Paramedic, Low GPA, upward trend, What are my odds?

[mcabo004]

Quick overview of myself,
Age: 25
GPA:
cGPA: 2.69
sGPA: 2.98
HCE:

• 478 patient contact hours from rides and clinical in the EMS program
• 1-1.5 years working for a private ambulance company

Other:
Associates in Science in Emergency Medical Services
Firefighter Certification , Broward Fire Academy

I decided to pursue my goals towards becoming a physician assistant, and closing in on my graduation date in may, I am worried the odds are not in my favor. I have uploaded my grades from a personal spreadsheet I have made. I plan on retaking Gen Chem II and Genetics during the summer, while studying for the GRE. My spread sheet computed that if I was to take an additional 45(A's) credits from this point forward, I would just meet the 3.0 mark for my cGPA. If I reach this will I be even considered. I have called several programs, which stated that the average accepted student has a 3.5-3.6 cGPA. Please be honest, I am thinking of possible alternative career options, but don't wish to give up on this. This is honestly the career I'm passionate on pursuing.

Thank you in Advance for any insight

GPA.pdf

[PACrankset]

You really do need your GPA above 3.0, just because the averages are that high doesn't mean everybody is at that point. Another key point is a good GRE score to show an upward trend and ability to succeed in grad school.

Do your research on programs and apply to programs with a holistic review process, apply broadly and have a plan to continue improving your academic standing if you don't get in.

[jsylte]

3.0 period. There are too many candidates that have thousands of hours and above a 3.0 to get your foot in the door. An upward trend is great, but you need to continue to push until you get past a 3.

I did it, others have done it, and I know you can do it too! It is not a fast process or a fun one. It is very fulfilling though once you reach that magic number.

Good luck on your journey

[RuralER/Ortho]

Agreed. At least a 3.0.... this is a hard cut off for many programs. This will honestly probably take a few years. In the meantime, you have a great opportunity to get HCE that will make you stand out. You can't count your school hours typically, but the hours with the private service should absolutely count.

 

Good luck!

[mcabo004]

Thank you guys for the insight, I appreciate it. I know with hard work, and determination, I will get get my GPA to 3.0. I'm just curious if 3.0 applicants are still getting accepted into programs. I'm not giving up, I'm going to continue to take classes and look into increasing my HCE  as suggested.

[EMSGuy1982]

Quick overview of myself,

Age: 25

GPA:

cGPA: 2.69

sGPA: 2.98

HCE:

• 478 patient contact hours from rides and clinical in the EMS program
• 1-1.5 years working for a private ambulance company

Other:

Associates in Science in Emergency Medical Services

Firefighter Certification , Broward Fire Academy

 

I decided to pursue my goals towards becoming a physician assistant, and closing in on my graduation date in may, I am worried the odds are not in my favor. I have uploaded my grades from a personal spreadsheet I have made. I plan on retaking Gen Chem II and Genetics during the summer, while studying for the GRE. My spread sheet computed that if I was to take an additional 45(A's) credits from this point forward, I would just meet the 3.0 mark for my cGPA. If I reach this will I be even considered. I have called several programs, which stated that the average accepted student has a 3.5-3.6 cGPA. Please be honest, I am thinking of possible alternative career options, but don't wish to give up on this. This is honestly the career I'm passionate on pursuing.

 

Thank you in Advance for any insight

 

Keep it up. I was an EMT for 13 years before going to PA school. I, like you, had a terrible GPA when I started my journey to apply to PA school that took around 4 years. I started out taking one class at a time as I had a family and working 48 hour shifts on the rig. My GPA starting out was around 2.4. I took my pre-reqs and just focused on each course and slammed out 3.8s or above. It took me about 7 years total time to complete my AAS degree (I attended college previously but didn't take it seriously). Fast forward to my application cycle. I submitted with a 3.6 cumulative GPA with my sGPA at a 3.8 and about 40,000 hours of HCE. I applied to the school which has a bachelors option closest to me (MEDEX Northwest, they are phasing out their bachelors) and was lucky to get an interview and in on my first shot and just graduated this year. This is totally doable man. Just keep plugging away and keep the determination. It seems that you should have more HCE hours than the 400+ given the time frame. I called CASPA to ask how I should report my HCE as I had no way of calculating the time spent and I was told to count my hours as a whole. Albeit I was at a busy station with roughly 25-39 calls a day 911/INTERF/CCTx with just our rig. Might want to look into that. Just wanted you to know it's possible and to never give up. PM me if I can be of any help.

[MT2PA]

Thank you guys for the insight, I appreciate it. I know with hard work, and determination, I will get get my GPA to 3.0. I'm just curious if 3.0 applicants are still getting accepted into programs. I'm not giving up, I'm going to continue to take classes and look into increasing my HCE  as suggested.

 

They are but not as in high of numbers as students with 3.5, 3.6, etc.  

 

Also, students who attempt to get in with a 3.0 compensate for it with thousands (and not just 1000 or 2000 but tens of thousands) of hours of HCE.  If you're weak in 1 area you need to be compelling in another.  <500 HCE hrs at this point is not going to wow anyone.  Plan on taking a few years to bring up your GPA and log more HCE hours and then reevaluate.

[dmdpac]

You're younger than I was when I started the process for PA school.  My GPA wasn't stellar, either.  I went back to school to take/retake a bunch of science classes and managed to bump my science GPA up.  You'll forgive me that I don't remember the exact numbers.  It wasn't great to start and moved to "not too bad" when I ultimately applied.  I think the key was showing significant and steady improvement over time.  I also had 20K+ hours as a paramedic before applying.  One of the admission staff told me flat out my HCE is one of the things that prompted a closer look at my application.

 

There are a lot of variables that come into play when applying.  Many schools have a hard cutoff with GPA.  Don't meet the minimum and they won't even look at you.  You are not in a bad position right now for someone who is starting the process.  You're not necessarily in a good position to start applying to PA schools.  However, you've got a good foundation on which you can continue to build while working to improve your GPA.

 

Do the coursework.  Get the grades.  Build the HCE.  Don't get discouraged.  Keep your goal in sight.  Keep moving forward. 

 

It can be done.

 

All the best to your success.

[mcabo004]

yeah, 20k hrs is a lot of experience, I understand why the program accepted you. I am unsure exactly how many hours I have ATM, I need to add things up according to caspa's rules. However I do believe it will be less than 500, granted that, as mention earlier in this post, hours part of a program will not count. I plan on  looking into jobs which offer HCE. After my microbiology test today, I will be searching for jobs listed  for paramedics at local hospitals. Any advice, or suggestions for possible options?

[Timon]

Maintain a 4.0 while raising it up to reach that 3.0 benchmark and you should be ok.

 

Treat today as if everything has resent because your new GPA begins now.

 

When you're finished, you want to be able to say: "at 25 I was more mature and had years of life experience and perspective that I didn't posses when I first started college. Since then I have changed and this is reflected in my last ______ units where I've maintained a 4.0 cGPA."

 

This is what the adcom wants to see. This should be your goal. Your mindset needs to be that getting a B is equivalent to receiving an F. Dedicate yourself and fully commit to school at this point. You need to want this like an asthmatic wants air during an asthma attack.

 

Best of luck to you!

 

https://youtu.be/6vuetQSwFW8