lins Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Hi, Currently applying this cycle but have gotten a handful of rejection letters and only a few supplemental apps :( maybe this is a rant, but it feels like my undergraduate gpa is hindering my chances for an interview (undergrad 2.85, pos-bacc 3.5). I've spoken to a few admission counselors and they said that as long as the adcom sees upward trend with my post bacc and have HCE, I might have a chance. However, it just seems that no matter how well I do in my post bacc classes, a lot of schools are rejecting me bc of my undergrad gpa...it's haunting me! It seems I may need to apply again next year. One admissions counselor even said that it won't matter how many classes I take bc I have too many credits to help raise it. Any suggestions? Should I try for another program or take more classes? So discouraging! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 29, 2011 Moderator Share Posted November 29, 2011 what is your hce like? exceptional hce with those #s might get you in somewhere. low/mediocre/poor hce and you won't get any offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Use the search function. Your situation is not unique, unless you provide more information, like your overall gpa, science gpa, gre score, medical experience, strength of recommendations......etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshie1 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Do NOT give up!! But DO research every school and figure out which ones work in your favor based on your background, as well as your goals as a PA. Like EMEDPA said, if you have excellent direct-patient contact HCE, that can offset a not so awesome GPA. Apply to those schools that say they look at upward trend, continue to work and take relevant classes and do well. Don't bother applying to schools that require a high GPA (with min to no HCE) as the applicant selling point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lins Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 what is your hce like?exceptional hce with those #s might get you in somewhere. low/mediocre/poor hce and you won't get any offers. Here are the stats- Not very impressive, but hopefully a good starting attempt: Direct Patient Care: !60+hr (and additional not included) working in cytology as a prep assistant Health Care Experience: 2635hrs working at the hospital as a lab assistant Volunteer: 100 hours volunteering at our other affiliate hospital Shadowing PA: close to 20 hrs (10 hours was on my application when I submitted my CASPA) Research in undergrad: 450hrs working as a lab research assistant conducting tests and analyzing data (no publications) Other: Nanny for 200hrs and retail for 120hrs (summer only for retail) Undergrad: VP of Finance for our sorority Undergrad GPA: 2.85 Post-bac: 3.1 (submitted) currently with classes my GPA stands at 3.5 **Currently (not included on CASPA bc it was later projects/activities I joined post-submission): Taking 3 additional classes, joined a league for our community doing charity work and fundraising, going to start another volunteer program that starts during the holiday reading to children and with holiday gift wrap at the local shelter. I didnt feel the need to include my volunteer from High School (back from 2004), but I did a lot of volunteer hours (close to 1000) in community service around the community. I spoke with some friends who applied last cycle and they all put their HS volunteer...maybe that was a detriment to myself for not including it? I thought it was not recent enough to put on my application. My top schools that I am still waiting to hear back are Touro at Mare Island and USC, and have a few others as well. Most of the others were rejects because my GPA was too low. :( Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for all your input and words of encouragement! :) I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 29, 2011 Moderator Share Posted November 29, 2011 many places that value hce won't consider lab work to be "direct hands on hce" so focus on those willing to accept your lab hours. probably wouldn't hurt to get your emt or cna and do that full time for a year or 2 while retaking a few classes on the side. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted November 29, 2011 Administrator Share Posted November 29, 2011 1) Raise your GPA by taking additional undergraduate classes. Every undergrad-level course you've ever taken will average in, so drop the thinking about undergrad vs. postbac. This also means you need consistent 4.0s to improve. 2) Increase direct patient care experience. Unlike GPA, this accumulates, rather than averages, so any little bit you get will help improve your application. 