What Exactly Constitutes Overall GPA?

[ibeliever]

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So a little about myself...

I attended a community college right out of high school. I managed to get a 3.4 GPA, completing my general ed classes and then transferred to a University within 2 years. At this University, I graduated with a BA in Sociology with a 3.01 GPA. Now, I am currently attending community college once again to fulfill all the prerequisite classes that I need to apply to PT school. (I took no science/prereq classes at my 4-year university). It's like starting from scratch, but I am motivated to excel with all the classes i have to take. I got a job last month as a physical therapy aide and am building my experience and observation hours.

Anyways, my question is how the PTCAS calculates the overall GPA.

Will my overall GPA be based upon both my University GPA and my prior transfer GPA from my community college?


Also, before transferring to my 4-year university, I completed statistics and a few psychology courses as part of the general ed curriculum. These courses are also listed under prerequisite requirements for many schools that I plan to apply to. Will these count or are they no longer eligible?

Your insight is greatly appreciated, along with any other advice you can give me! Do I even have a shot at PT school with my current GPA's? What if I were to get at least a 3.5 prereq GPA? Thanks!

 

[FuhLeePlay]

All of your undergrad classes are taken into account when calculating your overall gpa. Meaning both your classes from CC and uni. I'm in an extremely similar situation. Shoot me a message.

 

[okramango]

Every class you have taken at all of the schools you have gone to will be combined by PTCAS into your overall GPA. However, some schools will look only at the last 60 units you have taken and use that as your overall GPA. You just have to check with the programs where you plan to apply to see if they do this or not. I was in a similar situation (went to CC, then graduated from university, then later took my prereqs at another CC).

In terms of whether programs will accept your statistics and psych from your CC - it depends on the program. Some schools don't care how long ago you took a prereq, and some schools have a time limit. I had a couple of 10+ year old prereq classes when I applied, and it wasn't an issue for the schools I applied to. All of my science classes were recent, though. You just need to check with your individual programs to find out their requirements. It's often listed on their websites.

If your overall is above 3.0 and prereq above 3.5, you definitely have a shot. Make sure you have a strong overall application though (observation, LORs, essay, extra-curriculars, etc). Good luck!