Army-Baylor PT Program

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I just had my phone interview this afternoon and at least for my interviewer, I was on his last day and one of the last time slots to interview. But things might very well be different for different interviewers. Don't worry just yet. The packets don't have to be complete and submitted until February 4th.

One interesting thing I found out from my interviewer today was that the faculty are divided in half each year. One half interviews (generally without packets in front of them) and the other half makes the decision as to who gets in. The only thing that the board sees is the notes written on the evaluation form filled out by your interviewer and the interviewers cannot talk to or in any way sway the decision of the board. That said, what they say and how they say it on your evaluation form will likely make a huge difference.

Good luck everyone!
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Have any of you been able to visit the school and do a tour? Ft Sam Houston is one of the few posts I haven't been to.
 
No, I haven't had a chance to visit, but from what I hear, the heat is one of the toughest parts, especially when you arrive for BOLC in September. Fire ants tend to be a problem during some of the activities as well. The graduates and current students I've spoken to have been very happy with with the amenities and resources available at Fort Sam. Almost all of your classes (for roughly 8 hours per day with an exam every Friday) will be held in one classroom and (I think this is right) the first and second years are generally on two separate floors. I know (from my interview) that the cadavers that students work with are already pro-sected and (I could be mistaken) but I think some cadavers are for PT students only.

That's all I've got for now (I'm in the dark as well). I have the opportunity to tag along with my wife on a trip to San Antonio at the end of February, but I'm not sure if I want to risk looking at the base before the admissions decisions have been made (it looks like we might start to hear word back on Feb. 21st).
 
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I'm not too worried about the heat. I'm on the tail end of my 2nd deployment to the desert. Plus all of my pre-deployment the last two deployments took place at Ft Bliss, TX. Former enlisted guys I know that have "gone over to the dark side" say BOLC is kinda a joke, especially for AMEDD. On one of the previous year's forums someone said they were actually able to go down and visit. I think they they were even able to go TDY (military speak for the Army paid for it). I'm not sure if he was military or civilian. We are already in the pay system so getting orders for such a trip would probably be easier for us. Once the recruiters are done with this application cycle I am going to look into it.
 
So I have a quick update after visiting the Eastern Medical Recruiting Station in Elkridge, MD to sign form DA-61. There are approximately 104 total confirmed submissions to the board this year (down a bit from the 120+ that were slated to be submitted due to waiver disqualifications). There are 20 spots for the Army, 4 for Navy/Air Force/Public Service (all of which will probably go to current servicemen/women). The Board finishes on February 14th and unofficially notifies recruiters almost immediately thereafter (though keep in mind that Army employees have a four-day weekend beginning on the 15th). Each recruiter is different and makes a case-by-case determination of whether he/she will notify the applicant of the Board's unofficial decision to admit (dependent on if there are any outstanding waivers (not medical, i.e. legal)). No indication was given as to when the official decisions are authorized to be disclosed. My guess would be beginning on either the 21st or 22nd.

I also learned how the Board (comprised of 5 faculty) makes its decision. Each member meets separately and using a scale from 1-10 rates each of the applicant's application components. The scores are then compared and the top applicants are given a place in the class (none of this is unique to the Army). Any ties are obviously debated and I was told that the results of the phone interview count a great deal. One otherwise good applicant from last year was denied admission based on the lack of professionalism and immaturity the interviewer felt she had demonstrated.

It looks as if the cut-off pre-req GPA for this year will be around 3.5 and could realistically be as high as 3.75-3.8.

That's all the info I have for now.
 
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3.5 isn't too bad. Hopefully that pattern keeps for next year. I'm around 3.8 right now but i would very much like to be above the average to be safe. Be sure to let us know how you do. I'm sure it's nerve racking.
 
I had to resign that last form a few days later because I forgot to include my middle name in my signature. Watch out for that! Also, I double checked when the board meets. It's on the 12th like you said. Darn! Oh well. It was nice to dream, wasn't it? :D
 
I had to drive to Seattle yesterday to resign the application because I too didn't sign my middle name, wish I'd known that the first time! I'm still curious about the number of applicants this year because in the western region there are 43, so I imagine there's at least 150 with the other four region's applicants. On a separate thought, did you all get some active duty hours in? I definitely think given the chance I would prefer it to civilian PT, even though one PT said he really didn't enjoy his year long deployment. I think I'd enjoy the amount of freedom and critical thinking a PT would have on deployment. I could do most anything for a year though to go to such an excellent program!
 
Thanks for letting me know about the need for the middle name in the signature on DA-61. I just contacted my recruiter to verify that my signature will need to be changed.

