Low GPA - I need some advice and help

[serioustar123]

Hello!

Like many others, I struggled a bit through university due to depression and learning difficulties (due to a concussion in high school - I do not have any disabilities on my record but I struggle mainly with concentration).

UPDATE: Grades from last semester have been imputed.

Major: Biology with minor in Psychology
Original Overall GPA: 2.88 (322.8 total grade points/112 units) <-- this does not include any of the classes I'm retaking

My Current Overall GPA: 2.93 <-- all courses that I have retaken assuming highest score + additional courses I have taken

Pre-Req GPA:

Pre-Req Courses Including in Calculation: 2 Bios, 2 Chems, 2 Physics, General Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Statistics

Before re-taking courses: 94.4 total grade points/39 = 2.4 (grade calc shows 2.42)
After re-taking courses that I have already done (assuming lowest score for those that haven't been retaken): 3.19

The first times I took both chems, bios, Part 1 of physics, human anatomy (got a D), and human physiology I got different variations of C's in them.

So far, I have retaken (the community college I go to doesn't do + or -'s, also the credit amounts are different for the classes too):

Chem 1: B
Chem 2: A
Bio 1 (zoology - it used to be called something different at my school since my school doesn't have any other intro bios): B
Bio 2 (botany - it used to be called something different at my school since my school doesn't have any other intro bios): taking next semester
Physics 1: A
Human Anatomy: A
Human Physiology: taking next semester
General Psychology (I did AP credit thus now going to take it for letter grade): taking next semester

I have also taken some additional courses to help raise my GPA as well (all sciences so far). I have so far spent 1 year on the courses that I have retaken and have one more semester left to take the last three courses.

GRE:

1. 153Q, 151V, 3.5AWA <-- higher of the two sets of scores
2. 148Q, 158V, 3.0AWA


Extra-Curricular: Resident Advisor (2 years), Interdisciplinary Innovation Challenge (2nd place - 2015 and 3rd place - 2016), Global Case Competition (3 years), professional research (1 year)

Honors: Lou & Ruth Allen Scholarship, Boeing Research Scholarship, Team Mentor Peer Scholarships

Certifications: CPR/First Aid

Observation: 300 hours (80 out-patient/water therapy*, 36 out-patient/spots, 21 pedatrics, 20 out-patient, 50 out-patient/sports, 50 out-patient/sports, 20 in-patient, 23 out-patient/water therapy*)

The one with the * is from the same clinic, just different times.


I really need some advice on what to do next. Should I apply this time around or should I wait? I still have two pre-reqs to finish. When I first graduated from university, I did apply, but got rejected (I'm not extremely surprised).

Hopefully I have calculated all the correct GPAs.

Also any other routes to go to eventually get into PT school? I am now thinking of doing a Masters in Public Health. Any recommendations/thoughts?

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[DPTTELl]

I think you really need to bring both GPA’s up to at least a 3.0 preferibly a 3.2 and try to aim for a very good GRE score.

 

[One Punch Man]

I would highly recommend getting your cumulative GPA to at a bare minimum a 3.0. A lot of schools have that as their minimum, and will not consider applicants with lower stats. What I would do is retake the prerequisites that you have less than a B- in; and to take them at a community college so that you can save money. I suggest creating an Excel sheet and calculate your prerequisite GPA for each school you're interested in.

There's nothing wrong with taking an extra year before applying to PT school to get your cGPA to a 3.0. I personally graduated in 2016 and took 2 years to retake classes in order to raise my cGPA to above a 3.0 and now I'm about to apply rhis upcoming cycle.

 

[serioustar123]

I think you really need to bring both GPA’s up to at least a 3.0 preferibly a 3.2 and try to aim for a very good GRE score.

What GRE score should I aim for?

I would highly recommend getting your cumulative GPA to at a bare minimum a 3.0. A lot of schools have that as their minimum, and will not consider applicants with lower stats. What I would do is retake the prerequisites that you have less than a B- in; and to take them at a community college so that you can save money. I suggest creating an Excel sheet and calculate your prerequisite GPA for each school you're interested in.

