unculturedpearl Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Long story short, a speech therapist told me her daughter (who graduated with a 3.5 gpa Biology major) applied to 19 different PA schools and wasn't accepted at any so I didn't stand a chance with my gpa stats. I have a 3.45 science GPA and 3.12 cumulative with 9 units to go. 4.0 in the remaining units will give me 3.6 science and a 3.25 cumulative She didn't mention if her daughter had HCE or completed all of the prereqs. I'll have 1,000 hours HCE and hopefully over 100 volunteer hours with local EMS. The therapist's comments kind of struck a nerve. I don't know. I'm probably being overly sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Too many unknowns in your speech therapist's daughter's anecdotal data. If she had no, or limited, HCE, and she applied to schools that require or highly value HCE ... if her CASPA essay was weak ... if her CASPA essay indicates she wants a certain discipline of medicine and she applied to schools that have a different focus ... if she did poorly on her GRE ... and so on. Did she even get any interviews ... did she do poorly there? While admissions are highly competitive, GPA stats are not the deciding factor for many schools. I start a PA program in May. While I have considerably more HCE, volunteer, and other work experience, and my GRE is on par with schools' expectations, my GPAs are considerably lower than hers or yours. Yes, it's best to have your GPAs in line with the expectations and preferences of the programs where you intend to apply, but it's more important to be an overall good fit and overall good candidate to become a practicing PA. Schools regularly publish their minimum expectations and their average GPAs for their cohort, but not always their high and low that are part of that average; remember that the average comes from people with higher and people with lower! In short, don't obsess over fractions of grade point differences between your own and other candidates; focus on making yourself the best candidate you can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 If you want to talk strictly gpa, I had a 3.2/3.1. It's a big part of the application but not the only part. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ishtyaq Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Too many unknowns in your speech therapist's daughter's anecdotal data. If she had no, or limited, HCE, and she applied to schools that require or highly value HCE ... if her CASPA essay was weak ... if her CASPA essay indicates she wants a certain discipline of medicine and she applied to schools that have a different focus ... if she did poorly on her GRE ... and so on. Did she even get any interviews ... did she do poorly there? While admissions are highly competitive, GPA stats are not the deciding factor for many schools. I start a PA program in May. While I have considerably more HCE, volunteer, and other work experience, and my GRE is on par with schools' expectations, my GPAs are considerably lower than hers or yours. Yes, it's best to have your GPAs in line with the expectations and preferences of the programs where you intend to apply, but it's more important to be an overall good fit and overall good candidate to become a practicing PA. Schools regularly publish their minimum expectations and their average GPAs for their cohort, but not always their high and low that are part of that average; remember that the average comes from people with higher and people with lower! In short, don't obsess over fractions of grade point differences between your own and other candidates; focus on making yourself the best candidate you can be. Long story short, a speech therapist told me her daughter (who graduated with a 3.5 gpa Biology major) applied to 19 different PA schools and wasn't accepted at any so I didn't stand a chance with my gpa stats. I have a 3.45 science GPA and 3.12 cumulative with 9 units to go. 4.0 in the remaining units will give me 3.6 science and a 3.25 cumulative She didn't mention if her daughter had HCE or completed all of the prereqs. I'll have 1,000 hours HCE and hopefully over 100 volunteer hours with local EMS. The therapist's comments kind of struck a nerve. I don't know. I'm probably being overly sensitive. The Published qualifications are a screening tool to make a cut off. A number of factors play a role in the final selection of any candidate for PA school, personality, real experience and not shadowing or observership or millions of hce hours which do not show that you actually worked. The initial essay plays a part because that's your story. All your experiences count and matter. Then its the interview where you have to excel. In any case Passion is a must rather than u want to do it as the job market is good. If i can answer any questions please feel free to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dndandrea Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I hear this all the time... In fact, a few days ago a nursing student told me that her friend had a cumulative GPA of 3.9 but got declined everywhere she applied. I heard this all throughout my undergrad and it was discouraging since I didn't have an excellent GPA. I only had a cumulative GPA of 3.44 when I applied. I ended up getting interview invites to basically everywhere I applied and have been accepted to every one that I actually attended (still waiting to hear back from the 4th). Important factors: location (a lot of people underestimate this), personal statement (avoid cliches and some put meaning behind what you're saying), your last 40 credit hours (looking for an uptrend from when you decided to become a PA), LORs (to be safe, get one from a PA and one from a MD), HCE (the more broad, the better), and the way you present yourself in the interview. With that being said, your GPA is definitely one of the most significant factors though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegro Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I agree with the above posters, and honestly - for all you know the daughter didn't follow the CASPA instructions well and screwed something up, which can auto-reject an application from schools no matter how good it might be otherwise. Maybe she wasn't honest with her mother about screwing up. Maybe she turned everything in so close to the deadline that half the places had already filled their seats with rolling admissions. Maybe the 3.5 GPA isn't even her CASPA GPA once all the recalculations happened; maybe she bombed and repeated a few classes and her CASPA GPA is really a 2.8 I wouldn't take somebody else's ancedotal experience as to how your experience would be, especially when you aren't even talking to the applicant. Parents don't always have the best view of their children's competetiveness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Long story short, a speech therapist told me her daughter (who graduated with a 3.5 gpa Biology major) applied to 19 different PA schools and wasn't accepted at any so I didn't stand a chance with my gpa stats. I have a 3.45 science GPA and 3.12 cumulative with 9 units to go. 4.0 in the remaining units will give me 3.6 science and a 3.25 cumulative.She didn't mention if her daughter had HCE or completed all of the prereqs. I'll have 1,000 hours HCE and hopefully over 100 volunteer hours with local EMS. The therapist's comments kind of struck a nerve. I don't know. I'm probably being overly sensitive. Long story shorter. Go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovelost Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Long story short, a speech therapist told me her daughter (who graduated with a 3.5 gpa Biology major) applied to 19 different PA schools and wasn't accepted at any so I didn't stand a chance with my gpa stats. Well... if the daughter is as insensitive and entitled as her mother with a comment like that.... I can see exactly how that happened. