I am about to be a junior this Fall and my GPA is currently 2.6. I was in college thinking a lot about my major and I was undecided with what I wanted to do but I recently decided that I was interested in PA school and becoming a physical assistant My current major is in Accounting and I am interested in knowing if I have a chance. I know that I have to take the prerequisites and to possibly change majors. did not get to take any pre requisite classes yet and I don't have any volunteer hours because I was thinking about this career just recently. I also have about 5 W grades so I had to withdraw from 5 classes due to some personal issues and mistakes. If I calculated the highest GPA that I can get by graduation, it will be around 3.3. Is it possible for me to get accepted anywhere? What should I do to stand out?? I had to withdraw from Calculus 1 twice due to bad professors but I am thinking about trying to pass all of the prerequisites and to succeed. I am mostly scared about the W grades, which will hinder me a lot in applying to anywhere. Is it a chance to get in or am I just wasting my time?
Be Honest, Is it possible to still make it into Physical Therapy school and to recover from my low undergraduate GPA??
- Thread starter Jason1910
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That being said, I was accepted to 2 PT schools with a W on my transcript.
cxm98
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same, I got into 6/7 with a WP (withdraw while passing) in bio 102 and a W (withdraw) in physiology, although that my time of application I had received a B+ in bio 102 and an A+ in A&P I. Being able to demonstrate improvement/success where you lacked before will definitely make you stand out. During one of my interviews, I asked the professor if they had any reservations about my ability to succeed in the program and she brought up my W and WP, to which I was able to discuss what my situation was and what I did to correct it
Unfortunately, I have a total of about 5 W grades so far. How else can I improve my chances to get into PT school?
1) Figure out if you want PT school or PA school, very different fields.
2) Take responsibility. It isn't a bad professors fault, I'm sure many did well in that class with a bad professor. I'm on admissions, the second someone puts that something is a prof's fault, their app is tossed.
3) Fix whatever is causing your poor performance. Many think they can flip some magic switch and start getting a 4.0. Rarely happens.
Get your act together and start doing better in school, take responsibility, and pass classes. This will be needed regardless of your next steps. Start taking prereqs to see how you do in them. Start shadowing to see if it is really a career you want. Based on how the next semester goes, you can see if reinventing yourself to get in is really possible.
2) Take responsibility. It isn't a bad professors fault, I'm sure many did well in that class with a bad professor. I'm on admissions, the second someone puts that something is a prof's fault, their app is tossed.
3) Fix whatever is causing your poor performance. Many think they can flip some magic switch and start getting a 4.0. Rarely happens.
Get your act together and start doing better in school, take responsibility, and pass classes. This will be needed regardless of your next steps. Start taking prereqs to see how you do in them. Start shadowing to see if it is really a career you want. Based on how the next semester goes, you can see if reinventing yourself to get in is really possible.
cxm98
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Taking responsibility is big!! The point I was trying to get across was that I owned my mistakes and explained what I was doing wrong and how I corrected it down the line. Being able to own your mistakes and learn from them is invaluable, and I’m sure it was a big reason that the interviewer gave me a positive review for my interview for that school. Figure out how you can do better, and go with it!
Hey there!!! So I can totally understand where you are coming from and its honestly a really frustrating situation to be in. and not to mention tough as well. PM me and I can offer you additional insight!, I was in the same boat as you.
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THIS^^^
Shadow PTs and PAs and see which career you want to pursue. Also shadow ones in different types of settings (not just 1 or 2 clinics) within those fields. What PTs do in outpatient ortho is completely different than neuro rehab.
Yes, it is possible to get into PT school with a lower GPA... BUT you have to prove that you got your act together by showing them you retook the classes AND got good grades the second time around. Why would they take a chance on you if you haven't shown that you're worth it? PT schools want to make sure their students can pass the PT board exam after PT school, and if you can't get good grades in undergrad, then you might not be worth the risk. Also, taking ownership is HUGE! Can't blame "bad professors" for having to withdrawal... because I guarantee that others took that class and still got an A.
Why did you have to withdraw from so many classes? Were things going on in your personal life that you need to sort out so you could focus on school? Do you only need to take 1 or 2 difficult classes at a time so you can have enough time to study? Have you reached out to study groups or tutors to help you improve your grades and have a good support network?
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Consider schools that look at the last 60-100 units only. Most of those units (I believe something around 40-ish) will be likely your pre-reqs classes that you are about to take. There is definitely a possibility for you to get to a PT school if you apply to those kinds of schools! Try to get as many As as possible to weigh out your older grades if schools have to consider some of them.
