I am going back to school for a career change and after some careful deliberating I've chosen physical therapy. My problem is that during my first tenure in school I was more concerned with the social aspect more so than school and for the profession I was going into -law enforcement- grades really didn't matter. With that being said, my grades weren't bad but they weren't great. My cum gpa is 2.86. I'm going back to my old university to get some of the prereqs completed that I don't have. I do have around 6 prereq classes already done but my grades in them were C's or B's. Most of the classes I need are science and math related. I know I can get A's, as I stated before I just didn't really try the first time around. The graduate school web sites advise not to retake classes you've already had if you earned a C. However, I will have my prerequisite classes and volunteer work done in a year and even with earning all A's my cum GPA may climb to around 3.2. I guess my question is should I go back and retake 4-5 classes I've already had and extend my undergrad to 2 more years? I kind of want to get started in grad school asap since I'm 26 now and would be 30 by the time I get out. If anyone was in my situation before in regards to returning to school with mediocre grades the first time around I would love to hear from you or if anyone has a similar gpa and got accepted into grad school. I'm not going to be taking the GRE's for at least 10 months but I will have good recommendations. Sorry to be so long winded but I want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for failure since I'm in a hole in regards to the GPA.
My suggestion to you would be finish out your current pre-reqs (get A's) and apply this fall to schools. It honestly depends on the school as to how heavily they weight your gpa; and the pool they have the year you apply. If you do not get accepted don't be discouraged and retake those other classes you are thinking about taking and reapply. I have a similar gpa and am currently wait-listed at the school of my choice. That means I wasn't good enough to get a YES, but it wasn't "bad" enough for a "NO" either. Most PT schools are also looking for well rounded people, ones that have experienced life/diversity and show dedication, if you have volunteer hours and good references that will help. Also if your schools have you write essays put into it about how you have grown and how you take life/school more seriously then when you were in undergraduate.
