UConnKid23 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Hello guys, my name is Dave, I'm a junior at UConn studying Allied Health Sciences looking to pursue my career as a Physician Assistant. I pretty much have a good understand on what is required and the necessities and I've been lurking around this website to get a better understanding of the career itself. This is my absolute, priority one, goal in my life, aside from being successful and having a family and house and yada yada yada . I just had a quick few questions that I hope a few of you could answer. 1) I have an overall GPA of about 3.357 but that is with a C in Gen. Chem., a D- in Gen. Chem. II, a C in Calc. and a C in Psych. Let's just say I was very unfortunate to have the same teacher twice for Chem. and after complaining to the Dean (It was the Hartford Branch of UConn) nothing was done to how he was teaching. When asked what the study or what would help, he would say, "Study deee internets because you needs to know everything about Chemistry on all mah tests and it is very difficult so don't try.." Exact words from the man himself. The guy was from Russia and his accent was the heaviest I have EVER heard, and I'm Italian . Aside from that, I got the C in Chem. and the C in Psych. because both were in my first semester in College and I was still a noob and in that High School mode . The D- in Gen. Chem. II and C in Calc. came because there was a major death in the family and I took it really hard and so did my sister. I definitely won't use that as an excuse because an excuse is a lie towards a goal you don't care for. I'm retaking all of those classes before I graduate because I factored in if I got all A - 's, my GPA would rocket to a 3.789 which is amazing and I definitely can do it. Do you think P.A. Programs would frown upon those grades even if I did retake them? The lower grade does and WILL get dropped because I will do better but when asked why I retook them, I'll be 150% honest saying the exact same things I just told you guys: I was lazy that first semester, death in the family and now I realize my true goals and I wanted to go back and improve on the ways that will get me to my dream and that meant retaking those classes. Good idea guys? 2) I'm being certified as an EMT - B before this year ends and I know that's great patient care experience. I'm also trying to volunteer in the ER/OR and rack up a ton, and I mean, a ton of hours coming this summer and per diem during the normal semesters and then next summer. I'm also in the Allied Health Club, Pre-Med Society and Global Health Brigades. Which reminds me, I'll be going to Ghana in May for 10 days providing health care for the rural communities and while there I'll be assessing/treating patients accordingly and also shadowing MD's and triaging so that will definitely look great on my resume on top of all the experience I may gain. I'm also doing a lot of side volunteer sides for food shelters and cleaning up the environment so I look more rounded then just healthcare. Would all this look good on my resume? Is there anything else I can do? 3) Per se I wanted to extend my graduation by a semester or two to either retake/take classes before I graduate, would that be a good idea or not because I know a few P.A. Programs put a cap on how long those grades will last which means I'll run the risk of them not counting if I apply and don't make it in and I extended my graduation by a year or less or so. Or, and this is my last case scenario, I could graduate a year later, work my butt off for like 1 or two years straight and go back to a community college, like Tunxis if you guys are familiar with Connecticut's Community Colleges and do my pre - reqs there? When I apply with pre - reqs from a different college, how heavily do they look at my grades back at my undergraduate? I know my mom went back to school at 36 to become a nurse and even though she graduated with a 3.3 GPA from UConn as a business major, she went back to Tunxis and got a 3.9 GPA for her pre - reqs and she was accepted first shot into the nursing program. What's your opinion about this one? 4) Aside from shadowing P.A.'s, volunteering, being an EMT - B, having letters of references, good GRE's, good GPA's, I really want to stand out with this application. My career, my life, my goal is to become a P.A. and I want to be the best that I can be. What are some great things, aside from those things that will really make me stand out, like really really really make me stand. I'm open to all suggestions and I'm willing to go as far as I can go! ~ Thank you guys and I apologize for it being soo long like this. As you can tell, this really matters a lot to me and anything you guys say will definitely be taken seriously and whole heartedly. I appreciate all of your help and I wish you, as well as me, the best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Hey there! To address your questions... 