Physician Assistant (PA) programs have required the GRE as a standardized test for admission consideration for many years. However, beginning in spring 2020 some schools began requiring or preferring that applicants take the Physician Assistant College Admission Test (PA-CAT). Please be sure to check with the programs where you play to apply to determine if they require the GRE or the PA-CAT.
Health Careers Advising
Physician Assistant College Admission Test (PA-CAT)
The test is 4.5 hours and consists of 240 multiple choice questions from the following subjects: Anatomy, Physiology, General Biology, Biochemistry, General and Organic Chemistry, Microbiology, Behavioral Sciences, Genetics and Statistics.
Test takers receive scores for Anatomy & Physiology, Biology, Chemistry and a Composite Score. These are reported both as scaled scores and percentile ranks. The scaled scores range from 200 to 800 and are the total number of items answered correctly converted into a standardized scale to account for test form difficulty. Percentile Ranks (PR) indicate the percentage of test takers who earned a scaled score lower than a given score. The percentile ranks are updated to reflect all candidate results through the end of the month of the most recent exam. Scores are available within 8 weeks of taking the exam and are valid for two years. They will be reported on what the PA-CAT refers to as an Official Transcript and will be sent directly to the schools you have designated.
The PA-CAT Exam Master has created an extensive library of study resources structured as the Physician Assistant Pre-Matriculation Bootcamp along with study guides and practice exams. For competent test takers, 3-4 weeks is generally considered to be sufficient time to prepare for the PA-CAT. On the PA-CAT website, you can:
The most important timing consideration is not to take the exam until you are ready. If you are applying to schools with rolling admissions, you should take the PA-CAT as early in the cycle as you feel confident. Remember that there will be a gap of 8 weeks between taking the test and receiving your score. We recommend that you take it no later than May of the year in which you plan to apply, assuming you feel prepared.
Requests for special accommodations can be made on the PA-CAT website. Requests must be approved by the Exam Master, and tests should not be scheduled until approval has been received.
Exam Master for the PA-CAT offers a fee assistance program. Qualified candidates can receive $50 off the exam leaving them responsible for only $178 of the exam fees.
Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
The PA-CAT can be taken up to 3 times over the course of 12 months.
As of 2021, 30 schools were utilizing the PA-CAT as part of their admissions process. Of these schools, 15 also accept the GRE.
There is currently no comprehensive list of PA schools who require this exam. You can use the PA School Directory to research the requirements at each school.