CASPA GPA Explained: How PA Schools Calculate Your Science GPA

The Physician Assistant Bottleneck

Physician Assistant (PA) programs have become statistically harder to get into than many Medical Schools.

Because the PA profession offers a six-figure salary, high autonomy, and massive lateral mobility without the crushing debt and residency requirements of an MD, applications have surged.

To filter out the thousands of applicants, PA schools rely heavily on the CASPA (Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants) application portal.

And the single most important metric CASPA generates is your Science GPA.

The CASPA Science Definition

When you enter your coursework into CASPA, you must assign a subject code to every class. CASPA defines "Science" very strictly. It is broken into three distinct pillars:

Biology/Zoology: Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Genetics.

Chemistry: Inorganic, Organic, Biochemistry.

Physics: General Physics.

What is EXCLUDED from the CASPA Science GPA? Unlike MD applications (which use a BCPM GPA that includes Math), CASPA explicitly excludes Math and Statistics from the Science GPA.

This is a brutal reality check for many applicants. If you are a Pre-PA student who struggled in Chemistry (getting 'C's), you cannot use an 'A' in Calculus or an 'A' in Statistics to artificially inflate your Science GPA.

Math classes are tossed into the "Non-Science" bucket. Your CASPA Science GPA is a raw, unforgiving look at how you handle hard biology and chemistry.

The Magic Number: 3.5

In 2026, the average accepted PA student has a Science GPA hovering around a 3.5 to 3.6.

If your Science GPA drops below a 3.2, you are in the danger zone. Many programs employ automated software that will instantly reject any applicant with a sub-3.0 Science GPA before a human ever looks at their clinical hours.

If your Science GPA is low, you must stop taking electives and immediately enroll in upper-level Biology courses to drag the average upward before the CASPA cycle opens in April.