1 year follow-up to my previous "What are my chances?" thread. Good news!

[davemarco]

Hello friends! So the 2 second recap: a little over a year ago I posted my stats and asked for advice.

 

-Positives were a great GRE score (760/670, Math/Verbal), a good MCAT score (31), and fairly good HCE (2+ years full time as a Exercise Physiologist for a major hospital wellness facility).

 

-Big negative was, as usual, a terrible undergrad GPA (2.5 by how CASPA calculates it, 2.7 by how Rutgers calculates it). Completely unacceptable.

 

The general advice that I received here was to either retake my basic undergrad science requirements, take a whole bunch of upper level undergrad sciences, or finish a Master's degree. It is important to note that while not all basic science requirements were previously completed impressively, all were completely with a "C" or better. Ultimately, I chose to pursue more upper level undergrad sciences. My logic was that retaking basic science requirements (100 and 200 level Chem, Bio, etc), while good, ultimately would not definitively demonstrate that I could handle a difficult upper level workload. On the flip side, while a Master's degree would be awesome, admissions advisers that I spoke with felt that since my science grades weren't top notch, the M.S. had to be in a hard science to show that I could hack it (Public Health would only be an option if I had killed it in the sciences and had a low GPA in my electives). Since my previous undergrad degrees were not in any true hard sciences, this would not be possible.

 

As such, last Fall I began taking the hardest upper level Biology classes that I could get over at my local SUNY University, and continued on into this semester. These are the courses that I took:

 

Fall:

 

Evolution 402 (A)

Parasitology and Disease 365 (A)

Biochemistry 315 (A)

 

Spring:

 

Immunology 385 (Currently an A)

Microbiology 305 (Currently an A)

Stem Cell Biology 415 (Currently an A)

 

It is my intention to put out several applications to PA programs this summer. My question now is how much improvement is enough? Quantitatively, my cGPA will never be above a 3.0. I had 140+ credits from years ago, and even if I went on to finish the entire Bio degree at this University (another 12 credits) with a 4.0 and graduate Summa Cum Laude, my overall cGPA would really only increase to ~2.8 (even though my SUNY cGPA would be a 4.0). Thus, I will only be applying to schools that do not have strict cGPA requirements, with preference to schools that focus on HCE, Science GPA (currently above a 3.0), and the last 60 credits (currently between a 3.1 and a 3.2). Showing qualitative improvement is my focus. I know that there's no way to know for certain, but in your opinion, do you think that 18 credits of Senior level Bio coursework at the "A" level is enough to demonstrate that qualitative improvement? Do you feel that matriculating and finishing the whole Bio degree would be absolutely necessary at this point? I'd like to avoid wasting any more time and money on Undergrad classes, but if I have to, it shouldn't be too academically difficult to finish out the last 12 credits with a 4.0.

 

As with your original awesome advice, all constructive opinions are most appreciated. Thanks!

[davemarco]

Hello friends! So the 2 second recap: a little over a year ago I posted my stats and asked for advice.

 

-Positives were a great GRE score (760/670, Math/Verbal), a good MCAT score (31), and fairly good HCE (2+ years full time as a Exercise Physiologist for a major hospital wellness facility).

 

-Big negative was, as usual, a terrible undergrad GPA (2.5 by how CASPA calculates it, 2.7 by how Rutgers calculates it). Completely unacceptable.

 

The general advice that I received here was to either retake my basic undergrad science requirements, take a whole bunch of upper level undergrad sciences, or finish a Master's degree. It is important to note that while not all basic science requirements were previously completed impressively, all were completely with a "C" or better. Ultimately, I chose to pursue more upper level undergrad sciences. My logic was that retaking basic science requirements (100 and 200 level Chem, Bio, etc), while good, ultimately would not definitively demonstrate that I could handle a difficult upper level workload. On the flip side, while a Master's degree would be awesome, admissions advisers that I spoke with felt that since my science grades weren't top notch, the M.S. had to be in a hard science to show that I could hack it (Public Health would only be an option if I had killed it in the sciences and had a low GPA in my electives). Since my previous undergrad degrees were not in any true hard sciences, this would not be possible.

 

As such, last Fall I began taking the hardest upper level Biology classes that I could get over at my local SUNY University, and continued on into this semester. These are the courses that I took:

 

Fall:

 

Evolution 402 (A)

Parasitology and Disease 365 (A)

Biochemistry 315 (A)

 

Spring:

 

Immunology 385 (Currently an A)

Microbiology 305 (Currently an A)

Stem Cell Biology 415 (Currently an A)

 

It is my intention to put out several applications to PA programs this summer. My question now is how much improvement is enough? Quantitatively, my cGPA will never be above a 3.0. I had 140+ credits from years ago, and even if I went on to finish the entire Bio degree at this University (another 12 credits) with a 4.0 and graduate Summa Cum Laude, my overall cGPA would really only increase to ~2.8 (even though my SUNY cGPA would be a 4.0). Thus, I will only be applying to schools that do not have strict cGPA requirements, with preference to schools that focus on HCE, Science GPA (currently above a 3.0), and the last 60 credits (currently between a 3.1 and a 3.2). Showing qualitative improvement is my focus. I know that there's no way to know for certain, but in your opinion, do you think that 18 credits of Senior level Bio coursework at the "A" level is enough to demonstrate that qualitative improvement? Do you feel that matriculating and finishing the whole Bio degree would be absolutely necessary at this point? I'd like to avoid wasting any more time and money on Undergrad classes, but if I have to, it shouldn't be too academically difficult to finish out the last 12 credits with a 4.0.

 

As with your original awesome advice, all constructive opinions are most appreciated. Thanks!

[rev ronin]

Sounds like an appropriate move in the right direction. Focusing on schools with a "Last X credit hour" GPA that they calculate separately from CASPA, and making those last X hours be in hard sciences, will be the best way to go.

[rev ronin]

Sounds like an appropriate move in the right direction. Focusing on schools with a "Last X credit hour" GPA that they calculate separately from CASPA, and making those last X hours be in hard sciences, will be the best way to go.

[davemarco]

Rev, that was my thinking exactly. The really difficult thing here is figuring out how much is enough. I could continue taking undergrad courses for the next 10 years and get half a dozen Bachelor's degrees with honors, but ultimately it would prove to be a practical waste of time. I've tried going to the source on this -- speaking with admissions advisors at the various schools -- but the majority are unwilling to suggest anything. Ultimately, I guess we will just have to wait and see!

 

In any case, thank you for your support!

[davemarco]

Rev, that was my thinking exactly. The really difficult thing here is figuring out how much is enough. I could continue taking undergrad courses for the next 10 years and get half a dozen Bachelor's degrees with honors, but ultimately it would prove to be a practical waste of time. I've tried going to the source on this -- speaking with admissions advisors at the various schools -- but the majority are unwilling to suggest anything. Ultimately, I guess we will just have to wait and see!

 

In any case, thank you for your support!

[cinntsp]

This belongs in the pre-PA section. :)

[cinntsp]

This belongs in the pre-PA section. :)

[davemarco]

Double Post. Please delete.

[davemarco]

Double Post. Please delete.

[davemarco]

Agreed. I reported my own post and requested a move earlier, but it appears that none of the mods have seen it yet. Is there another way to report a whole thread instead?

[davemarco]

Agreed. I reported my own post and requested a move earlier, but it appears that none of the mods have seen it yet. Is there another way to report a whole thread instead?