brimarai Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Hi, This is my first time posting to this site. I am currently a senior graduating in December. My cumulative GPA is currently not where I would like it to be, 2.691. And I have made one too many Cs in some of my pre-reqs (Biol I & II, Chem II, Physics I, Micro). These Cs have not been a result of laziness but it really took me a long time to find out what method of studying worked for me better in college. Now I am thinking about applying for PA school this upcoming fall. I have not taken the GRE yet (plan to take it in the summer). I have a lot of patient care hours and other volunteer work. I'm really just getting discouraged about the whole thing. I really want to apply in the fall because I do not want to sit out a year and a half. I have found some schools who's minimum GPA start at a 2.7. If this were you would, what would you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seijou Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Hi, This is my first time posting to this site. I am currently a senior graduating in December. My cumulative GPA is currently not where I would like it to be, 2.691. And I have made one too many Cs in some of my pre-reqs (Biol I & II, Chem II, Physics I, Micro). These Cs have not been a result of laziness but it really took me a long time to find out what method of studying worked for me better in college. Now I am thinking about applying for PA school this upcoming fall. I have not taken the GRE yet (plan to take it in the summer). I have a lot of patient care hours and other volunteer work. I'm really just getting discouraged about the whole thing. I really want to apply in the fall because I do not want to sit out a year and a half. I have found some schools who's minimum GPA start at a 2.7. If this were you would, what would you do? If it were me I would do everything I could to pull my GPA up... I'm not sure what the options are here. At my University, once you graduate... that's it. It's difficult to get back into the school for a post-bacc, and hard to enroll in science courses in open-university. So I would say one option is to postpone graduation... retake some classes if possible, or take more science courses to pull up your GPA. PA schools like to see that upward trend reflecting academic improvement. Other option would be to take classes at community college... Which can serve the same purpose but will be the cheaper route. The extra waiting time is not a big deal... When everyone is young they think time is always running out and they feel like they're always in a rush... But my advice is to take your time and do it right the first time around, then you won't have to do it again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brimarai Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 I have thought about pushing my graduation date back. Since last spring have improved. I've made A's & B's in all of them. I'm just so stressed and really have no idea what to do! Thanks for your advice. I will take into consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seijou Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I have thought about pushing my graduation date back. Since last spring have improved. I've made A's & B's in all of them. I'm just so stressed and really have no idea what to do! Thanks for your advice. I will take into consideration. If you check the applicant stat's thread for people who have been accepted, you will see some get accepted to PA school with low GPAs. However, I think it is a very difficult path. You have to really make your application shine in every other aspect, and it is a lot of pressure. If you're currently getting A's and B's, then I'd say you're on a roll... Just keep it up, it may take time but don't feel like you're behind or anything just because it takes a while longer... I decided to pursue a Master's degree prior to PA school and so I'm doing those science classes on top of my load at school right now and wishing so hard that I was an undergraduate student again. I would have no thesis to worry about... Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I would start by retaking bio I/II and micro; don't worry about physics since its not a prereq for most programs. After that, it's time to pull up your GPA to at least a 3.0. Consider getting an associates in an allied health field, or a post-bacc program. Sure, schools will gladly take your money in application and supplemental fees, but chances are even if you are applying to a school with a lower GPA requirement, a 2.7 won't do it. Meeting minimum requirements won't get you a seat. Depending on how many credits you have, I think you're looking at at least 30 credits of A work to bring that GPA up. I don't think applying for this cycle would be in your best interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seijou Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I would start by retaking bio I/II and micro; don't worry about physics since its not a prereq for most programs. After that, it's time to pull up your GPA to at least a 3.0. Consider getting an associates in an allied health field, or a post-bacc program. Sure, schools will gladly take your money in application and supplemental fees, but chances are even if you are applying to a school with a lower GPA requirement, a 2.7 won't do it. Meeting minimum requirements won't get you a seat. Depending on how many credits you have, I think you're looking at at least 30 credits of A work to bring that GPA up. I don't think applying for this cycle would be in your best interest. I don't know this for sure, but I've heard post-bacc students have a hard time getting into science courses at my university. They seem to be low priority compared to chemistry, biology and other science majors. For this reason I think you should do some research. It might be more beneficial just to "stick around" and continue taking classes which would effectively postpone your graduation, but it might be less stressful then having to deal with post-bacc related problems. Even at the community college level, when I started taking classes there I had just a crappy registration date (since I was a "newly registered student"). By the time the system would allow me to register all the classes were full... I had to crash my classes (which means you won't necessarily get in)... this is always a big headache for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brimarai Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 I would start by retaking bio I/II and micro; don't worry about physics since its not a prereq for most programs. After that, it's time to pull up your GPA to at least a 3.0. Consider getting an associates in an allied health field, or a post-bacc program. Sure, schools will gladly take your money in application and supplemental fees, but chances are even if you are applying to a school with a lower GPA requirement, a 2.7 won't do it. Meeting minimum requirements won't get you a seat. Depending on how many credits you have, I think you're looking at at least 30 credits of A work to bring that GPA up. I don't think applying for this cycle would be in your best interest. Would you recommend me retaking the labs also if I have received Cs in them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brimarai Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 If you check the applicant stat's thread for people who have been accepted, you will see some get accepted to PA school with low GPAs. However, I think it is a very difficult path. You have to really make your application shine in every other aspect, and it is a lot of pressure. If you're currently getting A's and B's, then I'd say you're on a roll... Just keep it up, it may take time but don't feel like you're behind or anything just because it takes a while longer... I decided to pursue a Master's degree prior to PA school and so I'm doing those science classes on top of my load at school right now and wishing so hard that I was an undergraduate student again. I would have no thesis to worry about... Good Luck You are really a great help! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panelson Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I would definitely recommend waiting another year before applying. Take those major science courses over again at a CC (since it really makes no difference in the end and it is cheaper) and then apply with a higher GPA. Getting in the first time you apply is a great feeling and with a little higher GPA hopefully you can do that. Good luck! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Do some searching for similar threads, retake the pre-reqs with Cs, start taking more upper level sciences to hit a 3.0 GPA. GatorRRT's suggestion of getting another degree in an allied health field is a good one. It is going to take some time and effort for you to get into PA school but it's definitely doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brimarai Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 Do some searching for similar threads, retake the pre-reqs with Cs, start taking more upper level sciences to hit a 3.0 GPA. GatorRRT's suggestion of getting another degree in an allied health field is a good one. It is going to take some time and effort for you to get into PA school but it's definitely doable. I am currently in Orgo II and I plan to take Biochem in the summer (pre-req). I also thought about adding biology as my minor; I am already a psych minor. I will look into allied health associate degrees. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brimarai Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 I would definitely recommend waiting another year before applying. Take those major science courses over again at a CC (since it really makes no difference in the end and it is cheaper) and then apply with a higher GPA. Getting in the first time you apply is a great feeling and with a little higher GPA hopefully you can do that. Good luck! :) Thank you for the advice! It looks like I have some decisions to make on if I should push my graduation date back or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I am currently in Orgo II and I plan to take Biochem in the summer (pre-req). I also thought about adding biology as my minor; I am already a psych minor. I will look into allied health associate degrees. Thanks. Look into bachelor programs also as many are only one additional year. I transferred to a one year clinical laboratory science program as a senior but several of my classmates were on the more traditional path of already having a previous degree and entering the program afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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