1. You definitely need to retake at least the Gen Chem II because a D- is not going to count as successful completion of the class. The others are up to you. A word of advice though... you should reconsider airing the complaints about your chem teacher. Everyone has those experiences that they blame on a teacher (whether it's justified or not), and it doesn't make you sound good. Just do better when you retake and let the grudge go. PA schools will see those bad grades, but they will also see your other stellar scores. You have a good GPA. Don't sweat it too much. 2. You said you're planning on spending a lot of time volunteering in the ER, which is great, but a lot of schools will put more stock in paid experience where you have real responsibility. Maybe consider focusing on a job as an EMT this summer. 3. I think most of the caps are like, 10 years, so you probably won't have to worry about your grades expiring. 4. Make sure you're getting enough experience in healthcare that a) you know what you're really getting into, and b) the admissions committee will believe you when you say this is what you want. You seem to have a lot of stuff going on, but if you don't spend an appreciable amount of time doing any one of those things it will look like you were just doing it to check HCE boxes in CASPA. I know it's hard to see the forest for the trees at this stage but focusing too much on how you will "look" and not on how you really want to help people is a mistake, I think. Hope it helps. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPA Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Hi! Welcome to the forum. Lots of nice people and good info here, as you've already seen. My two cents... 1.) I can't speak for any school, but I don't think a poor grade or two is going to be what kills your career, especially if you're making amends to fix it. Concentrate on really learning the material rather than a strict GPA. (Though GPA is good, too!) 2.) You seem really ambitious, and you're probably a very nice person. But this sounds like you're diversifying and branching out to help your resume look good, rather than to help and learn lessons from the experience. Also, good Pete, when do you have time for yourself? Part of being well-rounded is finding a good balance between business and pleasure. You don't want to burn out young because you go-go-go to complete a bunch of activities in an effort to look a certain way. 3.) I was in school for 6.5 years (2 degrees, minor, study abroad, etc.). All of my classes have been accepted. :) I agree with greenmood. I think it would be a better idea to cover the major things (solid HCE) and then find a few things that interest you, instead of trying to do everything. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConnKid23 Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 Awww you guys are the best, I am 20 yrs. old but since I'm at Storrs they make everything seem like a race; like I have to graduate by this day and that day and get nothing less than A's and be in 10 clubs and this and that while trying to balance a life. I'm trying to even find time to shower sometimes; not really but you get the idea. Don't get me wrong, I'm really motivated to help people, I just wasn't sure on what looked great and what didn't. Nonetheless, I love to help out. I was President of Student Council back in high school and all we did was to help people. It's just hard trying to find a paid job for my experience because with the EMT thing, they don't really like college students as they can't work full time all the time you know? Volunteer is great to get my feet wet. The ONLY thing that's really getting to me right now is the fact that I'm getting a free ride to UConn but only until next year, I got a free ride for 4 years but after that fourth year, I need to start paying so when I do extend my graduation to retake/take classes I start getting debt. My fall back plan which is also my last plan to be honest, is, to graduate but of course retake/take classes and get my GPA that I want and THEN work a lot for about 2 years and THEN apply to PA school and if my grades don't count because it was too long, I can take my pre - req's at a community college? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConnKid23 Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 So, if you guys were my age, what would you do; considering my situation and all as well! And I appreciate the responses guys, I know I wrote a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPA Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Pretty much. :) Might I also suggest looking through the stats of accepted applicants? That could give you an idea of what you should focus more on and where you "stand" comparably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleycat Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 UConnKid 23. I agree with all above posts. and welcome to Forum. there is an old saying I will share with you: you can have anything you want...you just can not have everything. you have many wants, many needs. you need to prioritize your time, your long term goals, your shorter term goals, ...and, you need to shower. good luck, alleycat :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Some day, you will look back at all this and say 1 of 2 things: 1. Holy Cow that was hard and so worth it all. or 2. What the hell was I thinking? None of that really matters in the big picture. All I really need to worry about is being a good person and doing the best I can. Look me up in 10 years and let me know which you go with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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