Academically disqualified ex nursing student wanting to get into a PA program

[newstart34]

Hello!

Five years ago, during my undergrad, I was academically disqualified from my university's nursing program. It was my first and only semester. I continued my studies and received a health administration degree, but I still want to provide patient care. My overall GPA is a 3.1 and my science is a 3.7 (bio 1, physics 1, a&p 1/2, micro). My overall dropped from a 3.5 to a 3.1 (4 Ds) after that semester. Even with majority A's, it would NOT move as I worked towards my degree.

I still have a couple of science pre reqs to take, but I am wondering if I stand a chance with that nursing semester on my transcript. Would it be better if I got a masters in a related science? Or could I possibly obtain a high score on the GRE, high science GPA, and log some good shadowing hours to forecast that semester?

Also do schools frown upon taking classes at a CC? I don't want to pay double for the couple of courses that I have left, but I know schools do with certain majors.

Any advice is welcomed! Please share if you have been in a similar situation!!

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[pamac]

In your circumstances, I wouldn't go to the trouble of getting a masters degree before I tried to get in with what you have. That means finishing your prereqs strong. You have a 3.1 GPA (and a great science GPA), which for most programs typically means your application won't be automatically dumped on arrival...3.0 seems to be the cutoff to get someone to at least look at it further. And when they look at your application and see 3.7 or better for science, they will dig deeper. They will see a bunch of A's, between you and your rough first semester at school. They will also see someone that has a healthcare administration degree and considerable success between then and now, and the 3.1 will mostly fade away. Some programs might have some kind of points system or a rubric where the overall GPA is part of their formula for grading candidates, but dealing with those kinds of possibilities is just part of life. There are going to be venues where some people will be better positioned for success than others, but that's true about a number of variables for applicants. GPA is just one factor, and the good news is that you probably aren't in a hole as far as the majority of programs are concerned.

The place to address the nursing school incident would be in the application essay. That's a different question for a different post, and probably doesn't need to be dealt with right now. When you do end up putting together your essay, there are ways to explain that semester that capture the situation adequately, and in a way that doesn't make you look bad, nor dwell on that circumstance. Certainly, you will offer a brief explanation, but it will be only a small part of the whole act of selling you as a good candidate for PA school.

I don't think that community college classes are looked down upon very much. Folks understand that we go to school where we can, and that the education can be very good in those institutions. I think the exception might be ivy league institutions vs CC courses, but realistically, if you are getting A's in CC, you are probably doing well enough to get a decent grade at an ivy league as well. If that seems like a crazy thing to say, then I'll acquiesce and say that a student getting an A at a CC would probably fare at least well enough to land a B at an ivy. The point is that decent grades generally reflect a fair amount of work ethic, and that work ethic tends to emerge wherever you are studying. I always get a chuckle when someone says "I got a C because my school was well known as a ball buster, and I'd have done better at a lesser school". Sure... whatever... that kind of student would probably stink it up at CC as well. I just don't believe that they would be pulling A's at a CC if they were barely passing at Expensive-and-Legendary-in-Their-Own-Minds-Private-University-of-Who-The-Hell-Cares. I also don't think folks on PA school entrance committees buy that either. So take heart in your CC courses and the good grades you got in them. You demonstrated thrift and wisdom by going to a place where you can find a parking spot and afford the fees for classes. You probably also were taught by a real professor and not a graduate student with a language barrier.

So finish your prereqs with good grades. Shed any complex you may have developed surrounding your bad semester and the chunk it took out of your GPA because it's important to have your mind in the right place and unencumbered by unfounded fears. Do decent on your GRE, and enjoy yourself along the way. Once you accomplish immediate goals, other goals will emerge to challenge you. Getting in to PA school will be replaced with getting through PA school, which will be replaced with getting a decent job first job, and then on to getting more experience so you can get a better job, then its on to something else to be concerned about.