PA School Interviews: 35 Practice Questions and Tips for Zoom

Getting ready for PA school interviews? Congratulations! And while interview season may look a little different this year (Zoom calls, anyone?), the importance of being properly prepared is still the same!

I used to work in advertising and public relations, and sometimes I would prepare experts to talk to the media. What was the most important thing for the experts to do? Know your key messages. There's going to be topics you know will likely be addressed in an interview, so be prepared to speak to those specific things. 

Same goes for PA school interviews. Yes, I've heard of programs asking some off-the-wall questions that you probably wouldn't see coming, but generally speaking there's a variety of likely topics that will come up. My advice? Think through how you want to answer those questions ahead of time. For me, this looked like an 11-page Google doc with sample questions I prepared answers for. It forced me to think through scenarios I'd want to share and my key messages about who I was as an applicant that I wanted to be sure my interviewers knew. 

I didn't memorize my answers. I didn't sound rehearsed. But I did sound prepared! And that's the goal, right?

Check out these sample PA school interview questions that you can prepare to answer prior to your interviews:

1. Tell us about yourself. (Tip: practice keeping this concise) 
2. What makes you unique? What are you famous for?
   
3. Tell us about a time you worked with someone you didn't like. (Make sure this story has a happy ending!)
4. Tell us about your biggest strength and biggest weakness as an applicant.  
5. Tell us about a time that you didn't meet expectations. (Again, have a happy ending here. What did you learn? How did you change moving forward?)
6. What kinds of challenges do you see involved with being a PA student?
7. How many hours a week do you plan on studying? How have you prepared for the rigorous nature of PA school?
8. What have you done to get yourself prepared for the PA profession?
9. What have you done to increase your changes of being accepted into PA school?
   
10. What have you done, other than shadowing, to prep for the PA profession?
11. Why do you want to be a PA versus an NP or MD? What's the difference between a PA and an NP? What's your understanding of what a PA does?
12. How do you see healthcare changing in the next 5 or 10 years? How will that affect the PA profession?
13. What's an important aspect of the PA and physician supervisor relationship?
14. If your physician supervisor tells you to do something that you know is incorrect, what do you do? 
15. If you had to choose a role in healthcare other than PA, what would you choose and why?
16. Who is the most important person on the healthcare team?
    
17. If we didn't accept you, what do you think the reason would be?
18. What's your plan if you don't get accepted this cycle? 
    
19. Why do you want to be accepted by our program versus others you applied to?
20. How did you evaluate and choose the programs you applied to?
    
21. Why should we accept you into our program?
22. What contributions would you make to our program?
23. What significant issues are facing PAs today?
24. Describe a time a patient interaction made an impact on you. 
25. Describe the most stressful work or school-related situation you've been in and explain how you dealt with it. 
26. How do you deal with stress? 
27. How do you manage your time wisely?
28. Do you work best alone or in a group?
    
29. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
30. Looking at your application, it looks like you may have struggled with X. Can you tell us more about this? (Again, don't focus on the bad, focus on the good that came from this experience!)
31. You've had several jobs in the past (or, changed majors, etc). How do we know you'll finish this program if you're accepted?
32. What's your ideal job as a PA?
33. What experiences influenced you to choose this career path?
34. And of course, a new one... How had COVID-19 influenced or changed your path to becoming a PA?
35. Do you have any question for us? (Tip: Yes, yes you do! Never say "no" to this question.)
    

An interview I did as a dietitian at a hospital for a local news station.
Note: this would be much too casual of an outfit for a PA school interview!

Want more tips? 

Dress to impress. This is still important if you're doing a Zoom interview! Lots of people wore black suits with a white blouse or dress shirt underneath. I wanted to look professional but stand out a little bit, so I wore a pencil skirt, dark purple blouse, and black blazer. And one of my most important tips if you're doing any in-person interviews? Don't wear heels if they are uncomfortable or you can't walk in them! A nice pair of black flats look just as professional if you're more comfortable in them. Plus, campus tours can be quite long and the last thing you want is some sore, blistered feet by the end. 

Set up your space well. Having the right lighting and background for your Zoom call is key! Natural light from a window can be great (just make sure you aren't distracted by what's going on outside), but properly positioned lamps can work well, too. And choose a background that is clean and clear of any clutter. Your messy bed or office clutter in the background doesn't exactly send the right message! It's okay to have some limited decor in the background, as long as it's not too distracting for your interviewer. A blank wall is fine too, but leave a little space between you and the wall for better visual effect. 

Choose the right tech. If you're doing a Zoom call, you want your interviewer to be able to see you as crisp and clear as possible. So if you're choosing between a laptop, iPad, phone or other device, pick the one that makes you look the most clear, even if it's not the biggest or best screen for you to look at. Also, test your audio ahead of time. If needed, use some headphones with a mic in it (like the Apple earbuds) instead of your device or computer's built-in mic. 

 

Good luck with your interviews!

Thanks for reading,
Olivia