And NattyB, yes, I did get military-specific observation hours at Fort Knox (when I was living in Bloomington, Indiana). Since I had to drive quite a ways to get there, I was only able to go once a week and as such didn't get more than 45-50 hours of observation over about 12 weeks. But the time I did spend there definitely helped me understand some of the peculiarities of Army physical therapy.
 
Good luck to you all. Looks like we will all know real soon where we stand on this. I didn't think it could be as early as the 14th, that will defiantly be nice to know if they release the results that early.

From my experience with boards in the Army you find out pretty quick after they get done.

I'll be the old guy in the class if I get selected and see any of you there, if not, I'll be one of the old guys coming to you for help when you get done with school. After 15 years in the Army my parts are starting to wear out.
 
I'd love it if they called the recruiters the day they finish (i.e. the 14th), but I have a sneaking suspicious we won't find out officially until the following week (starting on Tuesday since they have a holiday on Monday). In any case, we're really really close!

I wish you the best of luck and hope to see you in the fall (or next fall if I don't get in this time).
 
Oh, and I also wanted to add that after going through the Army-Baylor website again, I'm pretty sure they updated the average prerequisite GPA for recently admitted applicants from 3.8 to 3.67. Definitely good news! (I'm stressing out, if you can't tell.)
 
That's surprising to hear about the GPA drop. That's a quite a decrease. I wonder why. PT school has been getting harder and harder to get into over the past couple of years. 3.8 was already high and I would've expected it to stay the same.
 
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My recruiter told me that the average GPA last year was 3.5 and the year before was 3.6, but I believe that was CUM and not PREREQ.
 
I know that Baylor has seen a marked increase in applicants (and presumably overall and prereq GPA) this year. The number that was being thrown around was 104 fully qualified applicants. Given that only 20 student will be accepted this year, that means CAPTE's claim that 50% of fully qualified students matriculate is very much off. Maybe the GPA calculation is off as well.

I think it's safe to say that Army-Baylor will continue to see more and more applicants with ever better GPA/GREs (like nearly every other program) and it will prove tougher and tougher to get accepted.
 
Actually, the class size is 24 if I recall correctly. You have to remember that some of those spots (and some of those applicants) are Navy and Air Force. Still, you're right that the 50% acceptance rate is pretty off.
 
i felt the need to chime in over. been mia for a few weeks. hope everyone had a great holiday and that your interviews went well. like many of you I had to roll down to Atlanta and resign a few papers, making sure all the i's were dotted and t's were crossed.

according to my recruiter, board meets Feb 12th. but because there are so many applicants it may be the first week of march before any word gets back. just extending the waiting game another couple of weeks.

my recruiter did share a story with me that i found extremely entertaining. an applicant (she wouldnt say male or female) applied last year, was accepted, and when it came time finalize everything, the applicant decided that they didnt want anything to do with the army. Why on earth would you apply to a DPT program that is thru the military if you dont want anything to do with it?
 
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Oh, my mistake, pegasus. I was referring to the number of direct commission spots available, but of course the remaining four active duty spots have to be included when talking about all 104 applicants.

And 3rdTimesACharm, I really hope we hear word back before the first week of March (though you're probably right, and we won't). And in reference to the applicant change of heart, I've heard that as well. I think maybe conversations between family members and friends happen (many of whom have a very narrow-minded view of the military) and maybe the applicant realizes just what sort of commitment he/she's signing on for. It's a bit like how getting married to someone should be ... in sickness and in health (hopefully not parting through death, though). It's a 100% lifestyle change and something that you have to be correspondingly 100% committed to.
 
Nailey, I hope its sooner than the first week of March as well. But unfortunately, its above our pay grade at his point and out of our hands.

I agree that one needs to understand the circumstances of what they are walking into and maybe having a change of heart at the last second is a strong possibity. I just find it hard to walk away from something that you put so much time and effort in to. Just my opinion.

Oh well. Today is the "expected" day and let the waiting games begin. Good luck to everyone.
 
Well, today the board meets and starts deciding our fates. Scary, but at least we all know our part is over, everything's in, and our packets are in front of them.

I can understand an applicant having a change of heart at the last minute, especially if there's something that changed in personal life. Maybe they or a spouse had a family member suddenly pass away while on active duty, and the idea of going into the same situation is traumatizing. Maybe a parent was diagnosed with a disease and needs their care, and the military lifestyle is suddenly not an option. If you're talking about irrational reasons, maybe they find out their spouse cheated on them with a military person, so suddenly the whole organization is home-wrecking and evil (Some people rationalize and assign blame in strange ways). Things happen. However, when it comes to the military commitment in general, unforeseen circumstances set aside, I know we thought, researched, and talked long and hard about that before even applying to make sure it was the right choice for us. Why apply if you don't know if you're willing to commit to it? It takes so much time and effort for both you and the recruiter that I honestly think it's a little rude (at least to the recruiter) to do it that way.

