Planning Tool · 1,340 Verified Programs
Medical Assistant Program Matcher
Which Medical Assistant Program Fits You?
The right program is one you can reach, on a schedule you can keep, at a price you can pay, that teaches the skills employers in your area want. Enter your ZIP code or state and the matcher sorts 1,340 programs at 989 schools, nearest first, and tells you why each one made your list. 298 programs offer evening classes and 339 are CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited.
How the Program Matcher Picks and Orders Programs
Every program in the matcher was read on the school's own pages in October 2026: credential, format, schedule, length, clock hours or credits, the externship, the skills taught, the certification exams named and published tuition. Accreditation comes only from the CAAHEP and ABHES lists captured October 12, 2026. Each filter you set removes programs that don't meet it. With a ZIP code, campuses inside your radius are listed nearest first. Without one, programs are sorted by cost, lowest first.
Cost is the school's published program total where it has one. Where it publishes a per-credit or per-clock-hour rate and the credits or hours the program takes, the matcher multiplies the two and labels the result an estimate. Fees, books, uniforms and exam fees come on top.
Which Filters Narrow the List Most
- Distance. Medical assisting is taught in person, so a 25-mile radius is a realistic commute. Widen it if you're in a rural area.
- Schedule. 298 programs state evening classes and 25 state weekend classes, so these two filters cut deepest.
- Accreditation. 339 programs are CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited. If you want the CMA (AAMA) credential through the standard route, start here, or check a school in the accredited program checker.
- Skills. 657 programs state phlebotomy training and 570 state EKG. Limited X-ray, taught in a few states, narrows the list to 28.
- Budget. The cost and payoff calculator turns any match into a total after grants, a loan payment and a payback time.
Your Answers Stay in Your Browser
The matcher downloads the site's public program file once and filters it on your device. Your ZIP code is used only to look up its center point from a small public file; nothing you choose is sent to this site or stored on a server.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Does the Program Matcher Choose Programs?
It checks your answers against the 1,340 medical assisting programs at 989 schools on this site, each read on the school's own pages in October 2026. Every filter you set removes programs that don't meet it. With a ZIP code, campuses are sorted nearest first; without one, programs are sorted by published or estimated cost, lowest first.
How Accurate Is the ZIP Code Distance?
Distances are straight-line miles from the center of your ZIP code (U.S. Census Bureau ZIP code areas) to the campus address the school reports to the U.S. Department of Education. Driving distance is usually longer, so add a margin when you pick a radius.
Why Do Fully Online Programs Appear Below Local Campuses?
Medical assisting needs hands-on skills and an in-person externship, so only 13 programs here run fully online, and they still place you in a clinic near you for the externship. The matcher lists them once, after local campuses, so they never crowd out schools you can reach.
What Does the Accredited Filter Do?
It keeps programs that appear on the CAAHEP or ABHES lists of accredited medical assisting programs (captured October 12, 2026). Graduates of those programs can take the CMA (AAMA) exam through the AAMA's standard route. 339 programs on this site are covered.
Are Sponsored Schools Part of the Results?
No. Matches come only from the verified program records on this site. Sponsored listings sit in separate boxes labeled Ad.
Sources
- Official program, admissions and tuition pages of each school, reviewed October 2026
- CAAHEP, accredited medical assisting programs, captured October 12, 2026
- ABHES, directory of accredited institutions and programs, captured October 12, 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Gazetteer Files: ZIP Code Tabulation Areas
- U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS institutional characteristics (HD2024), campus coordinates