Denied from every school I applied to

[Helperjon]

Hello, this is my second year applying to pa school.  First year I only applied to one school and was rejected but this year I applied to 11 schools and have been rejected from every one, not even an interview.

 

I have a low cumulative GPA at a 3.2 and a science GPA of 3.5, low GRE score of 295.  My only strong points are a very well written purpose statement and my work experience.  I've worked for three years at the Cleveland Clinic as a respiratory therapist mainly in the icu's and I'm very proficient in ventilator management, weaning, drawing blood gases, placing arterial lines, and interpreting chest x rays.

 

Have an undergraduate degree in psychology with a cumulative GPA of 2.93 but graduated from RT school with a 3.6 GPA.  Most of my prerequisites I've gotten A's with a few B's.

 

Has anyone been in this situation before and offer any advice to increase my chances for next year?

 

Thank you in advance. 

[MT2PA]

If you're applying to schools that require the GRE, you may be automatically filtered out - rumor has it that even if they don't have stated GRE requirements, some schools use it as a way to filter out applicants and they usually want 300+.  Your GPA isn't really that concerning as long as you are applying to the correct schools (i.e highly competitive schools with acceptance averages of 3.9+ probably shouldn't be your target).

 

Also, make sure you have someone else check your personal statement.  You may think it's great but it's always good to get second (and third) opinions.

 

When you reapply, you need to show that you've actively made improvements to your app, not just reapplied.

 

If you check around here enough, you'll see there are plenty of people who apply a second round and some that are on round 3 and 4.  Since you only applied to 1 school your first year, you've really only put yourself out there with a wide net once.

[cop to pa]

That's a tough situation to be in.  When have you ben submitting your CASPA application?  Earlier submission= earlier look by adcom= less comparison to the applicant pool.  Consider taking more classes at the CC level to keep increasing that GPA; they don't have to be prereqs, but consider "difficult" courses and get good grades.  Your written essay: start over from scratch.  Make that bad boy shine and use it to make you stand out.  Use the resources here to sharpen it up.  Finally, 3 years is above average for experience, but not outrageous; keep working. 

[JetéToPA]

So sorry to hear of your struggle.  The above advice is great.  I applied to 29 schools and some of the ones I thought I was a shoe-in for I either got rejected from or didn't hear back from before I was accepted elsewhere.  If you fit the school's stats (and can afford it), apply!!!  And I would definitely retake the GRE.  Magoosh helped me a lot.  Keep your chin up.  You sound like a great candidate to me!!

[gcox87]

Any volunteer experience? Did you shadow a PA? What about letters of rec? It is possible one could be burning you.

 

Trying emailing the schools you applied to and see if they are willing to review your application.

[guiriguiri]

I agree with gcox87 -- with your stats, not getting a single interview seems like a red flag that there's a serious concrete problem with either your personal statement or LOR. I would definitely ask the school's what the problem was/how you could strengthen your application. 

[Allegro]

^ Agreed. There are too many variables from the general description above to give really solid advice. Even though the GPA doesn't look terrible on paper, how many upper-level sciences are there? Which ones? How is your BCP (considering most Rad Sci courses are "other science" rather than BCP)? It sounds like some feedback from the programs willing to offer it would be helpful.

[d_gav]

I think your best bet would be to call/email the schools you applied to and speak to someone on the admissions committee regarding what you can do to improve your application

[PAGuy55]

Here's my 2 cents. GRE needs to be at least 300+. Apply to schools which don't have a GRE requirements also (Rutgers, PCOM, Stony Brook, etc). I'm confused, is your RT school GPA not calculated with your 2.95 undergrad? Or is it? Maybe take some post bacc classes at the community college this spring to boost it to a 3.0 (if possible).

 

Your HCE is great so no worries there.

 

Next cycle apply early. Like REALLY early. Discuss why your GPA is lower during your psych degree.

[MyNameWasUsed]

Apply to non-GRE schools (all the california schools, nevada, pacificU, Arizona school of health science) or get a better GRE score

[Glorious_Ignoramus]

If you are facing a third cycle, you need to change something.  If you didn't score any interviews then I would suspect your PS, otherwise your interview skills need work.

 

Whatever the case, you need to change something - I can't imagine you care to stomach the financial and emotional costs of repeated application cycles.

 

You can try to focus on the non-GRE schools, but remember that everyone else with no/low GRE scores is also applying with you for that very reason.

 

Were I you, I would spend an academic year lifting all scores before reapplying.