Admission Preference Program

Methodist University Preference

Preference candidacy is a unique opportunity to have priority consideration for admission into the Methodist University PA Program at the completion of undergraduate coursework. Preference for the Physician Assistant (PA) program has two tiers of preference: Early Assurance Program (EAP) and Admissions Preference (AP)

Early Assurance Program:

  • Available only to high school seniors. Transfers are not eligible.
  • Maximum four seats
  • Outcome: Guaranteed seat in the program upon completion of bachelor’s degree, provided below criteria is met.

High School Requirements:

  • High school overall GPA of 3.7 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
  • SAT score of 1220 or ACT score of 25.
  • Completed application for Early Assurance program that includes a well written, insightful personal statement and letters of recommendation.
  • Successful interview with PA program admissions committee in the spring of senior year of high school. Early Assurance candidacy is not granted without an interview.
  • Completion of Methodist University Honors Program application and acceptance into the Honors Program.

Undergraduate Requirements:

  • Must major in Biology, Chemistry, or Biology with a minor in Chemistry and must successfully complete the Honors Program*.
  • Undergraduate GPA maintenance: Overall and prerequisite GPA of a 3.5 or higher.
  • Must participate in mandatory advising sessions or activities with the PA program every semester as an undergraduate student. Sessions will be run by the PA Program Director, program faculty and/or the PA Admissions Director. The program will consult with the Honors Program faculty to assess both character and academic progress on Early Assurance candidates.
  • Must participate in service activities (campus or community) or be an active member of a club or organization (athletic teams are acceptable).
  • No legal, academic, disciplinary/professional issues either on or off campus.
  • No history of a felony or drug abuse.
  • Completion of health care experience hours at the time of application to the PA program. Note: Application to the PA program will take place towards the end of the student’s junior year.

PA Application Requirements:

  • Must complete an application to the program.
  • Scaled back interview with program director and faculty.

Selection Disclaimer

Early Assurance (EA) candidates must maintain academic criteria throughout their undergraduate career, but must also exhibit remarkable decorum, professionalism, interpersonal skills, and meet the Technical Standards of the Physician Assistant Program. These traits will be evaluated by PA program faculty during advising sessions, by professors and advisors within the major and the Honors Program, and through the final interview with the Admissions Selection Committee. The program reserves the right to:

  • Revoke EA candidacy and deny admission to the program if the student demonstrates behavior that would be detrimental to classmates, instructors, preceptors, patients, or would be a misrepresentation of the university and/or program.
  • Require that an Early Assurance candidate defer his/her acceptance into the PA program due to evidence of poor emotional intelligence (i.e., poor social skills, low empathy, social functioning), and require the student take one or two gap years to develop these skills.

Deferments & Timelines

EA candidates may, upon formal written request, choose to defer their admission to the MUPAP for one year following graduation from MU. Since the MUPAP cannot reserve seats indefinitely, EA candidates must enroll in the PA Program no later than three years after their completion/graduation of undergraduate studies in order to maintain their guaranteed admission status (e.g., Fall 2027 for EA students who graduate in Spring 2024).

*Honors Program Advantage

The Methodist University Honors Program is a 5-semester Great Books reading program with a senior project.  Classes meet once a week to discuss a major text of an Eastern or Western culture in a seminar environment.  With its emphasis on the liberal arts tradition, the Honors Program is designed to enhance students’ knowledge of the Great Books, develop their critical thinking skills, and engage their sense of ethics.

Benefits of the Honors Program for future PA students:

Honors Program graduates regularly say that the program improves their reading ability and critical thinking, improves their academic “confidence,” and improves their sense of the diversity of their “global world.”  The Honors Program will help prepare future Methodist University PA students with key academic and interpersonal essentials to be successful in the program and as a health care provider.  In addition to having better reading and critical thinking skills, students will be able to develop and refine personal characteristics such as accountability, professionalism, ethics, empathy and compassion—all of which are desirable characteristics of PA applicants.

Admissions Preference Program:

  • MU graduates receive preference over outside applicants for an interview, if selection factors are met.
  • For those who have completed a degree elsewhere and are only taking prerequisites at MU, preference is given if a minimum of 30 credits of coursework has been taken at MU, prerequisite GPA is greater than or equal to 3.4 and GRE is in at least the 40th percentile in each of the verbal and quantitative sections.

