GENERAL ADMISSION FACTS

• The Grand Rapids campus accepts 36 applicants, and the Traverse City campus accepts 12 applicants each fall. 

• Applicants may only apply to one campus for each application cycle. 

• Academic request forms (ARF) ONLY need to be submitted if applicants do not meet one or more application requirements and have highly unusual circumstances that impact their ability to meet admission criteria. 

• The deadline for submitting an academic request form (ARF) is July 15 in the year of application. 

• Applicants are only required to submit a minimum of two recommendation rubrics; however, if they submit additional recommendation rubrics in CASPA, they will be used in admission decisions. 

• GVSU does NOT have rolling admissions. All applications are reviewed after the September 1 application deadline. 

• The GVSU PAS program offers advanced placement in limited circumstances. Please see this webpage for details.  

CASPA

• All applicants must submit the GVSU Supplemental Application. The link to the GVSU Supplemental Application form is only available through the CASPA website. 

• If an applicant submits their CASPA application and it is VERIFIED before completing one of the five required prerequisite courses, they must submit an updated transcript documenting completion of the outstanding prerequisite course(s) directly to the GVSU Admissions Office by September 1 to be considered for application.  Example: An applicant submitted their CASPA application on May 1, and CASPA verified their application on May 15, but a required prerequisite course will not be complete until August 1. If the required prerequisite course(s) is completed by the September 1 deadline, students can apply to the GVSU PAS program if they submit an updated transcript documenting completion of the prerequisite course to the GVSU Admission Office by September 1. 

• Note: CASPA does not recalculate grades once an application has been verified. 

• GVSU reviews ALL eligible prerequisite courses on each application. Therefore, if an applicant forgets to include a prerequisite course or lists a prerequisite course incorrectly in the CASPA application, GVSU will review this information and correct the prerequisite course listing for each applicant. 

Acuity Insights Comprehensive Admissions Assessments

•  Acuity Insights administers the Casper online situational-based judgment test, which applicants to the GVSU PAS program must complete. 

• o   Applicants do NOT need to complete the Duet assessment for the GVSU PAS program. 

• The Casper test is an online, open-response situational-based judgment test that assesses an applicant's collaboration, communication, empathy, equity, ethics, motivation, problem-solving, professionalism, resilience, and self-awareness. Casper includes 14 video-based and word-based scenarios. During the test, applicants will be presented with a scenario and then asked to provide a written or video response to a set of exploratory questions about the scenarios. A diverse group of human raters score Casper and a different rater scores each section. The raters reflect the diversity of the population, and all raters are extensively trained, vetted, and invested in the profession. 

•  Applicants do not need to study for the Casper test; however, applicants can familiarize themselves with the test structure by taking the practice test on the Acuity Insights website. 

•  Applicants need to retake Casper each year.   

• o   Casper test results are only valid for one year. 

  o   Casper scores are confidential and are not released to individual applicants.  Therefore, applicants cannot retake the Casper test to improve their score.  Applicant scores will be sent directly to the schools to which they apply.  

• Any questions regarding Altus Assessments should be directed to Casper on the Acuity Insights website, through the chat button on the bottom right of your screen.  

• There is a fee for the Casper test which is payable directly to Casper. 

• The Casper test can be taken anywhere where applicants can access a computer with audio capabilities, a webcam, and a reliable internet connection.  It is also important to ensure that a quiet environment is available to complete the test. 

•  Casper only offers a limited number of testing dates beginning in May of each year.  Please go to the Acuity Insights website as soon as possible to schedule a test for the upcoming application cycle. 

• The Casper test will take between 90-110 minutes to complete. 

• The final Casper test date for the Fall 2025 application cycle will be available in March 2025. 

ADMISSION PROFILE OF ACCEPTED GVSU PAS STUDENTS

Admission Profile of GVSU PAS Class of 2023-2026

PREREQUISITE COURSES

• Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry need to be completed by the application deadline. ALL prerequisite requirements must be completed by May in the year of program matriculation. 

• Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Microbiology, and Biochemistry must be completed within five calendar years of application. The five calendar years are calculated irrespective of the month in which the course was taken for courses that must be completed within five calendar years of application. For example, a course completed in April 2020 will expire at the end of December 2025 and be accepted for the Fall 2025 application cycle. 

• The GVSU PAS program accepts Advanced Placement (AP) from high school to fulfill course prerequisites. If the test grade of the prerequisite course(s) is 3, 4, or 5.  Students must indicate on CASPA if a course was taken for AP credit.  It is the program's right to ask students for official documentation. 

• Recommended courses for the GVSU PAS program include Immunology, Medical Ethics, Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Nutrition, and Cadaver lab. PAS program faculty have found that these courses are beneficial for success in the program. 

HEALTH CARE EXPERIENCE HOURS

• The GVSU PAS program requires a minimum of 500 healthcare experience hours. These experiences expose the applicant to the healthcare system and various healthcare professionals, including physician assistants. 

• Healthcare experience hours can be volunteer, work-related, or observational experiences.  The GVSU PAS program highly encourages hands-on patient care activities as an important component of preparation for PAS studies. 

• The program emphasizes the importance of variety in patient care experiences and healthcare settings. For example, applicants employed as a nurse aide in a long-term care center may benefit from shadowing a physician assistant in an outpatient setting or volunteering in an acute care hospital. 

• For all the following positions, only include hours with direct patient interaction. 

  • Certified nursing assistant, nurse aide, patient care technician, patient care assistant 

  • Emergency medical technician 

  • Medical assistant 

  • Psychiatric care technician 

  • Phlebotomist 

  • Home health aide or personal care attendant 

  • Research assistant 

    • Acceptable hours for healthcare experience include performing procedures, such as phlebotomy or EKGs. 

    • Hours spent writing, entering data, analyzing data, etc. should not be included. 

  • Volunteer work in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, health-related agencies. 

    • Hours spent performing housekeeping or clerical tasks should be excluded. 

  • Medical mission trip volunteer 

  • Medical scribe 

  • Medical translator 

  • Internships and training programs 

    • Hours spent in a classroom and/or training activities not directly interacting with patients should be excluded. 

  • Patient counseling 

  • Health care professional shadowing hours 

    • Shadowing a physician assistant is encouraged; however, GVSU will accept shadowing hours of any healthcare professional as we have found this valuable to increase students' knowledge of the various healthcare professional roles. 

  • Pharmacy technician 

  • Physical therapy aide 

  • Dental hygienist 

  • Respiratory therapist 

  • Nurse 

  • Patient transport 

  • Athletic trainer 

  • Telehealth 

  • Medical technologist 

• The GVSU PAS program does NOT consider the following to count towards the required healthcare experience hours: 

  • Veterinarian technician 

  • Hospital or long-term care food service positions 

  • Teaching experience (teaching assistant, tutoring positions, etc.) 

• Hours spent during research positions, volunteering, internships, etc., in which applicants are not directly interacting with patients should NOT be included as healthcare experience hours.