There's nothing wrong with taking an extra year before applying to PT school to get your cGPA to a 3.0. I personally graduated in 2016 and took 2 years to retake classes in order to raise my cGPA to above a 3.0 and now I'm about to apply rhis upcoming cycle.

Assuming I get A's in the rest of my pre-reqs, I will have done all my pre-reqs that had below a B-, but I wouldn't have a 3.0 cumulative.

 

[epicpt89]

I would highly recommend getting your cumulative GPA to at a bare minimum a 3.0. A lot of schools have that as their minimum, and will not consider applicants with lower stats. What I would do is retake the prerequisites that you have less than a B- in; and to take them at a community college so that you can save money. I suggest creating an Excel sheet and calculate your prerequisite GPA for each school you're interested in.

There's nothing wrong with taking an extra year before applying to PT school to get your cGPA to a 3.0. I personally graduated in 2016 and took 2 years to retake classes in order to raise my cGPA to above a 3.0 and now I'm about to apply rhis upcoming cycle.

But i always hear that a gpa is locked in after your graduate? Some classes (non prereq) I had I didnt bother taking over because this fact

 

[One Punch Man]

What GRE score should I aim for?



Assuming I get A's in the rest of my pre-reqs, I will have done all my pre-reqs that had below a B-, but I wouldn't have a 3.0 cumulative.

I reread your post and noticed that you already have retaken some prereqs. If you plan on going to PT school, you must make sure that you earn nothing less than an A. Schools don't want to see a student retaking a class and getting a mediocre grade. Moreover, you already have well over a hundred credits so increasing your GPA gets exceedingly more difficult the more classes you take.

 

[One Punch Man]

But i always hear that a gpa is locked in after your graduate? Some classes (non prereq) I had I didnt bother taking over because this fact

Your best bet is to ask the schools you're interested in. Cumulative GPA is exactly that, your cumulative GPA. However some schools only consider your cGPA from freshman year to senior year.

 

[serioustar123]

I have updated my grades with the grades from last semester. I got all A's, thus my cGPA including post-bac is above a 3.0 now.

 

[deleted797640]

Hello!

Like many others, I struggled a bit through university due to depression and learning difficulties (due to a concussion in high school - I do not have any disabilities on my record but I struggle mainly with concentration).

UPDATE: Grades from last semester have been imputed.

Major: Biology with minor in Psychology
Overall GPA: 2.88 (322.8 total grade points/112 units) <-- this does not include any of the classes I'm retaking

3.05 <-- all courses that I have retaken assuming highest score + additional courses I have taken

Pre-Req GPA:

Pre-Req Courses Including in Calculation: 2 Bios, 2 Chems, 2 Physics, General Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Statistics

Before re-taking courses: 94.4 total grade points/39 = 2.4 (grade calc shows 2.42)
After re-taking courses that I have already done (assuming lowest score for those that haven't been retaken): 3.19

The first times I took both chems, bios, Part 1 of physics, human anatomy (got a D), and human physiology I got different variations of C's in them.

So far, I have retaken (the community college I go to doesn't do + or -'s, also the credit amounts are different for the classes too):

Chem 1: B
Chem 2: A
Bio 1 (zoology - it used to be called something different at my school since my school doesn't have any other intro bios): B
Bio 2 (botany - it used to be called something different at my school since my school doesn't have any other intro bios): taking next semester
Physics 1: A
Human Anatomy: A
Human Physiology: taking next semester
General Psychology (I did AP credit thus now going to take it for letter grade): taking next semester

I have also taken some additional courses to help raise my GPA as well (all sciences so far). I have so far spent 1 year on the courses that I have retaken and have one more semester left to take the last three courses.

GRE:

1. 153Q, 151V, 3.5AWA <-- higher of the two sets of scores
2. 148Q, 158V, 3.0AWA


Extra-Curricular: Resident Advisor (2 years), Interdisciplinary Innovation Challenge (2nd place - 2015 and 3rd place - 2016), Global Case Competition (3 years), professional research (1 year)

Honors: Lou & Ruth Allen Scholarship, Boeing Research Scholarship, Team Mentor Peer Scholarships

Certifications: CPR/First Aid

Observation: 157 hours (80 out-patient/water therapy, 36 out-patient/spots, 21 pedatrics, 20 out-patient)


I really need some advice on what to do next. Should I apply this time around or should I wait? I still have two pre-reqs to finish. When I first graduated from university, I did apply, but got rejected (I'm not extremely surprised).