University of North Carolina at Pembroke Preference Program:

Beginning with the cohort entering in August 2021 (Class of 2023), the Methodist University Physician Assistant Program (MUPAP) will reserve two (2) seats in the program for Native American students who will graduate from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP).

Eligibility

To be eligible, a student must be a resident of North Carolina and must be a Native American, defined as an individual who maintains cultural and political identification as a Native American through membership in an Indian tribe recognized by the State of North Carolina or by the United States. Native American status must be verified with an official Native American Tribal Enrollment Card provided by the recognized Tribe.

Selection Process

UNCP will provide a list of students for the program to be considered under this articulation agreement no later than April 1.  MUPAP will review candidates’ application and credentials to determine the top two (2) students to interview.  If the top two candidates fail to perform successfully on the interview, the MUPAP will consider the other candidates for admissions using the aforementioned criteria. Identified students who complete a favorable interview will be guaranteed acceptance, conditional on completion of any outstanding requirements by the deadline noted in the acceptance letter.

If a student accepts the offer, the student is required to pay a deposit of $1000 at that time to hold a seat in the MUPAP. If, in any given year, none of the students are admitted to the MUPAP or UNCP is unable to submit a list of students to the MUPAP, the MUPAP may admit applicants from other institutions to fill the acceptance slots held for UNCP students.

Admissions & Application

GPAs: To be eligible to apply for admission under the terms of this articulation agreement, a student must maintain, preferably exceed, a 3.0 cumulative grade point average at the time of application, and must maintain, preferably exceed, a 3.2 Prerequisite GPA with no grade below a “C” for courses listed in the prerequisite coursework.

Clinical Experience Hours: Must complete, preferably exceed, the program’s requirement of 1,000 hours of clinical experience with direct patient contact at the time of application.

CASPA: Students’ application must be in a “verified” status before their senior year under this agreement, through the Centralized Application System for Physician Assistants (CASPA), by August 1.  Students are responsible for CASPA and other fees.

Pre-Health Profession Advisor Recommendation:  A letter of recommendation from the Pre­-Health Professions Advisor at UNCP is required. This will help us identify students who are requesting admission through the terms of this agreement.

Interview: Candidate must successfully interview with the program’s Admissions Selection Committee.

Fulfillment of Matriculation Requirements

All candidates must satisfy matriculation requirements, which include:

  • Completion of all prerequisite coursework by the August start date. Any outstanding courses at the time of acceptance must be completed with a B- or higher.
  • Completion of Bachelor’s degree from UNCP by August start date.
  • Meeting the program’s Technical Standards.
  • Completion of all additional matriculation requirements are noted in the program’s Enrollment Manual (distributed to accepted students only).

Questions regarding this program may be direct to Jennifer Mish at jmish@methodist.edu.

Meredith College Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program

The Methodist University Physician Assistant Program (MUPAP) will reserve two (2) seats in the program for students who have completed the Meredith College Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate (Post-Bacc) Certificate Program.

Eligibility

To be eligible, the applicant must be a student in or have completed the Meredith College Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program.

Selection Process

The Meredith College Post-Bacc advisor will provide a list of students for the program to be considered under this articulation agreement no later than April 1.  MUPAP will review candidates’ application and credentials to determine the top two (2) students to interview.  If the top candidates fail to perform successfully in the interview, the MUPAP will consider the other candidates for admissions using the aforementioned criteria. The identified students who complete a favorable interview will be guaranteed acceptance, conditional on completion of any outstanding requirements by the deadline noted in the acceptance letter.

If a student accepts the offer, the student is required to pay a deposit of $1,000 at that time to hold a seat in the MUPAP. If, in any given year, none of the recommended students are admitted to the MUPAP, or the Post-Bacc Program is unable to submit a list of students to the MUPAP, the MUPAP may admit applicants from other institutions to fill the acceptance slots held for Meredith College Post-Bacc students.

Admissions & Application

GPAs: To be eligible to apply for admission under the terms of this articulation agreement, a student must maintain, preferably exceed, a 3.0 cumulative grade point average at the time of application, and must maintain, preferably exceed, a 3.2 Prerequisite GPA with no grade below a “C” for courses listed in the prerequisite coursework.

