Caspa PA

[Skittles_mix]

Hi, just wondering if someone knows what’s the minimum GPA you have to have in order for caspa to process your application?? I remember it was a 3.0 , but I can’t find anything or their website.

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[Apollo1]

CASPA will process you application regardless of GPA. It's the individual school GPA filters you have to worry about...

 

[Skittles_mix]

CASPA will process you application regardless of GPA. It's the individual school GPA filters you have to worry about...

That’s interesting my university’s counselor told me that caspa wouldn’t process anything lower than a 3.0 gpa. Does the application still get sent to the school and the school itself filters you out or does caspa filter your application out depending the school of choice if you don’t meet the school’s criteria ?

 

[pamac]

I’ve found that pre med/pre professional counselors in university tend to be some of the worst sources for information. They get things almost right, but still wrong enough to add significantly to confusion. They are best suited to providing info to the best students, and tend to drop the ball for folks with more complicated needs. It’s mostly the high achievers that make the cut anyway, and they know that everyone else’s chances decrease exponentially with lower academic marks, while their drag on the counselors time for the lower achievers increases exponentially with lower academic marks.

The message on the whole is essentially correct, but the details are muddled. CASPA will allow you to fill out an application and thereby apply to any of the programs, and they will take your money (and so will the programs), but with a GPA below 3.0, you are up against strong headwinds in terms of getting accepted. Most schools won’t realistically consider folks with a GPA below that even if they will accept your application fees. 3.0 has been a historically accepted minimum cutoff, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was much higher at this time. There’s just too much competition with grades too high. If you have a reasonable GPA cutoff, you shed a large number of folks that are statistically far more likely to not be equipped to keep up in a demanding program like physician assisting. Programs move fast, and can’t have folks holding back the other students or failing out and wasting valuable seats. When there are 10 applicants for each PA seat, and 4 of those 10 applicants have GPAs above 3.7, you don’t get anything from dipping down to interview folks with sub 3.0 GPAs.

 

[Skittles_mix]

I’ve found that pre med/pre professional counselors in university tend to be some of the worst sources for information. They get things almost right, but still wrong enough to add significantly to confusion. They are best suited to providing info to the best students, and tend to drop the ball for folks with more complicated needs. It’s mostly the high achievers that make the cut anyway, and they know that everyone else’s chances decrease exponentially with lower academic marks, while their drag on the counselors time for the lower achievers increases exponentially with lower academic marks.

The message on the whole is essentially correct, but the details are muddled. CASPA will allow you to fill out an application and thereby apply to any of the programs, and they will take your money (and so will the programs), but with a GPA below 3.0, you are up against strong headwinds in terms of getting accepted. Most schools won’t realistically consider folks with a GPA below that even if they will accept your application fees. 3.0 has been a historically accepted minimum cutoff, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was much higher at this time. There’s just too much competition with grades too high. If you have a reasonable GPA cutoff, you shed a large number of folks that are statistically far more likely to not be equipped to keep up in a demanding program like physician assisting. Programs move fast, and can’t have folks holding back the other students or failing out and wasting valuable seats. When there are 10 applicants for each PA seat, and 4 of those 10 applicants have GPAs above 3.7, you don’t get anything from dipping down to interview folks with sub 3.0 GPAs.

Yea, seems like most counselors don’t know what they’re talking about. My case is complex. My dad passed away on my 1st year of college,mother left, and I became homeless. That 1st year I did not return/withdraw from school because of the aforementioned. Calculation with all attempts including F’s I have a science gpa of 3.87 overall gpa of 3.53 and non science gpa of 3.35. Long story short I was told by my counselor that my non science gpa being a 3.35 was too close to caspa’s cut of 3.0 and since I have 8 more courses non science left to complete my bachelors to be careful not to let it drop or caspa will not process my application. I found it weird. I mean I know my numbers are not that good but just felt bad hearing that.

 

[pamac]

The counselor doesn’t know what he or she is talking about. Caspa doesn’t do any filtering, it’s the schools that take the information and act on it. 3.35 isn’t a terrible GPA either. I don’t quite understand all the numbers you threw out there but they seem decent enough to throw your hat in the ring. Remember that there are quirks involving how retakes are calculated as well. It’s been so long that I don’t remember all the ins and outs.

Also consider nursing.

 

[Skittles_mix]

The counselor doesn’t know what he or she is talking about. Caspa doesn’t do any filtering, it’s the schools that take the information and act on it. 3.35 isn’t a terrible GPA either. I don’t quite understand all the numbers you threw out there but they seem decent enough to throw your hat in the ring. Remember that there are quirks involving how retakes are calculated as well. It’s been so long that I don’t remember all the ins and outs.

Also consider nursing.

Thank you for your encouragement. From now on will try get my information from the actual PA schools rather than my university. Sorry from throwing in all those numbers but those are what my counselors gave me. My actual gpa is 3.53 according to the way caspa averages including retaken courses.

 

[pamac]

That’s a decent GPA.

I’m not saying counselors don’t know what they are talking about, but often they are off the mark because they don’t have skin in the game, and they have lots of people with lots of variables involved in their academic background, and they aren’t keeping up on all the intricacies of the admissions process. And like myself...its Been years since I’ve been acquainted with the process and couldn’t tell you with certainty how different programs generally calculate GPA. It does help to go to places like the PA forums (google it) and talk to a boatload of folks that actually know exactly what the process is. This place isn’t the place where you’ll get the most accurate info. At that site, you’ll have the best way to get up to speed on just about everything. I’d suggest it. I gained a ton of insight from that site. Made a huge difference.