Who else will be a member of the Third Time Applicant Club for the upcoming cycle?
Posted by FutureAA on May 1, 2012, 9:37 pm
I am gearing up to apply for the third consecutive time to AA programs this summer and was just wondering if anyone else was in the same boat. The competitiveness of AA program admissions has definitely intensified over the last few cycles. My GPA is just shy of 3.6, and I was told by the admissions staff at Nova that my GPA was flat-out uncompetitive for the most recent cycle. According to Sharon Fischer at South, the average matriculant's GPA for their most recent admissions cycle was close to a 3.65.
For those who are eager to insist that admission to AA programs has always been competitive, keep in mind that for many years, the average accepted GPA at most programs hovered somewhere in the range of 3.3 - 3.4.
At this point, I can't do much to improve my GPA since I have already graduated with a B.S. degree, so it looks like my primary focus will be on re-taking and improving my GRE score. I am also actively searching every day for an entry-level job at all the local hospitals. Believe it or not, though, I was informed by a faculty member at Nova's program that healthcare experience isn't a significant criterion for determining which applicants will be granted interview invites. They specifically stated that GPA and GRE scores are the primary two factors that are evaluated. That really surprised me; I figured that having even just 6 months to a year of experience in a job involving some degree of patient contact would substantially improve an applicant's chances of being granted an interview.
So who else will be applying for their third (or fourth... or fifth...) admissions attempt? What are you doing to strengthen your application? I understand that for many individuals, there really isn't that much more that a re-applicant can do to improve their application after they've already improved and re-applied several times in a row, so I guess that for some of us, it's really time to start getting creative.
Good luck to everyone in the upcoming cycle!
Re: Who else will be a member of the Third Time Applicant Club for the upcoming cycle?
Keep in mind that, even though Nova told me that my GPA (3.59) was "not competitive," they didn't actually tell me what the average matriculant's GPA was. Now that I'm reminded, I think I'll ask them...
Yeah, I was surprised at how high the average matriculant GPA was for South's most recent cycle. I would encourage you to contact Sharon Fischer at South University and get the information directly from her; my memory could be faulty, but I'm pretty she said the average matriculant GPA was between 3.64-3.65.
I wouldn't say that you don't have a chance; several posters here have applied with outstanding numerical attributes and didn't receive interview offers, so who knows if that's really all they look for.
It is kind of frustrating to see that Emory hasn't updated the matriculant statistics on their webpage for a class that matriculated any more recently than 2010; in other words, those GPA/GRE statistics only describe the competitiveness of those who applied during the summer/fall of 2009.
I'm very curious to know the matriculant statistics for their most recent entering class -- their program, like all the others, it seems, has become more competitive than ever...
Re: Who else will be a member of the Third Time Applicant Club for the upcoming cycle?
I can't say I'm a member, but it's interesting. I plan on applying to some places after January. Do you know if this average GPA of 3.65 is for cumulative GPA or for required courses?
Re: Who else will be a member of the Third Time Applicant Club for the upcoming cycle?
I have now made plans to pursue a career as a CRNA. There are a number of "direct-entry" MSN programs not too far from where I live that start classes in January. The program I am strongly considering attending grants a BSN after the first year, and for the last 1-2 years of the program, you earn an MSN as a Nurse Practitioner and work as an RN. For the work portion, I plan to work as an ICU RN. Also, I have been told by a number of CRNA programs that they will accept transfer credit for MSN "foundation" courses (I.e., courses that students in any MSN program take, whether NP or CRNA).
If I go through the aforementioned nursing program, I can be starting CRNA school exactly 2-3 years from this January, and in addition, I'll be able to transfer a number of credits so that I would only be taking a couple classes per semester in CRNA school and might even be able to graduate early.
I will still apply to AA schools for the third time and see what happens, but considering that I just can't seem to bring my GRE quantitative score above the 45th percentile, I seriously doubt it's going to happen. What's so ironic is that my GRE quantitative score happens to be the average at most CRNA programs...
Re: Who else will be a member of the Third Time Applicant Club for the upcoming cycle?
on May 1, 2012, 9:37 pm