jmurph Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I have returned to school after 20+ years of employment as an Ultrasound Technologist. I received my training in Radiology from the USAF/Midwestern State University. Prior to that I was a college student with a major of "when is the next party?" My actual major was Petroleum Engineering...epic failure!(lots of science classes w/ C's, D's and one w/ an F) Which is why I entered the Air Force. This was circa 1982. During the past three semesters, I have earned a GPA of 3.7 in ALL science classes(14-16 credits/semester) HOWEVER, this combined with my low GPA from 30 years ago, gives me an overall of 2.79 (I failed a few classes when I was 18...some I never even went to). My GRE score is 1130. I have 3 more prereq's to do and would like to be done by the fall of 2012. (O Chem, Micro and Bio 2). I would like to apply to PA school this year, since various schools allow 2 prereq's to be outstanding. I am concerned that my overall GPA will hinder my chances of even getting my application reviewed. Could you share any thoughts or experiences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Your life experience and medical experience will carry you all the way to the finish line...as long as you qualify for the race. Bang out your pre reqs with grades that will get you past the "auto reject" of not making min. qualifications. Once you get your nose over that hump, they'll snatch you up. Think positive! And of course have good letters/statements/be able to carry a conversation during an interview. Are you considering UW's program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshie1 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I was in a similar boat. Poor undergrad grades from 25 years ago. 10 years after undergrad I found my interest in healthcare and was able to get my M.S. with great grades (3.7 GPA). I began working in the field and accruing direct patient care hours. About 3 years ago decided I wanted to go to PA school and began investigating schools' requirements, and taking the pre-reqs (as well as repeating some that were old, like A&P). I took some courses beyond the usual pre-reqs also such as pharmacology, pathophys, to name a couple. My GPA in these courses (@ 45 credits) is 3.91. GRE is 1150. I applied to schools whose mission met mine (rural med) and who had an emphasis on HCE and stated that they put greater weight on the last 45-90 credit hours (upward trend !). Also, I've been highly involved in my community for the past seven years volunteering in my field. So I have a ton of those types of hours. Great LORs also. I applied to 7 schools, received interview invites to 4, was accepted at my first interview, & waitlisted at my second interview. I withdrew from the remaining schools since I was accepted to my top choice. I think you have a good chance if you thoroughly research the schools, apply to those that fit who you are and your experience! Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmurph Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Thanks for the encouragement! I guess I should have mentioned that I am doing 400 level classes, i.e. Gross Anatomy and Clinical Physiology instead of A and P I and II. It's a huge challenge, but I am doing it. I can't stress enough to the kids out there that bad grades will follow you. I did look at UW and it is in the top 5. I am frustrated by my overall GPA, and I am bringing it up, but despite the fact that I am earning A's(B+ in Gross...failed the first test..96% on the last...a whole NEW way of studying)....those F's from 30 years ago keep haunting me. The fact that I am 48 years old and don't have a lot of time to spend taking classes just to increase my GPA is frustrating as well. Just don't want to do the auto reject when I am working so hard...how do I get past that? Personal statement? How am I going to get it across to ADCOM that what is in the past is not what I am today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 A few Fs won't keep you out of PA school as long as you can show it was a fluke and you have overcome whatever caused it(which it sounds like you have). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I had 18 Hours of F on my transcript from just 7 years ago and managed to get into Duke this year, so you most certainly can recover. After getting my *** handed to me by life a bit and finding some new motivations I returned to school and got a 3.98 for last 120 hours of school and 1440 GRE. Despite my awesome later grades, my GPA was only 3.4 I also covered it well in my personal statement. Adcoms are not made of stone and really do care about your recent success much more than what you did 25 years ago. That said you will HAVE to get your total GPA above 3.0 for most schools, otherwise they will just auto-reject your application. Your 3 classes will obviously not raise you above that mark. There are, however a couple of schools with less than 3.0 GPA requirements, or that will make exceptions. An example I can think of (because I applied to and was accepted at) is Salus http://www.salus.edu/physicianAssistant/pa_admission_criteria.html Just make sure you do your research, and be prepared to have to apply more than one year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 For the bachelor program at UW the min. grade requirement is for the required classes only that would be the A&P, extra science, and two English courses. They also don't require higher level A&P. Most of my class plan to take an online Masters program after they have a job. This puts us in the workplace sooner, making more money and building