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I am a non-traditional undergrad student. Please bear with me, don't mean to give you my life story, just a little background:
I went to my first few years of college in Arkansas starting at 22 years old. I was going to a community college and enrolled in a transfer program to a university (to save some money). My major at that time was accounting.
I clearly HATED accounting and was doing it for all the wrong reasons. I started my first semester strong. Once my second semester of my freshman year came around, I became uninterested and bored with my major. Clearly the issue was I was involved in the wrong degree plan. My grades slumped, hit rock-bottom--mostly due to "incomplete" because I showed up to class long enough in the semester to not be dropped by the professor, but stopped showing up close to end of semester when it was too late to drop.
I took the following semester off to do some "soul-searching" after being put on academic probation by a community college! I had always been very much into fitness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. So during my off-semester break I studied for my first personal training certification, so I was still learning something. I had no issues remaining interested in this genre. I completed my studies in six months and passed my exam first try. I love personal training. I immediately started working at a local gym and gained a plethora of clients almost immediately who all stayed with me up until I relocated back to Dallas, TX. But still, there was so much uncertainty with a job like that. You never know from one month to the next who is going to renew and who can continue to afford a luxury service in an economy like this. What I did know is I enjoyed watching people grow physically active and enjoying a healthy, active lifestyle, but didn't enjoy the instability of income flow.
Upon moving back to Texas in 2009, I began working as a physical therapy tech at a busy seven-physician ortho clinic. I loved my job! Because of my strong work ethic and knowledge (with personal training background), I was transferred to one of our satellite offices where the only employees were myself, the therapist, and a front desk admin. I worked closely with the therapist and she had her full trust in me. I performed ultrasounds with no supervision, offered therex suggestions to the therapist in certain situations (of course not in front of the patient), and received "Thank You" cards from patients upon their discharge with them thanking me and telling me I will be a great therapist one day. I remember one day offering a suggestion to a 10 year therapist on a stretch for a patient with severe lumbar pain and she replied with "Great suggestion, someone needs to go ahead and give you your PT license!" ***I am not saying all this for kudos, just to express my passion and natural instinct in the field of human motion***
I am still on PRN status with the clinic, but now receive a majority of income from personal training because there is a big difference between a $12/hour PT Tech job and a $35/1 hour personal training job (I am 26 now, so I am a big girl with big girl bills that I have to pay!).
I am finishing up classes online with the college back in Arkansas right now to make for an easy transfer to a Texas college. I worry about my GPA history hurting me. Sure, I can bring my GPA up to a 3.5, but will admissions look at the fact that back in 2008 it was 1.2....at a community college!?
Also, I am a single mom (engaged, but fiance lives in Arkansas still until he can transfer branches). The max hours I can take a semester and excel are typically 7 (3 credit class plus 1 science 4 credit class). Does admissions look at how long it takes to complete undergrad and factor that into acceptance? Technically, had a stayed on course, I would be graduating this year. But with my set-backs, and transferring credits soon to another state, I could still be a few credits short of being a junior!
Basically, I am just looking for some advice on what I need to do NOW to clean up my academic history so I get accepted into a PT program and graduate with a degree in something I was meant to do in life.
Thank you in advance for advice 😀
ACADEMIC TIMELINE:
HIGHSCHOOL: AVERAGE STUDENT/GRADUATED W/ DIPLOMA
2003-2007: FOCUSED ON RAISING MY YOUNG CHILD
FALL 2007: 22 YO/ FRESHMAN SEMESTER 1/ 3.0 GPA
SPRING 2008: INCOMPLETE IN ALL 4 CLASSES/ 1.2 GPA/ACADEMIC PROB
FALL 2008: TOOK SEMESTER OFF/ EARNED PERSONAL TRAINING CERT
SPRING 2009: FULLTIME STUDENT/A'S AND B'S IN ALL CLASSES/BROUGHT
GPA UP TO I BELIEVE A 2.2 OR 2.5
FALL 2009: TOOK SEMESTER OFF/RELOCATED TO DALLAS, TEXAS
WORKED FULLTIME AT PT CLINIC AS TECHNICIAN/ PART TIME
AS A PERSONAL TRAINER
SPRING 2010: PART TIME STUDENT/ MADE "A" IN PSYCHOLOGY/ "B" IN
MATH COURSE/ CONTINUED REPAIRING GPA/ WORKED FT
AS PT TECH
FALL 2010: TOOK SEMESTER OFF FOR FINANCIAL REASONS AND APPLIED
FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID/ WORKED FULL TIME
SPRING 2011: WAS AWARDED FINANCIAL AID/ TOOK 2 ONLINE CLASSES/
RECEIVED "F" IN COLLEGE ALGEBRA BECAUSE I WAS
UNAWARE THAT I HAD TO TAKE FINAL ON CAMPUS FOR AN
ONLINE CLASS (NOT TO MENTION I NOW LIVE 6 HOURS
AWAY FROM COLLEGE). PETITIONED FOR ENTIRE CLASS
TO ATLEAST BE REMOVED FROM TRANSCRIPT, BUT TO NO
AVAIL. WORKED FULL TIME
UPCOMING FALL 2011: WILL RETAKE COLLEGE ALGEBRA ONLINE WITH
ARKANSAS SCHOOL TO REMOVE CURRENT "F" AND
TRANSFER CREDITS TO TEXAS SCHOOL FOR
SPRING 2012
I went to my first few years of college in Arkansas starting at 22 years old. I was going to a community college and enrolled in a transfer program to a university (to save some money). My major at that time was accounting.
