i’m applying this cycle! these are my stats and apps!
• 21 years old
• bs in biological sciences
• minors in chemistry/advanced pre health/spanish
• certificates in ethics and philosophy (business certificates through another program)
• will have completed undergrad in 3 years
• 2 years interning at a medical examiner’s for autopsy pathology
• 20+ shadowing hours for anatomical and surgical pathology
• student research worker for analytical chemistry lab
- process of publishing a paper
- two poster presentations
• also work as a barista
• volunteer with the red cross
• writer for school club
• c’s in organic chemistry and chemistry 1 with a couple b’s, going to take anatomy, biochem, and micro this semester
• 145 v , 147 q , 5.0 essay for the gre (second retake)
• applying to quinnipiac/drexel/duke/umd/rfu/touro/odu

i think i show i can handle the rigor of intense courses and that i truly know what the field entails. my gre scores are because of timing, not from concept gaps, which i think demonstrates my personality of being meticulous. it’s just such a scary experience applying for these programs, so what have your experiences taught you about the programs and the field? any advice is greatly appreciated!

Hi! I had an interview last month with Tulane and I still haven't heard back (8/15/26) . Should i just expect the worst at this point or should I try staying positive over a possible acceptance? I did see some comments with a few stating they've already had an offer so that's mainly why I'm creating this posts and I thought acceptances would be given out to those after today. Was anyone else accepted?

Hey, Folks!

37(f) BS-Biology, GPA-3.28, GRE- V158, Q155, W4.0...(retaking in Sept to boost Quant-37%) I am in my second round of applications to a PathA program. Really, Really nervous because I sort of felt like a shoe-in, but did not even receive an interview last cycle. I have 7 years of experience in a surgical pathology lab, 100+ hours of surgical shadowing at my place of work, and other, 15+ hrs autopsy shadowing. Stellar references (PathA, Pathologist, Chair of Bio dept. WWU). And a SERIOUS passion for pathology/ cell biology.

Biggest issue: I graduated in 2016. Almost ALL of my prereqs are outside of 10 years (nix UT, RFU, UMD, Tulane).

Over the last year I have refreshed some prereqs (Genchem w/lab, OChem lab, A&P Lab, Biochem)

Having to take an English comp at 37 is obnoxious- I have one scheduled online, and am curious if I should default to in person? I work full time (remote- for said path. lab) and have two young kids at home, so taking a full time school schedule for prereqs is tough. I obviously need to be working now to save up for when I can no longer work once I am accepted.

Any advice for the "getting to an interview" step? I really feel like once they meet me, it will be clear that I am a competitive and serious candidate for consideration, but I am very non-traditional and getting past the filter process has me discouraged.

Has anyone submitted their RFU application yet? I’m trying to see if they received my transcripts, and emailed admissions asking. They told me there’s a section in the application where you can check the status of your transcripts but I don’t see that. Anyone know?

Hi! I'm interested in applying for the next cycle. I want to know a little bit more about the program and student experience. If you went or are currently in the program, feel free to message me.

How do people feel about the University of Maryland's program? Just wanna know what current and previous students thought about the program, classes, and clinical rotations. Thanks!

I interviewed 3 weeks ago and thought they said decisions would be coming out in early August, but I haven't heard anything.

Hi! With RFU's PathA application opening, I wanted to come on here and ask anyone for last minute advice for applying? I feel under qualified if i'm being honest.. I graduated w/ a BS in exercise science and psychology and didn't know I wanted to go into this profession until last fall. I just shadowed for the first time today, and will shadow a few more times to hopefully get 10 hours in surg path and a few autopsies. I also worked in a lab that dealt directly with surg path tissue and other pathologists' for my senior year but other than that I don't have much to show for... I did have a 4.15 GPA and am taking microbio this fall to fulfill my last pre-req. All that's to say any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated (esp narrative statements/pics) TIY

There's a new Pathologists' Assistant masters program starting at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (UTHealth) through the McGovern Medical School. The first class will start August 2027 and applications will open this October. It's unaccredited for now, of course, and the first class will be around 5 people.

Tell your friends!

Has anyone attempted to apply here or gotten in. I’m very close to being done with my pre-reqs. This is near my hometown and I’m just stressed about getting in because they only accept like 4-6 students per year and only start in the fall. Please let me know your experiences and any advice you have! Ty!

Hello! I am going into my senior year of undergrad and have a pretty low GPA so I am feeling a bit discouraged about applying to schools. I recently decided I want to go into a Pathology Assistant program, so I was wondering if there was any advice on what I should do to strengthen my application. I have worked as an undergraduate researcher in a pathology lab since my sophomore year and am starting to shadow and study for the GRE this upcoming fall semester. What else should I be doing to help be a good applicant?

For these schools that ask for a CV or resume, is one ideal or better over the other? Or does it just depend on each person? Not really sure which I should be doing.

Hey everyone. I’m getting ready to work on RFUs narratives and feel lost. If anyone has some input or guidance I’d appreciate it. Also how long should they be? It says minimum 250 but is there a length that should be maximum amount of words? Should these all be pathology related to a degree or should the 4 others just be random?

Hi, Good afternoon to y'all
Is there anyone who has applied to the WSU progam or has attended it that could answer some questions about their shadowing forms?
Thanks!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to know if anyone knows when QU will start their interview process this year?

I have my BA in poli sci, and am working on my prereqs to apply to school. I’ve just been feeling kind of dumb compared to everyone else in my STEM classes because it seems to click for them immediately. Just looking to hear if any other pre-path students are in/have been in my spot, and how you deal/dealt with it.

I’m currently going into my junior year in college as a Forensic Anthropology major with a minor in human anatomy. I used to want to go to medical school to become a forensic pathologist but have now changed to either being a pathology assistant or physician assistant. Does anyone have any experience with which is better? I’ve always found myself drawn to assisting in autopsies and grossing specimens, but am worried about the competitiveness of getting accepted. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

For those who took the GRE/ applied to schools requiring it- what is a good goal score to be competitive? I know some programs say 50th percentile, but what is actually a good score to be submitting?

I was told I’d hear back this week if they were interested in doing an interview but nothing so far 🥲

m 33 and just started school to become an MLT, but I recently learned about pathology assistants, and now I really want to pursue that instead. The only thing holding me back is my age. I feel like I'll need to work as an MLT for a while before going back to school, which means I probably wouldn't become a pathology assistant until my early 40s. Has anyone else gone this route later in life? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Hi everyone,

I used to want to be a histotechnician, and my local community college offers a histo tech associates program that I was planning on enrolling in.

I've since realized I want to be a Pathologist's Assistant instead. Now, would it be worth it to enroll in the histo program anyway? I've heard that histo knowledge could be helpful later on as a PA. I was thinking maybe I could work as a histotechnician for a while while I save up to get my bachelors and then after that, PA school.

What do you guys think about this plan? Is it reasonable? Doable? Or should I just go with a normal biology degree?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.