Prospective applicant new to this, what are my possibilities?

[plee91]

Hi All,

 

I'm going into my final semester of undergrad and after much discussion and decision making with myself and my family I have decided that I want to pursue a PA career because I felt like it is what suits what I want to do as a future healthcare professional. I have started my search in terms of PA and schools and would like to get some input as to where I could possibly apply as well as what I should be doing. I have an interest in both Northwestern and Wake Forest because of their PBL programs and Northwestern seems like a good fit for me stat wise. I am also interested in MCPHS-Boston from my home state as well as Emory University. I currently attend Boston University and I am in the Human Physiology program which has a very rigorous curriculum that prepares students for the health professions. Because of this I have a less than spectacular GPA but I am proud of what I have right now since I had to deal with a loss in the family and its repercussions during my Freshman year of college. I have an upward trend after my Freshman year with my GPA being bogged down by classes from Freshman year such as Biology 2(C-) and Chemistry 1© and 2 (C+) and Calculus 1(C+) and 2(C-). I have since gotten A's and B's with the exception of C's in Systems Physiology, Biochem and Physics 2.

 

My current stats are as follows:

 

Cum GPA: 2.95

Sci: 2.59

Prereq: 2.78

Cum GPA for last 60 Credit hours: 3.2

 

I plan on retaking the classes that I did badly on starting with my Prerequisites of Bio 2 and Chem during my year off. I also have a semester of science courses left which includes Microbiology and I am planning to kill it. However, I am wondering if I should retake my Calc since I already completed Stats which satisfies the math requirement? Also, BU is known for its grade deflation with an average GPA for 3.3 among matriculants to med school, does this factor in? What are some PA schools with more lenient GPA requirements? I have a significant body of Patient Care and Extracurricular work to compensate for a weak showing on GPA. Should I apply in the upcoming 2013 cycle while I am retaking my classes and increasing my Patient care hours? Would schools accept that I am currently in class?

 

~280 hours of Patient care as EMT-B, Ex Physiologist Intern, Clinical Service trip to Belize (tentative as I will be starting as an OR liaison for Shriners Hospital and continuing my employment as an EMT-B during the upcoming Spring semester)

3000+ hours as Research assistant since high school with 3 publications

125 hours of community service as high school tutor

 

Thanks for your time and I appreciate any input that you can give me! Please be as blunt as possible!

[marktheshark89]

If I were you, there's a few things I would do. Continue getting hours as an EMT, the more the better (PA programs vary in terms of requirements but can be from 0-4000 hours of patient contact required). Obviously you need to improve your GPA, but something you should know is that CASPA (the online application that you will use to apply to PA school) does NOT replace the bad grade with the better grade for courses you retake. Instead, it appears twice so it essentially averages them. Thus, if you were to get an A in a course that you got a C in, both the A and the C would count towards the calculated GPA, not just the C. I mention this because your goal should be to get both your cum and sci GPA above 3.0, and retaking classes (though you probably should), may not have as much of an effect on your GPA as you would think. In the example I mentioned above, getting an A and a C is like getting 2 B's, which would be a 3.0GPA. Though this would improve your science GPA, it wouldn't be enough to get your science GPA overall above 3.0. That being said, it would be wise to also take science courses that you have not taken previously in your year off, as these will improve your GPA more dramatically provided that you do well in them. There are some programs that do look at your last 60 credit hours (I don't know them off the top of my head), which in your situation would probably be beneficial. As far as when to apply, I don't think you will have had enough time to substantially improve your GPA and patient contact to make yourself a competitive applicant. That being said, there may be schools with low patient contact requirements and who look at your most recent 60 credits GPA that you may have a shot at. Your best opportunity will probably come after having taken the year off, assuming you've increased your GPA and contact hours. A lot of PA school applicants take a year or more off after undergrad to gain patient contact experience and you definitely wouldn't be in the minority not applying right out of undergrad (though there seems to be more people doing this each year). As far as schools with a more lenient GPA requirement, the standard at most schools seems to be a 3.0 (note that some schools define this as an overall 3.0, a science 3.0, or both). Your research definitely shows that you are a capable individual and likely smart enough to enter into the profession, but unfortunately PA schools for the most part to not put a huge emphasis on research (as medical schools do). I think it will help you, but it probably will not overshadow your GPA or other deficits that you may have in your application when you apply. I wouldn't retake the calculus courses, unless you absolutely have to for GPA sake. They don't give you skills needed for PA school, and I don't know of any PA school who cares much about what your grade was in Calculus (there is always an exception). I'm not familiar with grade deflation at BU at all, so I can't really comment on that.

