Does my senior year help my CASPA application for the 2016 cycle?

[pa716]

Hello all! I am currently heading into the second semester of my junior year, which means I am about to start my CASPA applications since I am hoping to attend a program in the Fall of 2016. I am a bit nervous however because I feel like my science GPA is not very competitive, as I am anticipating it to be a 3.1 by the end of this semester. I am a History major (with a cumulative GPA of 3.4), and have only taken around 30 credits in science courses. I am planning on taking around 20 science credits during my senior year to complete a minor in biology and chemistry, which should help my sGPA since the classes that I have left are not as intensive as the pre-reqs that I have already taken. However, if I submit the application when I get my grades back in May, will the courses I take during my senior year affect my admission into a program for the 2016 cycle, or will it be more of a benefit for the 2017 cycle. The only reason I ask is because it seems that the majority of programs start granting interviews by November/December, which means my grades for the first semester of my senior year won't be in until after that. I suppose my question is, will they mainly focus on my grades for the first three years, or will they anticipate that my GPA has the potential to go up (or down) during my senior year when they review my application? 

[Allegro]

The 2016 cycle opens in only a few months - April of 2015 - and you will have not yet even begun your senior year. In general, that is much too early to apply. Most programs require that you have already completed your bachelor's degree before they will consider your appliction, and that you are not a science major will be a hurdle. Most programs also want to see healthcare experience and PA shadowing prior to applying; it's unclear from your post if you have accumulated any of that, but you may need more time to do so.

 

If you are graduating undergrad in the spring of 2016, you are probably looking at applying in the spring of 2016 for the 2017 application cycle and filling in the time with some hands-on patient HCE, health care certifications, and posibly post-bacc courses to pump up your science courseload.Keep in mind PA programs generally don't start in the fall (or not all do). Many start in January.

[AliB]

Out of the growing number of (rapidly approaching 200) PA programs (in existence and starting), the majority do start in summer or fall rather than January, and at least some number don't require your bachelor degree to be finished prior to applying (just prior to matriculating).

 

That being said, Allegro's comments are very valid.

 

Admissions EVERYWHERE are very competitive (unlikely to change) and completing the prereqs with a low or average GPA is not going to be enough to earn you an interview, particularly if you don't have anything else to distinguish you as an applicant and if those hours are not in upper level coursework (PA school is HARD and INTENSE - that's one reason the sciences GPA is calculated for consideration). Health care experience and shadowing are very important to some programs - many require some minimum number of documented and verifiable hours; a few even require existing certifications (e.g., North Dakota).

 

Also, while many programs will allow you to have SOME prereqs in process when you apply, not all do, and many of them will limit it to one or two and/or only permit in process coursework for a limited period (e.g., the fall if they are admitting for the following May/June timeframe). A few programs also base their decisions on what is submitted via CASPA (and their supplemental if applicable) and will not consider ANY additional information (e.g., GWU).

 

And, because more and more programs are for graduate degrees (Masters), many require at least a minimum score on the GRE as well.

 

As has been suggested in other threads, if you know of schools that you are particularly interested in, research their specific requirements (usually spelled out pretty clearly on their website) and determine what you need to do to meet (better to exceed!) their minimums.

 

Visit http://www.paeaonline.org

if you want to learn more about most of the programs across the US - you'll have to visit many of the sites directly for their specific info.

[pa716]

Thanks for the responses! Sorry, I should have been clearer in my original post. I have so far accrued close to 300 hours of volunteer service from a hospital (which I realize is not very much) and I am going to shadow both a doctor and a PA starting in February, hoping to diversify my experiences. The reason I am starting in February is because I am taking the GRE at the end of the month (fingers crossed for a good score). The remaining prereqs that I have to take are Statistics and a my second semester of Anatomy, I am planning on taking psychology my senior year since it seems that many of the programs I am looking at requires it. Additionally, I am planning on taking an EMT-B course over the summer so that I can acquire more hours if I don't get in the first time around by volunteering or working during the time I'm not in school. As you mentioned, I feel that the science GPA is a major weakness in my application since many schools that I have looked at have students with an average of 3.4 or higher. Classes like writing composition and calculus boost my prereq GPA a little (to a 3.2), but programs tend to emphasize the science courses more. I know the History major thing is kind of weird, but it's what I enjoy and I'm hoping my major GPA (3.7) will show programs that I'm different (hopefully in a good way haha). I was hoping to have as short as a wait as possible between undergrad and PA school, but I realize that I may have to take a year in between to boost my GPA and get more hours done. I realized I wanted to do this since my second semester of my freshman year, and I have been kicking myself ever since because I didn't apply to a direct entry program for high school students haha. The PAEA website is a really great resource, I think my next step will be contacting programs directly and seeing what they have to say. Thank you so much for your suggestions, they are really helpful!  

