I want to understand this better, but am confused. Can you explain the difference between DU and QU in terms of admit and yield a bit more clearly please. It seems as though both programs got somewhere around 800 ish applications with QU accepting 25 and DU accepting 40. I know that QU doesn’t use a wait list and DU does rely heavily on this.
Why do you think that is? Does this mean that many admitted to DU don’t accept and therefore they move to the wait list? If so, I wonder why that would be.
Really appreciate your help with this. Thanks:)
Hi there $$$$,
This has been agonizing for my son as well. He goes back and forth, and I think the decision is going to boil down to what feels best or right for him. Everything you wrote in your post is exactly what’s going on with my son - you couldn’t have described it better. At this point he is leaning towards Duquesne, for the same reasons you stated…the vibe and location, and somewhat the fact that it is 5 year as opposed to 6 years (but that isn’t the deciding factor). I think also the new 3.2 required GPA at QU comes with a bit more pressure that the students who are already in the program don’t need to worry about. Feel free to give me a call or text to discuss further - or maybe our kids can chat a bit? 858 229-7520.
DU does not accept 40 students, QU accepts about 80 students. Because they over-enrolled students in the past, they are put on probation. What they do now is to accept 40 students first, wait till the end of March to ask for the admitted students to reply, then they accept more students one at time to make up the 40 spots. They said that they usually accept about 80 students overall.
QU has no such problem. They accepted 70 last year and 40 enrolled. They only have 50 spots and the rest is filled by graduate admission. This year, they accepted 25 (I believe, maybe a little more), and put many in their new Pre-PA program. They will select some students from the Pre-PA program and from graduate admission to make up the 50 spots.
DU does not have any connection with UPMC, so they don’t put students there for clinical rotations.
It is always hard to figure out how difficult the QU program is, and it depends how strong the students are. .A 3.2 GPA is still a low bar for many students, though they don’t like the new rule. Many students last year had many APs so they skipped Calculus and English in the first semester.
It is ALL about fit!
More info about PA program.
They have 54 spots overall. The admission rate at graduate level is 2.5%.
https://www.qu.edu/content/dam/qu/documents/shs/physician-assistant_faq.pdf
For the current freshman ELMPA class, it has 40 students. So in three years, the acceptance rate for this class at graduate level would be (54-40)/1200=1.1%, if the application pool stays about the same…
My daughter will be Elmpa in the fall. We just attended admitted student day. They accepted only 43 student into the Elmpa program for fall 2019 and are expecting 25 to enroll. They said the retention rate for Elmpas who go on to graduate from the program is 98%. They said they would not have offer acceptance if they did not think your student could handle the curriculum. I did not know about the new 3.2 GPA requirement. So that is good to know.
Congrats! And thank you for the info. The acceptance rate this year should be about 43/800=5.3% and the yield they expect is 25/43=58%.
A 3.2 GPA is not difficult to achieve as the courses are not difficult. They don’t curve the tests in any classes so your kid may need to get used to it. They accept many APs and it helps in the 1st semester if your kid feels difficult. Many current freshman Elmpa skipped Calc, English last year.
Would you mind sharing some of your daughter’s stats? I’m curious to see if my stats could get me accepted because I really want to get into the ELMPA program next year
We just went to QU open house, and they seem to anticipate many more changes, and now they will also implement interviews for most candidates for admissions due to new person in charge. Does anyone know how the scholarship works in the grad portion (last 2 years)? Admin counselor said something along the lines of $5000/semester but grad school is not considered F/T study?
Maximum is $20,000 for the 1st year graduate study, and no aid on the 2nd year, provided you satisfy the requirements.
I heard that 26 students enrolled this year. Can someone confirm this?
For those who children who have just attended QU, or other direct entry schools, how are they adjusting? My son will be applying EA soon. Any tips will be helpful - thanks so much.
My daughter is a freshman ELMPA at QU and is very happy. She is not concerned about 3.2 GPA. If your child gets into the program, they should not have an issue with the GPA. The transition has been great and my daughter has time to work and socialize. The ELMPA kids definitely socialize together and with the non ELMPA students. If your student gets in, I highly recommend the program!