Struggling in PA Program - 2nd year student

[237525]

I am a 2nd yr student. I am struggling a bit with my classes. I was accepted into a 5 year BS/MS program and received the presidential scholarship. I have always done very well in high school and excelled in science and math courses. In PA school, I started out with a very heavy course load and did not do as well as I wanted to first year. I ended up with a 2.9 GPA. I have have gotten approval to add another year to my training so instead of 5 yrs, I will be done in 6. If I maintain a science GPA of 3.0, I will not have to reapply to be in the PA program. The problem is that I have already retaken 2 science classes and may have to retake a 3rd. They only allow 3 retakes for the entire program. If I don't improve, I will be forced to drop out of the program and graduate with a bachelor's in Health Sciences and reapply for a Masters in PA. I am not sure if all PA schools are like this. After reading some of the posts here, I am very discouraged and upset. My dream is to become a PA and I don't want to give up, but I am beginning to feel that maybe I'm not smart enough. Many others have already dropped out of the program, so I know I'm not alone. My questions are: 1) If I end up having to reapply, how likely am I to get in somewhere unless my GPA improves. 2) How many others out there have had similar experiences and have had to go this route. 3) I want to stay in the medical field. What are some other options with a Bachelor's in Health Sciences? I would definitely go for a masters in something. I also am minoring in Psychology. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[just_me]

Get a tutor....this is the best advice I could possibly give while youre still in. I have found tutors to be very helpful and Im not talking free group tutors, Im talking one on one.

 

1. how likely you are to get in depends on how high you get your GPA and what type/how much hce you have when you reapply

2. never been there

3. MPH, Healthcare administration, BSN for those with a BS already (takes about a year--kinda competitive)

 

Oh another piece of advice while youre still in, cut out or minimize things that may be affecting your studying. Some times we are not honest with ourselves and keep telling ourselves that we are doing everything we need to do and studying as much as we can when we really arent. If this is you (no need to admit it here) recognize it and fix it. Its really easy to hit a wall, slump into depression when we arent doing well...

[GingersHuman]

Drop the program, and major in something that you actually enjoy. Be a college student, enjoy friendships, go to parties (just not all the time!). Your GPA will improve (but you must do really well for the next three years...it's harder to improve your GPA than it is to mess it up! lol), your quality of life will improve, AND you'll have time to do other things to make you a well rounded applicant. You'll need HCE regardless (so you'll need time for that, which will be super hard if you're drowning in coursework), but there's so much more that can prepare you to be a great PA such as volunteering or working as health educator, or even doing research. Personally I'm not a huge advocate of going straight into PA school from undergrad anyway, so my advice is biased. But seriously, what's the rush? Take care of yourself first, give yourself a chance to enjoy these experiences, and you can still be a PA by like 26 y/o which is still young. Research shows that our brains are still developing and changing until we're like 25. :)

[Will352ns]

Here's the thing, if it is like many of the 5 year programs, you are not even in the "PA" part of the program yet. Maybe try the traditional route, change major and get a BS in something health science related....work for a year or two and then go to a MS PA program. It might broaden your horizons.

 

Otherwise, work on time management and improve your grades.

[Lead Pipe]

what school do you go to?