Asheville FAQ

A Physician Assistant or (PA) works with a physician in a variety of clinical settings. Physician Assistants are trained to assess healthcare issues, to perform physical exams, provide preventative care, to counsel behavioral health issues and to diagnose and treat acute and chronic illnesses and injuries. There are over 100,000 practicing Physician Assistants serving in private practice, in the military and federal government, in clinics and hospitals, community and rural clinics and hospitals and overseas.

South College’s Masters of Health Science, School of Physician Assistant Studies is very competitive. Applicants are required to have an undergraduate degree and the prerequisite courses listed here. Applicants should have experience within the medical field supervised by a healthcare provider such as a physician or physician assistant. Candidates should have personalities which demonstrate good working relationships with patients and co-workers. Physician assistant students must have coping abilities in order to succeed in this rigorous 27-month program.

No. While Physician Assistants are licensed to practice in the United States, each state has specific regulations regarding licensing and limitations of health care providers. This information is available through each state’s licensing medical board. Information regarding practice and prescriptive rights for each state may also be obtained through the American Academy of Physician Assistants.

You will be notified only when you application is complete.

As a rule of thumb, we send out notifications once your file is complete and ready for review. Interviews are held throughout the year and applicants selected to interview are notified prior to their interview date. Due to the large number of applications that we receive each year, we are unable to give individual status updates during the application process. Status updates will be sent to all applicants by October.

 

You can update you file by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

 

No. The GRE is the required test.

Yes. The GRE test is required from all applicants.

Most graduate level educational programs require the GRE in order to determine if a candidate has the aptitude to be successful in an intensive program of study that requires higher order thinking and problem solving. The GRE scores assist the Admissions Committee in evaluating each candidate’s academic ability and supplement the information we can gain from review of the overall grade point average and transcript. Additional information about the GRE can be obtained at http://www.gre.org/.

No.

We will use the highest score from each section of the test.

Yes, ETS does not keep GRE scores over 5 years.

Yes. We will not accept a GRE score without analytical writing.

• South College, Asheville: 5009

We average all completed courses, excluding all courses that have been retaken.

The minimum GPA required for application is 2.75 and the average class GPA varies above that for each class we have accepted. We focus on your academic preparation in total and other areas such as references, background in healthcare, and your passion for being a PA, not just the GPA.

The minimum GPA that an applicant must have is a 2.75 overall science and cumulative.

The majority of our accepted students have had direct patient care experience.

One option is to take a certificate course to become a CNA OR EMT and maintain employment.

During a full admissions cycle, we expect to receive 2000+ applications.

 

As many as we feel are necessary to fill our class.

We are working to have the resources to admit 85 students per cohort.

 

We always have a large wait-list and use it when needed. The number varies with the number of candidates we interview.

Yes. Every year we will pull from the wait-list.

October 1st

 

 

Applications are reviewed relative to undergraduate cumulative and pre-requisite course GPAs, health care experience (military or civilian), letters of recommendation, GRE scores, shadowing hours, attainment of Master’s or Doctoral degree, and completion of recommended coursework in addition to prerequisites. Strongly suggested courses include genetics, immunology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, physics, and other advanced biology or chemistry courses.  Additional consideration is given to veteran applicants, particularly those with military medical experience.  Personal interviews with the principal Physician Assistant faculty and clinicians from the community will be required for final admission and will be offered only to the most qualified individuals.

No. A lab component is required.

Yes, for Biology II with approval. Please send course syllabus to [email protected] for review.

 

Yes. You can be in the process of finishing your pre-requisites while applying to the program; however, you must successfully complete those courses prior to the start of classes. With that said, it is preferable that you have all pre-requisites completed prior to the November 1 deadline as that will make you a more competitive candidate. All coursework must be successfully completed before the start of the PA program.

 

 

We only accept Advanced Placement credits that are on an official transcript from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States.

In order to be eligible for admittance into our program, every applicant must have a Baccalaureate Degree from a regionally accredited school in the United States.

