Updated
How Many PA Schools Should I Apply To? The Average Is 8.45
PA applicants applied to 8.45 programs each, on average, in the 2024-25 CASPA cycle, according to PAEA. Our advice is 8 to 12 programs for most applicants, every one of them a program whose minimums you clear. Go to 12 to 15 if your GPA or patient care hours are near programs' minimums.
Below are PAEA's numbers, list sizes by profile, what each size costs in CASPA fees and how to choose the programs. Facts checked on November 1, 2026.
How many PA schools does the average applicant apply to?
8.45 in 2024-25, up from earlier cycles, per PAEA's report on that year. The same cycle had 34,625 applicants and 12,636 matriculants, so about 36 of every 100 applicants started PA school that year (our math). Between 24% and 27% of applicants each cycle are reapplying.
PAEA's newer applicant trend workbook (May 2026) counts 35,280 applicants for the 2025-26 cycle, the most in its five-year table. It doesn't give an average number of programs, so 8.45 is still the newest average PAEA has published.
The pool of programs is large. PAEA counts 335 accredited PA programs as of August 2026, and CASPA covers 95 percent of them, so one application reaches almost any program you want.
Applications per seat, from PAEA's numbers
34,625 applicants sending 8.45 applications each comes to about 292,581 applications, or roughly 23 for every one of the 12,636 matriculants. This is our math from PAEA's averages, not a PAEA figure. It is why a list padded with poor fits rarely helps: each program picks a small class from a large pile.
How many PA schools should you apply to?
PAEA sets no target. It says on its CASPA page that it doesn't regulate any program's admissions requirements, so the number is yours to set. These are the ranges we suggest:
| Your situation | Programs | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You clear every program's minimums with room to spare, you'd move anywhere and you submit by early summer | Programs: 6 to 8 | Why: Close to the national average, with every seat a real fit. |
| Your GPA and hours sit near the middle of what your programs publish | Programs: 8 to 12 | Why: The default. It covers a few programs that may pass on you. |
| Your GPA or patient care hours sit near programs' minimums | Programs: 12 to 15 | Why: More programs, but only ones whose minimums you clear. |
| You can only move within one state or region | Programs: Every program there you qualify for | Why: Your count is set by geography, so screen hard and apply early. |
| You're reapplying | Programs: Your last count, plus 2 to 4 better fits | Why: Fix what held you back first. More of the same list rarely helps. |
The count matters less than the fit. Within your number, put most programs where your GPA and hours sit at or above their averages, and a few where you sit below the average but clear every minimum. Ten programs that would each seriously consider you beat 20 where half screen you out on a minimum. Check where your numbers sit with our average GPA for PA school guide and the CASPA GPA calculator.
How much does it cost to apply to more PA schools?
CASPA charges $185 for your first program and $65 for each one after it. Here is what common list sizes cost, with and without the fee waiver (our math):
| Programs | CASPA fees | With a fee waiver |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | CASPA fees: $445 | With a fee waiver: $195 |
| 8 | CASPA fees: $640 | With a fee waiver: $390 |
| 10 | CASPA fees: $770 | With a fee waiver: $520 |
| 12 | CASPA fees: $900 | With a fee waiver: $650 |
| 15 | CASPA fees: $1,095 | With a fee waiver: $845 |
| 20 | CASPA fees: $1,420 | With a fee waiver: $1,170 |
The fee waiver covers your first two programs, $250 in all, and you keep the full amount only if you submit to both at once with Submit All. You must request it before you submit, then submit within 21 days of approval. CASPA says all waivers for the 2026-27 cycle were awarded as of September 2026, so plan on paying in full this cycle.
Some programs also charge a supplemental fee, and some send coupon codes that offset CASPA's fee. Ask each program before you submit, since a coupon can't be used afterward. Then budget for what grows with every program you add: a supplemental essay to write, travel if you're invited to interview and, if the program asks for one, a seat deposit.
How to pick each PA program on your list
Start in PAEA's CASPA Program Directory, which lets you compare requirements, prerequisites and deadlines in one place, or browse our PA program guides. A program counts toward your number only after it passes these checks:
- Minimum GPA. The CASPA Program Directory filters by overall, science and prerequisite GPA minimums, including programs with none. A program whose hard minimum you miss is a fee for nothing.
