Ask a PA Admissions Director

[TarheelGirlx3]

Hi paadmissions,

 

I spoke with you quite some time ago about applying to the MU PA program. I am still very interested, but I still have to take Orgo 1&2 and Biochem (planning this coming school year as I apply). My cGPA from UNC is 3.396 and my sGPA according to CASPA will be around a 3.1-3.2? My pre-req GPA thus far for MU is a 3.6 before those 3 courses I have left to take. My GPA isn't wonderful but I had an upward trend. What I am really getting at is the issue of the pre-req courses. I have planned on taking them at the university level, which I know is what is best. However, I am running into the issue of affordability. I am a new college graduate that will be working full time as a CNA. I will be completely supporting myself (bills, car, tuition, etc.). If it is the case that I simply cannot afford $1,000+ vs. a few hundred at a CC, is this taken into consideration? Would it put me at a disadvantage, given my gpa? I should also add that the CC I am looking at going to offers organic chem and lab at night, which would fit into my full time work schedule and the university only offers it during the day, interfering with work.

 

Thanks!

Edited May 29, 2013 by TarheelGirlx3
missing info

[bruin928]

Hi paadmissions,

 

I am currently a 3rd year student with a 2.9 GPA with a major in Psychobiology. My science GPA is lower than that. I know that almost all PA schools require a 3.0 GPA, but I was wondering what the best way for me to improve my grades are after graduation. I am planning to attend Medical Assistant school and shadow PA's/volunteer and work as a MA for a year or two. Could my grades from MA school raise my GPA/science GPA that the PA schools check? Or should I be retaking classes. I am willing to put in the time and effort, but as of now, I am confused on what the way for me is to make myself as most competitive of an applicant I can be.

 

Thank you so much for your time!

[amylynne914]

I have a question regarding recommendations. The program I am applying to requires an MD, a PA and a clinical supervisor. I work as a registered dietitian in a hospital. I am going to ask a GI PA who I am shadowing, and already told me she would write me a recommendation. I am debating between asking a hospitalist or a GI MD who I work closely with (the GI MD is in a different practice than the GI PA). Would you recommend asking the GI MD or just a seperate discipline?

[Bluelilly]

Hello pa aadmissions

 

I have a question concerning my prereqs. I have taken all my prereqs at a community college which also has a pa program on campus(I'm applying to this pa program). I have taken biology,gen chem I &II, organic chem I &II, anatomy&physiology I&II, microbiology, biochem, pathophysiology, genetics and a cadaver class(this class was taught right alongside medical students who were enrolled in medical school) I have 3000 hours of HCE and I'm just wondering if I would be a competitive candidate if I applied to other pa programs besides the one at my community college.

[Bluelilly]

I forgot to mention that I have received an A in all my classes I just mention in my previous message. Bluelilly

[paadmissions]

@tarheelgirl I'm glad to hear you're still considering our program. I would encourage you to look at at least taking Org I at a 4 year school and if the cc is the only option left for the other 2 course we will count the. It's important you're taking them at the highest level possible. Org I and Biochem will have curriculum relevant to PA school so at least one of them needs to be a 4 year level. I hope this helps and make sure to get your application in sooner rather than later!! We look forward to working with you!

[paadmissions]

@bruin928 Thank you for your question. Your MA courses will not be figured into your overall GPA. I would recommend you retaking courses that are needed for the programs you want to apply to. Your prerequisite GPA needs to be 3.4 or higher to be competitive with the applicant pool I have seen. You may want to consider a post-bacc program as well. It's a good way to retake prerequisites within a calendar year. Just a thought and hope t his helps!

[paadmissions]

@amylynne914 Thank you for your questions. I would recommend the GI MD since you've worked closely with this person. As long as you've spent quality time with the GI MD and feel he/she can write you a good letter I think that should be fine. Our program would not have a problem with he/she being in a different practice than the GI PA. Hope this helps!

[paadmissions]

@bluelilly Thank you for your questions! The first step I would recommend is researching programs, other than the cc, that you would be interested in. Once you've narrowed down your search you can further research the program's preference of where they want the prereqs taken. Some programs don't have a preference and some do, so I know other programs would be an option for you with the profile you've mentioned. I hope this helps and best wishes!

[hkb1]

My undergraduate gpa from a great school were okay - 2.85 cumulative and 2.95 science. I was enrolled in 2 years of optometry school from 2008-2010 (I did really well on the optometry entrance exam, which I'm sure helped me get in). After some financial and back pain issues, I withdrew in good academic standing (3.1 gpa). Its now three years later and I have decided to commit to PA school. I have worked the past 3 years in a neurologists office, 3 days a week I do office managerial work but the other 2 days I work with the doctor by taking basic histories, typing up his EMG reports, etc. I also have worked as an optometric assistant prior to optometry school. I have yet to take the GRE, and have just started volunteering at the pedriactic ICU unit in a hospital, and also shadowing PAs in ER. I feel my case is rather unique - what do you think about my chances?

