Anthony T Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I'm technically a sophomore at my school, although I've been in school for almost 4 years already. I was uncertain of what I wanted to with my life, so my first 2 years of college I switched between a local community college and a 4-year university. At this university, I was interested in getting into their pharmacy program. I took General Bio, General Chem, and Calculus one of my semesters there. I wasn't failing the classes, but I wasn't doing great. Then to top it all off, my Grandmother died in a car accident in December 2009 right around finals time. My Calculus professor was nice enough to give me a UW in the class, so that I could take it over without having a bad grade on my transcript. I was also able to get a W in Biology. However, I got an F in Chemistry due to me failing the final so badly because I was just in a bad emotional state at the time, and really could not study at all. I finally decided to go to a school that offers a PA program here on Long Island this semester. This was supposed to be a fresh start for me. However, the issue with this school is that they only use your science/math grades to calculate your GPA for transfer credits. So basically I am starting out with a TERRIBLE GPA at this school. I just got my grades back, and I got a C in Biology and a B+ in Chemistry. I do realize that I am just naturally not good at science and math. They have always been weak points, and I've always excelled in things like English/writing/psychology/law classes, etc. Sometimes I feel like no matter how hard I study, I just can't grasp concepts in Chem and Bio. Should I give it one last go and re-take Bio next semester? Or do you think that maybe I should just move on to a different career path? You need at least a 3.0 GPA in science to get into my current school's PA program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calad Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Look for school that look at your last 30/40/60 credit hour GPAs, those will probably be your best bet. Work hard and get good grades the rest of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Have you spoke with anyone at the PA program about this? They would be the best ones to tell you what to do. That said, I would suggest taking 12-15 hours of basic medical sciences. A&P, Patho. See how you do. Per your post the sciences aren't your strong point. You might want to work on that before attempting to get into a PA program. PA didactic curriculum is medical science sometimes taught at warp speed..lol (forgive my AARP references). Good luck in your future PA endeavors. LesH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 You need to get a handle on the basic sciences if you want to have a chance at making it in a science-based profession(medicine). A few bad grades won't in and of themselves hold you back and neither will a less than stellar GPA as long as you ace everything from here on out. You have to demonstrate to the ADCOMS that you had a rough start but have figured out where things went wrong and have made a complete 180. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony T Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 I'm just wondering if it's worth retaking Bio 101 next semester, or if I should just move on to Bio 102 and retake Bio 101 in the future if necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annemarreb Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I'm just wondering if it's worth retaking Bio 101 next semester, or if I should just move on to Bio 102 and retake Bio 101 in the future if necessary. I suggest the latter: move on to take Bio 102 and when you get closer to apply for programs figure out then if you need to retake Bio 101. Although, I'm pretty sure that PA programs will recommend you retaking them. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted December 27, 2011 Administrator Share Posted December 27, 2011 I got an F in Chemistry due to me failing the final so badly because I was just in a bad emotional state at the time, and really could not study at all. I haven't seen anyone else address this, but here goes: You need to fix that. While it sucks to be "in a bad emotional state", and no one likes it, PA school will intentionally put you under a LOT of stress. Unless you've gone to Special Forces school, PA school is likely to be the single most demanding thing you will have ever done on purpose in your lifetime. It is particularly demanding at certain peak times, but it is demanding throughout, and the general lack of stress-free time for a period of 2+ years really wears on people. Many "lifelong" relationships end during PA school--my class is running close to 10%, I think. There is no "time off" from PA school to get a divorce, it's just something that students who experience it have to deal with. No matter what happens, you need to be able to turn in "B" work, ("A" work would be nice, but not realistically attainable) no matter how sleep deprived, overworked, or emotionally drained you are. PA school is not less intense than medical school, with all its attendant horror stories. If anything, it's shorter but more intense. If you want to succeed in PA school, you need to have enough in your emotional and psychological toolkit to set aside whatever is currently happening in your life, and deal with the patient's problems. That's not to say you need to not have a life or a heart--far from it! Rather, you need to develop the ability to put someone else first, and then unbox your personal problems, of whatever nature, and deal with them sometime no one is counting on you to e.g. order the right procedure. So, in your quest to master the science problems that seem to be your immediate concern, don't forget to develop the emotional resiliency needed to avoid a repeat of failing a final because of your emotional state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 27, 2011 Moderator Share Posted December 27, 2011 I haven't seen anyone else address this, but here goes: You need to fix that. While it sucks to be "in a bad emotional state", and no one likes it, PA school will intentionally put you under a LOT of stress. Unless you've gone to Special Forces school, PA school is likely to be the single most demanding thing you will have ever done on purpose in your lifetime. It is particularly demanding at certain peak times, but it is demanding throughout, and the general lack of stress-free time for a period of 2+ years really wears on people. Many "lifelong" relationships end during PA school--my class is running close to 10%, I think. There is no "time off" from PA school to get a divorce, it's just something that students who experience have to deal with. No matter what happens, you need to be able to turn in "B" work, ("A" work would be nice, but not realistically attainable) mo matter how sleep deprived, overworked, or emotionally drained you are. PA school is not less intense than medical school, with all its attendant horror stories. If anything, it's shorter but more intense. If you want to succeed in PA school, you need to have enough in your emotional and psychological toolkit to set aside whatever is currently happening in your life, and deal with the patient's problems. That's not to say you need to not have a life or a heart--far from it! Rather, you need to develop the ability to put someone else first, and then unbox your personal problems, of whatever nature, and deal with them sometime no one is counting on you to e.g. order the right procedure. So, in your quest to master the science problems that seem to be your immediate concern, don't forget to develop the emotional resiliency needed to avoid a repeat of failing a final because of your emotional state. excellent advice. also consider the 3 yr part time programs. there are 7 or so out of 160 programs. still a lot of work but allows you to have a bit of a life, work a bit, etc. I did a 3 yr program and worked 24-30 hrs/week for the first 2 yrs. the 3rd yr is the same as the regular 2nd yr. I'm sure I would have been fine taking 6 classes at a time instead of 3 but I think I actually learned the material better than many of the traditional students because I had more time to digest it, actually did all the readings instead of skimming some, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony T Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 My total GPA for this semester was a 2.3. I'm just really unhappy with my school. The professors kind of suck, and the school is so small (literally one building) that there is one professor for everything. Perhaps I should transfer...again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Start looking inward. I agree wholeheartedly with rev ronin's post about emotional resiliency. You've got to find that inner strength, willpower, and focus. Right now it sounds like you're defeating yourself. You already believe you're incapable of achieving high science grades, and I think more than the bad teachers, small school, death in the family, etc... that's what's making it reality. I am just naturally not good at science and math. ... Sometimes I feel like no matter how hard I study, I just can't grasp concepts in Chem and Bio. PA school is a science curriculum. You've got to deal with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmpetersen Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 If you moved to this school because it has a PA program and you already hate the school, why would you want to devote so much energy and time into applying for their PA program? This should be an exciting time for you...hard and demanding, but exciting nonetheless. If you really want to be a PA, you will make it work. If it feels like there are too many inconquerable obstacles, move on to something different. You might find your true passion lies elsewhere. Good luck ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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