Clinical Experience Hours: Must complete, preferably exceed, the program’s requirement of 1,000 hours of clinical experience with direct patient contact at the time of application.

CASPA: Students’ application must be in a “verified” status, through the Centralized Application System for Physician Assistants (CASPA), by August 1.  Students are responsible for CASPA and other fees.

Pre-Health Profession Advisor Recommendation:  A letter of recommendation from the Meredith College Post-Bacc advisor is required.

Interview: Candidate must successfully interview with the program’s Admissions Selection Committee.

Fulfillment of Matriculation Requirements

All candidates must satisfy matriculation requirements, which include:

  • Completion of all prerequisite coursework by the August start date. Any outstanding courses at the time of acceptance must be completed with a B- or higher.
  • Completion certification from the Meredith College Post-Bacc Program by August start date.
  • Meeting the program’s Technical Standards.
  • Completion of all additional matriculation requirements are noted in the program’s Enrollment Manual (distributed to accepted students only).

Meredith College Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences Program (MABS)

Methodist University Physician Assistant Program (MUPAP) will reserve two (2) seats in the program for students who have completed the Meredith College Master of Arts in Biomedical Science Program (MABS).

Eligibility

To be eligible, the applicant must be a student in or have completed the Meredith College Master of Arts in Biomedical Science Program.

Selection Process

The Meredith College MABS advisor will provide a list of students for the program to be considered under this articulation agreement no later than April 1.  MUPAP will review candidates’ application and credentials to determine the top two (2) students to interview.  If the top candidates fail to perform successfully in the interview, the MUPAP will consider the other candidates for admissions using the aforementioned criteria. The identified students who complete a favorable interview will be guaranteed acceptance, conditional on completion of any outstanding requirements by the deadline noted in the acceptance letter.

If a student accepts the offer, the student is required to pay a deposit of $1,000 at that time to hold a seat in the MUPAP. If, in any given year, none of the recommended students are admitted to the MUPAP, or the MABS is unable to submit a list of students to the MUPAP, the MUPAP may admit applicants from other institutions to fill the acceptance slots held for Meredith College MABS students.

Admissions & Application

GPAs: To be eligible to apply for admission under the terms of this articulation agreement, a student must maintain, preferably exceed, a 3.0 cumulative grade point average at the time of application, and must maintain, preferably exceed, a 3.2 Prerequisite GPA with no grade below a “C” for courses listed in the prerequisite coursework.

Clinical Experience Hours: Must complete, preferably exceed, the program’s requirement of 1,000 hours of clinical experience with direct patient contact at the time of application.

CASPA: Students’ application must be in a “verified” status, through the Centralized Application System for Physician Assistants (CASPA), by August 1.  Students are responsible for CASPA and other fees.

MABS Advisor Recommendation:  A letter of recommendation from the Meredith College MABS advisor is required.

Interview: Candidate must successfully interview with the program’s Admissions Selection Committee.

Fulfillment of Matriculation Requirements

All candidates must satisfy matriculation requirements, which include:

  • Completion of all prerequisite coursework by the August start date. Any outstanding courses at the time of acceptance must be completed with a B- or higher.
  • Completion certification from the Meredith College MABS Program by August start date.
  • Meeting the program’s Technical Standards.
  • Completion of all additional matriculation requirements are noted in the program’s Enrollment Manual (distributed to accepted students only).

Special Warfare Medical Group at Ft. Liberty, Special Operations Combat Medic Agreement

The Special Operations Combat Medic specializes in trauma management, infectious diseases, cardiac life support and surgical procedures, with a basic understanding of veterinary and dental medicine. Both general healthcare and emergency healthcare are stressed in training. Medical sergeants provide emergency, routine and long-term medical care for detachment members, associated allied members and host-nation personnel; establish field medical facilities to support unconventional warfare operations; provide veterinary care; prepare the medical portion of area studies, brief backs, and operation plans and orders.

Special Operations Combat Medics who have successfully graduated the from the Special Warfare Medical Group at Fort Liberty are some of the finest first-response/trauma medical technicians in the world. As a result, the MUPAP recognizes the value, leadership, and life experience these individuals bring to our program and will consider the prerequisites of Microbiology with lab, 8 credit hours of Anatomy and Physiology, and Medical Terminology to be fulfilled if the individual is a graduate of the Special Warfare Medical Group at Fort Liberty.