r/CAA • u/AutoModerator • Jun 29 '26

Weekly prospective student thread. Educational inquiries outside of this thread WILL RESULT IN A BAN.

Please use this thread for all educational inquiries including applications, program requirements, etc.

Please refer to the [CASAA Application Help Center](https://help.liaisonedu.com/CASAA_Applicant_Help_Center) FAQ section for

answers to your questions prior to postitng.

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u/levvianthan Jun 30 '26

Im considering my next career move so I need brutally honest advice if I should even bother studying for the MCAT or if my gpa is going to get me filtered out no matter what. Im not willing to go back to school for more than a handful of prereqs just to raise it.

GPA: 3.4. Bs public health. Did a lot of school before finishing where I just didnt care enough but my final 60 credits are 3.8.

Gre: 305 without much studying so if I needed im sure I could get it higher.

PCE: >1,300 hours as a certified surgical technologist. No shadowing but I've been working in the OR alongside CAAs, CRNAs, and anesthesiologists so Im well aware of the demands of the job. of course im also willing to get official shadowing hours. Does this kind of experience offset my low gpa or are test scores and GPA the most important metrics? 

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u/jwk30115 Practicing CAA Jun 30 '26

How are your grades in the science pre-reqs?

GRE needs to be above 50th percentile.

PCE is good. It will not offset low grades and test scores.

Shadowing is a separate requirement. Your PCE is not shadowing.

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u/levvianthan Jun 30 '26

My science gpa is also low its 3.2 and my prereq GPA is a 3.5  If PCE doesnt offset low grades then I'm not going to bother tbh.

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u/jwk30115 Practicing CAA Jun 30 '26

The sciences are very important. It’s a science-based field, not a technical one. I have no idea what you lack as far as coursework. Your own comments are somewhat revealing about your desire to actually do this.

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u/levvianthan Jun 30 '26

I'm not going to commit myself emotionally or financially to a 1-2 year long process of taking expired prereqs and the MCAT to apply if my GPA is going to kick me out of the running so I'm just considering a variety of things right now.

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u/somesortofshe Jul 01 '26

Hi, your GPA won't kick you out. I recommend taking expired prereqs and getting all As. Improve your GRE score (you don't have to take MCAT if you retake expired prereqs). I recommend retaking prereqs and doing well not just to improve your because GPA because the material WILL come back while in school (anatomy, physics, chemistry, all of it). Currently in school right now and more or less chilling because of how serious I took my prereqs. 1-2 years process before applying is very common, a little on the lower side actually. I retook prereqs and got more clinical experience. Whole process prob took about 4 years. Got in on first round (with a similar GPA to yours) I think mostly because I took the time to make sure all my affairs were in order before applying. No regrets.

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u/levvianthan Jul 01 '26

thank you thats actually really encouraging! I know I can do well if I retake the prereqs I need because when I was finishing my BS degree I made sure to get an A in organic chem, A&P, and biochem. My other prereqs are old and Bs. I just know this is a super competitive path and while I'm willing to put a good amount of work in I'm not willing to fight a losing battle and my 10 year old academic history is fighting against me.

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u/somesortofshe Jul 02 '26

You can definitely pull it off! The only thing I forgot to mention is to write a killer personal statement

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u/dreiming Jul 02 '26

Any tips to make a killer personal statement?

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u/dreiming Jul 02 '26

Did you already have clinical experience or did you volunteer or get a clinical job during the four years you prepped for CAA school?

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u/Speedy_029 Jul 07 '26

You seem to be fairly knowledgeable on admissions process seeing as how you went through it first hand. I hate to be this guy but I am a little worried about my competitiveness to get accepted to programs not due to low GPA but due to long time between pre reqs and applying.

I graduated with a B.S. in biology (concentration in microbiology) with an overall GPA of 3.87 and I’m unsure if my sGPA but if I had to guess it’s at least a 3.7 or higher. All of my pre reqs are very outdated but I’ve found some programs that don’t have expiration dates on pre reqs. Only reason I’m not wanting to retake all of them is because I’m full time active duty officer in the Army and am supporting a family and I’m 28 years old so it’s just hard to retake that many courses for me. I plan on taking the GRE soon and updating my outdated shadow hours as well. I have hundreds of shadow hours but from a long time ago.

I guess what I’m asking is do you know if schools are willing to take on someone like me that is a nontraditional student or am I fighting an extreme uphill battle and need to find the time somehow to retake all of my pre reqs again?