NCSUEMT Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Hey everybody So I'm wondering about my chances this upcoming year. I'm a non-traditional undergraduate student who will graduate next spring, I've finished all my pre-reqs and I'm just wondering about my chances of getting in if I apply this year. I just did a full and accurate GPA calculation so without further ado, here are my stats... Experience: 9ish years EMS, 2 EMT-B, 7 Paramedic (approx. 20k hours) cGPA: 3.24 sGPA: 3.2 GRE: Not taken yet, but will take in a month or so, I know my test taking abilities and I'm expecting middle of the pack, nothing spectacular. "Extracurriculars": Husband, father, Ironman/Marathon runner, former union shop steward, 2 leadership awards, class president of my paramedic class, volunteer biology tutor. I don't know what it's worth, but I go to a pretty competitive public university (UNC-Chapel Hill, yes I really need to change my username). BA: Biology (prospective) LORs: Former Paramedic Instructor/Supervisor, an Emergency BSN who's worked with me for years and a professor who can vouch for my work ethic, despite my mediocre GPA. Now, here's the rub, I have a big fat C in Anatomy and Physiology 1 from 2007. It was a pre-req for my paramedic program and at the time I was of the mindset of C=EMT-P, I completed my first years in CC with no intention of going back to school whatsoever so I didn't take it as seriously as I should have. I took A&P II last year and rocked an A, so that's cool. My other C's are in Statistics and Chem II, no real excuses there except those are hard classes, they're even harder when working 36 hours/week, taking 17 credit hours and taking care of a family (that was a rough semester). So basically I have two questions, the cost of applying is not insignificant to me and my family, however the cost of retaking three pre-reqs isn't either. Would it be wise to just wait a year, retake those Cs or do I stand a decent enough chance of getting in despite the Cs? Additionally, does anyone know of any programs that put a greater emphasis on healthcare and life experience over GPA? I feel like I'm in a bind because the schools that I know value high quality HCE (Duke, Medex, etc) really feel like a reach and I don't want to throw away a couple hundred bucks if I don't really stand a chance at those places. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakingpatience Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Definitely apply this year! The important part is your GPA is above the minimum requirements, so good programs that look more at the "whole" person will look at your application. As far as programs that put an emphasis on more HCE, search the forum, there are a plethora of posts listing out schools to consider. Off the top of my head, MEDEX, Utah, Stanford, UNC, Emory Personally, I applied to Duke, and it's the only school I didn't get an interview at; I'm a paramedic with a decent GPA but no research experience... Made me wonder how much they value the research component, someone who goes there could probably answer that better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted April 29, 2016 Administrator Share Posted April 29, 2016 You may have to retake prerequisite classes if they're 9 years old, depending on which schools you're looking at. If so, then your decision is made for you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbum Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 I think you should apply now. Retaking those few classes isn't going to make your application that much better, IMO. Unless you apply very narrowly, wrote a miserable PS, or interview very poorly, I'd be surprised if you don't get accepted somewhere. Think about it....adcoms see application after application with 3.9 GPAs....but 20k hrs of PCE? That's different...and it'll turn some heads. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 You may have to retake prerequisite classes if they're 9 years old, depending on which schools you're looking at. If so, then your decision is made for you... ^^ This is the first thing to look at/consider. Assuming your pre-reqs are recent enough just apply smartly (i.e not to schools that have average matriculating GPAs of 3.8) and you'll be fine. A few Cs won't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCSUEMT Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 Thanks for the replies everyone. I've looked at all the schools timeline for pre-reqs, I'm good to go with all of my schools except one "highly recommends" 10 years, which I'll just barely make. The only old pre-req I have is A&P 1 so hopefully that won't be an issue. I've decided to go ahead and apply. I'm really excited to start this journey, thank you all so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCHW9076 Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 I applied with a very similar package to yours (and a whole lot of C's) and I had no problem getting in. Good luck OP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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