DPT in under 3 years?

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spchipmunk31

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Hi all,

I am considering going to PT school. I've been out of undergrad for several years and was not in a math or science major, as a result I have A LOT of prereqs to complete first. I will be working full time while I start to chip away at those prereqs which means I'll only be taking 1-2 classes at a time. Since I'll be working on the prereqs for quite sometime, I'm eager to get in out of school as quickly as possible. I'm trying to gather information on DPT programs that can be completed in less then three years. I already know about Delaware, St. Augustine, and Drexel. Are there any other accredited DPT programs that are less than 3 years? If you're already enrolled in on of these schools any feedback about those programs? Thanks in advance for your help!

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Thanks Azimuthal! Quick follow up question: does anyone know whether any state schools offer a DPT in under 3 years? So far all the shorter programs I have seen are extremely expensive :/
 
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Franklin Pierce University is 2 1/2 years, but it's expensive and are given less vacation time (sometimes no break between terms)
 
Drexel is 2.5 years and can be cheap if you get a substantial scholarship
 
This doesn't directly answer your question, but I was in the same boat as you. I majored in economics/political science, so I also had a ridiculous list of prereqs to take after being out of school for several years (as in all of them). After chipping away at at a couple of classes for 1.5 years and realizing it would take 4-5 years at that rate, I decided I would quit my job and knock them all out in a single year living off of loans (not ideal, but I didn't have any undergrad debt). Turns out, my company offered to let me work 30 hours a week in a reduced role and still keep benefits, which kept my loans minimal during this time. Maybe put some feelers out there to see if you might be able to get some flexibility in your work schedule to knock out courses at a faster rate to give you more options in programs when the time comes. It's often easier for your company to keep you in some capacity than train someone brand new. Oh, I took all classes on Tue/Thurs with a mix of online for non-lab courses and worked Mon/Wed/Fri with a few extra hours during quarter ends. Hope this helps and hang in there! It's a long road (still took me 3 years of pre-reqs), and you really question yourself at times, but it's so worth it once you get an acceptance. Best of luck!
 
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Thanks Azimuthal! Quick follow up question: does anyone know whether any state schools offer a DPT in under 3 years? So far all the shorter programs I have seen are extremely expensive :/

NAU is currently restructuring their curriculum so that it will be pretty close to 2.5 years, but it's not set in stone yet. Extremely difficult school to get in to chances wise though, especially if you are out of state.

As far as saving yourself time, going to school full time for a year to get pre-reqs done, even if you have to borrow some money, will be higher yield than banking on saving yourself 4-6 months by attending a slightly shorter PT school...and if you can get in to your state school that probably the better way to go due to the massive cost difference.
 
Hey, I don't know the details of your life but I'm currently 31 and decided to pursue physical therapy when I was 28. I was an econ major in college and worked in finance for 6 years. I was not math or science guy either, although it sounds like I might have been luckier than you because I took my calc courses when I was an undergrad (unnecessarily. I was an idiot as an undergrad.) I did my prereqs as a full time student in 1.5 years. I am currently scheduled to start my DPT program this June.

I hope you find a good 2 year program, but if there's a good local 3 year program I would suggest going that route to save money.
 
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Wow, thank you so much everyone for your input and advice. This has been really helpful. I'm still interested in learning about 2 year programs, but I'm now exploring taking a part time job so I can complete my prereqs quicker. I'm a little nervous about not working full time for so many years, but it sounds like ultimately completing prereqs quickly and doing a 3 year program would be cheaper and take less time overall. Thanks so much again! Any further input/weigh ins are welcome!!
 
NAU is currently restructuring their curriculum so that it will be pretty close to 2.5 years, but it's not set in stone yet. Extremely difficult school to get in to chances wise though, especially if you are out of state.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this change goes through by the time classes start in the fall.
 
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For the record there aren't any "2 year programs". The shortest there is is like 7 trimesters or approximately 2.25 years. Most that are under 3 are 2.5 or 2.75 or something like that. I'm just nit picking but just wanted to be sure there's no confusion.
 
One last tidbit. If you haven't had the chance to observe yet, I'd jump on that soon. Not only can you make sure it's what you want to do, there is so little time for shadowing when you work an office job and are taking classes. Might as well start racking up those hours now. :thumbup:
 
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For the record there aren't any "2 year programs". The shortest there is is like 7 trimesters or approximately 2.25 years. Most that are under 3 are 2.5 or 2.75 or something like that. I'm just nit picking but just wanted to be sure there's no confusion.

That new for-profit South College :X.
 
Thanks DesertPT. Camiosyz: I was just thinking it would be great to start shadowing a PT soon, it would definitely be helpful before I make the commitment to go down this path. Is it weird to ask to shadow somewhere before I even start taking pre req classes?
 
Is it weird to ask to shadow somewhere before I even start taking pre req classes?

Not at all. Nobody you shadow needs to know this. You just say you are a pre-PT student and go from there. Lots of good reading to be found on the subject of observations hours here on the forums that you can easily find with a search.
 
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