Reapplicant GPA and Other Questions

[RealWayPA]

Hi All,

 

I'm applying to schools for the second time. My stats are as follows:

 

Cum GPA: 2.95

Science GPA: 3.56

Last 60 credits: ~3.8ish

~2,500 hours and counting as paid EMT, CNA and now ER Tech

1,400  hours of community service (that happened to be related to health care)

100 hours microbiology research

A few minor academic publications and presentations

GREAT (like off-the-charts good) letters of reference

Well-written and compelling personal narrative

309 GRE, but none of the schools I applied to absolutely required it.

 

Like I said, this is my second year applying to 10+ schools that are diverse and seem to be a good fit for me. Last year I didn't get a single interview, and this year is shaping up to be the same - I've already received rejection notices from half of the schools. 

 

My main question: Is the 2.95 cum GPA the biggest hurdle I am facing right now? Does having the 2.95 versus a 3.0 or 3.1 really make that much difference? Pretty much every one of my advisers and PAs I work with is stumped as to why I haven't gotten a single interview yet, especially this year versus last year. I started off college pretty poorly and finished off strong - last 4 semesters on Dean's List at a very well known and respected but non-Ivy League Institution :)

 

I'm willing to take a few more classes to boost the cum GPA if that is what schools are looking for, but before I do that, I'd love some insight as to whether my cGPA is what is holding me back right now. 

 

ANY and ALL thoughts are welcome!

 

 

[marktheshark89]

if the schools that you are applying to require a minimum 3.0 GPA, your application will most likely be disregarded without review. I think that is your biggest hurdle given what you have mentioned above. There are some schools that have a 2.75 minimum GPA requirement, and you might consider applying to those if you haven't already.

 

Also, your personal narrative may not be as "well-written and compelling" as you might think. I don't doubt that you put a lot of time and effort into it, and I have no knowledge of your writing prowess, but I would definitely have other people, medical professionals, writers, etc to read it and get their opinions on what you might be able to improve if anything.

[Guest MedLib42]

Unless you applied to the few schools that specifically states that they look primarily at the last 40-60 credits, a cumulative of 2.9 is too low for many programs. If you've applied to any programs that have a minimum of 3.0, they'll disregard anything under 3.0 immediately (even 2.99) without looking at the rest of the app.

 

If you've applied to schools with minimums lower than 3.0, you'll want to know what the stats for the average accepted students are at each of your schools you've applied to - are they accepting people that typically have GPAs above 3.4 or 3.5? If so, you simply may not be competitive enough academically despite meeting the minimums. You might also want to look at your personal statement, as someone else suggested. And if you've applied to any out of state schools, make sure the schools you applied to accept a large number of out of state applicants and don't express a preference for in state students.

 

You can also ask programs who have rejected you for feedback as to why you didn't get accepted, and how you can strengthen your app. This is common, and schools are typically more than happy to help you with this.

[DiggySRNA]

Yeah, I'm also stumped to why you're not granted any interviews. Your stats looks great despite the blemishes in your cGPA. Try applying to schools that say 2.75+ GPA minimum. 

 

Keep it up and I'm sure you'll get in somewhere. 

[RealWayPA]

Thanks for the advice and input.

 

Re: personal statement - It has been reviewed by 2 professors, 2 practicing physician assistants (both of whom wrote me LORs), 1 MD (also wrote a LOR), my brother (a professional writer) and several current physician assistant students. All have agreed that mine is one of the best narratives they've ever read, to the point that I don't think I can or will change it much. I spent months having an internal debate about the placement of single words, etc. And, the narrative actually sounds similar to how I speak, so it flows well with the rest of my application and LORs (I got to read most of the LORs). If there is a chink in the armor, I strongly doubt that my narrative it is.

 

Now, onto the cumulative GPA. What is the solution? Going back to school will only raise the cumulative so much. I did some quick calculations: even if I got a full Master's Degree with A's in every class, it would only raise my cGPA from a 2.96 to a 3.25 or so, depending on how many credits I took. Is that really worth it to raise the cGPA so meagerly? Is moving from a 2.96 to a 3.25 going to make me that much more proportionally competitive? Thoughts?

[Guest MedLib42]

Now, onto the cumulative GPA. What is the solution? Going back to school will only raise the cumulative so much. I did some quick calculations: even if I got a full Master's Degree with A's in every class, it would only raise my cGPA from a 2.96 to a 3.25 or so, depending on how many credits I took. Is that really worth it to raise the cGPA so meagerly? Is moving from a 2.96 to a 3.25 going to make me that much more proportionally competitive? Thoughts?

