Low Science GPA...feeling like it's a death sentence

[OptimisticFuturePA]

Hi everyone! This is my first post here so please bare with me: I'm truly wondering if I've just shot myself in the foot at this point. I'm a 30 year old application who did a post-bacc as a way to get my prerequisite courses and switched from pre-med to pre-PA in 2021 in big part thanks to my PCE job. My science GPA is 2.6 with no real upward trend so I can't really make that argument. I did well in a lot of my retakes and even received a strong letter of recommendation from a science professor, but it's discouraging to feel like this one aspect of my application is going to be a death sentence. I feel so strong is every other area of my application: 5000+ PCE as an MA in urgent care, currently working as an MA in pediatrics; unique volunteer experiences 200+ hours combined in LGBTQ+/Mental health; research in a psych lab, etc,' I've received amazing feedback on my essays and feel confident in my overall package, it's just hard not to beat myself up about this. I didn't take the post-bacc for GPA repair like a lot of people do so it was essentially my first real exposure to college level science and it took me a bit to find my groove. It's so hard to find any advice for "low GPA's" in this kind of situation so I was really just looking for any advice or words of encouragement. This is my first application cycle and I've gotten 3 rejections without interviews so it's really skyrocketing my anxiety. Any input would be amazingly appreciated and good luck to everyone applying this cycle! Thanks for reading this!

Edited September 19, 2023 by OptimisticFuturePA

[AjonPA]

On 9/18/2023 at 11:42 PM, OptimisticFuturePA said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post here so please bear with me: I'm truly wondering if I've just shot myself in the foot at this point. I'm a 30 year old application who did a post-bacc as a way to get my prerequisite courses and switched from pre-med to pre-PA in 2021 in big part thanks to my PCE job. My science GPA is 2.6 with no real upward trend so I can't really make that argument. I did well in a lot of my retakes and even received a strong letter of recommendation from a science professor, but it's discouraging to feel like this one aspect of my application is going to be a death sentence. I feel so strong is every other area of my application: 5000+ PCE as an MA in urgent care, currently working as an MA in pediatrics; unique volunteer experiences 200+ hours combined in LGBTQ+/Mental health; research in a psych lab, etc,' I've received amazing feedback on my essays and feel confident in my overall package, it's just hard not to beat myself up about this. I didn't take the post-bacc for GPA repair like a lot of people do so it was essentially my first real exposure to college level science and it took me a bit to find my groove. It's so hard to find any advice for "low GPA's" in this kind of situation so I was really just looking for any advice or words of encouragement. This is my first application cycle and I've gotten 3 rejections without interviews so it's really skyrocketing my anxiety. Any input would be amazingly appreciated and good luck to everyone applying this cycle! Thanks for reading this!

I feel ya - with PA school being so competitive this may be a death sentence (that being, they filter science GPA above 3.0 or something for potential interviews) for some schools that put more emphasis on GPA, just like having low PCE is a death sentence for other schools, etc.

BUT I know there’s programs out there that don’t put as much emphasis on GPA and will love love love your PCE/volunteering.

If you don’t get in this cycle, then taking more science courses and proving you can succeed in them is pretty essential. PA school curriculum as you probably know is no joke and they just need to know you can succeed with flying colors!

Best of luck! You can do it! 

[OptimisticFuturePA]

15 hours ago, AjonPA said:

I feel ya - with PA school being so competitive this may be a death sentence (that being, they filter science GPA above 3.0 or something for potential interviews) for some schools that put more emphasis on GPA, just like having low PCE is a death sentence for other schools, etc.

BUT I know there’s programs out there that don’t put as much emphasis on GPA and will love love love your PCE/volunteering.

If you don’t get in this cycle, then taking more science courses and proving you can succeed in them is pretty essential. PA school curriculum as you probably know is no joke and they just need to know you can succeed with flying colors!

Best of luck! You can do it! 

Thanks so much for your encouragement! I have tried to strategically target schools that don't have a required science GPA and so I'm hoping that helps in my prospects. My overall GPA is a 3.2, which all things considered is pretty solid imo, I just don't have the luxury of the narrative of an upward trend, or last 60 credit hours 4.0, etc. I honestly tried to make the rest of my application as strong and authentic as possible and do have some pretty solid grades in recent pre-reqs. I feel confident in my ability to shine in an interview as well, it's just getting schools to look past the science GPA and more than 1 C stuff. I know what I would to differently in the next cycle and I do truly feel confident in my ability to succeed in PA school with the strategies and tools I learned during my post-bacc.

Sorry for all of the rambling, but I do appreciate your input and I'm so grateful for the support I see on this forum

[ohiovolffemtp]

As you consider schools to apply to, see if you can find out the GPA stats for the most recent class or 2 that they've admitted.  That will give you the best data about what your chances might be.

[UGoLong]

PA programs really don't want to take students on only to see them fail out. Fair or not, whatever your track record is to date is really their only clue. That said, there are some programs that value your last 60 or so credits so you don't have to carry your freshman year around forever as a boat anchor.

I think your best hope may be to take some tough science classes now and do well. You will be taking very hard science courses in PA school and need to show you can handle it.

Good luck.

Edited October 21, 2023 by UGoLong