LOW GPA, Please help

[johnblake928]

I currently have a 2.3 with a Bachelor's of Science in Biology and have already taken the GRE with a good score. I just graduated and I am currently planning on retaking the classes that I did bad in and taking more upper division science classes to raise my GPA. I also am gaining my hours through phlebotomy starting this January. If you could let me in on how else should I go about my journey please let me know. 

 

 

 

[NathanLe]

Sounds like you know you need to raise the GPA and rack up HCE hours. I'd be ready to address your GPA in your personal statement and at interviews. Shadow multiple PAs, build those relationships, and get strong letters of recommendation. With your GPA, amazing letters of recommendation could go a long way in convincing admissions committees that you are going to be a solid PA. 

[Timon]

Make an excel spreadsheet and put in every class you've ever taken in college and received a grade for. Make sure you include in that list the classes that you've repeated along the way.

 

Add up all the units and quality points and find your CASPA GPA.

 

Next, start calculating out how many units at a 4.0 GPA you'd need to raise your GPA to a 3.0. Do not replace your grades if you've taken the same class more than once, rather just keep a running total going.

 

Once you figure that out, you'll see that you'll roughly need to take about 90 units at a 4.0 to raise your GPA from a 2.3 to a 3.0.

 

After that, find another healthcare program that will give you college credits that will let you both increase your GPA and level of autonomy and enroll in that program. A couple years will go by before you're done so after that's all done and you got your greater scope of practice position you should then start retaking the classes you got less than a C in. Then your sciences prerequisites will be out of date so you'll retake those classes.

 

By the time this is all done and if you've received a 4.0 GPA you'll now have competitive stats which would include a 3.0 GPA and lots of paid direct patient contact HCE.

 

It's not going to be easy but it is possible to achieve. I say this from personal experience as my undergrad GPA is nearly identical to yours.

 

Best of luck!

 

 

http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/7183-i-did-it-you-can-too/#entry93944

 

 

Post #9

 

http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/4955-burnout-tips-on-dealing-with-it/

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

It would be much easier to retake the classes and apply to a DO program. They'll use grade replacement, PA will not. Just putting it out there.

[cinntsp]

This belongs in the pre-PA forum.

[MedicinePower]

Osteopathic medical school (DO) allows for grade replacement.

 

"However, the AACOMAS application used for applying to osteopathic schools uses grade replacement for repeated courses when calculating your GPA; only the last grade earned in a repeated course will be used in calculating your GPA."

Source: http://hpplc.indiana.edu/medicine/AcademicRecordandGrades.shtml

 

So why doesn't CASPA?

[greenmood]

Because PA school isn't medical school? WTF.

 

 

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[PAtoB]

you'll need lots of credits of As to raise it to a 3.0. I graduated with a 2.80 with my degree the first time in college. I raised it to 3.14 after taking every pre-req (plus 2 or 3 extra classes) and getting an A in all but two classes, which were A-'s. I think I took 56 credits post-bac.

[bradtPA]

It's going to take 3 years of full time work and all As to bring up a four year degree with a GPA of 2.3 to the bare minimum requirement of a 3.0. Not impossible but not very likely, either.....

[Patho]

Maybe you should consider doing a MS in something related to healthcare, some schools will use the graduate school GPA if its higher than the undergraduate GPA. At this point, trying to raise your undergraduate GPA will take a lot of time, money, and overall energy. Like others have stated, it will take anywhere from 2-3 years and taking most of your courses over again. Do so if you feel like you do not understand the subject very well, but trying to pull it up to a 3.0 will be quite a task. And if you focus and do well in your grad school grades, then you have a much stronger case. good luck.

[BeatlesLVR]

Hey @Timon,

 

How can one go about finding their "CASPA GPA" as you stated below.  I graduated with a low sGPA in my first bachelor's degree, then finished a second bachelor's degree in Psychology (with a 3.9), but with no science classes related to pre-reqs for PA school.  which means I'm at square one with a crappy sGPA I have to overcome with pre-reqs and a possible healthcare related graduate degree.  I want to calculate my sGPA from undergrad and my CASPA GPA after I'm done with each pre-req. How do I do that..?

 

Make an excel spreadsheet and put in every class you've ever taken in college and received a grade for. Make sure you include in that list the classes that you've repeated along the way.

Add up all the units and quality points and find your CASPA GPA.

Next, start calculating out how many units at a 4.0 GPA you'd need to raise your GPA to a 3.0. Do not replace your grades if you've taken the same class more than once, rather just keep a running total going.

Once you figure that out, you'll see that you'll roughly need to take about 90 units at a 4.0 to raise your GPA from a 2.3 to a 3.0.

After that, find another healthcare program that will give you college credits that will let you both increase your GPA and level of autonomy and enroll in that program. A couple years will go by before you're done so after that's all done and you got your greater scope of practice position you should then start retaking the classes you got less than a C in. Then your sciences prerequisites will be out of date so you'll retake those classes.

By the time this is all done and if you've received a 4.0 GPA you'll now have competitive stats which would include a 3.0 GPA and lots of paid direct patient contact HCE.

It's not going to be easy but it is possible to achieve. I say this from personal experience as my undergrad GPA is nearly identical to yours.

Best of luck!


http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/7183-i-did-it-you-can-too/#entry93944


Post #9

http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/4955-burnout-tips-on-dealing-with-it/

[Timon]

I can't post my excel spreadsheet on here as this site doesn't allow for that format. But what I did was make a variety of breakdowns using excel. When I entered all of my classes I also put in what CASPA category it fit into (Science / math / English / etc). From there I just made a couple copies of the spread sheet and filtered by category and calculated my GPA from there. It goes the same way where you tally up every class regardless if you repeated it or not.

[BeatlesLVR]

Hmmmm. Is there a website or link I cud use?

 

 

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[Maynard]

One other thing: you'll have better odds if you can show that you can get As while taking a full course load, in entirely new coursework (i.e. a couple semesters without any retakes). Part of admissions is a numbers game, but part of it is also just proving that you can handle a lot of new material being thrown at you all at once. Getting As while taking classes part-time might not be enough, even if those courses were taken while working at a job.

 

I personally think you should ditch phlebotomy and get a year or two of training in a more advanced position (e.g. RN). You need at least a couple years of schooling to raise your GPA. You might as well get it in an area that offers better HCE and a good backup plan. 

[CAAdmission]

Rock=>You<=Hard place

 

[Joelseff]

 

Once you figure that out, you'll see that you'll roughly need to take about 90 units at a 4.0 to raise your GPA from a 2.3 to a 3.0.

 

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