Hopefully I have calculated all the correct GPAs. Also any recommendations on schools? I know I should look for schools that take either the last so many credits, take the higher of the grades, or have a lower GPA requirement.

Also any other routes to go to eventually get into PT school?

As someone who has applied with a similarly low GPA who got into two schools I do not want to discourage you. I think the best thing you can do at this point is to be extremely selective with what schools you apply to. I researched the requirements of every school on PTCAS to ensure ones I selected to apply to had lower cum GPA requirements so at least they would look at my application. Also, you NEED to increase the other areas of your application to be competitive. I would really not apply without a GRE score of 156 or higher in both categories and a 4.0 for writing. Additionally you should really focus on observation hours. My cum gpa was 2.93 possibly 3.01 with a few retakes I did and my prereq gpa was 3.33. However I have about 5K medical experience hours all with patient contact ranging from Pharmacy tech, EMT, ER scribe and lead aide (for 3 years). My GRE was 154, 158, 4.0. I highly doubt without those two factors I would have been accepted not to mention I had to apply twice. Be very careful you do not apply to schools that only look at PTCAS calculation of your gpa or schools that have a set limit on the number of retaken courses they will accept. If you have any questions feel free to pm me good luck never give up

 

[triciamartin23]

Have you looked up some schools that have low GPA averages? I can send you a document with a list of schools if you're interested.

 

[serioustar123]

As someone who has applied with a similarly low GPA who got into two schools I do not want to discourage you. I think the best thing you can do at this point is to be extremely selective with what schools you apply to. I researched the requirements of every school on PTCAS to ensure ones I selected to apply to had lower cum GPA requirements so at least they would look at my application. Also, you NEED to increase the other areas of your application to be competitive. I would really not apply without a GRE score of 156 or higher in both categories and a 4.0 for writing. Additionally you should really focus on observation hours. My cum gpa was 2.93 possibly 3.01 with a few retakes I did and my prereq gpa was 3.33. However I have about 5K medical experience hours all with patient contact ranging from Pharmacy tech, EMT, ER scribe and lead aide (for 3 years). My GRE was 154, 158, 4.0. I highly doubt without those two factors I would have been accepted not to mention I had to apply twice. Be very careful you do not apply to schools that only look at PTCAS calculation of your gpa or schools that have a set limit on the number of retaken courses they will accept. If you have any questions feel free to pm me good luck never give up

Thank you for the advice. I now have 300 hours. Any tips on how to do better on the GRE?

Have you looked up some schools that have low GPA averages? I can send you a document with a list of schools if you're interested.

I have looked up some schools, but it would be amazing if you could send me the document with a list of schools.


At this point, I'm thinking of applying for a Masters in Public Health to help raise my GPA and make me look like a better candidate. Is this a good idea?

 

[deleted797640]

Thank you for the advice. I now have 300 hours. Any tips on how to do better on the GRE?



I have looked up some schools, but it would be amazing if you could send me the document with a list of schools.


At this point, I'm thinking of applying for a Masters in Public Health to help raise my GPA and make me look like a better candidate. Is this a good idea?

Not really, I studied about 2 weeks for it but felt my undergrad prepared me for most the questions. I would look into using a site called magoosh since the test is computerized it will give you a better grasp on how the questions will be asked versus studying from a book.

 

[MBPB]

Have you looked up some schools that have low GPA averages? I can send you a document with a list of schools if you're interested.

I would be interested if you would post this for us!

 

[serioustar123]

Not really, I studied about 2 weeks for it but felt my undergrad prepared me for most the questions. I would look into using a site called magoosh since the test is computerized it will give you a better grasp on how the questions will be asked versus studying from a book.

Alright! Thank you!