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Ok if anyone could respond to this and help me out I'd really appreciate it. I am very worried and would appreciate any advice you might have. My undergraduate degree was a bachelor of arts so I only took 2 science classes during it. In the first semester of my freshman year I earned a D in physics. The only other science class I took during my undergraduate was an A in chemistry. After this first semester I transferred and focused very hard on my academics earning a 3.93/4.0 GPA. I am taking my science prerequisites at a Community College now and doing well in my science classes. However, my concern is this: as I am understanding how CASPA calculates your undergraduate GPA they are going to calculate my undergraduate science GPA based on those 2 grades only giving me a 1.8 science GPA. And the science classes I am currently taking and the rest of my undergraduate performance will do nothing to lift this GPA. So my question is whether I am correct about how CASPA will be calculating my science GPA and if this is going to completely ruin my chances of getting in. I was counting on my GPA to be one of the factors to help me not hurt me. That is until I looked to see how CASPA calculates this GPA. Please help

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If I'm understanding your post correctly, the only 2 science classes you have taken were a physics course and a chemistry course? There are a slew of undergraduate prerequisite courses that you need to have taken for your desired program(s). A lot of programs will look at your application if you have one or two prerequisites left to take, but you definitely can't apply still needing to take all of them. You are correct in that CASPA will average your science GPA, but it is based on all science classes taken. Doing well in the required prerequisite classes in addition to your very high undergraduate GPA should help the admissions committees look past the D in physics. I would recommend looking into taking more than just the required prerequisites and look into some courses off of the recommended lists (pathophysiology, pharmacology, genetics). Not only does this show the admissions committee you have what it takes to do well in some of the harder sciences, but they also help you to further understand the intricacies of the human body. Hope that helps!

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I don't think I was clear with a portion of my original post. I am done with almost all of the prerequisites for the PA programs I will be applying to. However, I have taken all of those science classes after my undergraduate degree. So my understanding is that they don't factor into my undergrad science GPA. They will be listed as post-bachelorette course work.

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Post-bac classes, to my understanding, are included in your "undergraduate" GPA, as long as they are taken from an undergraduate institution and are not 500 level classes. I would contact CASPA to make sure, but that's how it worked for me.

 

No worries, that is definitely true. I took all of my pre-reqs after I had already graduated too. All of you undergraduate science classes factor in together, regardless of whether you had a bachelor's when you took them or not.

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I don't think I was clear with a portion of my original post. I am done with almost all of the prerequisites for the PA programs I will be applying to. However, I have taken all of those science classes after my undergraduate degree. So my understanding is that they don't factor into my undergrad science GPA. They will be listed as post-bachelorette course work.

 

 

Gotcha. I wouldn't sweat the D in physics. Most folks have a tough time with one subject (mine was organic chemistry). My less than stellar grade in Orgo Chem has been a nonissue at each program I have interviewed with, two of which are big name programs. As long as you have some solid HCE, you should have no problem landing an interview. Best of luck!

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