cooleyw Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I am currently a respiratory therapist and i have a bachelors in business administration. My GPA was 2.8 at time of graduation in July 2012. I am thinking of taking the pre-req classes, GRE then trying to get in for PA. What is the chances that my under 3.0 GPA would be over shadowed by my medical experience. Timeline wise i'm thinking i'll be respiratory about 4 or 5 years when the big push comes. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Every year it's getting more competitive. People are entering with lots of HCE and high GPAs and the applicants are only going to get stronger each year. My advice... Get your HCE and raise your GPA one class at a time. There are programs that look past GPA however they are far and few in between. I know some schools only look at your last 60 units. Others have min GPA at 2.67.. One school only looks at your A&P and Micro GPA + HCE hours + Geographic location... Another school honors grade replacements.. Because a school may have min GPAs listed.. You should try and strive to get close to the avg accepted student stat regardless if it's HCE totals, volunteering hours or GPA total. In all honesty it wouldn't be too hard to raise a 2.8 to above a 3.0 or even something more competitive especially since you have the opportunity to really shine in your science classes. You essentially have a clean slate being a business major. Just do your best and good things will happen. http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/forums/showthread.php/37214-I-did-it-you-can-too!?highlight= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Raising your GPA is hard when you have lots of credits. Mine's gone from 2.70 to 2.97 but it's taken two years of nearly all A's. Fingers crossed I'll have that 3.0 after this semester. 2.8 is within striking distance of 3.0 if you can make A's in the pre-requisites (which is hard). Cooleyw, if you don't mind me asking...what is it about respiratory therapy that makes you want to leave that field and go through all the trouble/schooling to become a PA? Are you bored or not earning a good living? I ask because respiratory therapy is my back up plan in case I can't get into PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooleyw Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Lemon Bars, Respiratory therapy is a great career but while in schooling i never planned to stop there but to go on to something else. it wasn't until almost the end of RT school i thought of PA. The thing about my timeline is most of my stuff will be out the 5 year window, with the last one taken summer 2010. I was thinking of retaking them all and putting them inside the 5 year window if i can. The reason i want to do PA is because i would like to expand everything i do and go into that field. I also think anyone entering into MD, DO, NP, PA should have a medical background as in RN, RT, etc because it makes them appreciate things more while in the PA position. PA would just my goal for now but after looking at the GPA data below i'm thinking i may be in for a harder fight than i originally though. *sigh* I didnt even consider getting my master's until later in my college career and so i really didnt try to get the B's & above. GPA stats .. 2.81 @ 210 hrs 2.06 - sci GPA (i know, i just realized how bad this was!) 5 classes 2.75 - RT classes (they refused to give Bs or above for clinical rounds, so its 2 C+'s 8 B-'s 2 B's and 1 A-) 13 classes 2.57 - Maths (7 classes) i'm sure my numbers are not exact because i used the thing like A = 4.0 , A-= 2.67 , B+ = 3.33 , B = 3. I just marked them out, i didn't take credit hrs into account which may help weigh some better. What i was hoping truthfully is to put emphasis on respiratory for any chance of getting in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Ex RT current PA student here. When I decided to make the push, I brought everything (science/overall) GPA up to above a 3.0 and applied. Out of the 8 or so programs I applied to, I had 1 interview. Most schools place what I feel is an underemphasis on experience. However, a 2.06 sci GPA, coupled with your 2.75 RT GPA are major red flags to me. How many credits make up your science GPA? Have you already take all of your prereqs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Also, all RT courses count towards your SCI GPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Cooleyw, I believe people should pursue their dreams, but I think you know you're in for a long, uphill battle to qualify for PA school admission. Getting B's is tougher than getting C's, and getting A's is really tough. If you blow one test or get a low grade on one paper it can kill your A. Personally, I can't wait for the time when I'm done with school and just earning money. If I had a job that paid well and I didn't hate my job, I'd stick with it rather than giving up all my free time and going into debt, and all the stress of studying for tests. I hate being poor and studying all the time. If I end up in RT school and can make a living as an RT, I'll never even consider going back for PA. There's no time for fun in life if all you do is work and study. Just my two cents. Best wishes whatever you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooleyw Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 The science GPA thing is like 5 classes without any pre-reqs taken except for the RT stuff. it doesn't hurt to kick around the idea, i do agree that the medical experience is totally under appreciated and puts the medical field at a disadvantage. I guess the fact i've been in with codes and actually helped means nothing. I'd be willing to do it because although it would be a crazy two years and i think it would be better on the other side of it too. I remember respiratory school and PA is much more stressful i'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Cooleyw, I believe people should pursue their dreams, but I think you know you're in for a long, uphill battle to qualify for PA school admission. Getting B's is tougher than getting C's, and getting A's is really tough. If you blow one test or get a low grade on one paper it can kill your A. Personally, I can't wait for the time when I'm done with school and just earning money. If I had a job that paid well and I didn't hate my job, I'd stick with it rather than giving up all my free time and going into debt, and all the stress of studying for tests. I hate being poor and studying all the time. If I end up in RT school and can make a living as an RT, I'll never even consider going back for PA. There's no time for fun in life if all you do is work and study. Just my two cents. Best wishes whatever you do. Get back to me after being an RT for a few years; I suspect you'll have a different tune. