First time Posting. Need Some advice. thank you for your help

[Spintix357]

Hi everyone. I am posting on these forums for the first time to get your much needed advice. I am currently 28 years old and spent a long time as a part time student at community college while (all of my classes are still eligible). Long enough to get me two associates degrees. Although, I was not the best student in my earliest years, there is a great deal of progress to be seen as I have consistently brought up my grades and GPA once I transferred to a University. I finished my Bachelors in Biology in Spring 2015. I then went back to the community college I transferred from to take Physics II, Intro Psych, Abnormal Psych. I also petitioned and retook Chemistry I last semester which I took at the community college many years ago and got a C in it so I retook it and got an A in it this time around. I just finished all my prereq courses a few weeks ago and am now looking for more experience in outpatient care, as well as inpatient and acute care. However, the job search has been very tedious since I cannot find anything but volunteer positions right now, if that. I plan to apply to 20 schools total this upcoming Fall and am narrowing down my selection. My GRE score seems to be limiting my selection. Please look through my information below and let me know what you think my chances of getting in are. I live in California and plan to apply to many programs in state. However, choosing backup schools out of state seems overwhelming so hopefully some of you can direct me to some good backup schools outside of California. Thank you for your time.





Grade Units
Biology I: A 4
Biology II: B 4 OR Microbiology: A 5
Human Anatomy: A 3
Human Physiology: A 5
General Chemistry I:A 6
General Chemistry II:C 5 OR Biochemistry: A 3
Physics I: B 4
Physics II: B 4
Intro Psychology: A 3
Abnormal Psychology: A 3
Introductory Statistics:B 4

Anthropology of Religion A 3
(Upper division writing requirement: some schools have it as a prereq)


Avg Prerequisite gpa: 3.46-3.73~
Complete overall GPA: 3.05
Last 60 units GPA: 3.43









Community College

UA UE GP GPA
Cumulative Totals: 121.00 109.00 327.00 2.70
Overall: 121.00 109.00 327.00 2.70
Degree Applicable Totals:106.00 94.00 297.00 2.80
COC CSU Transferable Totals:93.00 86.00 281.00 3.02


Fresno State

CUMULATIVE TOTALS UA UE GP GPA
CAMPUS 73.0 73.0 249.0 (3.41)
TRANSFER 83.0 70.0 233.0 (2.80)
TOTAL 156.0 143.0 482.0 (3.09)



GRE Scores

First time taking GRE:

Verbal Reasoning: 144
Quantitative Reasoning: 146
Analytical Writing: 3.0


Second time taking GRE:

Verbal Reasoning: 147
Quantitative Reasoning: 137
Analytical Writing: 3.5



Experience
Outpatient Volunteer hours: 200+ hours

Degrees
Associates Degree in Liberal Arts
Associates Degree in Biological and Physical Sciences
Bachelors Degree in Biology

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[aroszko]

You really need to bring up the GRE, aim for 150 in each section (or right about, some programs require a 300 if you don't have that then do not apply to those programs). Also work on getting a different variety of volunteer hours (inpatient, aquatic, hippo, acute, subacute, etc). Best of luck, 20 is a lot of school and a lot of $$$, make sure you meet ALL requirements when applying!

 

[Spintix357]

You really need to bring up the GRE, aim for 150 in each section (or right about, some programs require a 300 if you don't have that then do not apply to those programs). Also work on getting a different variety of volunteer hours (inpatient, aquatic, hippo, acute, subacute, etc). Best of luck, 20 is a lot of school and a lot of $$$, make sure you meet ALL requirements when applying!

Thank you for your input! I plan to get a lot more experience before I start applying to schools this fall. As far as the GRE goes, I did better on it the first time when I didn't study at all and then worse on the GRE the second time I took it after about 3 months of studying. I'm not sure if I will attempt to retake it again

 

[scrawnyguy]

Thank you for your input! I plan to get a lot more experience before I start applying to schools this fall. As far as the GRE goes, I did better on it the first time when I didn't study at all and then worse on the GRE the second time I took it after about 3 months of studying. I'm not sure if I will attempt to retake it again

To be honest if you don't retake the GRE you're going to have some trouble. Many schools set their minimum cutoff at 300. Many of the systems that schools use for admissions are pretty much automated. If you don't meet a certain threshold your application is more or less tossed and the committee won't even see it. Sorry if that comes off as blunt, but the harsh reality is you'll probably need to retake the GRE.

 

[Spintix357]

To be honest if you don't retake the GRE you're going to have some trouble. Many schools set their minimum cutoff at 300. Many of the systems that schools use for admissions are pretty much automated. If you don't meet a certain threshold your application is more or less tossed and the committee won't even see it. Sorry if that comes off as blunt, but the harsh reality is you'll probably need to retake the GRE.

Most of the schools on my list are ones that don't have a preference as far as a GRE score or they don't require the GRE. However, the list of school in California that I can apply to has been cut nearly in half due to not having 150/150 on my past GRE scores :/

 

[Ndebt]

"Get your GRE up" is kind of vague advice. You need to do that, but let me tell you HOW I went from your score to a 315. It's all in the GRE study books that you can buy to prepare for it. They are all relatively the same, but take an hour out of your day each and every day to read 1 chapter. I know the book is HUGE but you will be surprised how fast a chapter a day goes. You will learn how to answer every type of question quickly and even learn how the writers of the test come up with the questions. I used Kaplan I think but there are many.


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[kato3]

I used the GRE verbal workbook in addition to the general books to study, and my scores for the 2nd practice test I took around a week ago was really encouraging. When I first took the practice exam back in February, I didn't even break the 300 mark (145V 152 Q, 3A), but a week ago, I scored a 155V, 151Q (I dedicated so much time on the verbal section that I didn't really emphasize the quantitative section, so now I'm going over some concepts and doing more practice problems), and a 4.0 A. I can't stress how practice exams are beneficial. I'm taking my GRE on the 22nd of this month, so I'm pretty nervous and excited for it haha.

 

[apta_pharaoh]

GRE retake is a no brainer.

Get 100 more ours in another setting.

 

[1027453812]

I agree with all that has been said, but if time and money are tight and a GRE retake isnt plausible, I would start looking at programs that do not take into consideration this GRE - this reduces your PT school list quite a bit - but it may be something to consider.