Reply With QuoteDo the MA in Medical Sciences at BU.
Does anyone have a suggestion of a masters program you did before pa school that better prepared you? I need a way to prove I'm capable of doing graduate level work since my undergrad grades are below par. My major was psychology so I want to get more science classes under my belt!
Do the MA in Medical Sciences at BU.
What do you like about it?
You need to do undergrad coursework. Retake any pre-reqs that you made less than a B in and then start doing some upper level sciences.
^ thats correct. any post bac you do will have its own gpa, and your undergrad gpa will remain low, and you have a good chance of still being judged by it. if they have a gpa cutoff, your post bac might not contribute to meeting that minimum. personally, id find an associates degree nursing program at a CC and do that for cheap, or possibly an accelerated bsn if you can get into one. or id retake any prereqs i did poorly in, then take more undergrad biological sciences... immunology, pharmacology, genetics, advanced anat and phys, biochem, pathophysiology, neurobiology, etc. thats probably your best bet. but lets reconcile our notions of what a "below par" gpa is.... 3.0 is on the low end of the gpa spectrum. where do you fall? you might have a different idea of what below par is.
lets just say it's below 2.8-- embarrassingly low. my pre-req's so far are all above a B with the exception of Statistics (C) and Chem 1 (C+) but I am planning on doing Orgo, Microbio, Patho and life span development all to help boost my gpa. I'm looking for a good online pharmacology class. these classes are all getting expensive and I'm not sure how many i'll need to take to reach a 3.0. But I hear what you're saying about getting undgrad GPA above the 3.0 mark. I thought if I could do well in a masters program, that might be looked at more favorably since it's graduate level work.
MHSc @ Saint Francis University.
maybe a MPH? (masters in public health)
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Emergency Medicine PA, EMT-P
Doctor of Health Science & Global Health Student
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I received my MS in human anatomy. That doesn't mean I just took a really intense gross anatomy course. It also involved some very intense embrology, neurobiology, and histology in addition to a couple of electives. My program was closely related to the medical school in the same building. Not only did I learn everything about the human body, but I developed some amazing study habits and techniques.
organic you might not need... you should check with the schools you are interested in. with a C+ in general chem, you have your work cut out for you to get the B+ or above that you probably need in there if you take it. a C in stats would be on my retake list. micro is generally regarded as a prereq, and patho probably should be at many schools. life span development might be one to make sure you need as well. if you have to get the most bang for your buck, id seriously consider taking core science classes. with gpa below 2.8, it may be a while before you are in a position to be competetive. id seriously think about something like nursing, respiratory therapy, or paramedicine at a university so that you can start working in health care while you work towards your goal. id hate to go and do a post bac degree only to have schools overlook you. i dont think it will make up for your poor undergrad as much as you might hope it will. you mention that courses are getting expensive, but realistically, a post bac isnt cheap, and the amount of coursework it could take to get your gpa up will involve a lot of money and time.
The MA in Medical Sciences at BU is designed exactly for students like yourself, those who want to prove themselves in a graduate level science curriculum. Its a program with courses in histology, physiology, biochemistry, biostatistics, and other electives. The courses are taken at the BU school of medicine and follow the same curriculum and rigor as the medical school programs. It is a well respected program for preparation of entry into the health sciences. Though it would not bring up your undergraduate GPA, it definitely would show your potential to handle graduate science coursework in a rigorous environment, and can be completed in just a single year if you are motivated.
I have a bachelor's and master's in Psychology, so I had to go back and get all the undergrad science prereqs. The admissions committees were impressed that I had a better graduate GPA (3.4) than undergrad (2.62), but they were more impressed that I had a super high science GPA (3.9) once I took all the prereqs. There were many years between undergrad and prereqs, so I made the case that I had matured in my personal statement. Even with my 44 graduate hours and 40+ prereq hours, my overall GPA only came up to 2.9. It's almost impossible to signifanctly improve an overall GPA because you take so many undergrad hours. I would concentrate less on bringing up your overall GPA and more on taking or retaking science courses and getting all As.
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