bothomas Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 So I'm taking/retaking all pre-reqs for the schools I am interested in. I have a BS in Economics 2000 with a crappy 2.3 GPA and barely scraped through science courses (I majored in beer and women to be honest). I went back in the mid 2000's and earned my BBA with a 3.68 at the university but only a 2.8 overall once averaged. A few years ago I started a winding path to PA by going back to school for Respiratory Therapy. I graduated with a 4.0 and have worked primarily in ER or ICU since. Since graduating I have taken one or two prerequisite courses each semester and so far have made an A in each. I will have a few thousand patient contact hours and 200 plus shadow hours as well as excellent references. I'm hoping that a good GRE score will put me in good graces Just curious if any of you are similar to me or know of similar students and how we are perceived to admissions. Thank you!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbum Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 If you're careful about where you apply, I think you'll have a shot. RT is great HCE and "thousands of hours" stands out. You'll just need to apply at schools where that matters a whole lot. Each school has their own version of which GPA matters most....some might focus on prerequisite GPA (you're good), some might focus on science GPA, etc. Your challenge is going to be not getting auto-rejected based on overall GPA. If you can get your app looked at by enough programs, I'd bet that you'd get an interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Do some searches on this forum, and you'll see other posts on this topic (including my own). Look at schools' RANGES of stats for the cohorts in recent years. If it's clustered around a GPA and/or clustered around an age ... probably not good for you ... unless perhaps it's your local school and you get to know people on the AdComm there. If there's a range, then as long as you meet the minimums (ALL minimums), you have a shot (make your personal statement compelling). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 Excellent points! Thank you both. Those were my main concerns. Luckily the main program I am focusing on (East Carolina University) has had quite a few students my age with similar stories. I don't know anyone on admissions but I have time to put out the feelers. I really hate that some of my pre-reqs like Statistics and General Biology were F's for me and were retaken immediately for a C and D respectively back when I was literally 19 years old. I am hoping when they see me as a 40 year old taking these courses again and acing them, that I am a serious candidate whose made a whole lot of changes and knows what he wants. I am, however, afraid of being weeded out automatically for a sub par overall GPA or Science GPA Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewconvert Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Look at Campbell down the road from ECU. They take your last 60 hours and calculate your GPA from those classes then use the higher of your two GPAs for admissions criteria. The hard part is many schools use GPA as a first filter to weed out the 1500 applications they get. Elon wouldn't even look at my application because of my CASPA GPA. They told me when I called that the website says 3.0 but they don't even look at applications unless you have a minimum 3.2 on CASPA I got an interview at ECU with a CASPA total GPA of 3.01 with my first run at college in 1999 being a similar major of beer and women (with a .6 cumulative GPA to show for it), but I was in literally the last interview group and got wait listed. Campbell used my last 60 hours which calculated to a 3.75 plus my 24,000 hours and I got a first group interview and acceptance You wouldn't be the first person to get into PA school with your story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 Campbell was my number 2 choice, only because of the money! I will absolutely be applying to Campbell! Congratulations Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 Oh! And thank you for the advice! I'm just at the point where I will be applying next year and I'm getting nervous about the skeletons in my closet. I also forgot to mention I quit grad school in 2000 and left with F's. I had started a grad program in Econ and literally walked away. Stupidest thing I've ever done. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 You are the sum of everything that happened to you and you've done. You may have done poorly 16 years ago, but that's not you. Go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted April 19, 2016 Administrator Share Posted April 19, 2016 If you're not opposed to West Coast, consider Pacific, which tracks a 'last 45' GPA as well, and UW Medex, which tends to look very favorably on thousands upon thousands of hours of HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewconvert Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Campbell was my number 2 choice, only because of the money! I will absolutely be applying to Campbell! Congratulations Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk The cost difference is certainly significant, I'll give you that. It's hard to argue against $25k for the two years... Good luck with your application. Number one best advise: have your application complete and submitted by June. If I had done that three years ago I would be 8 months into my clinical year instead of 3.5 months from starting it. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Thanks for all the advice guys! I have a lot of prep work planned for the next few weeks. I'm going to try to start getting an idea of my GPA's. With 4 colleges and 3 degrees it's going to be a pain. Especially since my teen years in college were spent doing horrible, then recovering, then horrible and repeat! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 @brodan64 thanks! I'll probably ask you several questions haha. Where will you be going to PA school? I'm in a holding pattern for the next two years so I have the opportunity to boost my GPA and really get things in order. My wife starts an FNP program at UNCW this fall. She was accepted at ECU and wait listed at Duke but chose the 2 year masters online at Wilmington over the new 3 year DNP only option at ECU. I'm planning on applying to ECU, Campbell, and UNC. I've worked in Wilson, Rocky Mount, and currently Roanoke Rapids as an RRT Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Awesome! Thanks! So after making an epic spreadsheet here's my GPA probs. My total cumulative for all classes taken is 2.855. For the classes I've taken in the last 16 years (the first Degree was prior to 2000), my GPA for 115 hours is 3.85 with the last 73 hours being a 4.0. I have 3 bio courses, 2 Chem courses, and 1 Psych redo to take to complete my pre-reqs. So that's roughly 20 credit hours. I haven't done the math but given I already have attempted over 267 credit hours I don't think I'll be over 3.0 even if I ace them all. Advice/opinions? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewconvert Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Awesome! Thanks! So after making an epic spreadsheet here's my GPA probs. My total cumulative for all classes taken is 2.855. For the classes I've taken in the last 16 years (the first Degree was prior to 2000), my GPA for 115 hours is 3.85 with the last 73 hours being a 4.0. I have 3 bio courses, 2 Chem courses, and 1 Psych redo to take to complete my pre-reqs. So that's roughly 20 credit hours. I haven't done the math but given I already have attempted over 267 credit hours I don't think I'll be over 3.0 even if I ace them all. Advice/opinions? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk You probably won't get over 3.0 given your total work load, but your change over time is impressive. I know for a fact that Campbell uses the last 60, and I am 75% sure that Gardner Webb does too. That being said I would just call the schools you are applying to, or better yet go to some open houses and get your name in their head. Campbell does a "PA Day" thing where they will let a student who is considering PA school come and sit in on a class and meet with someone from admissions. I can't think of a better way to get your transcript evaluated and get some advice from the source. You will face a slightly uphill battle due to your cumulative as CASPA doesn't care that your classes are old, so you will need to do some extra leg work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Awesome advice! I definitely feel I have a better shot with the private schools. I may really start focusing on Campbell even though they're an hour and twenty minutes from my house. I may be able to get a crash pad near by because I have family in the area. The CASPA thing is total crap. My wife thought it was absolutely ridiculous and doesn't understand why anyone would use it. It surely doesn't account for those of us who need a second chance haha. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Oh snap! Just found out I can remove the two grad school F's from that cumulative GPA which brings it to 2.92 without my 20 or so new hours of prerequisites. The two courses I took this semester will be A's. Bare minimum 3.0 here I come! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Bubble popped. That guys site is wrong. So when the schools say a 3.0 minimum do they mean undergrad or overall? I think I know the answer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewconvert Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Bubble popped. That guys site is wrong. So when the schools say a 3.0 minimum do they mean undergrad or overall? I think I know the answer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Typically it means your CASPA calculated grade which takes every class you've ever taken into account. Grad, undergrad, retakes (and the original grade), post bac.... Any class you've taken at a college. That's why you need to put your face in front of the admissions people at the schools you want to go to. Dress professionally, be socialable and talk to them. You are going to have to sell yourself. Some schools want people with life experience who know that this is it for them. Some schools want a flashy GPA and don't care that you are 23 years old functionally straight out of school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bothomas Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Gotcha! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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