[AliB]

FYI, the History degree doesn't have to be a negative ... as long as you have a good explanation for why you continued that route AND how it is part of what makes you a good applicant for a career as a PA.  My bachelors is in Business and my first masters is in Computer Science, but I have a lot of work experience in those fields, and I can communicate good examples of how it's a positive with respect to my decision to return to the medical field as a PA (I put myself through undergrad and grad working as an RT/lab tech/EMT/PN so although most of it is dated, I have more than any program's minimum for HCE).  Doing well in all your science courses, and taking more than the minimum prereqs (e.g., I also took pharmacology, pathophysiology, nutrition, genetics, sociology, medical law and ethics), conveys a lot about your interest, commitment, and ability, regardless of being a history major.  

 

FWIW, I went through the CASPA process my first admission cycle year (when I just started taking the post-bacc science course work I needed for all the prereqs) even though there were very few programs out there where I met their requirements (minimums as well as timing for completing prereqs).  Although it cost a little bit, it was worth going through the process.  I did get one interview (though not admitted) and it gave me the opportunity to get really familiar with CASPA (that can be daunting if you have a lot to include!) which turned out to be very helpful when most of the information / data carried forward to the next year's application.  

 

Best of luck!  

[Tori]

Actually, most programs do not require a bachelors degree to apply, but they do require that you complete you bachelors before matriculating. Out of all the schools I researched there was only a few I found that required a bachelors before applying (and therefore ruled out college juniors from applying). I applied summer after my junior year and will be starting PA school this May (a week and a half after i finish my bachelors!)

If you plan on applying this summer then know that it is very likely none of the grades from your senior year will count. Many schools do not accept updates to applications once they are submitted. If you really want you can still send out an application this summer but to be frank I wouldn't recommend it. Volunteering in a hospital without a certification (like EMT) will likely not count as direct hands-on experience and so although it looks great to volunteer, it will not help you meet the minimum HCE requirement. Getting your EMT cert and getting some paid experience and finishing up your senior year strong to raise the GPA should give you a solid application for the 2017 cycle. Good luck! And if you have any more questions feel free to ask.

[ddisilvestro]

I agree with the posts related to healthcare experience and some of the other things your post did not touch on, like meeting minimum prerequisite requirements - which includes more than just GPA. 

 

1. Healthcare experience - volunteer experience at 300 hours and shadowing is likely not going to cut it for most programs. Like everyone said, it's competitive and some applicants will have thousands of paid hours of experience. I would focus your time here while you complete your bachelor's degree. Programs have different requirements and a lot of them want paid hands-on patient care experience. Research this per program. EMT and CNA are usually safe plays for applicants. 

 

2. Coursework - you are not a science major and that is ok, but have you taken all of the science and non-science courses that the program(s) you want to apply to require? 

 

3. Minimum GPAs - have you checked all the minimum GPA requirements for each program you want to apply to? Often, programs will have multiple minimum GPAs, not just a science GPA requirement. This is important because while they may have set minimums, they usually admit applicants who exceed their minimum requirements in terms of GPAs. Take a look at their class profiles on their websites to see who they are actually admitting. 

 

4. Other requirements - this may include things like the GRE or other standardized exams. 

 

I would take a step back and evaluate the entire situation before you apply this year. As the manager of CASPA, I see a lot of applicants applying too early, wasting money and time, when it may have been in their best interest to have waited one more year to apply, which helped strengthen their application in every respect, making it more likely for consideration in a competitive applicant pool. 

 

Best of luck!

Danielle