Choosing Between Two PA Schools: What to Compare

Choosing Between Two PA Schools: What to Compare

Start with the four items ARC-PA requires every accredited PA program to publish: its accreditation status, the five-year NCCPA PANCE report, the graduation-rate table (both due by April 1 each year) and an estimate of the total cost of enrollment. Then compare the rotation and student policies the Standards require programs to publish.

Reputation, a friend's experience and a polished interview day come after. Two offers can look alike until you put the two programs' published numbers side by side, and our pick for the most useful number is not the pass rate but the attrition count next to it. This page lists where each item lives, how to read the PANCE and attrition reports correctly, the policy questions to ask in writing, and a comparison sheet you can fill in tonight. It does not rank programs.

The ARC-PA, NCCPA, CASPA and PAEA pages quoted below were checked on November 7, 2026. Programs post new PANCE and graduation data each spring, so pull the current files from each program's site before you decide. If one offer is from a newer program, read PA school provisional accreditation first.

On this page: The published-data checklist (ARC-PA Standard A3.11) · How to read the PANCE report · Read attrition next to the pass rate · Cost: the program's estimate, not the directory tuition · Rotations and student policies · Accreditation status and flags · How long you have to decide · A weighted comparison sheet · Questions about choosing a PA program

The published-data checklist (ARC-PA Standard A3.11)

ARC-PA's 6th-edition Standards, effective September 1, 2025 (PDF), say in A3.11 that "The program publishes and makes readily available to enrolled and prospective students current program information, including:" the items below. We added where to look for each.

Northwestern's PA program is one example of the layout: its FAQ links a "PANCE Data" PDF and a "Graduation and Attrition Data" PDF from the same page (Northwestern PA FAQ). If a program you hold an offer from has neither file where you can find it, ask the admissions office for both by email. It is required to publish them.

How to read the PANCE report

The report is generated by NCCPA, so every program's file has the same columns. The definitions printed at the end of the report (we read them on Northwestern's 2026 copy, printed 6/22/2026) matter more than the headline number:

• "Program Exam Pass Rate" is the "Percent of exams that were passed as compared to the number of exams that were administered to the class, including multiple exams taken by individual candidates." It counts exams, not people.
• "All takers include first time takers as well as those individuals in the class who repeated the exam one or more times." The First Time Takers row is the cleaner comparison between programs.
• "% of Candidates in the Class Who Ultimately Passed PANCE" counts people "regardless of the number of attempts". It counts everyone who passed on any attempt, so it can never be lower than the first-time rate and is the least useful number for comparing.
• Each row also prints a national pass rate for the class graduation year, so you can see each class against the national figure for the same year.

Read all five classes, not the latest. One class at 100% says little. A run of five tells you whether the program is steady.

Mind the class size. In a class of 36, one first-time failure moves the rate by about 2.8 points (our arithmetic: 1 ÷ 36). A small class can swing several points in a year without anything changing at the program.

ARC-PA also treats one line as a trigger. Its program FAQ says: "Any program with a PANCE pass rate percentage of 85% or less must submit an analysis of its PANCE performance to the ARC-PA". If a program you are considering has a class at or below 85%, ask what that analysis found and what changed.

Read attrition next to the pass rate

The graduation table uses ARC-PA's template. Its footnotes define the terms (from Northwestern's attrition report, dated 05/13/2026):

"*Attrition rate calculation: Number of students who attritted from cohort (decelerated + withdrawals + dismissals) divided by the (entering class size + number joining class cohort)."

The table also shows "Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA)" beside the actual entering class.

Our view: the attrition row is the number to compare first. The PANCE report covers the students who reached the exam. The attrition row shows how many of the entering class did not graduate with it, whether they slowed down, withdrew or were dismissed. A high pass rate with high attrition is a different program from a high pass rate with almost none. The countercase: for a program with one or two graduated classes, both numbers rest on very few students, so the policies below tell you more than either rate.

Cost: the program's estimate, not the directory tuition

A3.11 requires "estimates of the total cost of enrollment". That is the figure to compare, because tuition alone leaves out fees, equipment, rotation travel and living costs, and programs differ in length.

PAEA's Program Directory shows a "Tuition" field and a "Separate Tuition Rates" field on each program page, plus "Seat Deposit Cost" and "Refundable Seat Deposit". Programs report those fields themselves, so they are a first look. Use the program's own estimate for the decision. Deposit rules are covered in our PA school seat deposit guide.

Two cost questions to ask in writing:

1. Does the estimate include living costs during clinical rotations away from campus?
2. Is tuition fixed for the whole program, or set each year?

Rotations and student policies

The clinical year is where two programs with similar numbers can differ most, and the Standards make programs publish the rules for it. A3.08 requires "a policy stating that PA students are not required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors." A3.14 requires published policies on, among others:

• "requirements and deadlines for completion of the program"
• "policies and procedures for remediation"
• "policies and procedures for deceleration"
• "policy for student employment while enrolled in the program"
• "policy for student travel to required rotation sites"

Questions that turn those policies into a decision (ask them by email so you have the answers in writing):

1. Where are the required rotation sites, and how far from campus is the farthest one?
2. Who arranges housing for distant rotations, and who pays?
3. How are students assigned to sites, and can you request a region?
4. What happens after a failed course: remediation, deceleration or dismissal?
5. Can you work during the didactic year?