[plee91]

Hi marktheshark89,

 

Thanks for the input, I am familiar with the averaging of grades as BU doesn't do forgiveness and has the same policy of averaging. I am worried about my prerequisite GPA however and would the improvement in that be not worth the retake in your opinion? I am concerned about this since schools say that they do not want less than a C or B in prereq courses, depending on the school. I was debating taking higher level courses but wouldn't the average of the new science grade and the previous have the same effect on my cumulative and science GPAs? How would this be a more dramatic improvement? Also, if I choose to apply by the general September deadline, I think I will have around 1000 hours as I will be working full time when I get out of college. Would this be enough to warrant an application or should I wait until I get significantly more a whole cycle later? In your opinion, how many classes should I be looking to take during my year off? I am concerned about this due to cost issues really rather than time as I have no issue putting in the effort.

 

Thanks for putting my worries about calculus to rest though, I do not want to go through with that again haha...

[plee91]

Also, the urgency to apply soon is a money issue and after my research I am looking for a set of schools that require solely a 3.0 overall or lower for my application to be considered, I just don't want to be wasting money to have my application thrown out because my science GPA doesn't match up. Does anyone know of exact schools that fit that criteria? And how true are certain schools rules about having no less than a C for prereq courses? It just seems odd to me since the GPA required doesn't match up with this if say a person got C's in more than one course.

[just_me]

While its a pain, I would look at schools that do not use CASPA as well...typically with those they use the higher of two grades, at this time Western is the only one that i know of that recalculates the CASPA GPA with the highest of two grades for the same course. There are also a few programs that look at the last 45, 60 or 90 hours GPA wise.

 

Retake pre-req classes/Take higher level sciences/Take healthcare admin classes--they are typically easier than sciences, gives you a more rounded appearance as an applicant (someone who has hands on as an EMT with knowledge of the admin side of healthcare)...classes like epidemiology, healthcare delivery systems etc. You might even think about a MS in that or an MPH as some programs actually go by the GPA of your last degree

 

Side note....280 hours is not significant patient care and the 3k in research hours mean nothing to a program that wants direct patient care. You could apply now but, if it were me I wouldnt. Honestly I would spend the next year getting as much hce as I could as an EMT, getting a 1 year MS online (probably healthcare admin) while taking pre-reqs over. For me I would feel doing all this at the same time would show my dedication and its something I could use in PS; acing the MS would show I could handle grad level work and would work to my benefit when it comes to programs that use the GPA of your last degree; retaking the pre-reqs and higher level sciences would show my dedication and ability to handle harder sciences. It would also help to raise my overall/science GPA AND when I apply to non-CASPA schools, those grades would replace the bad ones giving me an even bigger boost.

 

This is the path I would chose for myself....

[just_me]

Assume that when a program sets min. requirement that they mean it....these are requirements that they told the accrediting agency they have in place therefore they have to abide by them. Honestly I cant think of a program that you meet the min for, and even if you did pretty much every app will have surpassed the min so you would need something to make your app shine in one way or another.

 

If a program says no C's in a pre-req then you have to re-take it and get higher than a C. There are some that go by individual pre-req grades, others go by the overall pre-req GPA and some go by both.

