lancer_dancer01 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 The best HCE are paid jobs with high patient contact like RN, RT, EMT, paramedic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancer_dancer01 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Just because you "meet" the standards put forth by a PA program doen't really mean much. That is just the first hurdle to get over and the easiest one. You want to be a better canidate than the other applicants. Just because a program only requires a 3.0 gpa and minimal to no HCE doesn't mean anything if everyone that applies has a better than 3.0 gpa and a lot of HCE. What I did was looked on the website for the programs I applied to for what the statistics were for the last accepted class. I then compared my resume against what was listed. PA programs are becoming more competitive and harder to get into. If you really want to become a PA you have to really bring your game and improve that gpa and get a lot of HCE because that can make up for a lower gpa. It will be a long road but if you really want to do it, it will pay off in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodiggler Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Nursing schools are practically just as competative as PA schools now. No way your GPA will get you into one of those or any allied health career for that matter (slim to none). The lowest GPA accepted into the nursing program at my brother's school, Grand Valley State Univesity, was a 3.83gpa two years ago. EMT is prob your only chance to get HCE. HOWEVER, there is still the blackhole that is your GPA! It won't be an easy road for you no matter how you look at it. You need to look at return on investment at this point. Is it worth paying back your current loans plust another $30k on pre-reqs to gamble and have a less than stellar chance of getting in to PA school? If you do the math at most programs 5% of all the applicants get accepted. You have to ask yourself, what if I don't get accepted? I would hate to see you waste your time and money. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Up until Monday, I would have given you the same story as you're in. My cumulative out of my undergrad (from 1997) was in the low 2's. Been in school for a bit doing my post-bac/pre-reqs and those are a 3.98 and have tens of thousands of hands on patient care experience both in the military and civilian side. My cum is finally approaching respectability with both it and science GPA's at 2.90 (it'll be right at 3.0 after this semester). I'll have completed: - General Bio - A&P - Micro - Inorganic Chem - Oganic Chem (1 year) - Biochem - GRE score is in the top 10-15% Since I got the 'you suck' letter from MEDEX on Monday (without even an interview), I now have NO IDEA what schools are looking for. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Up until Monday, I would have given you the same story as you're in. My cumulative out of my undergrad (from 1997) was in the low 2's. Been in school for a bit doing my post-bac/pre-reqs and those are a 3.98 and have tens of thousands of hands on patient care experience both in the military and civilian side. My cum is finally approaching respectability with both it and science GPA's at 2.90 (it'll be right at 3.0 after this semester). I'll have completed:- General Bio - A&P - Micro - Inorganic Chem - Oganic Chem (1 year) - Biochem - GRE score is in the top 10-15% Since I got the 'you suck' letter from MEDEX on Monday (without even an interview), I now have NO IDEA what schools are looking for. Rich How broadly did you apply? Was medex the only one? That's where you went wrong if so. Also, you need to distance yourself more from the old bad grades than just those few prereqs. Tailor your PS around the improvement you've made and mention your high GPA from more recent coursework. Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moiraine57 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Rich, I have no idea of Medex's stats, not being in that area, but I know the school in my area skews heavily academic. Maybe since you aren't at 3.0 your application just went in the "reject" pile without a second glance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 This year I applied only to the MEDEX and wasn't going to apply at all if it wasn't for a friend (who I tutored in A&P) who's there now and suggested that I apply. This was the third go 'round and the ONLY issue anyone has ever said was my low GPA. I get that and it's why they (cum and science) will be at a 3.0 after this semester. That said, I also get that there are a lot of applicants but if they're not going to look at everything, why submit everything? Nevertheless, I'll be applying again next year and the cum and science GPA's will be about a 3.2 with the summer classes I'm taking solely to boost both my GPA's. That said, I'm studying for the MCAT's starting this weekend. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 This year I applied only to the MEDEX and wasn't going to apply at all if it wasn't for a friend (who I tutored in A&P) who's there now and suggested that I apply. This was the third go 'round and the ONLY issue anyone has ever said was my low GPA. I get that and it's why they (cum and science) will be at a 3.0 after this semester. That said, I also get that there are a lot of applicants but if they're not going to look at everything, why submit everything? Nevertheless, I'll be applying again next year and the cum and science GPA's will be about a 3.2 with the summer classes I'm taking solely to boost both my GPA's. That said, I'm studying for the MCAT's starting this weekend. Rich You can't bank your future on one school with your stats. Cast a wide net--15+ schools and be willing to move. MEDEX may love HCE and vets but there are plenty of those applicants with high GPAs so you shouldn't take it so personally. I wouldn't give up on going to PA school just yet--you just need to adjust your perspective a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Agreed. The first two times, I applied to multiple schools and across the country. The Mrs. is as fed up (if not more actually) than I am with the whole process. Since I don't quit at anything, it's assured that I'll be applying again. However, I will be dropping concurrent MD/DO app's at the same time after talking with a couple of folks today. Location, cost, et. al. are completely non-issues. Thanks for tolerating the whining. ;-) Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moiraine57 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I would whine too. I just get the impression that a lot of schools, no matter how strong you are otherwise, just want to see that GPA above a certain level. You could walk on water but have a 2.9 GPA and get rejected. i think once you get it above a 3.0 you'll have a better chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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