If you are still interviewing elsewhere, more are in questions to ask at a PA school interview.

Accreditation status and flags

Both programs should be on ARC-PA's currently accredited programs list. On November 7, 2026 it showed 248 Continued, 60 Provisional and 31 Probation rows (our count of 339 rows; the page header says 340). The list flags programs with letters. Its legend says "(F) indicates that a program may have a focused visit prior to its next ARC-PA review" and "(D) indicates that accreditation incorporates one or more distant campuses."

Probation is still accreditation. ARC-PA's student questions page says "those entering a program that is on probation are entering a program that is accredited." It is still a reason to ask the program what ARC-PA cited and what has changed. For provisional programs, the trade-offs are in PA school provisional accreditation.

How long you have to decide

PAEA's CASPA Admissions Code of Cooperation asks programs to "Notify applicants of acceptance in a timely manner and allow applicants at least two weeks to reply for acceptance." Your offer letter states your actual deadline.

The 2026-2027 CASPA Applicant Agreement (last updated January 22, 2026) adds a rule that changes how you hold two offers. Under section 23, PAEA tells each program that makes you an offer how many other acceptances you hold and whether you have accepted one, without naming the programs. The PA letter of intent guide quotes the clause in full.

Holding two seats is visible. Decide, deposit at one, and release the other using a short decline email. Section 20 also gives you five calendar days after you matriculate to tell every other program still considering you that you withdraw.

A weighted comparison sheet

Pick your own weights before you look at the numbers, so the sheet does not just confirm the program you already prefer. Use 1 (minor) to 3 (decisive).

Constructed example: two PA offers compared

Constructed example, written by us. Both programs and every number are invented.

Context (invented): Saoirse Lindgren holds offers from "Quarry Hill University" and "Coastline College". She cares most about finishing on time and about cost.

Reading it: Coastline is cheaper by $16,000 (our arithmetic), but it loses more students each year and sends students far without housing. Priya emails Coastline to ask how many of its attrition cases were decelerations and what distant rotation housing costs. If housing for a 210-mile rotation adds several thousand dollars and most attrition was dismissal, the cost gap narrows and the risk gap widens. She takes Quarry Hill.

Why this works: the weights were set first, every row is a number the program must publish or will answer in writing, and the call rests on the two rows she weighted highest.

Questions about choosing a PA program

What matters most when choosing a PA school?

The items ARC-PA makes every program publish: accreditation status, the five-year PANCE report, the graduation and attrition table, and the total cost estimate. Compare rotation and remediation policies next.

Is PANCE pass rate the best way to compare PA programs?

No. Use the first-time takers row for five classes, and read it next to attrition. The program pass rate counts exams, including repeats, not people.

How long do I have to accept a PA school offer?

Your offer letter sets it. PAEA's Code of Cooperation asks programs to allow "at least two weeks to reply for acceptance."

Can a PA program see my other acceptances?

It can see how many. Under section 23 of the CASPA Applicant Agreement, PAEA tells each program that makes you an offer the number of other acceptances you hold and whether you accepted one, without naming the programs.

Should I pick a cheaper PA school?

Compare the program's total cost estimate, not tuition, and add rotation housing and travel. A lower cost can be offset by distant rotations or a longer program.

Review the writing you send next

Choosing can leave you writing to a third program: one where you are still on the alternate list. Get a free Quick Review of your letter of interest before it goes out; GradPilot's letter of intent and interest rubric, built for MD and DO letters, reads whether your reason for that program is specific and whether your stated interest matches the offer you are already holding. The decline to the program you release needs no review: take it from the decline and withdraw emails.

If you hold an offer and sit on another program's alternate list, read PA school waitlist and alternate status and the PA letter of continued interest guide first. Once you accept, accepted to PA school: next steps lists what to finish before you start. More guides are in our medical school essays hub.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• ARC-PA, Accreditation Standards for PA Education, 6th edition (effective September 1, 2025): A3.08, A3.11, A3.14.
• ARC-PA, Currently accredited programs: status counts (our count), F and D legend.
• ARC-PA, Accredited PA program questions: the 85% PANCE analysis rule.
• ARC-PA, Student questions: probation is an accredited status.
• Northwestern University PA Program, Admissions FAQ, PANCE Exam Performance Summary Report (printed 6/22/2026) and student attrition report (05/13/2026): report layout and NCCPA and ARC-PA definitions.
• PAEA, Program Directory (2026-2027 cycle; self-reported by programs): tuition and deposit fields.
• PAEA, CASPA Admissions Code of Cooperation: two-week reply minimum.
• PAEA, 2026-2027 CASPA Applicant User Agreement and Release (last updated January 22, 2026): sections 20 and 23.