[plee91]

Hi just_me,

 

Thanks for your input, I am leaning towards retaking my preqs but I feel that a Masters in health admin would be out of the picture monetary wise. Aside from Wake Forest, do you know of any other schools that take the retaken grade into consideration? If you can provide me with some names to look into it would be greatly appreciated. At the same time I am worried about this as it would be pointless to retake a course if that would only matter for only one school. Due to monetary constraints from paying back loans and making money, I think I can afford to take courses piece meal over the next year but I want to decide now if they will be upper level courses or retakes so I can organize my schedule better. How many courses should I take until I would be fit to apply? Or should I retake only those that require a retake? Basically what should be my benchmark GPA where I should feel fit to apply? Mathematically I can reach and overall 3.0 by the end of my undergraduate career, however it is an overall so how much is science weighed in the schools that state to only have a overall requirement? Do schools simply throw out your app if you don't meet the required GPA?

 

Another question I have is can someone apply with incomplete courses on CASPA? Say I was applying next cycle with the required GPA and hours but I would take classes during the time of the application processing? The bottomline of what I'm asking is what is the benchmark I would need to get my foot in the door to let the rest of my accomplishments shine?

[Timon]

 

My current stats are as follows:

 

Cum GPA: 2.95

Sci: 2.59

Prereq: 2.78

Cum GPA for last 60 Credit hours: 3.2

 

Can you provide these 4 numbers Units taken and Quality Points for your Overall GPA and your Science GPA?

 

ie: 16 Units and 64 quality points = 4.0

 

Just want the totals for Overall and Science GPAs. I'm curious how many units you'll need to take and at what GPA to raise your GPA to something more competitive and what that time table would be.

[plee91]

Hi Timon,

 

My Overall should be:

330.4 Quality Points to 112 Units = 2.95

Science:

155.6 QP to 60 Units

Last 60:

192 QP to 60 Units

 

I have 16 more Units for my upcoming semester to finish my B.S. with 128 Units total.

[Timon]

Well the good news is if you get a 4.0 in your last 16 units you'll be at a 3.0 (cGPA). If you retake your core classes (the 7 you got C's in) and get As in them you'll have a 3.25 (cGPA) which will put you in a better spot. To be honest you can take any 28 units total (make sure they are science classes) to get that GPA but it'll look better if you improved the grades you got C's in to show you mastered those subjects. Your sGPA will also be around a 3.2 as well and you last 60 should be a 4.0.

 

Once you do that you can write on your personal statement acknowledgement and ownership of your mistake due to lack of focus or whatever poison you want, state what you did to correct it (retook those classes postbach) and what the results were (got A's in all of them) you'll have good ammunition to get into a program. The adcom will see the positive GPA trending and most likely will realize you are a different student today then when you first took those courses. I'm speaking from personal experience coming from a 2.31 undergrad cGPA and getting admitted once I raised it to a 2.93 cGPA with a 4.0 in the last 43 units I took which were all science prerequisites.

[plee91]

Thanks Timon, this will help me map out what I need to do. You have quite an impressive story, would you mind sharing which schools you looked at and why? Also your acceptances and interviews?

[marktheshark89]

Hi marktheshark89,

 

Thanks for the input, I am familiar with the averaging of grades as BU doesn't do forgiveness and has the same policy of averaging. I am worried about my prerequisite GPA however and would the improvement in that be not worth the retake in your opinion? I am concerned about this since schools say that they do not want less than a C or B in prereq courses, depending on the school. I was debating taking higher level courses but wouldn't the average of the new science grade and the previous have the same effect on my cumulative and science GPAs? How would this be a more dramatic improvement? Also, if I choose to apply by the general September deadline, I think I will have around 1000 hours as I will be working full time when I get out of college. Would this be enough to warrant an application or should I wait until I get significantly more a whole cycle later? In your opinion, how many classes should I be looking to take during my year off? I am concerned about this due to cost issues really rather than time as I have no issue putting in the effort.

