The University of the Pacific PA program interview format

The Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program at the University of the Pacific, based in Sacramento, invites only its most competitive applicants to interview. Its admission policies page says interviewees take part in a day-long event that includes social activities, a panel interview and group interviews. The FAQ adds that the day lasts several hours and consists of an orientation, a panel interview and a group interview, with tours of the program facilities and campus included.

Item	What Pacific says
Day structure	Orientation, a panel interview, a group interview, social activities, tours
Scoring	Applicants are scored using a pre-defined scoring system, then reviewed
Interview months (2026 cycle)	June to September 2026; the FAQ says July through September
Selection	The committee meets after all interviews and selects the class, no later than October 1
On the day	The program will not accept updated documents, such as a resume or letters
Virtual or in person, panel size, group task, question types	Not published

The 2026 interview window has closed. If you are applying in the next cycle, check the deadlines page, which listed an application window from April 30 to August 1 in 2026 and interviews from June to September.

How Pacific decides who gets an interview

Pacific screens applications as they arrive from CASPA, confirms that prerequisites are met, and then scores and ranks applications using criteria it calls proprietary, including quantitative and qualitative evaluation of academic achievement and health care experience. It says plainly that high achievement in one area may not qualify an applicant for an interview. The FAQ says interview invitations go out throughout the cycle, in order of CASPA verified date among qualified applicants, and that applicants may be waitlisted for an interview if slots fill. It also says there is no preference for applying early, but slots are limited, so apply well before the deadline. Pacific says it does not offer early admission: all seats are offered after the final interviews.

The program says it gives some preference to applicants with a letter of recommendation from a PA, applicants from a list of California counties, and applicants from Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada and Washington.

What Pacific values

The program's mission, vision and values page names four values: excellence, professionalism, discovery and humanism. It describes humanism as recognizing that every person deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. The mission is to produce highly qualified, compassionate health care professionals committed to lifelong learning and leadership in their careers and communities. The admission policies also say selection considers the application, interview, experience, suitability for completing the program and building diversity in the student body.

Pacific says nothing about what each part is meant to show. Our reading, not Pacific's: a group interview lets interviewers see how you listen and share the floor, and a panel means answering questions from more than one interviewer.

Requirements that matter before the interview

No generative AI in your application. Pacific says applicants who use it, including under the guise of assistive AI, will have their applications denied.
Prerequisites complete at application. The FAQ says in-progress prerequisites are not accepted, and your degree must be on an official transcript when you submit. The minimum grade is a C minus.
GRE: not required.
Start: each January. The program was established in 2016 and is offered at its Center for PA Education in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood, which opened in January 2024.

How to prepare for Pacific

Practice the panel. Ask three friends to question you at once, with one person changing the subject mid-answer. Look at the person who asked, not at yourself on screen.
Practice a group conversation. Run a ten-minute group discussion with strangers or friends. Aim to build on others' points by name.
Prepare a humanism story. A time you treated someone with dignity when it was difficult. Make it concrete.
Know your health care experience cold. Pacific scores health care experience at the screening stage, so expect to discuss it in detail.
Do not bring documents. The program says it will not accept them on the day.

Pacific PA practice questions (written by us, not Pacific)

Pacific does not publish its interview questions. These are ours, built from its stated format and values. Practice each aloud for about two minutes.

Tell us why you want to be a PA and what you have done to test that decision.
Pacific's values include humanism. Tell us about a time you showed respect to a person who made it hard.
Describe the most difficult patient interaction you have had. What would you do differently?
Panel: someone interrupts your answer with a different question. How do you respond?
Group: you have 15 minutes with other applicants to agree on how a rural clinic should use limited funding for three competing needs. How do you contribute?
A colleague you admire makes a clinical decision you think is wrong. What do you do?
Tell us about a time you had to learn a difficult skill quickly.
What does lifelong learning look like for a PA, concretely?
A patient arrives with a printout of internet advice that conflicts with your plan. How do you respond?
Why Sacramento, and what do you hope to do after graduation?

For a wider set, see our PA program interview questions guide and the scored PA school mock interview.

A drill for a panel and a group

Pick five questions from the list and answer each in two minutes aloud with a timer.
Run them with a three-person panel, if you can find one. Have each panelist ask a different follow-up at random.
Do a ten-minute group exercise and record it. Count how many times you invited another person to speak.
Write down one lesson per drill and apply it the next time.

If you do not have partners, Confetto's PA school interview prep uses AI mock interviews that ask follow-up questions based on what you actually said and give rubric-based feedback afterward. The question bank has over 500 questions, and you can start with a 7-day free trial.

University of the Pacific PA interview FAQ

Is the Pacific PA interview an MMI?

Pacific describes a panel interview and a group interview, not an MMI.

Is it virtual?

Pacific does not say. The FAQ mentions tours of the facilities and campus during the interview day.

Can I bring updated materials?

No. Pacific says it will not accept any documents on interview day; everything goes through CASPA.

Does Pacific require the GRE?

No, it is optional. Pacific says applicants may choose to submit scores.

When do I hear back?

The committee meets after all interviews have been completed and emails an acceptance or an alternate offer. Class selection is no later than October 1.

Applying elsewhere on the West Coast? See our guides to the USC Keck PA program and Baylor College of Medicine PA program interviews, or our PA school interview prep page.

Sources: University of the Pacific MPAS admission policies, deadlines, FAQ, mission, vision and values and about pages.

Confetto isn't affiliated with the University of the Pacific. Everything here about the program comes from its public admissions pages, checked in October 2026. Formats and dates can change between cycles, so go by your invitation email.