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3rd time applicant- what are my chances?


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EDIT: Have interviewed at 3 programs so far and have 1 coming up next month. Just found out last week I've been ACCEPTED into an amazing school that's close to home and I could not be happier. For those who are still persisting, don't give up and use my story as an example. Third time was a charm for me and I can't wait to start next summer! :) For anyone that wants advice- please feel free to PM me!

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My undergrad GPA and science GPA are on the lower side (3.2 overall and 2.9 science), but I just finished a Masters in Biomedical Science and graduated with a 3.7 GPA. [...]

 

I have over 2500 hours of patient care experience which includes volunteering, clinical research, shadowing PAs and working as a physical therapy aide.

I'm highlighting the two areas of concern I see in what you've posted here:

 

1) Your sGPA is lower than your cGPA.  Sounds like your recent studies have improved that, but ideally you want your sGPA as high as or higher than your cGPA. 0.3 difference isn't a huge difference, but a) it's in the wrong direction, and b) your cGPA isn't exceptional to begin with.  It's not terrible either, but it's not going to distinguish you above other applicants, that's all.

 

2) Your estimation of what counts as patient care experience is overly generous: Of the four things you listed, only PT aide is unequivocally patient care experience.  Observing sick people and their treatment is good, but is not the same as actually having direct responsibility for patient CARE.  Volunteering and research rarely are actual patient care, but they can be in exceptional circumstances, and shadowing a PA is really not care. All this to say that if you've been adding up all those to make 2500 hours, but PT Aide is <500 of them, then you're probably overestimating the strength of your patient care experience.

 

On other fronts, you don't mention whether you got interviews in your past cycles--if you did, your application is adequate, but interviewing didn't help springboard you over people with stronger profiles.  If you didn't, then the problem is in your application package: numbers (HCE/GPA) or LORs.

 

* Run the numbers--how have they changed since last application?

 

In the year between my first and second/successful application, I raised my undergrad GPA from 3.17 to 3.30, total science GPA from 3.48 to 3.68, BCP from 3.50 to 3.76, and BCPM form 3.38 to 3.58.  I know this, because after the first rejection, I made a detailed spreadsheet tracking every college class I've ever taken, and I can now tell you what my GPA was for any of CASPA's figured scores at any time since I started accruing college credits.

 

I also went from 2100 to 2745 PCE hours. Of the latter number, over 2,000 were as a volunteer FF/EMT, and I didn't count a single hour of shadowing or clinical rotations as PCE hours.

 

* Could you have a poison LOR?  Given that your stats aren't super, I wouldn't be too paranoid about that, but it's always a possibility.  To be a poison LOR, it doesn't have to say "This candidate is awful", it can just be damnation by faint praise.  Do your best to make sure your LOR writers can speak concretely to your accomplishments--always make sure they have a copy of your resume and other application materials, so they can comment on things they haven't directly observed: e.g. I saw Bob do X, Y, and Z, and he did a really good job at them, especially since he also was doing A, B, and C at the same time.

 

* If you got interviews but didn't get in, PRACTICE mock interviews until you're at ease, can handle any of the off the wall questions with poise and grace, and let your true self shine through.

 

Edit: Oh, and if your GRE scores are fine, why spend the time and money re-taking them?  I've never known an applicant who got in on the basis of their scores, nor one who was rejected on that basis--Even for programs that require the GRE, it's just one part of the whole application package.  I think GRE ought to be more important than it is, because I suspect it is a weak predictor for PANCE performance, but to the best of my knowledge no one has run those numbers yet.

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Hi everyone! I was wondering if you all could provide some input. I just submitted my CASPA for this cycle and this is my third time applying. My undergrad GPA and science GPA are on the lower side (3.2 overall and 2.9 science), but I just finished a Masters in Biomedical Science and graduated with a 3.7 GPA. I took graduate level science courses, and some of them were even shared with the PA curriculum at my school. I have over 2500 hours of patient care experience which includes volunteering, clinical research, shadowing PAs and working as a physical therapy aide. My GRE scores are fine, but I'm planning on re-taking the GRE in about a month. I have great letters of rec from a couple grad school professors, former co-worker, and a PA I shadowed. I feel like this should be my year and I really do not want to have to re-apply. I'm not sure what else I can do to make my application stronger. Any suggestions or thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

This doesn't make sense to me.....are you anticipating a 4th cycle?

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Your 3.7 GPA from the masters level work is your strength, because it shows your academic strength and your commitment to improvement.

Actually, this is incorrect, because graduate GPA is not figured into cumulative undergraduate GPA, and with good reason: grade inflation at the graduate level precludes an apples-to-apples comparison.  Having a graduate GPA 0.5 above your undergraduate GPA is actually pretty typical.

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I appreciate all the feedback and here is some clarification: I am re-taking the GRE because one section of my GRE (analytical writing) is lower than what most schools consider average. I haven't found that a lot of schools are waiving the GRE because of my graduate degree, so this is why I am choosing to take it again. Edit- I re-took the GRE and improved in all sections- I think this helped my applciation and maybe even helped me score more interviews!

 

As far as my patient contact hours, I misspoke earlier. I did not count shadowing as patient contact hours. However, I believe my volunteering and clinical research does count because I worked with actual patients. My volunteering involved monitoring and assisting cardiopulmonary rehab patients at a hospital as well as working as a camp counselor for children with muscular dystrophy. My clinical research involved taking blood pressures and performing EKGs for a heart disease study. My rehab aide job counts for about 2000 of those hours, plus it was a paid, full-time position. Edit- I started a full time job in July working in the field of genetics- I also think this helped my app!

 

I have not had any interviews in previous cycles. Of the few programs I was able to get in contact with, all of them said it was due to my low GPA. This is why I enrolled in the graduate program. Edit- scored 4 interviews so far this cycle! I attribute it mostly to my success in graduate level coursework!

 

Edit: My graduate program was 9 months and included 45 hours of hard, graduate level science courses. It was quite difficult/ stressful at times and definitely comparable to a PA didactic curriculum (since it was taken within the College of Health Sciences).

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Pacific does, but I can tell you right now they're inundated with students with a lot better stats than yours.  Now that the PANCE pass rates have been ridiculously good for the past three years, I probably wouldn't be able to even get into the program that graduated me.

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This may sound like a silly question, but are you sure you are meeting minimum requirements of the programs to which you are applying? *most* programs I looked at had a 3.0 science GPA minimum.

 

That being said, it took me three times to get in; I was interviewed all three times, changed what needed to changed (GPA and clinical hours) and made it in. But if the minimum requirement is 3.0 and you have a 2.9999 they will not consider your application no matter what.

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In previous cycles, I was applying to schools that had a 2.75 minimum requirement for science GPAs. However, now with my graduate coursework my overall sciGPA comes out to a 3.16 and overall is 3.3 so I meet most schools' requirements.

 

I have not yet been interviewed. Each year I've definitely made improvements in my applcation. Last year it was the clinical hours and now it's my academics/ test scores.

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@aanch11 - I got in this year with a sGPA lower than yours and mostly all my HCE stemmed from a clinical research coordinator position that was heavy on direct patient care. Make sure your personal statement and your letters of recommendation are excellent - I truly believe, in some cases, those placed me above my peers with higher GPAs. You're going to have to shine much brighter with lower numbers, but it's definitely not impossible!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Outside of GPA or HCE, you can also pad your application with little things to show your dedication to health care. Some suggestions: BLS certification (takes a few hours of one day for 2 year cert.), annual Pre-PA membership with AAPA ($70?), and registration with your state PA organization.

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