[TarheelGirlx3]

Thanks paadmissions. My current application is complete, waiting to be verified. I am taking the GRE on June 12, and I have 1 LOR pending, which will hopefully be complete around that time. Do you think that is still a reasonable/still competitive time for submission once MU receives my GRE scores? Thanks!

[HM2PA]

Dear paadmissions - I cannot tell you how helpful your assistance and special attention is - thank you! I am a Navy Corpsman with 6 1/2 years (5 active 1 1/2 Reserves) of excellent acute care experience and my Bachelors Degree. My CASPA GPA is going to be much lower than I originally calculated not realizing that they calculated F's that have been retaken (7 years ago). I'm in a position where my CASPA GPA will be about 2.9 but my science GPA is going to be closer to 3.9. I am applying to MEDEX and PACIFIC which both look at the past couple years of credits.

 

1) My concern is that the vast majority of programs have a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0. How strict are most programs with this requirement? Should I avoid applying to any program which I do not absolutely meet the minimum as the rest of my application will not be looked at?

 

2) Below are the sciences I have completed or will complete by August. I am finding that I do not perfectly meet the requirements for most schools. Your program is similar to what I am finding with many - what would your program do with my application? Methodist requires 3 s.h. of biochemistry and may not be combined with organic. I am currently taking a combination o-chem/bio-chem class. Also Methodist requires Inorganic Chem I & II. I have taken a survey of Inorganic and Inorganic Chem I. This is also very common - many school indicated 8 s.h. of inorganic chem. Will my survey plus Inorganic I meet this requirement? And Methodist requires Medical Terminology which I received in the Navy and is reflected on my SMART military transcript - but no grade. Heres my question: In cases similar to Methodist where I do not perfectly match their pre-reqs, should I simply move on to a program which I do, or should I apply anyway?

 

3) I have superb letters of recommendation, strong personal statement, high acuity patient care experience, and a near 4.0 in my pre-reqs - but my fear is that my CASPA GPA (2.9) will not get me in far enough in the admissions process to even be looked at. Do any programs (apart from Pacific and MEDEX) come to mind that might be a good fit?

 

MY SCIENCES - All 6 Qtr hours with Lab.

Survey of Inorganic ('A-' in 2005)

Inorganic Chem for Chem majors ('A-' in 2013)

Intro to Organic/Biochemistry ('A' in 2013)

Biology I ('A' in 2013)

A&P I ('A' in 2013)

A&P II (projected 'A' summer 2013)

Microbiology (projected 'A' summer 2013)

 

OTHER COMMON PRE-REQS:

General Psyc ('A' in 2013)

Developmental Psyc ('A' in 2013)

Statistics ('A' in 2012)

[paadmissions]

@hkb1 Thank you for your questions. I think your healthcare experience is solid so I would not make any recommendations to change anything. I would recommend narrowing down your search to the programs that interest you. Once you've done that you need to evaluate where you stand with your GPAs (both overall and also prerequisites). You need to make sure you're within a competitive range with the incoming class. You may have to go back and retake a course or several courses to boost your GPA. It all depends on what GPAs are recommended or required. The same would be true for GRE scores. I hope this helps!

[paadmissions]

@tarheelgirlx3 Yes, I think you're applying in plenty of time!

[paadmissions]

@HM2PA Thank you for your questions and possible interest in our program. I can't really speak to how MEDEX and Pacific would look at your application if the oGPA is 2.9, but I know MedEx's program has a lot of "seasoned" students (meaning with a lot of HCE) in their program and if what you've stated about them focusing on your most recent work is accurate, you may be considered further than you think. Again, I'm assuming this and don't want to speak on their behalf so it may be best to ask them and Pacific directly. I know we would still look at your application especially if the prerequisite GPA and other selection factors are strong (meaning they exceed our recommendations).

 

In response to your questions about coursework:

- If you've taken survey of chemistry, I usually ask for a course description to get approval from our committee members to make sure the content in the course is sufficient for our requirements. The same would be for your medical terminology course that is on your SMART transcript (if it can be provided).

- We do not accept a combined Organic and Biochemistry course. Unfortunately, you would have to take Org I, Org II and Biochemistry separately.

As much as I think your experience would be an asset to our program, if you have no plans to take the org and biochem courses separate, unfortunately, I don't think our program would be an option for you. We do consider and accept applicants who have outstanding coursework as long as there's a plan in place to complete them by our late-August start date.

I'm confident there are other programs, outside of MedEx and Pacific, that would be a good fit for you, but have to say that recommending others without being familiar with specific requirements is hard for me to do. One suggestion I can make is maybe consider reading other postings on PA Forum about schools in your area. Sorry I can't help you much there.