 

Thanks for putting my worries about calculus to rest though, I do not want to go through with that again haha...

 

Hi Plee. What I meant by dramatic is that if you only retake the courses you did poorly in, then you will be averaging your poor grade with your retaken grade. If you, in addition to retaking the courses you did poorly in, take a few other upper level science courses (and do well), your GPA will improve substantially more than if you just retook the classes you did poorly in. As far as retaking courses/taking new courses and how many you should take, I would take as many as you need to to improve your GPA to make you a competitive candidate at your candidate schools. Obviously this will depend on how well you do in the courses, and what schools you are looking at. One option might be to consider taking courses at a community college as the courses are often much less expensive. Many people do this to meet prerequisites or improve their GPA. You definitely could apply next September with your 1,000 hours, and certainly you would have a shot to get in. However, without the chance to substantially improve your GPA through retaking classes, you may not have the best of chances. Also, don't forget that a lot of places are rolling admissions. I have applied to places in August via CASPA and then been told by the school that I was put on the list of candidates to interview, but that they had accepted enough students for their upcoming class before they got to my name (because I had applied in August as opposed to May or June). Also, applying in September means that the time for CASPA to process your application is increased and it may not be sent out to prospective schools until October. I guess what I am saying is that there is no harm (other than financially) in trying to apply this September to schools that you think you have a good chance at getting an interview at, but I would still be planning to continue working and taking courses given that it may be difficult for you to get in the first time around.

[Timon]

I applied to every school in California (except USC and Stanford) in the 2011-2012 cycle late (Oct 1st) just to get feedback knowing I wouldn't get in. While I was waiting for feedback I continued to take classes and get licenses to try and get paid HCE. Every time I completed a course or got a cert and eventually when I landed my ER Tech job I updated those programs that i had not been rejected from yet with that info. I eventually landed an interview at Touro Mares Island and was later rejected. This cycle (2012-2013) I applied to 2 programs while I was prepping for the next cycle (2013-2014) which were to Western University in Pomona CA and Touro Nevada. I ended up interviewing at Touro NV and while visiting fell in love with the program. I'm blessed to have been accepted there. I initially chose that school because they had a great reputation from the PAs I shadowed, it wasn't too far from my family (3 hour drive), and I felt I would be a competitive applicant since their min GPA requirement was a 2.67 and avg accepted GPA was a 3.3 and being at a 2.93 felt I was a long shot but it would be worth trying. I feel like I won the lottery (in fact I bought a lotto ticket immediately after getting my acceptance letter but apparently my luck ran out :smile:.

 

I applied to western because it was the closest school to me, I shadowed their PA students at their on campus clinic, I knew many faculty members and graduates from there, and I met the min required GPA and they honor grade replacements. However, I had no plans on applying there in future cycles because their interview selection method is purely based off GPA and I felt that I'd be chasing a GPA that would require me to retake almost every course I took in my undergrad (per speaking with the admission director) since every year is getting more competitive (they interview all 3.4* GPAs and work their way down the list & last year they stopped at 3.3).

 

The other school I was really trying to work on getting into was RCC (Riverside Community College), because their graduates were the most impactful on me during my shadowing, their program was very cost effective ($32k for a MSPA), had great clinical sites, and I felt I had a great shot getting in due to the fact I was going to take courses there, move to riverside prior to applying, and their min GPA requirement is a 2.5 along with a 2.7 in A&P (which I had a 4.0 in that / 3.93 BCP). I couldn't apply there until 2013-2014 cycle because they require 2k hours of HCE (I was at 1k when the application cycle ended and was at pace for 3k by the time I'd submit my application).

 

Here are two threads to read:

 

Post #9

http://www.PhysicianAssistantForum.Com/forums/showthread.php/34848-Burnout-Tips-on-Dealing-With-It?highlight=Burn+out

 

Post #1

http://www.PhysicianAssistantForum.Com/forums/showthread.php/37214-I-did-it-you-can-too!

