GPA calculation question for PA

[yezzur]

hi guys,

Ive recently graduated from a UC this past June and finished with a 2.89. Obviously, i know i need to raise this GPA
the question, i have is...What is the best and most efficient way to raise this GPA, i moved to my hometown, which is in Los Angeles. So if anyone went through the same situation, and even better live around LA. can you guys tell me what to do??/

thanks!!!!!!

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[184013]

Yezzur,
It really depends on what is low on the GPA... as you now the grades are normally not replaced by re-taking a class, but rather both averaged in. It also probably depends on your time line and how many other pre-reqs you might need. If I were in the situation I would look at rocking on all the required pre-reqs and gettings A's... this will show an upward trend and make you eligible for application. From there i would start working on re-taking classes (if you had really low grades) or taking additional classes that would support a pre-PA education and help offset previous low classes (such as taking BIO Chem, additional O-chem, psyc, etc...)
Really I would create a spreadhseet so you can take your current gpa and credit mix..add in the required classes to see where you would stand based on assumed A's... then add in what would happen on the other scenarios of retaking classes or taking additional classes.

 

[yezzur]

thanks for much

yea, i did really poorly my freshman year, especially with general chemistry and biology.

So, if i re-take some classes at a city college, and NOT a UC, the grades will be averaged in?

Does it matter if i re-take classes at a city college?

thank you

 

[Salamandrina]

thanks for much

yea, i did really poorly my freshman year, especially with general chemistry and biology.

So, if i re-take some classes at a city college, and NOT a UC, the grades will be averaged in?

Does it matter if i re-take classes at a city college?

thank you

Community college classes are not averaged in anywhere that I have ever heard of. I went to a UC too for my first degree and my graduating GPA was only my graduating UC gpa (they didn't factor in my community college credits at all). Now I just graduated from another university with a BSN where I did pre-requisite work at a community college, same dealio.

I'm afraid you are stuck with your graduating GPA. If you had posted before you graduated, I would have suggested you stay at the UC another year and take classes you thought you could do well in BEFORE you graduated.

 

[yezzur]

thanks

so what would you recommend/suggest is the best way to go from here?

Not take any classes at a community college? or take em?

and also, what other advice would you give, for me to increase my chances in attending PA schools? should i apply this coming months to attend for Fall 2009 or just wait ... so i can attend 2010..

my undergrad gpa, was a 2.89. ... i had some research done, volunteer here and there, not much clinical experience.

and finally, when should i take my GRE's??

Thanks, sorry i kno that was a lot of questions

 

[RAMPA]

thanks

so what would you recommend/suggest is the best way to go from here?

Not take any classes at a community college? or take em?

and also, what other advice would you give, for me to increase my chances in attending PA schools? should i apply this coming months to attend for Fall 2009 or just wait ... so i can attend 2010..

my undergrad gpa, was a 2.89. ... i had some research done, volunteer here and there, not much clinical experience.

and finally, when should i take my GRE's??

Thanks, sorry i kno that was a lot of questions

being brutally honest, the above doesn't seem like a strong application

get some clinical experience and take some upper division or perhaps some graduate science courses to show the adcoms you can handle graduate level work

good luck

 

[Salamandrina]

thanks

so what would you recommend/suggest is the best way to go from here?

Not take any classes at a community college? or take em?

and also, what other advice would you give, for me to increase my chances in attending PA schools? should i apply this coming months to attend for Fall 2009 or just wait ... so i can attend 2010..

my undergrad gpa, was a 2.89. ... i had some research done, volunteer here and there, not much clinical experience.

and finally, when should i take my GRE's??

Thanks, sorry i kno that was a lot of questions

I would suggest you try to be reasonable about how well you could do on the GRE and go from there. If you think you could be a rockstar on the GRE, then take it just to show that you have potential. If you think you will wind up somewhere in the middle of the pack, it probably won't help you.

Do you have a GOOD reason for your bad grades? Was it just partying too much? I had one suck-tastic semester but I wrote a letter to the admissions boards of the schools I applied to telling them why my performance was so poor. If you have something like that, it couldn't hurt.

Your only other option as I see it (I had a TA in my undergrad for whom this was the case) is to get an additional degree--masters PhD or bachelors---then apply. That was how she planned to get around a poor performance in her undergrad before going for her MD.

 

[cecilia]

Figure out what PA schools you might be interested in and contact their counselor. Arrange a meeting and go through your records. I think they do count your community college classes if they were taken within a certain amount of time. (not 15 years ago) and you can erase some classes and repeat them. you have to let some time go by though. I know I did that in L.A. Pierce College but I don't remember how much time it was that needed to go by.

 

[laugh]

I have a few questions about PA programs... maybe someone can help me. I am currently applying to dental school and will take the DAT the second week in Aug. It has always been my goal to persue dentistry but lately the idea of being a PA interests me. Although I still want to go to dental school I guess Im weighing my future options. I have a 3.21 overall GPA and a 3.16 science GPA. My first two years of college really hurt my GPA, but these last two years I have managed a 3.4 GPA. It seems most PA schools require you to take the GRE... what school do not require it? Which PA schools are considered "less competitive" to get into? Which schools are a little relaxed when it comes to medical work/volunteer experience? I have worked as a dental assistant for a year (over 1,000 hours) and have a semesters research experience working with bacteria. I have been to Mexico on two occassions and volunteered with physicians as they treated underprivilaged patients. Would my year as a dental assistant count as required "hours"? Also, I will graduate this December with a Biology degree. Is there certain schools you recommend me applying to? Or not applying to? Any advice for me?