I hope some of this is helpful and best wishes!

[sprky79]

Hi Admissionis director:

 

Two questions, and my apologies if they have already been asked:

 

1) How does the admissions committee view re-taken courses from a G.P.A. point of view? I.e. if I retake a class, does my GPA only reflect the higher grade?

 

2) How important is PA shadowing if someone has substantial healthcare experience?

 

Thanks!

[paadmissions]

@sprky79 Thank you for your questions.

1. Everything you take at the college level will be calculated together for an overall GPA if you're applying through CASPA. Beware many applicants are surprised that their oGPA is lower than they anticipated. However, programs, like ours, may take your highest grade in the prerequisite coursework requirements for their own calculations. So, if you've retaken A&P we would take the highest grade to determine the prerequisite GPA. Some programs average the 2 grades together...unfortunately, there's no universal answer to this question since every program does things differently.

2. PA shadowing may be recommended by a lot of programs if they don't have a specific hour requirement for shadowing. If you're not currently in a healthcare setting where you get a lot of exposure to PAs I would strongly recommend setting up quality time to spend shadowing a PA. If you're getting plenty of exposure in your current position and the programs you're interest in don't require shadowing, I don't think it would necessarily weaken your application if you don't shadow. It's important to make sure you read the HCE requirements for each program carefully.

 

I hope this helps!

[razel912]

I made some mistakes several years ago when I first started college and now my gpa is only going to be a 2.8-2.99. My pre-req gpa should be about a 3.2 though. If I have over 14,000 HCE and REALLY good recommendation letters and a decent GRE am I still in the running or should I give up now? Due to military I have been to 4 colleges and some courses did not transfer thus I have had to retake them. How does that work with my gpa since it can look like a grade forgiveness type of situation? Do I only count the gpa from where my degree is from? Thanks for all your help :)

[heatherjung8]

Hi @paadmissions !

I am going into my senior year of college at Ohio State and I am in the process of applying to PA schools. I have a 3.44 GPA with two C's in general chemistry, but a 3.7 in my last 45 credit hours. I only have about 150 hours of direct patient care, but I have also been a student intern at one of the top hospitals in the country, the OSU Medical Center. I, also, have many other various volunteer experiences. I REALLY want to matriculate into PA school right after I graduate next May. Is there any advice you can give me to write about in my Personal Statement to prove that I am capable of getting into PA school directly out of college? Is getting accepted into a program a stretch for me? Any advice is super helpful! I figured I would at least apply now and try my best to get into certain places and if I don't then I can always get more HCE and reapply if I must, but I think I would regret not at least trying to get in now!

Thanks for all of your helpful posts!!

[paadmissions]

@razel912 Thank you for your questions. Evaluate the programs that interest you by the following:

- What prerequisites are required? Have you taken all of them or do you still have outstanding coursework?

- What are the incoming averages of the students entering for oGPA and prerequisite GPA, if posted? Are you within a competitive range, especially with your prerequisites? If not, you should consider retaking some of the prereqs that may help boost your prereq GPA. I would recommend retaking prereq courses that you've scored Cs or B-s in to boost the GPA.

- Are you exceeding what is recommended or required GPAs for incoming students? Selection factors should be accessible on the websites. Again, meeting requirements is one thing, but a lot of incoming students exceed them.

- Make sure the GRE scores are at least meeting the scores recommended or required.

 

I do think your military experience and HCE experience will boost your application quite a bit. At least from our standpoint, we recognize the barriers servicemen and women face with deployments and relocations...so the fact that you've attended 4 universities should be understood by most admissions committees. That being said, you still must demonstrate your academic potential to handle PA school with an upward trend in your academic performance. I've had a lot of prospective students scan and email transcripts this spring to evaluate their deficiencies, but also their competitiveness with our applicant pool. I would encourage you to reach out to the programs that you would like to attend to see if they will do the same.

 

Regarding your grade forgiveness question, CASPA does not recognize grade replacement when you enter all of your coursework so your overall GPA may be lower than anticipated. Your oGPA will be a combination of every class you've taken at the college level not just from where you received your degree. How a program calculates other GPAs, like prerequisite GPAs (if they do that), will be specific to every program. For example, we use CASPA's overall GPA calculations, but take the highest grade scored for our prerequisite courses; but some programs average the original grade and the retake together. It all depends on what program you're working with. Again, going back to my advice above, reach out to the programs and ask for an unofficial evaluation of transcripts. This can be done via email for most programs I would assume, but at least you'll know where you stand.

 

I hope this helps!

