PA · Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania · private
Elizabethtown College Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Etown asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 9 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
6 credits · lab
"A minimum of 6 credits in General Biology with labs."
- General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"A minimum of 3 credits in General Chemistry with a lab." One semester, not the full sequence.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
3 credits · lab
"A minimum of 3 credits in Organic Chemistry with a lab." Required alongside biochemistry, not instead of it.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"A minimum of 3 credits in Biochemistry." No lab.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
Not on Etown's prerequisite list.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"A minimum of 3 credits in Statistics."
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"A minimum of 3 credits in General/Introductory Psychology."
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"A minimum of 6 credits in Anatomy and Physiology with labs." No recency window is stated.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"A minimum of 3 credits in Microbiology with a lab."
- Medical terminologynot required here
Not on Etown's prerequisite list.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
No separate minimum: direct patient care is the uncapped category inside the 200-hour healthcare exposure requirement. "Direct Patient Care (unlimited): Certified Nursing Assistant, Medical Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Nurse, Physical Therapist, Physical Therapy Assistant, Occupational Therapist, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Military Corpsman, Emergency Medical Technician, Paramedic, Respiratory Therapist, Speech Therapist, Surgical Technician, Phlebotomist, Radiology Technician, Athletic Trainer, Medical Scribe." Because the other categories are capped, most of the 200 has to come from here.
- Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers
200+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.
Etown publishes one combined figure: "Students must complete a minimum of 200 healthcare exposure hours to satisfy requirements for application to the PA program. Healthcare exposure hours must be submitted prior to published deadlines." Within it, "Partial Patient Care (maximum 50 hours): Perfusionist, Laboratory Technician, Orderly/Transporter"; "Medical Experience without Patient Contact (maximum 25 hours): Pharmaceutical Representative, Medical Research, Pharmacy Technician"; observation capped at 50 hours total. The Admissions Guide interview rubric scores 200 to 500 hours at 1 point, 501 to 1000 at 2, 1001 to 3000 at 3, and more above that.
- PA shadowingrequireddiffers
20+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
"Observation (must have 20 hours shadowing a PA-C, maximum total of all observation 50 hours): Physician Assistant (minimum 20 hours required), Physician, Nurse Practitioner, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Nurse Midwife." These hours count toward the 200 healthcare exposure hours.
Letters
- Science faculty letterrecommended
No published minimum
Only a handful of programs require a science faculty letter by name. An academic letter is welcome nearly everywhere and mandatory almost nowhere.
- PA letterrecommended
No published minimum
Fewer than a third of programs require a letter from a PA. Most ask for a clinician letter that a PA, physician or nurse practitioner satisfies equally, so a PA letter is usually sufficient and rarely necessary.
- Supervisor letterrecommended
No published minimum
A letter from a work supervisor is required by about a quarter of programs. Many name no writer category at all and simply ask for three letters.
Also on the school’s page
Etown's graduate prerequisite list, in its own words: "A minimum of 6 credits in General Biology with labs; A minimum of 6 credits in Anatomy and Physiology with labs; A minimum of 3 credits in Microbiology with a lab; A minimum of 3 credits in General Chemistry with a lab; A minimum of 3 credits in Organic Chemistry with a lab; A minimum of 3 credits in Biochemistry; A minimum of 3 credits in Statistics; A minimum of 3 credits in General/Introductory Psychology." "Dual enrollment and AP credits for the graduate program prerequisite courses are not accepted." "Pre-Requisite GPA must be at least 3.0 with an overall GPA of 3.0 and no course grade below a C." No recency window is stated. A bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. college or university is required. Testing: "Students applying to the Physician Assistant program as Graduate Students are required to submit GRE scores with their application and report their scores to ETS code 2225. Ideally, a student should have a composite score of 300. The MCAT can be submitted in place of the GRE, with an ideal score of 500. GREs are not required for any applicant that has a completed Master's or Doctorate Degree." No PA-CAT or CASPer is mentioned. Experience: "Students must complete a minimum of 200 healthcare exposure hours to satisfy requirements for application", with category caps and a 20-hour PA shadowing floor, and the interview scoring rubric in the Admissions Guide awards more points from 501 hours upward. The page says nothing about letters of recommendation, so the baseline letter lines are left untouched here. Applications go through Elizabethtown College directly rather than CASPA; the 2027 cycle opened March 1, 2026 with an August 15, 2026 deadline, interviews in late August through October, and classes beginning July 2027. Etown graduates and veterans who served in a medical capacity and meet the minimum criteria are guaranteed an interview. The program holds ARC-PA Accreditation-Provisional status.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Etown still needs from you.
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