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Need Tips for Improving GPA


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Congrats to everyone who was accepted this cycle!

Unfortunately I wasn't, but had low expectations during my first application cycle due to a low sGPA. I'm hoping to take more classes to improve my GPA for next cycle and was wondering if anyone could provide insight for:

1. taking classes through Athabasca University online courses (my university doesn't have a great selection of distance studies courses)

2. strengthening my experiences in the rehab field (I already have experience in a PT private practice clinic and acute hospital setting)

Any advice for my second application is greatly appreciated. Thanks! 

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I'd recommend taking elective classes in a topic you find interesting! I was very interested in psychology and took these as a gpa booster at my university. Also, try to work with a variety of client populations, as well as settings, I think this may be what helped me stand out in my application! (ie, stroke, MS, athletes, children). And definitely get someone to read over your submissions. I tried to make mine unique and highlight my specific strengths and experiences, as theres so many others that they are reading. 

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Also make sure the courses you are using to GPA boost actually will be used in GPA calculations for your chosen school. For example, when I did not get in to Dal Physio on my first try I took more kine-related courses that I thought would help my application since the degree I had just graduated from was Neuroscience-based. However when I contacted Dal Physio during the following application cycle they told me that they only courses they allow to upgrade your GPA once you graduate are 3000- 4000-level courses of your first degree. So of all the courses I took to boost my GPA that fall semester, the only applicable one was an upper year motor control course I was signed into because of my neuro background so it was almost a waste of time. Try to avoid 'bird' courses that they would look on your application and immediately say 'oh, she took COURSE WXYZ and got 95 but so did half the class and its not relevant to her field". 

 

Hope this helps !

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Just wanted to add that gaining a variety of PT experiences is important, but what I think is equally important is how you communicate what you learned from these experiences in your essays. I only have 2 directly-related PT volunteer positions in my resume, but in my Queen’s essays I wrote more about experiences that demonstrated what I learned in these settings and how they lead me to the PT profession. Good luck to you!

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