PA · Painesville, Ohio · private

Lake Erie College Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Lake Erie College asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 14 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

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Coursework

Biology with labrequiredextra here
lab
"Biology I & II with labs." Two semesters; credits not stated. B- minimum, within 7 years of application.
General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"General Chemistry I & II with labs." Two semesters; credits not stated. B- minimum, seven-year window.
Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
lab
"Organic Chemistry with lab," the one prerequisite where "C- or better" is accepted. Credits not stated; seven-year window applies.
Biochemistrynot required here
Not on Lake Erie's list; the chemistry asked for is two semesters of general chemistry plus one of organic.
English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
2 semesters · 6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
"English (no time limit)." Required here, exempt from the seven-year window. Credits not stated.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics." Credits not stated. B- minimum, seven-year window.
College mathematicsrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"College Algebra (no time limit)." Required alongside statistics, exempt from the seven-year window.
Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Psychology." Credits not stated. B- minimum, seven-year window.
Geneticsrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
Listed under "Recommended."
Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Human Anatomy & Physiology I & II with labs." Credits not stated. B- minimum, within 7 years of application.
Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Microbiology with lab." Credits not stated. B- minimum, seven-year window.
Medical terminologyrecommended
1 credits
Listed under "Recommended," not required.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
No separate patient care minimum. The 250-hour requirement is one combined healthcare experience number, recorded on the healthcare experience line, and "While shadowing a physician assistant or physician will meet this requirement, prior experiences where the applicant has assumed direct responsibility for patient care is preferred." Recent cohorts all exceeded 1,000 clinical hours.
Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers
250+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.
Combined figure; the program does not split patient care from other healthcare experience. FAQ: "250 hours of healthcare or patients experience is required in addition to 24 hours of PA shadowing." Paid or volunteer, including "shadowing a PA or physician in an office or hospital; volunteering or working as an emergency medical technician; working as a nurse, nurse's aide, respiratory therapist, paramedic, athletic trainer, pharmacy technician, scribe or other healthcare provider; or volunteering in a healthcare facility." Must be completed before matriculation.
PA shadowingrequireddiffers
24+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
"At least 24 hours of the 250 hours must be from direct shadowing of a licensed physician assistant, which may include virtual shadowing experiences." Documented on the program's Shadowing Hours Form and uploaded to CASPA; "Additional observation is encouraged."
Non-clinical volunteeringrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
No number: "A strong commitment to community service, volunteering, and serving others is highly valued throughout our selection process."

Letters

Science faculty letternot required here
The professor reference is any doctoral-level professor who taught the applicant, recorded on the faculty-any line.
Faculty letter (any discipline)requiredextra here
1 letter
"A college or university professor (doctoral-level) with whom the applicant completed a course." Any discipline.
PA letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
One clinician reference: "A licensed PA-C, MD, or DO." A physician's letter satisfies this line as well as a PA's.
Supervisor letternot required here
The third reference is "of the applicant's choice who can speak to academic performance, work ethic, or professionalism"; no supervisor is named.

Also on the school’s page

Lake Erie lists required courses without credit counts: "General Chemistry I & II with labs, Organic Chemistry with lab, Biology I & II with labs, Human Anatomy & Physiology I & II with labs, Microbiology with lab, Statistics, Psychology, English (no time limit), College Algebra (no time limit)." Recommended: Genetics and Medical Terminology. "All prerequisite coursework should be completed within 7 years before application, with a minimum grade of B- or better, except Organic Chemistry, which accepts C- or better. Substitutions may be considered individually." The FAQ adds that all prerequisites must be completed before May 15 of the matriculation year. Degree: "a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 as calculated by CASPA." Testing: Casper through Acuity Insights is required (code CSP-20100); the page does not mention the GRE or the PA-CAT. Healthcare experience is one combined 250-hour number that the program does not split into patient care and other healthcare work: the FAQ says "250 hours of healthcare or patients experience is required in addition to 24 hours of PA shadowing," while the admissions section says "At least 24 hours of the 250 hours must be from direct shadowing of a licensed physician assistant, which may include virtual shadowing experiences," so the page is internally inconsistent on whether the 24 shadowing hours sit inside or on top of the 250. Shadowing must be documented on the program's form and uploaded to CASPA, and "All shadowing and healthcare experience must be completed prior to matriculation." Three references, one from each category: a licensed PA-C, MD or DO; a doctoral-level professor who taught the applicant; and a reference of the applicant's choice. Applications must be received by November 1, with submission before September 1 strongly recommended under rolling admissions. Matriculants in 2024 to 2026 averaged GPAs of 3.53 to 3.57 and every cohort exceeded 1,000 clinical hours. An Early Acceptance Opportunity reserves up to four seats per cohort for Lake Erie undergraduates, who must hold a 3.5 GPA and complete 750 healthcare hours and 100 PA shadowing hours by matriculation.

School

lec.edu/pa

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