The VET-UP program has been set up for those medics and corpsmen who have prior military medical experience. Please click here for more information.

We hold information sessions quarterly, during which you will see a presentation on our program and have an opportunity to ask questions. Dates and times of the information sessions can be found here.

Due to the intensive nature of our courses, we believe this would be too much of a distraction to the students and therefore do not allow anyone to sit in on a class.

The Physician Assistant Program at South College is 27 months in duration of approximately 15 months of didactic and 12 months of clinical studies.

 

No. Our program requires full-time attendance for 27 months.

 

Students are not permitted to work in a full-time status while attending the Physician Assistant Program. The intensity of the curriculum is such that employment outside of class time will negatively impact academic and clinical performance.

There are several Apartment Guides for Asheville. Here are a few resources that may be helpful:

https://apartmentguide.com/apartments/north-carolina/asheville

https://www.apartments.com/asheville-nc/

https://www.rentcafe.com/apartments-for-rent/us/nc/asheville/

https://www.ashevillenc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Guide-to-Asheville-Affordable-Housing.pdf

 

Content is delivered in a variety of formats, including online.

 

An Adjunct Clinical Preceptor is a licensed health professional who provides clinical education to students in their area of expertise. Clinical preceptors assist students in strengthening their foundations in physical exams, problem assessment, diagnosis, procedural skills, treatment, recording and reporting, and consulting. Preceptors are mentors and role models who instruct the student academic and clinical environment. Preceptors receive guidance from academic and clinical objectives provided by the South College, School of Physician Assistant Studies.

Some of the responsibilities of a preceptor include and are not limited to:

• Allowing for clinical space and a variety of clinical patient encounters necessary for experience within the rotation.
• Ensuring the student receives a wide clinical experience by reviewing the necessary clinical objectives for the specific rotation. Preceptors supplement the student with information to build upon and strengthen the student’s current foundation of knowledge.
• Preceptors must be on site to teach, consult and supervise the student. This commitment may be shared by two or more approved Clinical Preceptors. Students are expected to work an average of 45 hours per week.
• Preceptors assist in developing the student’s skills through observation, demonstration and advising during the clinical phase of the rotation.
• As preceptors get to know the student, he or she may increase the level of responsibility to the student in clinical assessment and management.
• Preceptors provide the student an opportunity to utilize and become proficient in electronic or manual medical record skills.
• Preceptors re-evaluate each patient a student presents ensuring accuracy in history and physical examine techniques.
• The preceptors supervision ensures students do not practice outside of their known competencies and within the state’s legislation.
• Preceptors ensure all patients seen by a student are presented and an accurate diagnosis and medical management plan is transcribed. All documentation by a student must be reviewed for accuracy and counter-signed by the preceptor.
• Preceptors evaluate the student’s didactic and clinical knowledge through feedback with the student, faculty, by completing the student’s clinical evaluation form and via telephone should he or she have concerns or questions regarding students or the clinical phase of the program. Any concerns or questions regarding mentoring, clinical syllabi, clinical rotations, and student concerns should be directed to the Director of Clinical services via phone or e-mail.

No. Clinical learning rotation sites and preceptors are selected and evaluated by the PA Program’s Clinical Faculty. Students are not required or permitted to supply their own clinical sites or preceptors. However, students may suggest a clinical site/preceptor to the Director of Clinical Education a minimum of four months prior to the start of the suggested clinical rotation. The Director of Clinical Education will approve or disapprove of the prospective site/preceptor following evaluation of the site and preceptor by the Clinical Faculty. Students are not permitted to make formal arrangements for clinical learning rotations with clinical sites or preceptors without prior approval from the Director of Clinical Education. Students are responsible for their own travel, meals, and lodging during the clinical year.

If you or someone you know are a licensed health care provider in Behavioral Health, Women’s Health, Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Family/Geriatric Medicine, Cardiology, Pulmonology, Gastroenterology, Urology, Orthopedics, Infectious Disease or other specialty, and are interested in mentoring or precepting a physician assistant student, please make inquiries to [email protected].