Jrobertson4153 Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 hi everyone, quick run down of my scenario...graduated 15 years ago with a degree in nutrition. typical fun time during those years and graduated with a 2.4. have been taking pre-reqs the last year and will be applying to schools late 2014 with gre this summer also. . pre-req gpa has been 3.7ish. ive done around 500 hours of shadowing and plan to do another 500 or so by the time i apply. since undergrad ive been a nutritionist/personal trainer. also 7 years as a professional athlete. soooo, million dollar question- how much will my old gpa hurt me? anyone have experience with this? JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.C. Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 You're going to need a 3.0, from what I've gathered. Some schools have a lower minimum - like 2.75 - but you'll probably need really good health care experience to compensate. I feel your pain, I have a 3.1 but when calculated using CASPA it will probably be less than 3.0 due to some F bombs and the like back when I was a wayward youth with no direction. All you can do is try to pull it up. Read up on how CASPA calculates GPA, do the math, and see how many credits of straight A's it will take to get you to 3.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 It's difficult to bring your GPA up from that low, but it's doable. I did it but it took me just over 100 units to get there. I had a 2.31 undergrad (120 units) 3.69 masters GPA (45 units) 4.0 science prerequisites GPA (44 units) CASPA calculated my GPA at a 2.93 at time of admission. So I wanted to throw that out there to give you a realistic picture of what you're up against. My suggestion for someone in your shoes would be to do all your science prerequisites and pretend getting a B is failing. Then if apply to schools MHS or MSMS programs and then apply to the PA program. These MHS programs are 1 year masters programs that will typically guarantee you an interview at the program you attended once you've completed your masters. There's also some schools that honor grade replacements like Western University in Pomona CA. Just be advised that this school in particular has an unwritten GPA requirement of a 3.4 so you could just redo classes and apply when you hit that mark but I just wanted to throw that out there for you. I'd also tell you to look in to the Touro Universities. They do an excellent job looking at the entire applicant as a person and not just stats. As for the old grade hurting you, I'll tell you that your best friend is positive grade trending and the time / maturity factor of being older now versus 15 years ago. During my interview I was asked about my poor undergrad GPA. I told them the truth that I had mixed priorities and I put my fraternity over my coursework. But then I explained immediately after my positive grade trending and that I'm older and more mature now and clearly a different student then when I had first taken classes 13 years prior. Anyhow looks like you got a lot of work a head of you. 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/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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