[paadmissions]

@heatherjung8 Thank you for your questions. It's not an unusual thing for students to matriculate into PA school right after they complete their bachelor's degree. However, factors you need to consider outside of your GPA are:

- Are your hours that you've completed 1- enough to satisfy the hour requirement for the programs that interest you? If not, can you have a "plan in place" to complete those outstanding hours while making application to the program? 2- Are the hours you've completed in a field that is acceptable for those programs? I would assume most of this information should be available on program websites.

- Have you taken the GRE? If the GRE isn't required, this question is a non-factor. If it is required, you should be planning to take it soon if you want to matriculate in this application cycle.

 

I don't think there is any particular statement that I can recommend you write in your PS that would say "I'm ready for PA school." I would approach your question with "how" you write your statement. I would expect a mature applicant to be able to show good written communication skills, and to demonstrate throughout the statement a realistic (not generalizations), insightful and analytical view of the role of the PA, consistency throughout the statement, and incorporate throughout the statement how your HCE lead you to the profession. Hope this helps!

[Dhernandez]

@paadmissions hello, I am on the verge of graduating this winter and plan on applying to PA school right away (classes start every August at the school I'm applying to). I just wanted to get your feedback on what you think my chances are? My GPA is a 3.3, I have B's in both Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Chemistry received a C and plan on taking Micriobiology next semester. I am a Pharmacy Technician and will have 5 years of experience when my time comes to apply for PA school.

[amkate7]

Dear PA Admissions Director,

Thank you so much for your willingness to help all of the prospective Physician Assistant students! I would greatly appreciate some general feedback about my application! I am sure your insight would be most beneficial.

This application cycle will be my third time applying to PA school. I graduated from the University of Georgia last year with a psychology major (GPA 3.7) and biology minor (3.45 GPA). My overall gradepoint average ended up as a 3.4. In terms of science, I must admit that the second Organic chemistry was not my forte; however, I repeated the course, receiving an A. My CASPA science grade point average is 3.1. The last 60 hours of college display an upward trend with a 3.6 grade point average. My GRE is in the competitive range for the programs I am seeking admission.

In terms of my healthcare experience, I have 400 hours as a dental assistant, 8,000 hours as a CNA, 100 hours as a Certified Phlebotomy Technician, and am currently enrolled in an EMT program with 200 hours to date. I continue to work in home health as a CNA, averaging 60 hours of hands on patient care a week. During the last two application cycles, I only held my CNA and BLS certifications. Many of the programs to which I applied and gained feedback recommended I gained more in-depth, higher-level experience, hence forth the CPT and EMT programs.

Additionally, I work part-time with Mercy Health Center in Athens, Georgia. Mercy is a non-profit medical clinic treating those without medical insurance or at or below 150% of federal poverty guidelines.While I began as an administrative assistant, I am now a social service representative, gaining my Eligibility and Referral Specialist certification through the Georgia Department of Public Health. I have over 1,000 hours documented with Mercy, 200 of which involve direct patient care. In addition, I have acquired 3,000 additional hours of volunteerism. I have 600 documented hours of shadowing in family medicine, orthopedics, dermatology, and cardiology.

Based on feedback, I have an excellent personal narrative as well as outstanding LORS.

In terms of submission, I plan to finish my application within the next three weeks. With that being said, do you have any suggestions in which to improve the competitive nature of my application? I have done everything requested of me by programs in terms of improvement. I would sincerely appreciate any advice or suggestions to allow me to prove my determination!

Thank you very much in advance!

[CYeshu]

Hi Paadmissions!

I have a science GPA of 3.43, overall gpa of 3.34, 511 hours of shadowing PAs and Physicians, 294 hours of volunteering in the hospital, and over 1000 hours of working on campus as a student assistant all throughout my undergraduate career. I do not have the best grades in Chemistry and to be honest I was going through health problems my first two years of undergrad which was reflected on my grades, mainly Chemistry and Organic. I was able to pass it with a C+, and I really wanted to retake the courses but I couldn't afford it. I was wondering if this makes me a competitive candidate at all for any PA school?

[paadmissions]

@dhernandexz Thank you for your questions. Your competitiveness can be determined by which programs you're interested in. Our committee places a lot emphasis on how applicants perform in the chemistries so you may consider retaking the chemistry course(s) that you've scored a C in. Outside of the 4 courses you've mentioned make sure you've performed above average in those courses as well (I'm assuming they would require more than the ones you've listed). Other factors that could be considered are GRE scores and your healthcare experience- if the program(s) require the GRE and healthcare experience. If they do require the GRE and you're planning for next August as a start date you should be in the process of planning and taking the GRE no later than this summer. Although our program accepts pharm tech hours as HCE, not all programs do. It's important to make sure those hours suffice for the requirement (if applicable). If not, you may need to pursue another route to get hours, which may delay your application to the next cycle if that is the case. I hope this helps!