Need advice before applying to PA school

[SwimmingFever]

Hi everyone. I recently graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Neuroscience. My overall GPA is 3.3 and my science Gpa is 2.970. Microbiology is the only pre-req I am missing. If I get a B+ or higher in the lecture and lab I will break a 3.0 science Gpa. I had one bad semester and got a D in Genetics and Organic Chem 1. I repeated Orgo 1 and got a B- and I haven't retaken Genetics. I also took Biochemistry twice and got a C both times. My grades are all over the place and I don't really have an upward trend. I honestly tried my hardest in school and had tutors for all of my science courses.

 

I also swim all four years in college and it was a nightmare balancing 17 credits a semester with swim practices which was 3 hours a day and took up my whole weekends.

 

I was accepted into a post Bach program that will allow me to retake genetics, biochemistry, and take some harder science courses. It is a very expensive program and I don't want to risk messing up and going more in debt with loans.

 

My healthcare experience is also pretty pathetic. I was too stubborn to quit my full time lifeguarding job on the beach during the summer that gave me no health care experience other than CPR/ First Aid/ AED certify me.

 

Now that I have graduated college I have taken steps to straighten out my life. I am still lifeguarding this summer because no hospitals would give me a job without any experience. However, I am volunteering at my local hospital in the Emergency Room at night after work. I will try and get at least 100 hours of volunteer work this summer. After the summer I might become a patient transporter or ER tech to gain more experience.

 

Obviously I am not competitive enough to apply for this current PA cycle but I am taking steps towards bettering myself. It is an upward battle and sometimes I feel like I might never make it to the top. My academic advisor suggested that I take Microbio at a CC and just apply to nursing school to gain more experience. She said that I would need at least a 3.7 overall Gpa and science Gpa to be considered competitive for PA school and im starting to think she is right.

 

Sorry for such a long post and thank you to everyone who reads this. I just needed to vent because this is starting to wear me down. Any advice on what I should do regarding schools and what professions are fitting for me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again everyone

[JamBra0]

Keep your head in it!  I would suggest retaking the courses you didn't do too well in.  It may be best to do them during the summer since the semester will be shorter.  Maybe you could do one course during the first half of the summer and then another during the second half. 

[GatorRRT]

Going to have to disagree with your college advisor on the GPA cutoff. Plenty of folks on the board (myself included) have been accepted to programs with sub 3.5 science/overall GPAs. In order to offset your subpar academics, you need to get above the 3.0 mark and getsome decent HCE to help offset your academics. Nursing school + a few years as a RN would be a great way to go.

[Nonlegit]

I'll add my two cents, just for some fellow pre-PA advice or commiseration here. I don't really have too many grade problems, but am as concerned with "making the cut" as you are. I think a lot of advice is location specific, so perhaps what I will say sounds familiar to you.

 

Where I am at, pretty much all health programs from radiography techs and on are fairly competitive. This is because of simple supply and demand. There are a small handful of universities here and not too many more community colleges. Many (many) applicants for these programs have great grades. No, not everyone, but for example, the median nursing matriculant GPA at my university is 3.73 (their pre-nursing stuff). So the easy advice of "just going to nursing school instead" sometimes makes me roll my eyes. Their grades are better than the med school matriculant average, and they look at even narrower criteria! Its a lot of suburban and country girls who get a lot of A's. Its the same story with Fire/EMS and Police. There is a 5 year waiting list for the city fire department and the applicants are often spotless unmarried young male candidates, military veterans, in great shape, even coming with previously earned degrees. It's a difficult road for the non-traditional or average applicant.

 

The community colleges are similar. So I understand your concern. I would definitely learn the "hustle" of getting in though. DON'T take a counselors word as gospel. They are notoriously inaccurate and unhelpful. Email people and make connections. Email anybody, and don't hold back on who you are willing to talk to. This is truly how you get places in the world, period. I'm a firm believer in that. You're gonna have to get HCE. You are gonna have to set yourself apart. Get confident, because your situation is what it is, and how you approach it (and what you do in the future) is the only way you can make something out of it. You actually sound like you have an excellent handle on what is needed; so go out and do it. It will take some work, but you are not in an unsalvageable situation. What I might mention is to have realistic expectations. I have been working a low paying job for almost 10 years now, and thats just the reality of my situation. I work nights. I am busy with school. It sucks sometimes. You might have to do that.

 

Sorry for ranting. Ask if you want me to clarify anything.

[SwimmingFever]

Thanks Nonlegit for your advice! I know what you mean about the competitiveness of health programs. I live on Long Island and a majority of the nursing programs here want B's or above in pre-reqs and thousands of applicants apply for only about 50-75 seats in a program. The only nursing school I would consider is Stony Brook, which receives the most amount and the smartest applicants. Physician Assistant programs are the same way. The only school I stand the slightest chance of being accepted is Touro College in Bay Shore. I know of several students there who had grades barely higher than mine who managed to get accepted with only 200 hours of HCE. Their deadline is in March so I have practically a year to get 200 hours, which is a cakewalk. They are also the only school I know of not to require Microbiology. I'm going to learn as much as I can from volunteering and network to the best of my ability. The ER I volunteer in has a pediatrics department entirely run by PAs and the PAs said I can earn shadowing hours during my volunteer shift by shadowing them out in the ER. Thanks again Nonlegit for your help! I'm sure you will be a successful PA!!

[doxie22]

I know that grades count a lot, but make sure that experience and your skills shine the most.

I havent even entered college yet, but I know that networking, personality (like confidence... Etc), hobbies, contribution to your community, interests and skills make a huge impact - for any job.

You could spend your whole college with your head in the books, making good grades -but if that is all you have to show for it, it will be very difficult to get accepted.

I would retake those classes. You will need a good foundation for PA school, so having a second go should improve grades, and give a more thorough explanation of your harder courses (like Genetics.) then again, this is from a freshman talking, but i know how it feels to stress about grades. Not only that, but if you connect with professors about the homework and such, you can network even more that way.

But it would be good to take this time to get something that would get you could HCE fast. Pblemotomy (however you spell it haha. Probably not the best option, but better than life guard), Medical Assistant (takes 9 months, require full time work, so some doctors may be hesitant to hire), CNA, LPN, and ER basic and intermediate.

I am not sure of your time line or financial status, but there are other options that take a bit longer (2 years or so) but pay better like Physical Therapy Assistant or something along those lines.

Finally, do somethings that will enrich your resume and future application/interview for PA school. Medical mission trips, volunteering, community work, etc can all help make you an interesting canidate for PA school. Count the life guard hours too-why not?

This is not all in vain, but dont get stuck in this. Grow stronger, and learn from every opportunity, success and failure.