that resume. After 18-24 months we have two years of work experience as a pa and a Masters. Makes getting that next job so much easier and lucrative. The school heavily favors HCE and life experiences. Demonstrate that you have that plus that you show that you can interview well and doors open. Very good rumor around campus is that Medex has received funding to start a bachelors program in Tacoma for vets only. I noticed you are former air force. I don't know if that is happening this next fall or next but it may another option. And yes, even if you already have a bachelor degree, you can still attend their bachelor program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmurph Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Thanks for the response. PAMAC, I was especially encouraged by your statement, "get past the grades in your head", something I really need to do. Just looked at my spreadsheet again for my grades and a few semesters(12+ credit hours) of "A's" will put me at the 3.19 GPA. How would it look if I took some 100/200 level science classes to achieve this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StudentPA Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 That would look good. If you are going to do that though just check and make sure that the programs you are going to be applying to do not have specific science prerequisites that are slightly outside of the norm. For example, genetics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 University of Detroit Mercy is a MS program with a well-established reputation (started in the 70's) that has a 2.5 minimum GPA. If you're at all interested in the metro Detroit area it's worth checking out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier1 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I had 18 Hours of F on my transcript from just 7 years ago and managed to get into Duke this year, so you most certainly can recover. After getting my *** handed to me by life a bit and finding some new motivations I returned to school and got a 3.98 for last 120 hours of school and 1440 GRE. Despite my awesome later grades, my GPA was only 3.4 I also covered it well in my personal statement. Adcoms are not made of stone and really do care about your recent success much more than what you did 25 years ago. Sadly that wasn't true in my case. I had poor grades 20 years ago while trying to work full time and go to school full time. My last 100 hours are a 3.8 with the last 60, including all my pre-req's, being a 4.0. I also did well on the GRE with a 1300. Since my grades from 20 years ago were bad enough to drop my GPA below a 3.0 my app wasn't considered competitive. I felt I covered it very well in my personal statement and mistakenly assumed they would consider my recent grade trend more important than the 20 year old grades. I applied to 8 schools and didn't receive a single interview. Every one of them said GPA needed to be above a 3.0 and they didn't look at trends. Personally I think this is ridiculous when 20 years separates the poor grades from the recent ones but I'm not on the admissions committee. To the OP you have the advantage of a lot of HCE so I would focus on the traditional programs that look at that as well as those that focus on the last 60-80 hours. I wish you the best and hope you have better luck than I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier1 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Also, make sure you are calculating your GPA the same way CASPA does. Their calculation was over .5 lower than mine because of the way they calculate retakes and grade forgiveness. Going by the GPA on my transcripts I would have had over a 3.0 but not with CASPA and none of the programs recalculated it. To get my CASPA GPA above a 3.0 I would need to take at least another 60 hours and achieve a 4.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpayne2 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 The key is finding those programs that don't have that minimum 3.0 GPA, OR who will put greater weight on recently earned credit hours, OR who say something along the lines of "Candidates with a cumulative GPA less than 3.0 will be considered when there is strong evidence of improved academic performance in more recently completed coursework"... like my program. I've seen several students in times past with this exact story. The last thing we wanted to do was punish those students in the application process when it's clear they've found their passion and are performing exceptionally well with prerequisites. Anyone with this story is welcome to apply to my program (University of Charleston). I wrote a blog post highlighting why we are going to have an exceptional program. You can check it out here: http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/2012/02/15/university-of-charleston-physician-assistant-program.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmurph Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Thank you for your response. I had an opportunity to look at the Charleston program, and I must say it looks appealing. In light of all that has been said of this particular topic, I do find one thing odd: My prereq's are over the 10 year mark required by most institutions, yet they insist upon using the old grades for my gpa....Just trying to understand the logic of this. I am 48 years old and obviously not the same person I was 30 years ago. Crazy...but at least I have an answer if someone should ask, "What was your biggest obstacle?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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