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 The science GPA thing is like 5 classes without any pre-reqs taken except for the RT stuff. it doesn't hurt to kick around the idea, i do agree that the medical experience is totally under appreciated and puts the medical field at a disadvantage. I guess the fact i've been in with codes and actually helped means nothing. I'd be willing to do it because although it would be a crazy two years and i think it would be better on the other side of it too. I remember respiratory school and PA is much more stressful i'm sure. Recalculate your science GPA with the RT classes. Then you'll know where you stand and can figure out what you would need to do to get to that 3.0. Will the hospital you're working at pay for the coursework? Also if you really think this is the direction you want to go, I think you're going to need a science based Masters degree with 4.0 level work to prove you can handle a rigorous academic environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Get back to me after being an RT for a few years; I suspect you'll have a different tune. . . Well, I'm already 41 years old. Doing RT school then a few years of RT experience will put me at about age 50. I've struggled financially all my life so just having a professional job and being able to afford nice things and pay my bills and have some money to play with on my days off would be a dream come true, RT or PA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooleyw Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 2.58. i put up my folder when i seen that =/ granted that's just AP, chem + micro , along with RT classes. so that's not organic or anything after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Well, I'm already 41 years old. Doing RT school then a few years of RT experience will put me at about age 50. I've struggled financially all my life so just having a professional job and being able to afford nice things and pay my bills and have some money to play with on my days off would be a dream come true, RT or PA. Jus curious, why RT over RN? As an RT, you'll be an overtrained technician for the most part. Sure, you'll learn about why you would use various treatment modalities, and you'll know a vent better than 95% of the pulmonologists you'll come across, but you won't be able to APPLY any of that knowledge because you aren't "calling the shots". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 2.58. i put up my folder when i seen that =/ granted that's just AP, chem + micro , along with RT classes. so that's not organic or anything after that. I'm sure it feels good to go up .5 GPA points in a few minutes. Now figure out how many classes of A level work you'd need to pull off to get to that golden 3.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooleyw Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 i'll retake the AP1 + 2 for sure, probably micro ... redoing Chem would be easy enough. I just mentioned 4 of the 5 classes i have in the sci thing lol. .. i actually was thinking and i think the true PA upgrade reason is because i just feel that you should never settle and always improve. I do not want to do nursing so the only other way up is PA. maybe a few other things are out there but that one caught my attention the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Jus curious, why RT over RN? As an RT, you'll be an overtrained technician for the most part. Sure, you'll learn about why you would use various treatment modalities, and you'll know a vent better than 95% of the pulmonologists you'll come across, but you won't be able to APPLY any of that knowledge because you aren't "calling the shots". It does make me sad when I read about RT's who are only allowed to use a fraction of the skills they learn. And it worries me that nurses are allowed to do many respiratory things while RT's cannot do even simple "nursing" tasks. But I hate much of what nurses do. Anything to do with poop and catheters grosses me out. (I'm a nurse aide now so I deal with it all the time.) If I could be a nurse in a clinic where the patients aren't so dependant/disabled I might like that. Working as a PA in an urgent care clinic is really what I'd like to do. Cooleyw I apologize if this is taking over your thread I hope you are getting the answers you seek. I'd love to discuss RT more with you GaterRRT. I'm very worried that despite my hard work the last two years I may not get into PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 The absorption of RT duties by RNs, as well as one state (Michigan) attempting to deregulate the RT profession by not requiring licensure to practice RT are two recent trends I also found concerning for the field. Combine this with the weak lobby that represents RTs and I fear in 20 years the profession may no longer exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooleyw Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 that's fine .. gatorRRT will tell you that it gets in the blood stream and u can always chat about respiratory stuff! i have a business bachelors that i'm not even using because i felt i would be cheating on my RT stuff if i didnt , feel like i put in blood sweat and tears into that degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooleyw Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 between the NBRC and the AARC i think they are trying to crash the profession, they are arent doing anything to keep it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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