 

You didn't mention what the minimum GPA of the schools you're applying to is. If you've applied to schools that have a 3.0 minimum, you have no choice really - you have to get your GPA up to at least 3.0 to keep from having your app immediately discarded, so taking at least 12 more undergrad credits at an A average should bump you up there. I don't know how useful going for a 3.25 would be, though. But if you want to apply to 3.0 minimum schools, you need to at least hit a 3.0.

 

If you've applied to schools that have a 2.75 minimum, it's hard to say whether taking classes to bump up your GPA that little bit would be worth it. I would definitely recommend calling the schools that rejected you and asking for feedback, to save yourself some time and money if it isn't in fact a GPA issue.

 

A couple things to consider though: 

- Did you get a C or below in any prerequisite class? That can be a huge red flag for some schools. Some actually require a B minimum in prereqs.

- Do you have any past D's or F's?  

 

If yes to either of those, those individual factors alone could be causing you problems, and you might want to consider retaking any classes that you achieved a C or less in (or retake the D's or F's, at the very least), simply to show the ADCOM you're willing and able to improve on past performance. It will also bump your GPA up a tiny bit in the process.

 

Honestly, though, I'd call the schools, ask why you were rejected, and ask what you can do to improve your app for the next cycle.

[RealWayPA]

I applied to a mixture of schools - some had 3.0 as a requirement and some had lower requirements. I did very well in all my prerequisites...only "B" I got was in Biochemistry. Yes, I did get a couple of D's and F's one semester...the next semester I hit the books hard and kept my grades up from there on out. I ended up retaking almost all of the classes that I didn't do well in because my alma mater required this to graduate - most of the classes were "core" classes that were required for graduation. 

 

I'm not in a life position where I can return to school full-time to do a post-bacc or master's degree. Any classes I take from here on out need to be very well thought out and carefully selected because I have a 48+ hour per week commitment in the emergency department I work in and need the job to pay my bills. 

 

So, other than returning to school full-time, what options do I have? What is going to give me the most "bang for buck" in terms of landing an interview?

 

Phil

[Guest Merlins]

Hi Phil-

 

I'm a reapplicant too, and the recurring general advice I've heard from admission committee members is to increase GPA. The best (only?) way to know how to improve your chances is to speak directly with an adcom from each program (when interviews are done though). If you do that, say in early 2015, you'll still have some time to improve GPA. Then you can reference those useful conversations in suppapps about how you improved from last year.

 

Also, some schools average the science and cGPA (Pacific Univ) to take into consideration that most students have a bad term or two in their undergrad. So you might want to double check how each school does it.

I hear you on needing to be very selective due to a full time job. That's why my post-bacc prereqs too forever to finish. You wouldn't have to go back to school full time though. You can just take one class- even online to increase GPA.

 

Hope this helps.

 

-L

[SoCalPA]

Are you willing to move? Consider schools that do grade replacement when calculating GPAs.  They are out there.  Gotta find them. 

[Guest MedLib42]

So, other than returning to school full-time, what options do I have? What is going to give me the most "bang for buck" in terms of landing an interview?

 

 

You can certainly take classes on a very part time basis, or online, but of course that takes a little longer. However, since not all the schools you applied to were 3.0 minimums, I would strongly suggest contacting the schools and asking why you were rejected, and how you can strengthen your app for next cycle. This is pretty common, and most schools are more than happy to provide this info. Schools can be individually picky over some pretty strange things, so if you're going to spend time and money on more classes, you want to make sure that GPA was really the issue. I got rejected from one because my HCE wasn't in family medicine (even though this wasn't specified anywhere) and rejected from another because I didn't have enough geographical ties to the area (even though they seemed to readily accept out of state students). Definitely contact the schools, then consider taking some post-bacc classes online or part time if GPA really was the problem.

[jtmathew]

All of the above advice is more than sound and should be heeded. I am in a similar spot. 2500+hrs of excellent HCE, Excellent LOR's, Excellent shadowing experience, a variety of healthcare/research experience, 317 GRE, 3.3sGPA, and 2.97cGPA (3.8ish cGPA in last 60 and 4.0 postbacc). It is my third year applying with improvement each time but I have had weed out where I am applying as most programs will immediately toss an app in the garbage if the minimum doesnt meet the 3.0 req. I, personally, wouldnt waste your time applying to those schools and would focus on the programs that are more lenient on the cGPA (Midwestern, Rosalind Franklin, Pacific, OHSU, Idaho St). There are plenty of success stories on this forum of students with low cGPA's who have overcome that obstacle and matriculated. You have to be flexible. You have to stay in contact with programs. Make yourself visible and be persistent. Best of luck to you.