at a time that works for them. If you would like help setting it up or have questions before you buy, contact our team and we will walk you through it.
For counseling sessions, many families choose to have a parent listen in, especially with younger students. For essay editing and mock interviews, the work is between your student and their coach so the results reflect your student alone. Mention your preference when booking.
This is common, and it is fixable. A reapplicant strategy session identifies what actually held the application back, which is often different from what the student assumes, and builds a plan to address it before the next cycle. See reapplicant services.
Pricing for each service is shown when you click through to book. Every service is a one-time purchase with no subscription unless you choose the Academy membership.
Give your future PA an experienced guide.
The single most useful next step is a Pre-PA Counseling Session: one conversation with a practicing PA that turns a vague goal into a concrete, realistic plan your student can own.
Questions first? Contact our team. We are happy to talk with parents.
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