Just Applied But Need Advice

[patford28]

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Hey guys, I'm in quite a predicament with my current situation. Heres my story.

I am a 5th year senior at Iowa State University and I took the extra year to retake a bunch of my prereqs. My GPA was below what it needed to be, I started off in a different major so those classes were my last concern. Luckily I retook those classes and got my overall GPA up to a 3.11 and my prereq around 3.2.

Unfortunately, When you submit your transcripts to PTCAS they average the scores of your retakes. That being said, when schools look at my application they will see an overall of 2.96 and prereq of 2.71. My GRE was a 310 with a writing score of 4.5, I have 120+ hours of observation, 4 solid references, and what I believe to be a good personal statement. I'm worried that schools won't realize how hard I worked to get my grades up. So I have a few questions.

Do all schools average retakes?

Are there schools with lower GPA requirements?

What do you think my chances are?

Any comments would help!

 

[Rgvmed]

This is entirely school specific as it will vary from program to program. Some schools will automatically disqualify you for not meeting the 3.0 minimum, if that is their policy. Some schools do not have this requirement (which I would recommend focusing on). However, if you did indeed apply to schools that have a 3.0 CUMULATIVE gpa requirement, you should e-mail them immediately and let them know of your concern and that it was a genuine misunderstanding on their end. They may be willing to let you slide. Remember, there are a lot of programs out there that focus on the last 30,60, or 90 credit hours. It's unfortunate but I had to work hard to pull mine above a 3.0 as well, you are not the only one trust me. Your GRE is above average so that should help. If you apply to enough schools, say 10 or more, you will most likely get accepted to one.

 

[DesertPT]

This question has been answered dozens of times, if you search the forum or just Google search you will find all the information you need.

Needless to say, you are going to have to look up and/or call each program you want to apply to and find out what there process for retakes is. There are numerous different methods various schools use.

 

[starrsgirl]

If they say 3.0, you will likely receive a quick rejection. They honestly won't look past the gpa at any other part of your application. In my experience if the website said "minimum 3.0 gpa" that was a hard line vs "recommend 3.2" or something (often those schools could go lower). You might be able to ask about specific schools here too to see what people know. I would call though. It might not be good news but at least you will know.

 

[Dragon416]

If they say 3.0, you will likely receive a quick rejection. They honestly won't look past the gpa at any other part of your application. In my experience if the website said "minimum 3.0 gpa" that was a hard line vs "recommend 3.2" or something (often those schools could go lower). You might be able to ask about specific schools here too to see what people know. I would call though. It might not be good news but at least you will know.

Every time I see your display name, I always sing the song by Tank called Stars girl lol.

 

[starrsgirl]

^^^i need to look it up! "Starr" is a family name.

 

[patford28]

This question has been answered dozens of times, if you search the forum or just Google search you will find all the information you need.

Needless to say, you are going to have to look up and/or call each program you want to apply to and find out what there process for retakes is. There are numerous different methods various schools use.

I've seen the numerous other threads but have yet to see information about the averaging of retakes. If you take my replacement grades, I am above a 3.0. If you average them, then I am below. Do you know why schools average them?

 

[DesertPT]

I meant the question has been answered in that the answer is: you need to contact each school. I don't know why they average them. I don't really know how they come up with any of the admissions criteria they do, its just something you have to deal with for each school you want to apply to.

 

[starrsgirl]

Again, just purely from my experience with the schools I applied to.....all my schools used the PTCAS calculations directly (as in the averaged grades). I agree, it sucks. I was a "failed" pre med years ago so all the classes came back to haunt me even though I had straight As in all my pre reqs (I had to retake them anyway because my others were too old).

 

[patford28]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I sent e-mails to all the schools I applied to and look deeper into the requirements. It looks like some will take the replacement grades for 2, 3, or even all retakes. All there is left to do is wait for their responses. I may look into schools who weigh the GPA of the last 60 or so credits.

 

[SwampPT]

PTCAS always gives you the lowest possible GPA. There are plenty of schools that look at your grade trend or your last 60 hours. I'm in the same boat. My grades from 20 years ago bring me down to a 3.06 while my last 60 hours is a 3.93. Also, get a prescription of antianxiety pills because every program takes glee in making you wait for an answer 🙂