Looking to avoid GRE prep on your path to PA school? You’re not alone — and you have plenty of company on the admissions side too: most U.S. physician assistant programs no longer require the GRE, and more drop it every cycle.
That’s exactly why a dated, copy-pasted list can quietly steer you wrong. This one can’t go stale: the list below is generated live from the PA School Finder directory every time this page loads. Each program’s GRE policy is verified from its own admissions page and CASPA, and accreditation status is checked against the ARC-PA weekly — so what you see here is what’s true today, not what was true when a blog post was written.
Live snapshot (Jul 21, 2026): 219 PA programs do not require the GRE, 92 require it, and 27 do not clearly state a policy.
PA Programs That Don't Require the GRE
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How to use this list
Click any program to open its full PA School Finder profile — minimum GPA, patient care hour requirements, prerequisites, tuition, PANCE pass rates, deadlines, and a “What This Program Looks For in Applicants” summary. A few honest notes as you browse:
“Not required” doesn’t always mean “ignored.” A handful of programs that don’t require the GRE will still review a strong score if you submit one. If your score is excellent, it can occasionally help; if it’s not, no-GRE programs let you leave it off entirely — that’s the point.
A few programs don’t clearly state their policy. We list those separately above rather than guessing — verify directly with the program before you decide to skip the test. And policies do change mid-cycle occasionally, so always confirm on the program’s own admissions page before finalizing your school list.
Build your school list around more than the GRE
The GRE is one filter of many. To combine it with state, GPA, patient care hours, deadlines, tuition, and PANCE pass rates, try the free PA Program Match tool — or paste your stats into PA Program Match AI to get a free competitiveness score and see exactly which programs fit your profile.
