Jump to content

Advice needed for PA school


Recommended Posts

Hello,  I graduated with my B.S in biological Sciences with a undergraduate GPA of 2.5 from a 4 year university. Some of the PA schools adviced I earn a masters degree in human biology related advance program to show my capability of being able to handle advanced level courses before I apply to PA schools. However most masters program have GPA requirement between (2.8-3.1) which is difficult to me. My current option is to retake course I did in poor in such as chemistry and organic chemistry course at community college. My second option is to attend a 1 year (25 credit) post bacc program in Health Sciences at a Salus University which has advanced courses. Regardless I choose any options PA schools require me to earn masters degree. Which of these options would be ideal in attempt to get in to advance masters program which are geared towards medicine considering time and money? 

Also would just retaking courses help me in respect to CASPA as it takes the averages of all my retakes. And I had retaken each of my chemistry and organic chemistry courses in my undergrad atleast twice. So if I were to earn As in my retakes will it be helpful? Pleas let me know!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regardless of what you take -- including getting a masters -- all of your grades will average. CASPA does break out graduate school grades separately as well.

PA programs get evaluated on many things, including what percentage of new students make it through, so a low GPA is a red flag for many of them.

Knowing how many credits you already have that went into your 2.5 should tell you how many credits it will take to raise that to an acceptable level. Quite a few, I should think. And a clear-eyed assessment of how you got to a 2.5 and what you need to do differently from here on out is probably called for.

Some programs apparently weigh your last x hours higher; you might look into one of those. Also how to make your PCE/HCE unusually good.

Best wishes.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply. In this situation would it be helpful at all to retake my chemistry and organic chem courses that brought me to 2.5? I know CASPA will average out my county college retake with my undergrad courses. But I was thinking to do a DIY at community college to show understanding for graduate school and then use it as bridge to get in PA school. The advanced post bacc program in health sciences is out of state which will require me to take out loan. So would going into advanced health sciences post bacc and DIY post bacc on own be considered same? I didn't just want to commit to a post bacc program before finding out whether the outcome would be any different. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the big thing here is your undergrad GPA. Most schools specifically state cumulative GPA for both science and overall. My thoughts would be go back and retake any class you got a C or lower in. You really need to get an A in all those retakes in order to average the GPA for each class at a B. Then I would focus on apply in schools that have a GPA minimum of 2.8, but I would try to aim at getting your GPA's for science and overall up over 3.0. It is a long road but it will be worth it. Good luck!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes I am considering to retake my chemistry and organic chemistry courses at local community college and show my understanding of those areas. However I had previously retaken my general chemistry and organic chemistry course at my university but didn't get high grade. My university had ACS finals which always dropped my grade by a letter. How would my history of retakes in chemistry and organic chemistry with my most recent from community college have an impact in CASPA? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More