Admissions

Each applicant must submit an application for admission online through the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). The admission cycle opens April 30, 2020. The deadline for submitting an application and all required documentation is January 15, 2021. Wingate University requires no supplemental application, forms, or fees. Since Wingate’s PA Program operates on a rolling admissions basis, earlier submissions have a greater likelihood of securing one of our limited interview slots.
There are two locations of the PA program: Wingate campus and Hendersonville campus. Applicants must decide which campus they want to apply to when submitting with CASPA. We cannot accept applications to both campuses. 

Each applicant must be a citizen of the United States (by birth or by naturalization), hold Permanent Resident Status in the United States, or have DACA status in the United States (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

Each applicant must complete a bachelor degree or higher in the United States from a regionally accredited college or university. International degrees that have been evaluated as United States equivalent will not fulfill this requirement. An applicant who is admitted to the program with the bachelor degree pending completion will be considered a “provisional” admission until the degree is conferred which must be on or before June 15, 2021. If a master degree or higher is required for admission eligibility, the admission will be considered “provisional” until the degree is conferred which must be on or before June 15, 2021. 

Each applicant must complete 9 prerequisite courses. Online courses and virtual labs from regionally accredited institutions are acceptable. 

• Human Anatomy and Physiology I with Lab OR Human Anatomy with Lab 
(4 credit hours minimum; completed in 2016 or later at a regionally accredited institution) 
• Human Anatomy and Physiology II with Lab OR Human Physiology with Lab 
(4 credit hours minimum; completed in 2016 or later at a regionally accredited institution) 
• Genetics 
(3 credit hours minimum, lecture only; completed in 2016 or later at a regionally accredited institution) 
• Microbiology with Lab 
(4 credit hours minimum; completed in 2016 or later at a regionally accredited institution) 
• Organic Chemistry with Lab
(4 credit hours minimum; no time limit; completed at a regionally accredited institution) 
• Biochemistry 
(3 credit hours minimum, lecture only; completed in 2016 or later at a regionally accredited institution; combination courses of organic/biochemistry or similar will not fulfill this prerequisite) 

Each applicant must earn a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher on the six courses listed above to be eligible for admission consideration; no grade below C will be accepted regardless of the calculated GPA. 

• General Psychology 
(3 credit hours minimum; AP credit accepted; no time limit; completed at a regionally accredited institution) 
• Statistics 
(3 credit hours minimum; completed in 2016 or later at a regionally accredited institution) 
• Medical Terminology 
(No minimum credit hours; can be credit hour course completed at a regionally accredited institution or continuing education course in the U.S.; documentation of successful completion, if not reflected on college or university transcript, must be submitted directly to the PA program; completed in 2016 or later) 

Exception: If an applicant is currently, or was in 2016 or later, the main instructor at a regionally accredited institution (college, community college, or university, either online or traditional classroom) for any of the above courses, the requirement to retake the course is waived. Documentation of the instruction must be provided to the admissions officer by the applicant’s immediate supervisor at the regionally accredited institution. This exception does not extend to supplemental instructors, laboratory assistants, or teaching assistants. When documentation is received, a grade of A will be applied to the prerequisite along with the required credit hours and will be used to calculate the applicant’s science prerequisites GPA. 
 

Each applicant must complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) within five years of anticipated enrollment in the program (2016 or later) and have the official scores report submitted directly to the PA program. Wingate University PA Program GRE code is 7911 and is applicable to both campuses. No minimum scores are required but scores in the 50th percentile or higher on each of the three sections are considered competitive.

A minimum of two letters of recommendation are required when the application is submitted through CASPA. One of these must be from a health care provider (MD, DO, PA, or NP), and the other from a college professor or advisor. We prefer to see a minimum of three letters, and strongly advise varying the "venue" of your reference writers. It is strongly recommended that each of your reference writers has known you at the very least one year.

Each applicant must complete a minimum of 500 hours of direct patient contact. “Shadowing” does not count toward these required hours.

The admissions officer receives each applicant’s documents after CASPA completes the verification process. The admissions officer or assigned staff reviews each application to determine whether an applicant is eligible for admission consideration. Applications are reviewed in chronological order of the submission to CASPA. Following this initial review, each applicant receives an email from the admissions officer or assigned staff detailing the status of the application. The admissions officer or assigned staff may schedule an interview with the applicant. Admission interviews are held from September through February and are conducted with a maximum of six to eight applicants per session. Applicants spend 3-4 hours on campus in a series of group and individual activities. Following the interview session, the admissions offer or designated staff will contact each applicant by email within three weeks concerning the applicant’s status with the program. Admission with pending requirements will be considered “provisional” until the requirements are fulfilled on or before the stated deadlines. 

Applicants offered admission to the PA program will be notified by the admissions officer or designated staff by email. In order to confirm acceptance of the offer, each applicant must pay a $1,500 deposit postmarked within 15 days of the offer. The $1,500 deposit will be applied to the fall semester tuition if the student enrolls in the program. Failure to pay the $1,500 deposit in a timely matter will forfeit the applicant’s place in the program. The $1,500 tuition deposit is nonrefundable if the applicant chooses not to enroll in the PA program, fails to fulfill any requirement pending at the time of provisional admission, or is dismissed by the PA program prior to enrollment for reasons including, but not limited to, discovery of a history of drug abuse, felony conviction, or fraudulent application statements. 

Pay your deposit

The technical standards for admission set forth by the PA program establish essential qualities that are considered necessary for students admitted to the program to achieve the knowledge, skills, and levels of competency stipulated for graduation by the faculty and expected of the professional program by its accrediting agency, ARC-PA. All students admitted to this program are expected to demonstrate the attributes and meet the expectations listed. These technical standards are not only required for admission but must be maintained throughout a student’s progress in the PA program. Applicants who accept an offer of admission must sign a document acknowledging their possession of these attributes and return the document to the PA program with the tuition deposit.

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