PA programs not looking at cumulative GPA

[Raba]

Hello,

Does anybody know of any PA programs that don't look at your entire cumulative GPA? I heard that some programs will only look at your last 45 to 60 hours from your degree to consider you. My freshman and sophomore I had mostly B/C's and my junior/senior year of college was all A's/B's.

 

My undergrad GPA was 2.8 and I have retaken a lot of my science and prerequisite courses over again from nearly 10 years ago and have achieved all A's. What bothers me is that my 2.8 will always be set in stone and I can't do anything about that.

 

Any info would be appreciated

 

Thanks,

[MedicinePower]

Your 2.8 is not set in stone. If you continue to take undergraduate science courses and get As then that factors into your GPA.

[Febrifuge]

Do what I did, with a 3.02 from undergrad, a decade prior: get a better GPA in the science courses specifically; get about 2000 hours paid clinical exposure; rock the GRE like the proverbial hurricane. It's a lot easier to make the case you're a smart person who just wasn't in sync with college years ago if you have compelling new data to back that up.

[uscbigdawg]

MEDEX and Utah (two of the top programs in the country BTW) specifically look at recent performance and the whole person rather than just GPA. I met with a program director this weekend that specifically said their program ONLY looks at GPA for assessment into who gets an interview. That was disappointing to say the least.

 

My efforts are focused on programs that are best fits for me given the same challenges. My undergraduate GPA from 16 years ago was a 2.2-ish with only a few sciences. I have taken every Biology and Chemistry class imaginable and have raised my GPA (after this summer's Genetics course) to a 3.0. Anyone that does the math will realize that's a monster increase as it's a huge uphill battle. Strategically retaking certain courses and finding "Other Science" courses will work to your advantage.

 

Best of luck and keep up the good work!

 

Rich

[Raba]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the input, I have definitely matured since graduating in 2003 with my BS undergrad... I think all the experience I gained after college molded me into a better person and a better outlook on life. College was an experience that all of us have experienced.... and I know that I wasn't the smartest person, basically I didn't apply myself toward my grades. However, in time I became a lot smarter this time around achieving better grades; and I really don't want to give up being a PA.

 

Where is this MEDEX college at?

[bradtPA]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the input, I have definitely matured since graduating in 2003 with my BS undergrad... I think all the experience I gained after college molded me into a better person and a better outlook on life. College was an experience that all of us have experienced.... and I know that I wasn't the smartest person, basically I didn't apply myself toward my grades. However, in time I became a lot smarter this time around achieving better grades; and I really don't want to give up being a PA.

 

Where is this MEDEX college at?

http://depts.washington.edu/medex/pa-program/

[Raba]

Thanks !!!!

Got a quick question... Have any of you PA's known anybody that was really book smart and had superior grades to make it to the interview; HOWEVER, they completely bombed the interview?

[Febrifuge]

All the time. My PA program was pretty competitive, and to get the interview you had to have some impressive stats in at least a couple of several categories. I sometimes think I was there as some kind of token "old guy" at age 35... :) I mentioned my GRE score, so that helped I'm sure, but many many of the people who interviewed didn't get in, and I'm pretty sure most of them were better "on paper" than me, and a few of my classmates.

[G. Davenport]

Hi Raba,

 

A lot of programs will cap the total gpa at 3.0 or higher but still consider students will a lower gpa provided they submit a letter of explanation. If the letter is reasonable, the program will then look at your last 64 hours of course work. There is much more too it but this, hopefully, helps explain how the late bloomer gets past that freshman year of non-academic education.

 

Greg

[physasst]

All the time. My PA program was pretty competitive, and to get the interview you had to have some impressive stats in at least a couple of several categories. I sometimes think I was there as some kind of token "old guy" at age 35... :) I mentioned my GRE score, so that helped I'm sure, but many many of the people who interviewed didn't get in, and I'm pretty sure most of them were better "on paper" than me, and a few of my classmates.

 

 

35 is old????? WTF????? The average age of my PA class was 32 IIRC.

[Febrifuge]

35 is old????? WTF????? The average age of my PA class was 32 IIRC.

We had a ton of 25-yr-old Athletic Training grads, a bunch of people one year out of college, one girl who was 19 and had to decelerate in the first semester, starting over the following year. A few between 28-32. Then we had me and one other at 35 and older. The day before graduation I turned 39. I think our average was like 26.

[DoTheEvolution]

Raba,

 

I also had a 2.8 (2.85) GPA as undergrad, 15 years ago. I took every pre-req required for a few programs for 54 credits total over the last few years, and also got all As to raise my overall GPA to 3.1 something. The key is: They will see your very high pre-req GPA, high science GPA in returning to school, and you can address your low grades in your personal statement, and tie it all together.