What to do, need advice

[TheKingofSwing]

Hello, I am a recent B.A Biology graduate. I am very interested in PA school and it has been my dream for a long time now. However, my cumulative GPA stands at about 3.3 and my science GPA is about 3.08. These do not bode well for me. I never did poorly in my classes, except O-chem 2 with a D and physiology C. Most of my upper level work are Bs.

I have taken the GRE and have scored 157 V, 147 Q, 4.0AW
These scores aren't very impressive either.

Right now I work at an assisted living facility as a CNA and will have 1000 hours in about 2 weeks.

My recommendation letters will be from my advisor and head of the bio department at my college and 2 supervisors at work, one which is a RN, the other I believe is a LPN.

What I am really looking for is advice about what I should do. I have 3 plans.

#1. To try my luck and apply to PA school this cycle.
I am tempted to try and apply but it isn't really cheap and I really do not think I stand much of a chance. Has anyone ever heard of anyone being accepted with these stats? I really don't want to waste my time if this is totally impossible and would appreciate any input.

#2. Go for a MSN degree at a local college.
The program is 26 months and I believe it would allow me to raise my GPA, as I know I will be a more diligent student this time around, and also I would be in a position to gain great healthcare experience as a RN. The downside of this is that it is 26 months and it is quite expensive ~40k. I also want to know if this is even worth doing in your opinion.

#3. Go for a MA certification or EMT.
This would allow me to work in a better career than the one I am currently in, CNAs get paid the worst of the 3, and from what I have read MA and EMT experience tends to be looked at as higher grade experience than CNA for PA programs. I would ideally also retake some science classes to raise my GPA while working as one of these.

Any advice would be appreciated. I really could use some guidance. I'm not looking for someone to tell me I should have done better, I want people to tell me what they would do in my situation. Thank you all who respond!

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[pamac]

I would NOT put 40k into something that may not even pay off.... Period. I'd scratch getting the masters degree. But I would go back and retake courses that you got less than a B minus in. Then I'd take additional coursework that was heavy in the science. If you could become an EMT or lpn or higher, you could obtain some experience that would help with a narrative and make you stand out a little. You can get into pa school with gpa like you've got, but you'll probably need to have some decent hce to go along with it. But the masters degree is just a money pit. A lot of programs out there offer them to appeal to folks like yourself... Folks who feel like they have some academic blemishes they need to overcome. I'd just take some heavy science coursework, retake the gre if it's below average, and get hce.

 

[Makati2008]

I would NOT put 40k into something that may not even pay off.... Period. I'd scratch getting the masters degree. But I would go back and retake courses that you got less than a B minus in. Then I'd take additional coursework that was heavy in the science. If you could become an EMT or lpn or higher, you could obtain some experience that would help with a narrative and make you stand out a little. You can get into pa school with gpa like you've got, but you'll probably need to have some decent hce to go along with it. But the masters degree is just a money pit. A lot of programs out there offer them to appeal to folks like yourself... Folks who feel like they have some academic blemishes they need to overcome. I'd just take some heavy science coursework, retake the gre if it's below average, and get hce.

Agreed

 

[TheKingofSwing]

You actually think I could stand a chance of getting in with a slightly improved GPA?

 

[pamac]

If you get in (or at least interview) it won't be because you went to grad school to improve your gpa. I went to pa school interviews with gpa similar to yours (didn't get into my first choice and scrapped the other interviews to go to RN school). However, I had a lab science degree BS on top of the biology degree, and 3000 hours hce in the lab setting when I applied. My gpa that was similar to yours was from just my biology undergrad degree, and my science from my lab science degree was for the most part fine. I took the old gre, so I have no idea whether your scores are decent or not. But from what I've seen, an applicant usually has to bank either on getting excellent grades and getting into a program that usually doesn't care about HCE, or get decent grades and HCE, and applying to an old school program that wants seasoned students. Obviously the best bet would be to get great grades and hce, but if you don't have great stats, then you might have a shot at school if you get some decent hce. But I applied a few years ago, so it's a good chance that things have gotten more competitive in the meantime.

If you go to grad school and don't get in to PA school, what do you do then?

 

[TheKingofSwing]

Well if I went to grad school, presumably for a MSN degree, I would be able to work as a RN afterwards which would be the worst care scenario. I guess I view it as a sort of failure insurance in a way. It just seems like I would have to raise my current GPA so substantially that it would be very cost prohibitive to just take classes piecemeal and see benefit or guarantee of acceptance. As far as HCE goes is my experience as a CNA in an assisted living facility really looked down upon or something? No one seems to be acknowledging that. On the plus side I have an interview for a CNA position at a very well regarded hospital tomorrow and I'm sure that would be better HCE than assisted living.