3) Everything else is either adequate (shadowing, non-direct patient care HCE) or irrelevant (nanny, retail, research, sorority) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lins Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 One of the schools actually recommended that I email the admissions counselor with my current activities that I am currently involved in, and they were interested in things I've done around the community, other than HCE hours. Should I also include my HS volunteer? Or is that too far of a reach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonD Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 You do not have very much good HCE to overcome your mediocre GPA. There are many applicants above you who have thousands of hours of EMT or CNA experience with GPA's in the mid to high 3's in undergrad. They are the ones getting accepted. You have to raise your GPA by retaking classes you got C's in before and get A's now. Get a job with direct patient care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duchesskre Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 One of the schools actually recommended that I email the admissions counselor with my current activities that I am currently involved in, and they were interested in things I've done around the community, other than HCE hours. Should I also include my HS volunteer? Or is that too far of a reach? 2004 was 8 years ago. I think including your high school community service will hurt your chances because adcom might ask why you had to go back 8 years and not have more current info than that to include. WIth that being said...take it for what it is worth....Im still pre-pa myself but I have been accepted to schools this cycle..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsRonSwanson Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 I say include high school volunteering, as long as you are still volunteering. I think it shows that you have a history of volunteering, and didn't just start before the cycle opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwisplash04 Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 I agree with everyone here in that you have to raise your GPA, get >1000 on the GREs, and get more quality HCE. I briefly mentioned my high school volunteering in my PS, but didn't put down my hours under the "work/volunteer experience" on CASPA. If you don't get in this cycle, make sure you have a stellar PS and apply early for next cycle. You have 100% control over your PS so really work on that and "sell" yourself in a positive light. Don't give up! If this is what you really want to do, then give it all you got, work harder and stay positive! Good luck :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkwee Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 1) Raise your GPA by taking additional undergraduate classes. Every undergrad-level course you've ever taken will average in, so drop the thinking about undergrad vs. postbac. This also means you need consistent 4.0s to improve.2) Increase direct patient care experience. Unlike GPA, this accumulates, rather than averages, so any little bit you get will help improve your application. 3) Everything else is either adequate (shadowing, non-direct patient care HCE) or irrelevant (nanny, retail, research, sorority) Just curious, I'm a bit new, but how would one go about "raising GPA by taking additional UG classes" if she's graduated? Or is she doing post-bacc during UG? Also, a side question, if I've got a 3.3 GPA graduating this May, should I take a 5th UG year or graduate ASAP and start working on my HCE? (I have about 300 hours.) I'm fairly confident I can get a ER Tech job starting this Summer. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted December 8, 2011 Administrator Share Posted December 8, 2011 Just curious, I'm a bit new, but how would one go about "raising GPA by taking additional UG classes" if she's graduated? Or is she doing post-bacc during UG? You do not understand undergraduate GPA in CASPA. Undergraduate GPA in CASPA is a GPA calculated with every course that appears on any transcript that would count towards an associate and/or bachelor's degree, no matter when it was earned, no matter which institution, regardless of community college vs. university level, and without even mattering if the school was a) regionally accredited, or b) still exists (yes, I have credits from a defunct school that was never regionally accredited. CASPA still needed them) If Post-bacc leads to another bachelor's, it's undergraduate. If it leads to a (special) masters' degree, it's graduate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 So I'm confused and too lazy to do math right now. What is your GPA? If it's under 3.0, you have your answer about "why am I being rejected/not considered". Do the math yourself. Find out how many A's you need to raise that GPA 0.1 point. If it's outrageous, stop focusing on it and start working on the HCE. Lab work, in general, is NOT considered patient care experience. You need to really familiarize yourself with the CASPA categories before you spend any more time in a job that may or may not be giving you what you need to fulfill your dream. I'll echo whomever said to stop thinking about your credits earned before/after graduation separately. CASPA doesn't see them differently, so you're doing yourself a disservice by maintaining the false belief that post-bacc classes are somehow special and different. Only include the volunteering from HS if it is/was on ongoing