Pace PA Program Interview: Format, Dates and Who Gets In

Pleasantville

Interviews take place on the Pace PA campus in Pleasantville, New York.

• Individual interview. With either the Program Director or the Medical Director, as well as several program faculty.
• Group exercise. You work on a task with other applicants. Pace does not publish what the task is.
• An essay. You write an essay on the day. Pace does not publish the topic or the time limit.
• Tour and students. A tour of the facilities, and time with current PA students, who are around all day to answer questions.
• Rubric scoring. Faculty score what they see with rubrics and use them to decide who is offered a seat.

Lenox Hill (New York City)

The admissions process has four parts: academic review, patient care experience, supporting documents and a personal interview.

• Format not published. Pace does not say how long the interview is, who runs it or whether it is online. PAEA lists a traditional interview and says an onsite interview is not required.
• Dates are fixed. Interview spots go first come, first served, and a date cannot be changed once you pick it.

What Pleasantville scores

Cognitive capability, professional awareness, commitment to the profession, leadership, service and community orientation, communication, personal and behavioral qualities, interpersonal skills, self-confidence, motivation and initiative, professionalism, social support and coping abilities.

What Lenox Hill scores

Academic preparation, interpersonal skills, professionalism, critical thinking, maturity, self-awareness, empathy, ethical reasoning, commitment to the profession and fit with the program's goals and mission.

Pleasantville

Pleasantville uses a holistic review of academics, prior experience, service, goals and interpersonal skills, and adds points for applicants who fit its mission.

• GPA of 3.0 or more. Both cumulative and science. Higher GPAs and a master's degree get preference.
• 300 hours of direct patient care. Hands-on work, paid or volunteer. More hours get preference.
• 40 hours with a PA. Working with or shadowing a PA is required, on top of the 300 patient care hours unless those hours already included PA work.
• Three references. From professionals, with at least one from a PA or a physician (MD or DO).
• Prerequisites. No grade below B-, finished within seven years, with science courses taken in person. At most two can be in progress when you apply.
• Mission fit. Pace encourages Hudson Valley residents (a permanent address within 75 miles of the campus), veterans, first-generation students and groups underrepresented in the health professions. It seeks people who want to work with medically underserved populations and prefers leadership in school and community service.

Lenox Hill (New York City)

Lenox Hill gave priority to applications verified before its September 1, 2026 deadline. Pace says later applications are reviewed only if space is available.

• GPA of 3.0 or more. Both cumulative and science, using all college courses.
• 200 hours of direct patient care. Finished by the time you submit. Shadowing does not count.
• All prerequisites done. Graded when you submit, within the past 10 years, with no more than one grade below B-.
• Statement and references. A one-page personal statement and three professional references, one from a health professional.
• What gets preference. Higher overall and science GPAs, semesters with three or more science courses at once, prerequisites at a four-year school, higher first-attempt grades, a superior personal statement and favorable letters.

Dates for 2027 entry

• About August 2026. Pleasantville started inviting applicants to interview.
• September 1, 2026. Lenox Hill deadline, which has passed. Your CASPA had to be e-submitted with transcripts, payment and two of three letters received. Interview invitations go out after this date, and responses are sent between September and December.
• March 1, 2027. Pleasantville's CASPA e-submit deadline. It is still open, and seats fill on a rolling basis until the class is full.
• July 2027. Lenox Hill starts. The first two months are remote and full time, then classes move on campus in September.
• September 2027. Pleasantville starts, according to its PAEA entry.
• 2028 entry. Neither Pace program has posted dates for the next cycle. CASPA hasn't posted its 2027-28 opening date. PAEA says each cycle opens on the last Thursday in April.

The programs

Pleasantville is a 27-month primary care program with eight required clerkships and one elective. Its mission is to educate veterans and culturally diverse students, with an emphasis on primary care and service.

Lenox Hill is a 26-month, full-time program that leads to a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. Its mission is to graduate PA leaders committed to professionalism and community engagement.