I clearly HATED accounting and was doing it for all the wrong reasons. I started my first semester strong. Once my second semester of my freshman year came around, I became uninterested and bored with my major. Clearly the issue was I was involved in the wrong degree plan. My grades slumped, hit rock-bottom--mostly due to "incomplete" because I showed up to class long enough in the semester to not be dropped by the professor, but stopped showing up close to end of semester when it was too late to drop.
I took the following semester off to do some "soul-searching" after being put on academic probation by a community college! I had always been very much into fitness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. So during my off-semester break I studied for my first personal training certification, so I was still learning something. I had no issues remaining interested in this genre. I completed my studies in six months and passed my exam first try. I love personal training. I immediately started working at a local gym and gained a plethora of clients almost immediately who all stayed with me up until I relocated back to Dallas, TX. But still, there was so much uncertainty with a job like that. You never know from one month to the next who is going to renew and who can continue to afford a luxury service in an economy like this. What I did know is I enjoyed watching people grow physically active and enjoying a healthy, active lifestyle, but didn't enjoy the instability of income flow.
Upon moving back to Texas in 2009, I began working as a physical therapy tech at a busy seven-physician ortho clinic. I loved my job! Because of my strong work ethic and knowledge (with personal training background), I was transferred to one of our satellite offices where the only employees were myself, the therapist, and a front desk admin. I worked closely with the therapist and she had her full trust in me. I performed ultrasounds with no supervision, offered therex suggestions to the therapist in certain situations (of course not in front of the patient), and received "Thank You" cards from patients upon their discharge with them thanking me and telling me I will be a great therapist one day. I remember one day offering a suggestion to a 10 year therapist on a stretch for a patient with severe lumbar pain and she replied with "Great suggestion, someone needs to go ahead and give you your PT license!" ***I am not saying all this for kudos, just to express my passion and natural instinct in the field of human motion***
I am still on PRN status with the clinic, but now receive a majority of income from personal training because there is a big difference between a $12/hour PT Tech job and a $35/1 hour personal training job (I am 26 now, so I am a big girl with big girl bills that I have to pay!).
I am finishing up classes online with the college back in Arkansas right now to make for an easy transfer to a Texas college. I worry about my GPA history hurting me. Sure, I can bring my GPA up to a 3.5, but will admissions look at the fact that back in 2008 it was 1.2....at a community college!?
Also, I am a single mom (engaged, but fiance lives in Arkansas still until he can transfer branches). The max hours I can take a semester and excel are typically 7 (3 credit class plus 1 science 4 credit class). Does admissions look at how long it takes to complete undergrad and factor that into acceptance? Technically, had a stayed on course, I would be graduating this year. But with my set-backs, and transferring credits soon to another state, I could still be a few credits short of being a junior!
Basically, I am just looking for some advice on what I need to do NOW to clean up my academic history so I get accepted into a PT program and graduate with a degree in something I was meant to do in life.
Thank you in advance for advice 😀
ACADEMIC TIMELINE:
HIGHSCHOOL: AVERAGE STUDENT/GRADUATED W/ DIPLOMA
2003-2007: FOCUSED ON RAISING MY YOUNG CHILD
FALL 2007: 22 YO/ FRESHMAN SEMESTER 1/ 3.0 GPA
SPRING 2008: INCOMPLETE IN ALL 4 CLASSES/ 1.2 GPA/ACADEMIC PROB
FALL 2008: TOOK SEMESTER OFF/ EARNED PERSONAL TRAINING CERT
SPRING 2009: FULLTIME STUDENT/A'S AND B'S IN ALL CLASSES/BROUGHT
GPA UP TO I BELIEVE A 2.2 OR 2.5
FALL 2009: TOOK SEMESTER OFF/RELOCATED TO DALLAS, TEXAS
WORKED FULLTIME AT PT CLINIC AS TECHNICIAN/ PART TIME
AS A PERSONAL TRAINER
SPRING 2010: PART TIME STUDENT/ MADE "A" IN PSYCHOLOGY/ "B" IN
MATH COURSE/ CONTINUED REPAIRING GPA/ WORKED FT
AS PT TECH
FALL 2010: TOOK SEMESTER OFF FOR FINANCIAL REASONS AND APPLIED
FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID/ WORKED FULL TIME
SPRING 2011: WAS AWARDED FINANCIAL AID/ TOOK 2 ONLINE CLASSES/
RECEIVED "F" IN COLLEGE ALGEBRA BECAUSE I WAS
UNAWARE THAT I HAD TO TAKE FINAL ON CAMPUS FOR AN
ONLINE CLASS (NOT TO MENTION I NOW LIVE 6 HOURS
AWAY FROM COLLEGE). PETITIONED FOR ENTIRE CLASS
TO ATLEAST BE REMOVED FROM TRANSCRIPT, BUT TO NO
AVAIL. WORKED FULL TIME
UPCOMING FALL 2011: WILL RETAKE COLLEGE ALGEBRA ONLINE WITH
ARKANSAS SCHOOL TO REMOVE CURRENT "F" AND
TRANSFER CREDITS TO TEXAS SCHOOL FOR
SPRING 2012