[just_me]

Hi just_me,

 

Thanks for your input, I am leaning towards retaking my preqs but I feel that a Masters in health admin would be out of the picture monetary wise. Aside from Wake Forest,ot Western, not Wake Forest do you know of any other schools that take the retaken grade into consideration No, sorry? If you can provide me with some names to look into it would be greatly appreciated. At the same time I am worried about this as it would be pointless to retake a course if that would only matter for only one school. Due to monetary constraints from paying back loans and making money, I think I can afford to take courses piece meal over the next year but I want to decide now if they will be upper level courses or retakes so I can organize my schedule better. How many courses should I take until I would be fit to apply? Or should I retake only those that require a retake? Basically what should be my benchmark GPA where I should feel fit to apply? Mathematically I can reach and overall 3.0 by the end of my undergraduate career, however it is an overall so how much is science weighed in the schools that state to only have a overall requirement? Do schools simply throw out your app if you don't meet the required GPA?

 

Another question I have is can someone apply with incomplete courses on CASPA Depends on the program....to be honest in your case I would try to have them done. I mean if someone has a track record of getting good grades its easy for a program to assume what you may get on classes in progress, personally if I had a rough history I would want to have everything done for them to see? Say I was applying next cycle with the required GPA and hours but I would take classes during the time of the application processing? The bottomline of what I'm asking is what is the benchmark I would need to get my foot in the door to let the rest of my accomplishments shine?

 

Everything varies by program but if you are meeting just the min, I would have everything done....if you have areas of excellence you may be able to sneak by. Some programs couldnt careless and want everything done or give you a deadline to have it done by.

 

If its a pre-req you got lower than a C in, retake it. After that, if you still need more to get to a min 3.0 overall and science GPA, then take upper level sciences (2 birds one stone). Remember as long as youre in school half time, you can defer loan payments (school loans anyway)

[plee91]

^marktheshark, my major is very science heavy and aside from the prereqs I took freshman year and those other aforementioned courses that were not so swell, I have done well in higher level science courses that are part of my major like Exercise Physiology, both Orgos, Gross Anatomy, and Physics 1. I also do have Microbio, Neuroanatomy, and Cardiopulmonary anatomy coming up in my last semester. Does this count towards the dramatic change you are talking about? Or should I continue to take more when I get out of school? I am at a loss at this point as to what higher levels of courses I can take, I have been thinking about epidemiology or something along those lines. Any suggestions?

 

^Timon, Thanks for sharing your experience and the links, they've been a great help. Can you shine some light on how PA schools view EMT-B's on trucks? Seeing as you had some time as an ER-tech, is that seen as much better experience? I have tried getting a job like that but unfortunately Boston is chock full of EMTs and ERs tend to not hire people who aren't in their system or have a boatload of experience.

 

^just_me, I could crack the overall 3.0 if I have a strong semester this spring and science would take a few classes which I intend to take for Bio 2 and the two Chems as I feel like that would be more pertinent to my application even if it averages out at the end just to show my better work ethic at this point in my life. You do have a point though and I feel that I will put off my main round of applications until after I have everything done. I may however do what Timon did and send a few in just as feelers in the fall though.

 

Thank you all for your feedback, sorry for the questions I feel like I keep beating a dead horse. Aside from Timon, can marktheshark and just_me share the schools they looked at and their experiences? Also can any of you guys tell me how much the GRE is considered as I feel that I should start preparing for that during this semester or at the end of it. Again thanks and Happy New Year to you all.