Speaking of how much time the recruiters have put in, don't forget to send them a little thank you, even if it's just an email or some Valentine's clearance candy. I can only imagine how stressed out they must be by this time. I bet it could really make their day.
 
That's a good analysis, pegasus. And there are definitely a lot of people I need to thank, regardless of the outcome.
 
Pegasus, very well said.

And there is a lot to say for all of the recruiters that spend countless hours with not only our individual packets, but all of the other health care related packets.

A thank you card/email is the least I could do to show my appreciation.
 
I think it's safer just to send an email. There are rules about accepting "gifts" while in the military. You wouldn't something to jeopardize your packets/acceptance this late in the process
 
Well, Tuesday at the earliest it is, then. The decisions have been made. Now we just have to wait.
 
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Well, good luck everyone. I'm excited to see who all makes it!:luck:
 
Hi Nailey... Tuesday at the earliest? No hope for today? This wait is killing me.
 
Yes, it looks like Tuesday would be the soonest we'd know. Army personnel (maybe all federal workers too - I'm not sure) have a four-day-weekend beginning today. But as 3rdTimesACharm said above, we might have to wait until the first week of March.
 
I just about s**t a brick when I got an e-mail notifying me of your post. I thought for sure someone had been called with an acceptance. Nope, no word yet. I looked at the thread from 2011 and notification began 6 days after the board concluded (that year they finished on a Friday and the following Thursday the selected were notified). If we've been accepted, we should hear this week. Otherwise, next week for OML and rejection.
 
Just got the call, I was selected! Hope you all hear good news soon.
 
Let me just be the first to say congratulations! (Can I ask what region you're in?)
 
Nailey, thanks a lot. I honestly still can't believe it.
 
And the long and the short of it is ... I GOT SELECTED! I'm in, baby!
 
Nailey13 said:
And the long and the short of it is ... I GOT SELECTED! I'm in, baby!
Click to expand...

Congrats Nailey!!!! I was nervous for you when you turned down your NAU interview. Looks like all your hard work has paid off! :D
 
For once putting all your eggs in one basket pays off. That's not good council in general, but this time, when it mattered, it worked for me. Thanks for the congrats.
 
Well, I just spoke with another applicant from the south central region who talked to our recruiter and its looking like we won't be hearing anything until closer to the end of February. I don't fully understand the process but it sounds like unofficial decisions are made and passed down to the recruiters. At that point it is the recruiters decision whether to notify the applicant of the unofficial decision or to wait until the decision is finalized. From what I understand our recruiter will be waiting for the final decision.

If anyone has a better grasp of this process please feel free to explain it.
 
Found out I didn't get in :( I tried my best and there's no regrets. Congratulations to those who made it. What were your stats? Mine are:
Pre-req GPA: 3.9
Overall GPA (BA and MA): 3.55
GRE: 156 Q, 155 V, 4.0 W
Hours: 160 (civilian hospital both inpatient and outpatient).
 
I'm so happy for you AT. I know how hard you've worked for this. It feels good, right?
 
Thanks Nailey! Congrats to you too! It feels amazing! So happy right now, can't even believe it!
 
Has anyone from the western region (CPT. Cisco) heard anything yet? The wait is killing me now that I know calls are being made! I'm wondering if it's because of my region. Still hoping and praying.

My sincere congratulations to everyone accepted!
 
Pegasus, you should call your recruiter and see if they'll give you the unofficial word.
 
Congratulations to all of you that were selected for this years class. I wish you all the best of luck in all of your future endeavours. i'm sure that each of you will make outstanding officers and physical therapists.
 
I got word back today, but by email rather than by phone. OML. I doubt there's going to be any people dropping, but like someone else said, no regrets!
 
I'm really sorry to hear that, pegasus. Will you try again next year?
 
We're debating. In order for me to try again next year, I would have to take the GREs again (I took them 5 years ago), probably take Bio 101 (since I doubt they would waive it again), and I would have to drive a long ways to put in volunteer hours at a military facility. If I did all that (and did well on the GREs), I would probably go from OML to acceptance, but I'm not sure if I want to wait another year. I'm already changing grad school programs by going into PT. It's been long enough since I graduated with my undergrad that I could have had another bachelor's by now or a doctorate. Things just didn't happen the way I originally thought, although it worked out for the better I think as far as my original plan was concerned. I have an acceptance to a civilian DPT program. We're going there unless Hell freezes over and someone turns down Baylor so we get a seat. I'm not sure if I would want to go to another program for a year and then start all over again at square 1 with Baylor's program the next year. I know it's just a year, but I'm getting a little impatient by now. I really just want to GET DONE. We need to just weigh the pros and cons and decide if it's worth the trouble to do all of the above to reapply.
 
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