thing. I included some of mine because it began in high school and stretched all through college and for a few years after. That's the kind of long-term commitment illustrated by high school activities. If it's just "I volunteered as part of service learning in high school and dropped it like a hot potato once I got into college" it's less impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lins Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Thanks for all the input and advice! It helps reading everyone's opinion. So my HCE hours include direct patient care because as a prep assistant, I need to explain to patients the protocol for the procedure and how they obtain their lab results. Part of it is with patient interaction, and while its limited, I've got 200+ hours, which is not very much. Its really tough looking for another position that allows me to interact with patients directly since its already so tough to find a job in the first place! I'm prepared to take more classes to raise my GPA, and I'll probably retake my chem classes since I got C+, Cs in the classes. Ultimately raising my GPA is important, but getting more HCE hours is crucial too. But a lot of the schools that I applied this cycle, I contacted and they said that they were willing to take my lab assistant and prep assistant hours, although not all the hours were direct patient care. I'm still going to keep my fingers crossed for those remaining schools I am waiting to hear back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Thanks for all the input and advice! It helps reading everyone's opinion. So my HCE hours include direct patient care because as a prep assistant, I need to explain to patients the protocol for the procedure and how they obtain their lab results. Part of it is with patient interaction, and while its limited, I've got 200+ hours, which is not very much. Its really tough looking for another position that allows me to interact with patients directly since its already so tough to find a job in the first place! It's great that you're getting some interaction, but you are correct... 200 hours is a drop in the bucket. That's only 25 days of work, if you think of it in terms of 8-hour shifts. Keep at it. As far as the trouble moving elsewhere for more patient contact, I get it. I know it's hard to find work. But it's hard for everyone. I don't want to poop on your party, but as a pre-PA you're still in the competition circuit where there are people who've managed to make this happen. So keep trying and don't let the job market get you down. Look at it from fresh angles and see if there's a place or position that you haven't considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmattson Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 What are my chances for getting into any NOVA with a 3.2 overall, 2.8 science and 1420 GRE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted December 11, 2011 Administrator Share Posted December 11, 2011 What are my chances for getting into any NOVA with a 3.2 overall, 2.8 science and 1420 GRE Three responses: 1) What's your HCE? GPA means little in isolation 2) Ask Nova, or in the Nova-specific forum. They're the ones who know what that specific school values. 3) Anytime your sGPA is lower than your cGPA, that is a very, very bad sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duchesskre Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 What are my chances for getting into any NOVA with a 3.2 overall, 2.8 science and 1420 GRE If this helps, I was accepted at NOVA and will probably end up going to school there although I sill have some interviews to attend. Here are my stats: Re: Applicant stats--not yet accepted Undergrad Ed School: Florida State University, BS Criminal Justice and Sociology Masters Ed School: University of Texas-Austin, MS Social Work Cumulative Undergrad. GPA: 3.33 Cumulative Graduate GPA: 3.40 Post Bacc Graduate GPA: 4.0 Science Undergrad. GPA: 3.77 Age at application time : 29 GRE: 1010 (in 2004 prior to grad school unfortunately this score did not exist with ETS however one school accepted this score from my old transcripts) GRE: (first time according to ETS score reports as old score is expired): 980 when I retook them in July and (second GRE score from when I took them in Aug....ETS is now giving you a range that is equivalent to the old scoring) 420-520: verbal and 620-720: quant Direct Patient Care : about 8500 hours as a clinical social worker for the trauma team and neurosurgery team -100 hours OR shadow -25 hours research on secondary trauma on first responders Schools Applied: Nova (All 4), Barry, Emory, Duke, Wake Forest, James Madison, UF, UTSW, Baylor, ATStill, Midwestern Application Submitted Date: Submitted 8/14/2011 Verified by Caspa 9/12/2011 Schools Received Application Date: Sept Interview Invites: Nova Ft. Lauderdale, Midwestern Denied: UTSW Withdrew Application: Nova (Orlando, Ft. Meyers, Jacksonville) Wake Forest, James Madison, UF, ATStill Waitlisted: Not yet Accepted: Nova Ft. Lauderdale Attempts: First Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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