Rosalind franklin university of medicine and science pa program prerequisites

Applications are accepted only through the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). All applications must be verified by CASPA before December 1st and include 3 letters of recommendation to be considered for the 2023 cohort. All applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. 

The admissions cycle opens July 26, 2022 and closes December 1, 2022.

Pre-requisites (34)

Anatomy & Physiology I w/ lab (4)

Anatomy & Physiology II w/ lab (4)

General chemistry I w/ lab (4)

General chemistry II w/ lab (4)

Organic chemistry OR Biochemistry (3)

Microbiology w/lab (4)

Statistics (3)

Biological science w/ lab (8)

Recommended

Medical Terminology (1)

Psychology (3)

Genetics (3)

Immunology (3)

We strongly recommend that coursework be recent, at least within the last 10 years.

All prerequisite courses must be passed with a grade of "C" or better and be completed prior to matriculation.  Applicants must have an overall science GPA of at least 3.0 and an overall GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Applications are ranked for interview according to GPA, personal statement, letters of recommendation, clinical experience(s), and/or other experiences which may include life experience (e.g. challenges, achievements), shadowing, volunteerism, experience with rural and/or underserved communities, and/or socioeconomically disadvantaged populations; and research, teaching, and/or publications authored. Selected candidates will be notified by the admissions coordinator for a virtual interview.

Advanced placement is not granted to prospective students

All applicants who were born outside of the United States and who did not graduate from a United States high school will be required to submit internet-based TOEFL (iBT) scores with their application.  There are no exceptions to this requirement, including having attained upper-level education in the United States.  A minimum total score of 100 (with at least 25 in each section) is required. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) code for submitting your score to CASPA is C981.

Academic Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited United States institution prior to matriculation into the PA program. Official transcripts conferring degrees completed after submitting the application through CASPA must be sent directly to the PA program at Franklin College
• A minimum cumulative BCP GPA of 3.0 is required. The Franklin College PA Program utilizes CASPA to calculate a BCP that includes only biology and chemistry classes.  This is different than the BCP reported by CASPA, which also includes physics classes. No individual course grades below a “C” may be counted for a pre-requisite course. Admission to MSPAS programs is highly competitive and a much higher GPA than the minimum is normally required for admission.

Required Classes

All pre-requisite course work should be completed prior to September 1 in the year before the January program start. However, a student should still apply early in the cycle with in-progress pre-requisite course(s). An applicant may complete a maximum of 1 pre-requisite course after September 1. Official transcripts for any courses completed after submitting the application through CASPA must be sent directly to the PA program at Franklin College and demonstrate a “C” or better in the required course.  Course/grade substitution may be requested only after a completed CASPA application is received.

• Chemistry (3)
  • General Chemistry with labs (2 semesters)
  • Organic Chemistry with lab (1 semester)
• Biology (5)
  • General Biology with labs (2 semesters)
  • Human Anatomy & Physiology with labs (2 semesters)
  • Microbiology with lab (1 semester)

*Chemistry and biology course work should be completed within 7 years of matriculation. Biology and chemistry courses designed for science majors are preferred. Non-science major and online lab courses, while accepted, are not preferred. Due to COVID-19, Satisfactory or Pass course outcomes will be considered in lieu of letter grades for courses taken from January 2020 until August 2021.

• Social Sciences (2)
  • General Psychology (1 semester)
  • 1 additional behavioral/social science class (1 semester)
• Statistics/Biostatistics (1)
  • Any course (1 semester)
• Composition/Communications (1)
  • 1 composition or communications course (1 semester)

Recommended Classes

• Medical terminology
• Biochemistry
• Bioethics
• Cell Biology
• Genetics

Patient Care Hours

A minimum of 200 documented patient care hours under the supervision of a licensed health care professional is required. This requirement will be waived for those applying in 2022.

• Direct, hands-on patient care hours are intended to demonstrate the applicants experience working in a healthcare setting. Assessment of the quality of the patient care hours will be based upon the description of the applicant’s duties performed in terms of patient contact and interaction with other healthcare providers. Examples of direct patient care include but are not limited to nurse, certified nurse assistant (CNA), medical assistant, EMT, paramedic, emergency room tech, scribe, surgical tech, athletic trainer, PT aide, etc.

Physician Assistant Shadowing

We encourage you to observe (“shadow”) a PA in the field.  We prefer PA shadowing in multiple specialties. Note: shadowing hours are recorded in CASPA and should not count towards your patient care hours.

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants must provide three letters of recommendation. One from a professor/instructor and one from a physician or other healthcare provider. The third letter is of the applicant’s choosing. The third letter should not be from a personal reference and you should avoid using clinicians you only shadowed as a reference.

Special Considerations

The following admission and enrollment practices are followed.

• Franklin College students and graduates are at an advantage in the admission process. Any current Franklin College student or recent graduate (<5 years) that has met all of the standards for admission AND has a CASPA calculated cumulative and BCP GPAs of 3.4 or above will be guaranteed to move onto the interview phase of the admissions process. They are still required to submit an application to Franklin College through CASPA. Any Franklin College graduate that does not meet the above GPA requirement may still apply through CASPA and be considered for admission to the PA program. Additionally, the program gives preference to applicants with: higher cumulative and BCP GPAs, higher Junior/Senior/Grad GPA, more direct patient care hours, a higher quality of patient care hours, higher shadowing hours (and higher number of different specialties shadowed), higher quality personal statements, stronger professional references, stronger mission match
• Applicants who meet any of the following criteria will receive additional consideration in the admissions process for each criterion met. Students must declare on their CASPA application under the Franklin College section that they wish to be considered.
  • Applicant is a graduate of Franklin College.
  • Applicant is from a medically underserved area or population in Indiana as designated by the Indiana State Department of Health.
  • Applicant is a member of an underrepresented in medicine populations as determined by the American Academy of Medical Colleges.
  • Applicant is a current or former member of the US military.

Early Admission for Franklin College Undergraduate Students

Franklin College undergraduate students have the opportunity to apply as early as their junior year for early admission. They must have all prerequisite courses completed, in progress, or planned to be completed prior to January matriculation of their agreed upon cohort. Courses in progress or outstanding courses must be documented on the Outstanding Courses Form.

The Franklin College undergraduate students must apply through CASPA. Juniors and seniors with a BCP GPA of 3.4 or above will be guaranteed to move onto the interview phase of the admissions process. Students with a BCP GPA less than 3.4 will be evaluated for attributes outlined on the Admission Requirement website page before a decision is made regarding interview invitation.

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