PA School Questions

[JRLentz]

I am currently going into my junior year of undergrad, going for my BS in Chemistry-ACS Certified with a concentration in Biochemistry. My current cGPA is 3.2 and my sGPA is a 3.1. I am obviously hoping to get my GPA up before undergrad is completed. 

This fall I will be going to get my EMT certification. I plan on working full time during the summer with 12-hr shifts on the weekends during the school year. I was thinking of taking a year off after undergrad to accumulate more hours to stand out more due to a low GPA.

My question is how much does PA schools value volunteer hours? My twin brother is Safety Management Major who would be a way better PA school applicant than me 3.9 GPA and 750+ hrs as an EMT before junior year of undergrad. He is also a volunteer firefighter and has certifications in HAZMAT and Firefighter I. He found a live in program by our school that pays for his room and board for 24 hrs a week volunteer to the department, 2 shifts as a firefighter, 1 as an EMT. If I would become a volunteer firefighter, get my certifications, and do the live in program my senior year, how well would that stand out in the application?

[Wellness]

If I recall correctly, my GPA was a 3.3 after my sophomore year. I finished with a 3.61. You have two more years, and you can raise your GPA to a 3.5-3.6 if you consistently get a 3.8+ GPA (assuming you have around 60 credits and need to earn around 60 more). 

Every program has different aspects of the application they focus on. I think if you work hard to bring up your grades, get as much HCE as you can while maintaining those grades, and scoring at least in the 50th percentile on the GRE, you should be golden. I do suggest volunteering. I believe it will increase your likelihood of getting into a school, but even if it doesn't, you've helped someone out. I place a lot of value in volunteering, and I think a lot of programs do. Volunteer because you enjoy it, though, not because you have to do it to check off some box. You'll be miserable, especially if you spend your weekends volunteering like I did. 

A suggestion of mine is to read the mission statement and visions of the programs you are applying to. Some can shed light on what they focus on. Good luck!

[MTOPAC]

10 hours ago, JRLentz said:

I am currently going into my junior year of undergrad, going for my BS in Chemistry-ACS Certified with a concentration in Biochemistry. My current cGPA is 3.2 and my sGPA is a 3.1. I am obviously hoping to get my GPA up before undergrad is completed. 

This fall I will be going to get my EMT certification. I plan on working full time during the summer with 12-hr shifts on the weekends during the school year. I was thinking of taking a year off after undergrad to accumulate more hours to stand out more due to a low GPA.

My question is how much does PA schools value volunteer hours? My twin brother is Safety Management Major who would be a way better PA school applicant than me 3.9 GPA and 750+ hrs as an EMT before junior year of undergrad. He is also a volunteer firefighter and has certifications in HAZMAT and Firefighter I. He found a live in program by our school that pays for his room and board for 24 hrs a week volunteer to the department, 2 shifts as a firefighter, 1 as an EMT. If I would become a volunteer firefighter, get my certifications, and do the live in program my senior year, how well would that stand out in the application?

I'm currently in my first year of PA school, and I was accepted with literally zero volunteer hours. My GPA was significantly low, and any free time I had I used to take upper level science classes and gain work experience.

One program that in interviewed at and was eventually denied from told me volunteer hours is one of the last things they evaluate in an application, and having a ton of hours or none at all doesn't sway the decision much one way or the other.

[MyNameWasUsed]

I really don't think schools care, unless they explicitly state it on their website or something.