- Prerequisites. Check every course, whether it needs a lab, how old it can be and whether the program takes online or AP credit.
- Patient care hours. Programs set their own minimums and their own rules for what counts. Compare your hours with each program's published number.
- Tests. Some programs want the GRE, some the PA-CAT, some Casper and many none. A test you haven't taken can knock a program off your list.
- Deadline type. Each program sets its own deadline and what must be in by then: submitted, all materials received or verified.
- Total cost. PAEA tells applicants to count tuition, exams, books, housing, required memberships and travel during clinical rotations, not just the application fee.
For the tests, our guides cover PA schools that don't require the GRE and the PA-CAT. For courses and hours, see PA school requirements.
To see what one program's own pages say about its minimums, deadlines and interview, read our guides to High Point, LIU, Marquette, Mercer, PCOM, St. John's, Temple, Towson, Tufts and University of Detroit Mercy PA programs.
A worked example: building an 11-program list
Priya (invented): 3.45 overall GPA, 3.35 science GPA, 1,800 patient care hours as an ED tech in Ohio, open to the Midwest and Northeast, no GRE taken.
- She filters the directory to programs with a 3.0 overall minimum or lower and no GRE requirement, in her regions. That leaves far more than she can apply to.
- She drops any program that needs a course she hasn't taken or more hours than she has. She keeps two that require the PA-CAT, since she can still test before their deadlines.
- She ranks what's left by mission fit and cost, and keeps 11: four in Ohio, four nearby and three with a primary care mission like the clinic she works in.
Her CASPA fees for 11 programs come to $835, before any supplemental fees. Every program on the list is one she meets the minimums for, which is the point.
Apply early, not just widely
The 2026-27 CASPA cycle opened April 30, 2026 and closes April 1, 2027, per CASPA's cycle dates. Each program sets its own deadline and what must be in by then. A “verified” deadline is the strictest: CASPA suggests finishing at least four weeks ahead so verification lands in time.
So build the list in spring and submit early in the cycle, when every deadline is still months away and verification has time to finish. Adding programs late in the cycle buys little. Our CASPA application guide walks through the sections, and the PA school personal statement guide covers the essay.
Practice the question every program asks
A list of 10 programs can mean 10 different “why us” answers. Write down two specific reasons for each program as you add it, and you'll have them ready when the invitations come.
“Why did you apply to our program?”
Every program on your list is a chance to be asked this. Name two things only this program offers, tie each one to your own experience and say what you'd bring.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
I applied here for two reasons I couldn't find together anywhere else. Your second-year rotations are built around rural primary care, and I've spent two years as an ED tech in a county hospital where most of my patients drive an hour to see anyone.
Your students also run the free clinic downtown. I've volunteered at one for three years, doing intake in English and Spanish, and I'd like to keep doing that work while I learn. I'd bring that experience, and the habit of explaining things plainly, to my cohort.
Sources: PAEA's 2024-25 applicant report, PAEA's CASPA and advisor pages, the CASPA Program Directory and Liaison's CASPA fee, date and deadline pages, linked throughout and checked as of November 1, 2026. List sizes, ratios and fee totals are our own math and advice.
Frequently asked questions
How many PA schools does the average applicant apply to?
8.45 programs, in the 2024-25 CASPA cycle, per PAEA. That cycle had 34,625 applicants and 12,636 matriculants. Read PAEA's report.
How many PA schools should I apply to?
Our advice is 8 to 12 for most applicants, all programs whose minimums you clear. Apply to 12 to 15 if your GPA or hours are near programs' minimums. PAEA itself sets no target number. See PAEA's CASPA page.
How much does it cost to apply to 10 PA schools?
$770 in CASPA fees: $185 for the first program and $65 for each of the other nine. Some programs add a supplemental fee on top. See CASPA's fees.
Is 20 PA schools too many?
It can be, if some are programs you don't fully qualify for. Twenty programs cost $1420 in CASPA fees before supplemental fees, and each one may send a supplemental essay. Twenty programs that fit you is fine. Twenty picked by name is not. Check your GPA against programs.
Does the CASPA fee waiver cover more than one program?
Yes, the first two: $185 and $65, $250 in all. Submit to both at once with Submit All, or you lose what's left of it. Waivers for the 2026-27 cycle were all awarded as of September 2026. Read the waiver rules.