GPA vs. Health Care Experience for PA school?

[nnhv34]

Hey Everyone,

I've been researching this for a while, and have been going back and forth in between my head - but when I found this forum, I figured I'd ask you guys what you thought.

I'm currently a senior at my university, graduating with two degrees (sociology and public health science). My GPA is very low (by low, I mean approximately a 2.5, which I am assuming my science GPA is around as well). This semester, I am hoping that my grades will slightly increase, as I am already doing better than past semesters - although that obviously doesn't say much yet. I am hoping to end the semester with a 2.8.

On the other hand, I've been certified as an EMT and have been involved with EMS on my college campus for almost 3 years. I recently also completed a one and a half year program which bumped me up to an EMT-Critical Care (very similar to a paramedic certification - but 1 or 2 less things you can do independently). I've moved up in my ambulance company as well, and am a certified emergency vehicle operator, as well as a primary patient care leader. I've been shadowing two doctors for approximately a year at the hospital near my university. Lastly, I am doing a Global Medical Brigades program this winter where we go to the Honduras for a week and help create a sustainable water system for them. Not sure if it counts, but I've also held part-time jobs all throughout college.

My question is....I know my GPA is extremely low, and is a major red flag on my application. I'm not saying my healthcare experience is superb, but I figure it should count for something, if anything at all. Should I even bother applying to PA school at this point? Or should I focus on getting either a masters or post-bacc in order to increase my GPA? Would me getting a good GRE score change anything?

Any advice you could give would be really appreciated! Thanks in advance.

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[Dranger]

Hey Everyone,

I've been researching this for a while, and have been going back and forth in between my head - but when I found this forum, I figured I'd ask you guys what you thought.

I'm currently a senior at my university, graduating with two degrees (sociology and public health science). My GPA is very low (by low, I mean approximately a 2.5, which I am assuming my science GPA is around as well). This semester, I am hoping that my grades will slightly increase, as I am already doing better than past semesters - although that obviously doesn't say much yet. I am hoping to end the semester with a 2.8.

On the other hand, I've been certified as an EMT and have been involved with EMS on my college campus for almost 3 years. I recently also completed a one and a half year program which bumped me up to an EMT-Critical Care (very similar to a paramedic certification - but 1 or 2 less things you can do independently). I've moved up in my ambulance company as well, and am a certified emergency vehicle operator, as well as a primary patient care leader. I've been shadowing two doctors for approximately a year at the hospital near my university. Lastly, I am doing a Global Medical Brigades program this winter where we go to the Honduras for a week and help create a sustainable water system for them. Not sure if it counts, but I've also held part-time jobs all throughout college.

My question is....I know my GPA is extremely low, and is a major red flag on my application. I'm not saying my healthcare experience is superb, but I figure it should count for something, if anything at all. Should I even bother applying to PA school at this point? Or should I focus on getting either a masters or post-bacc in order to increase my GPA? Would me getting a good GRE score change anything?

Any advice you could give would be really appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Just curious how you got that low of a GPA for sociology and public health? Did something traumatic happen? Sociology should have been a 4.0 all around.

The EMS experience is good, keep it up. Yes, I would take post bacc classes and redo those subjects you struggled in to show you can handle PA school.

 

[primadonna22274]

PA-C for 12 yr, PA faculty for a few of those, and have participated in adcoms for 3 very different PA programs.
Sorry to tell you that GPA will screen you out everywhere. Pretty much the lowest to make the pre-screen is 2.9, and it's only getting more competitive. If the GPA is that low in what most of us consider unchallenging courses, the situation is much worse.
Time management problems? Difficulty focusing or no sense of direction? All of these faults can be remedied but you're gonna have to fix them BEFORE PA school.
Your HCE is nice, but still on the low end hours-wise. Perhaps if you kept up the EMT gig for a couple more years and took challenging courses to boost your GPA overall and sciences, you may have a chance. I wish you the best.