[marktheshark89]

Well without knowing all of the courses that you have taken, it would be hard to know what to suggest. However, when I say upper/higher level courses, I don't mean courses that are necessarily higher level than the courses you are taking now, I just mean not freshman/sophomore intro level courses. Any junior or senior level science courses that you have not taken that are offered at BU or a community college/wherever else you may take classes will do as long as they are in some way relevant to medicine. You may have taken these courses already, but excluding the courses that you have mentioned above and those I gathered you would have had to take from looking up information about the program you are in at BU, others that come to mind are human genetics, virology, immunology, developmental biology, pharmacology, and molecular endocrinology. I personally would take as many courses as I could to raise my GPA as high as possible. Obviously, you need to balance this with work and the fact that the goal is to do well in the courses, so it doesn't do you any good to overload yourself with courses and then do poorly. Only you will really know what your schedule is like and what you will be capable of handling.

 

As far as looking for schools, everyone has different priorities. Some things I considered in looking at schools were patient contact hours required, location, reputation, whether or not it was a Master's degree granting program, average stats of applicants, curriculum structure, whether or not they set up all of your rotations for you, opportunities for elective rotations and how many, PANCE 1st time pass scores, class size, etc. In looking for schools I first limited myself to only areas that I would live in/be willing to move to. This narrowed down the list substantially. Then I just reviewed all of the websites of the programs that were in the geographical areas that I picked out to see first if I met all of the prerequisites, and second to look at everything else I mentioned from above. For me, I was looking for a smaller class size, Master's degree, lots of clinical rotations/rotation sites, good PANCE scores, etc. In taking all of that into consideration I was able to narrow down my list to schools that I met the prerequisites for, and those that also met my criteria.

 

As I said previously, I don't think it would hurt to send out a few feeler applications at all. I think your overall goal should be to get all 3 GPAs to the 3.0 level, but if you get in somewhere with your feeler application, then go for it!

[Timon]

^Timon, Thanks for sharing your experience and the links, they've been a great help. Can you shine some light on how PA schools view EMT-B's on trucks? Seeing as you had some time as an ER-tech, is that seen as much better experience? I have tried getting a job like that but unfortunately Boston is chock full of EMTs and ERs tend to not hire people who aren't in their system or have a boatload of experience.

 

EMT-B on an ambulance is generally considered adequate HCE. I only know of 1 program that does not accept EMT-B on an ambulance (RCC). I got my ER Tech job for a number of reasons, mostly because I knew someone and was able to get in contact with the Director of the ER along with the various certs and career goals / background. Like you mentioned, ER Techs are generally people who are hired that have direct contact with the staff at that prospective hospital. I've seen on here how impacted your area is with EMTs, have you considered maybe going for EKG Tech at a hospital to get your foot in the door? Im sure it probably pays more than EMT-B where you are located. I've learned exponentially being in a hospital and yes ER Tech is viewed as better experience. I do more then an EMT-B on an ambulance.

 

Here's what I do on a daily basis:

 

-Take vitals on every patient that comes in, situate them and put them on the heart monitor

- Initial triage of patients either walk-ins or from ambulance

- Transport critical and non critical patients throughout the hospital

- Perform CPR at all codes in the hospital

- Perform 12 lead EKGs when the EKG tech is not available

- Wound care from simple cuts and bruises to amputations and burns

- Record and view diagnostic tests results and report critical values to the staff

- Key in physician orders, setup transfers / admissions, and make contact for the physicians when they need a consult

- Assist with IVs, venipunctures, and I perform finger sticks for blood sugar

- Fiberglass cast removals, assist with reductions and relocations, apply splints both preformed and plaster, shoulder immobilizers, ortho boots, and etc.

- I assist in high acuity cases that require ACLS, PALS and NRP on a daily basis

- Assist in fast track

- Suture and Staple removals

- Any incident in the hospital I respond to with a 500 yard bag, backboard, collar and act as in house EMT

- Get to use BVMs, OPAs, NPAs, and assist during intubation.

- Set up various procedures for the physician like perisintesis (Spell check), chest tubes, I&D, lacs, etc.

- Assist with other patient care duties such as foley caths, replacing leg bags, recording and documenting pressure ulcers, etc.

- Get to work along side and observe almost every deptartment in the hospital from the Cath Lab, Radiology, RT, L&D, and etc.