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ishtyaq Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Long story short, a speech therapist told me her daughter (who graduated with a 3.5 gpa Biology major) applied to 19 different PA schools and wasn't accepted at any so I didn't stand a chance with my gpa stats. I have a 3.45 science GPA and 3.12 cumulative with 9 units to go. 4.0 in the remaining units will give me 3.6 science and a 3.25 cumulative She didn't mention if her daughter had HCE or completed all of the prereqs. I'll have 1,000 hours HCE and hopefully over 100 volunteer hours with local EMS. The therapist's comments kind of struck a nerve. I don't know. I'm probably being overly sensitive. Its not always the GPA. Its the personality too. I have seen students who come to an interview feeling entitled for a slot, and their attitude is what does them in. Being humble is a QUALITY that is an absolute must in this profession as you are a server to people who come to you with hope and are in distress. I know of one student who said she has done a lot of research, but unfortunately she had been in the lab for a long time to realize that she is not dealing with lab animals but human beings. If i can help to look at the application and her essays maybe it can be rectified unless its beyond repair. Regarding HCE hours, its not the number but what you have been doing, you could just be hanging out in the office or doing files or the PA or MD know you,,,,,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoRyou Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 What do you have to loose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaidou1412 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Obviously, therapist daughter did something wrong on admission processing. Applying 19 schools without any responses is nonsense to me otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitcc1 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Obviously, therapist daughter did something wrong on admission processing. Applying 19 schools without any responses is nonsense to me otherwise. My thoughts exactly... Did she hit "Submit"?!? Lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted February 27, 2015 Moderator Share Posted February 27, 2015 Could be taking momma for a ride. "Mom, I need 10 grand for applying to a ridiculous number of schools and travel to interviews." ::applies to one school:: "Looks like we'll do it again next year, mom." ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 She applied to 19 schools and not accepted at any might mean she only got 2 interviews and bombed both of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 But she sure enjoyed the $10,000 from Mom and the nice vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saldanamoreno Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I applied to 7 programs, got rejected to all of them, no interviews. I'm pretty sure it is my GPA that held me back (2.9). Now I am apprehensive to apply again but I really want to become a PA. I'm trying to reinvent myself and stay positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I applied to 7 programs, got rejected to all of them, no interviews. I'm pretty sure it is my GPA that held me back (2.9). Now I am apprehensive to apply again but I really want to become a PA. I'm trying to reinvent myself and stay positive. Keep working at it and keep moving forward! You know what you need to work on to get over the hump. Stay positive! Good luck in your future PA endeavors. LesH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saldanamoreno Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I will keep moving foward, and I do know what I need to do. Thank you for the support. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddisilvestro Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I agree, way too many unknowns here to make anything close to a judgment call. There can be many factors of why she was not accepted, just having a 3.5 is not good enough. Also, she could have applied to all the wrong schools or bombed her interviews...again, could be any number of things. Don't let that discourage you from applying but let it be a lesson to do thorough research on each program you are interested in applying to, because it is extremely competitive at any program, to get a seat. So it is very important to not just meet minimum requirements - in a lot of cases, that is simply not enough any more - but exceed minimum requirements and make sure you have quality health care experience, and can prove, through your application and narrative statements, that you will make an excellent PA student, and eventually, a PA. This is what programs need to see through your application. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unculturedpearl Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 Thanks for the encouragement! I'm currently seeking better quality HCE. I know people have been accepted with PT Aide experience but I want something more challenging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saldanamoreno Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Thanks for the encouragement! I'm currently seeking better quality HCE. I know people have been accepted with PT Aide experience but I want something more challenging Try EMS....very challenging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unculturedpearl Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Try EMS....very challenging That's actually exactly what I'm trying to do. Just called and emailed my county EMS for ride alongs. Unfortunately I haven't been successful in finding an EMT program nearby since my community college discontinued theirs but I'm not giving up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M0214 Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 One thing to consider- Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities- SOLO has a Wilderness EMT program in NH that includes lodging, meals, etc for an accelerated 1 month EMT w/ wilderness medicine. When I took the course we had people from all over who came in because it had a dorm on site. And then when I went to interview, the interviewer said "oh, wilderness EMT, I don't think we have every had someone with that background before"- and I was in. It's not cheap but is an incredible differentiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.