Which is better, a 2 year graduate Physician’s Assistant Program or a 3 year program?

Parents Forum
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My son is graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and a Minor in Business. He’s been accepted to Pace Univeristy’s PA School a 2 year program and to St. John’s University’s PA School a 3 year program. The 3 year program is more expensive. What are the professional pros and cons of 2 year vs 3 year programs?

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Is it better to get more clinical experience in a 3 year Master’s PA program vs the 2 year? Is commuting to a program more difficult than living at the school or in the area? Any suggestions are welcome! We have 2 weeks to put in a deposit.

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Is your son able to speak with current grads from both programs? He can ask how confident they felt when entering their first job etc.

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Does your son have an idea of which specialty he would like to work in? In my opinion, some specialities would really benefit from a longer program (e.g. primary care geriatrics) while other specialities might be more limited in scope and/or employers might be more willing to do on-the-job training.

In terms of the on-campus/commute question, I think it depends on the length of the commute.

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Check career outcomes from each. If not posted, ask.

What does your son think ?

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And a long but simple commute (e.g. an hour on a commuter train with no transfers where he’ll always have a seat, plug to charge a laptop, can concentrate on studying) is often easier than a shorter but complicated commute (40 minutes but a bus and two subway lines where he’s standing the whole way and has to walk a few blocks to make the bus connection). Where would he be commuting from?

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Yes but it doesn’t mean not achievable. And if household duties or cooking are handled, it makes life easier, as an example.

There is no sub though for living near your classmates because full-time school is about more than the classroom.

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Congrats to your son!

Most employers don’t care. A 2 year program where he passes his boards and gets a job will be as good as a 3 year program where he passes his boards and gets a job.

A 2 year program allows him to start working and helping patients sooner!

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What are the differences in curriculum? Is one rushed or offer a specialty vs. the shorter program?

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First, congrats! PA programs are tough admits.

While I can’t answer your question, I would suggest your S look at the details of the two programs. The Pace one may have an earlier start date (maybe summer right after graduation), it may run through the summer, etc. to get things finished in 2 rather than 3 years. I’d guess both programs cover the required coursework and provide the required clinical experiences. He should also research job placement at both schools.

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You have been given excellent advice.

I would consider asking/researching where grad students live, where the rotations are located, how the rotations are assigned, and where recent grads work.

Also- are the cohorts similar sizes? Are all of the classes in person?

He might also consider cost- paying for a 3rd year vs working sooner.

Congrats! He has 2 great options.

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My DIL is a PA. Her program was 30 months with in person classes and multiple clinical rotations. No problem with getting employment.
Rankings aren’t everything but US News does have them for PA’s. It does give some idea as to how different schools are seen by peers.

Good luck to your son!

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Looks like Pace’s progam is associated with Lenox Hill Hospital.

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To me it looks like St. John’s has a much longer list of rotation sites.

This is just an observation.

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Questions/things to consider when deciding:

  • what’s the accreditation status of each school? for example, one that’s fully accredited would be preferable over one with provisional accreditation status.
  • less expensive program might be more desirable than more expensive.
  • how many total months for each program? For example, is the 3 yr program three years because they have summers off? Compare that perhaps to a 2 yr program where you take PA classes in spring, summer, AND fall.
  • once your didactic year is done and you’re doing ‘clinicals’ during the latter half of the program, students will be expected to find their own transportation to the different clinical rotation training locations. Your kid should expect this and plan accordingly.
  • What’s the PANCE pass rate after graduation for each of these schools? If there’s a big difference between 1 or the other, I’d encourage my kid to attend the one that has higher PANCE rates.
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ok, so I dug around a little bit on the 2 universities’ websites and found this:

St John’s University:

Pace University Lennox Hill:

The fact that both programs are on probationary status isn’t ideal, but not much you can do about it right now. By attending a school on probation, one runs the risk of the national accreditation board removing the accreditation status entirely. And if that occurs, the graduate program ends altogether and you aren’t allowed to take the PANCE national exam…you’d have to enroll at a different graduate program elsewhere.

  • Edited to add *
    If this were my kid, I’d recommend they consider Pace University instead of St John’s. It’s cheaper.
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I believe there is a document that explains why the school is on probation. I would want this information prior to committing.

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Is your son also admitted to any schools that aren’t on probation? Did you/he know they were on probation when he applied? If they did not disclose the probation status, that would be a concern for me And did the schools explain how they plan to end probation at the next review? (March 2025).

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By the way, your kid should be super proud of himself for getting accepted to not 1, but 2 PA programs. PA school is harder to get into than med school.

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The St. John’s University Physician Assistant program is currently on probation because the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) determined that the program did not meet certain standards of compliance, likely related to issues with curriculum, faculty qualifications, or clinical rotations, during their most recent review, placing the program on “Accreditation-Probation” status until their next review in March 2025.

Also there have been 2 successive classes (2022 and 2023) with overall pass rates of less than 90%.

The Sept 2024 meeting of the accreditation review committee deferred St John’s request for reinstatement, asking for additional information.

St Johns will have another probation review in March 2025.

Pace’s explanation for its probationary status is here: Pace University - Lenox Hill Hospital Physician Assistant Program | Accreditation | Pace University New York

But the reason given by ARC-PA was:

Standard A1.02d (lacked evidence the sponsoring institution is
responsible for complying with ARC-PA accreditation Standards
and policies)
• Standard A1.11a (lacked evidence the sponsoring institution, in a
manner consistent with its own mission and applicable laws,
demonstrates a commitment to student, faculty and staff
diversity, equity, and inclusion by supporting the program in
defining its goal(s) for diversity, equity, and inclusion)
• Standard A2.09b (lacked evidence the program director is
knowledgeable about and responsible for program administration)
Report due February 6, 2025:
• Standard C1.03 modified Self-Study Report (lacked evidence
program prepares a self-study report as part of the application
for accreditation that accurately and succinctly documents the
process, application and results of ongoing program self-
assessment)
No report required:
• Standard E1.03 (lacked evidence the program submits reports or
documents as required by the ARC-PA)

The PD is in trouble for over-enrolling the program, Too many students; not enough clinical training spots.

ARC-PA accreditation reports are public. You just need to google them to find them.

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