 

 

Im sure there is a lot more I haven't mentioned but those are the highlights of what I get to do daily. I'm learning everyday from the physicians, RNs and other techs / departments I work with. Just being in hospital setting just broadens your learning experience. I never worked on an ambulance so I feel very fortunate to have gotten lucky landing the position.

[plee91]

Hello again guys and thanks for your input, sorry for the late response as I have been away for a while.

 

^marktheshark: My courses are what you are describing, my current semester will be Cardiopulm Pathophysiology, Neuroanatomy and microbio with a internship course at a burns department at the hospital. My previous years I've taken two semesters of orgo, two of physics, cell bio, systems phys, nutrition, exercise phys, biochem, and gross anatomy. Would things like epidemiology and genetics be courses to look at? Also, an important question I have been wondering that maybe either of you could answer is whether schools frown upon community college courses? As I have stated before, money is a big issue right now and if I choose to retake courses or take upper level courses, I plan on doing so either at the state college at University of Massachusetts or a community college. Obviously the cheaper, and arguably easier, option would be to do the community college but I am leaning toward the state school route as a course ranges from 1500-2000 dollars and isn't too ridiculous. If I do go to the community college though, I am deciding on maybe redoing more courses as they will be a lot cheaper. So bottom line, how much more or less does the school of the retakes reflect on the judgment of your application?

 

^Timon: I think the EKG tech would be a great idea but I am unfamiliar with the qualifications needed to work as one. Do I need another certification? I am renewing my EMT cert at the end of the month for 150 dollars so optimally I would rather stick with that as I have a sweet spot for what EMT's do, it just seems more enjoyable to me after working for a semester. I am trying to build my hospital connections so I am not sure what I'll end up in on my year off as I haven't decided yet but info on EKG techs would be helpful. I'm not totally familiar how this site works, but if there is a function, do you mind PMing me privately and providing guidance and advice? Your story is very inspiring and gives me a lot of hope to work my things out so I would really appreciate talking to you more often about my progress. Most advising people I've talked to either don't know much about the process or are in the whole med school mindset of if you don't have a 3.8 then you should quit and switch professions. I just forget to check the forum cuz it doesn't send my notifications over email when someone responds. Thanks!

[marktheshark89]

Plee,

 

Genetics would definitely be a course to look at. I think it is much more common to have a genetics course than an Epi course for applying to PA school. That being said, I don't think Epi would hurt if you are looking for other sciences. I have really heard mixed feelings regarding whether or not PA schools are looking for 4-year colleges, or if a community college will be okay. My advice would be to contact programs that you are interested in, or check their website to see if they provide further input. My personal opinion would be to take the prerequisites for schools you are planning on applying to at a 4-year institution (most schools want this), and then other science courses I would say take wherever is the cheapest.

[plee91]

Okay thanks martheshark, also do you know of what Medical Terminology courses PA schools generally accept? I have seen that it's required for a few schools but there are a bunch online that with some validated through community colleges. I'm confused as to which one would be best, is there one that many schools accept? Or would this be waived if you've taken gross anatomy and the like?

[bcreid2]

You may have to do more than reach the minimum GPA of 3.0. Keep in mind that there may be 800-900 applicants for a school in one cycle. They give interviews to 150 or 200 maybe (the school i go to did 200 interviews for 70 spots). So they have the pick of the litter. So while the minimum may be a 3.0, the average person they are offering spots to may be a 3.3 or 3.4. So what can you do? 1) As many and as diverse HCE hours that you can get, 2) Volunteer, 3) Shadow a PA for 30 or 40 hours, 4) and most importantly, write a KILLER, genuine cover letter that explains who you are, what you have done, and where you want to go. Make sure to be open and honest about your shortcomings and how you are rectifying them. PA school is very competitive to get in. You have to find a unique angle to separate yourself from the hordes of applicants who probably have a better GPA than you. Good luck in your endeavors!