Applying · Guide

How to choose a PA program

By The Prereq Club, a pre-PA student and her mom (not PAs or admissions advisers). Every figure below names its source and the month we checked it: October 2026.

Short answer

Start with what you can't change later: the program must be accredited by ARC-PA when you matriculate, or you won't be eligible for the PANCE. Then compare each program's accreditation status, its graduates' PANCE results and graduation rates (which accredited programs must make available), its total cost, and whether you meet its requirements.

1. Accreditation status

NCCPA requires graduation from an entry-level program accredited by ARC-PA, and counts you as a graduate of an accredited program if the program was accredited when you matriculated. ARC-PA's main statuses:

StatusWhat ARC-PA says it means
Accreditation-ContinuedRemains in effect until the program closes or withdraws, or until accreditation is withdrawn for failing to comply with the Standards
Accreditation-ProvisionalFor new programs whose plans appear to meet the Standards. It lasts until the program earns Accreditation-Continued after its third review (or closes, withdraws or loses accreditation), so a program can still be provisional after its first class graduates. It "does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status" and is limited to no more than five years from the first class's matriculation
Accreditation-ProbationA temporary status, initially at least two years, which ARC-PA can extend by up to two more years, given at ARC-PA's discretion when a program doesn't meet the Standards or its ability to provide an acceptable education is threatened. ARC-PA says probation "is an active accreditation status," but a program that doesn't comply in time may get a focused site visit and is subject to having its accreditation withdrawn
Accreditation-Administrative ProbationA temporary status for not meeting an administrative requirement, such as paying fees or submitting required reports

ARC-PA's status page also explains markers on its program list, such as (F) for a focused visit that may happen before the next review. ARC-PA usually updates its site within 5 to 6 weeks of a commission meeting, and a program's status can change after you enroll, so check again before you pay a deposit and before you start.

If a program is on probation or provisional, ask what the issues were, what its timeline is, and what its plan is if it closes or loses accreditation. ARC-PA tells students only that they "will be informed of the next steps" if a program loses accreditation. Its handbook explains how other programs can accept students from a closing program, but each must follow its own admissions and advanced-placement rules, so a transfer isn't guaranteed and the real risk is a disrupted education.

2. PANCE results and graduation rates

Under ARC-PA's 6th edition Standards, programs must publish and make readily available NCCPA's five-year PANCE Exam Performance Summary Report (A3.11c) and their current annual graduation rate information (A3.11i), no later than April 1 each year. ARC-PA's handbook says this doesn't have to be on the program's website, so ask if you can't find it. If a cohort's first-time pass rate is 85% or less (or any single campus's, for programs with more than one campus), the program must send ARC-PA an analysis. Its report lists each campus separately, so check the campus you'd attend. Compare the first-time-taker results with the national first-time rate for the same year: 91.5% in 2025. New programs won't have results yet.

3. Clinical rotations

Programs must publish a policy stating that students aren't required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors (A3.08). Ask how the program places students and where rotations happen, since travel and housing can add cost.

4. Cost, and whether you qualify

  • Total cost: tuition, fees and living costs for the whole program. See the 2026 loan limits guide for what federal loans may cover.
  • Requirements: GPA minimums, patient care hours, prerequisites and time limits, tests, letters and deadlines. Applying where you don't qualify costs CASPA's per-program fee, any supplemental fee, and your time.

Your checklist for each program

  1. Current ARC-PA status, any markers, its next review date, and its history.
  2. The five-year PANCE report and graduation rates, comparing first-time results with the national first-time rate for the same years.
  3. How rotation sites are assigned and where they are.
  4. Total cost for the whole program, and the loan limit its financial aid office applies.
  5. Every admissions requirement, checked against your own record.

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Quick answers

Can you take the PANCE if your PA program is on probation?

ARC-PA says probation is an active accreditation status, and NCCPA requires that your program was accredited when you matriculated. But a program on probation that doesn't comply in time may have its accreditation withdrawn, so ask the program about the issues and its plans, and check NCCPA's eligibility rules.

What does provisional accreditation mean for a PA program?

ARC-PA grants Accreditation-Provisional to new programs whose plans appear to meet its Standards. It lasts until the program earns Accreditation-Continued after its third review, and ARC-PA says it "does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status."

Where can I find a PA program's PANCE pass rate?

ARC-PA requires accredited programs to publish and make readily available NCCPA's five-year PANCE Exam Performance Summary Report by April 1 each year. It doesn't have to be on the program's website, so ask the program if you can't find it.

Sources (all opened October 2026)

Rules can change from one cycle to the next. Before you count on any of this, check each program's own admissions page or email the program. This guide is educational only and isn't admissions advice.