Is worrying about getting into PT school more or less stressful than actual PT school?

[cammoon23]

Let's say you're a junior trying to get all of your hours, ecs, and keeping your grades up. Every time I receive a new grade my heart starts beating fast. I needlessly pull all nighters even if I know the material. I'm turning grey!!


Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the constant gride and hustle. Its weird but I enjoy being extra productive. I'm assuming most PT students go through this so which is most stressful? Undergrad, + PT related stuff, or PT school?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DesertPT]

If you told me I could become a PT by repeating the last 3 years as a pre-PT again instead of going to PT school, I would choose PT school every day and twice on Sundays.

 

[BiffTheFlashRogers]

I think that's the general consensus. PT school is by no means easy, but it should at least be more enjoyable material than all of the pre-pt hoops we have to jump through.

Then again, most of us on this forum are PRE-PT, so hopefully an actual current student can come by an give their input

 

[swolecat]

I'm a first year PT student and it's way busier. Way, way busier than undergrad in my opinion. You think you'll like it more because it's applicable to your job but it sure doesn't seem to be the consensus here! We all hate school however they have clinical affiliations interspersed throughout to remind you that you still wanna be a PT

 

[PT2Bee]

It sounds like you're just a high stress individual lol....I often sit back and long about the good ole' undergrad days. There's no sliding by in PT school. It's 100% effort all the time to prevent yourself from falling behind.

 

[DesertPT]

For the past couple of years between classes/homework/studying, pre-PT bull crap and working a job I have been fully booked for probably 50-55 hours a week on average. You guys really think most PT students spend more than 55 hours a week in class and/or studying? Assuming you don't hold a job during PT school, I don't feel like the time commitment is that big of a change for me. It's just a shift from committing that amount of time to a variety of activities to committing it to one thing all the time. And I guess that will eventually drive me as bonkers as pre-PT has...

 

[SwampPT]

Let's say you're a junior trying to get all of your hours, ecs, and keeping your grades up. Every time I receive a new grade my heart starts beating fast. I needlessly pull all nighters even if I know the material. I'm turning grey!!


Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the constant gride and hustle. Its weird but I enjoy being extra productive. I'm assuming most PT students go through this so which is most stressful? Undergrad, + PT related stuff, or PT school?

That's a really good question. I have been holding out hope that working a full time job and going to school full time will turn out to be more difficult and stressful than PT school. If it is I'm golden. I hope we get more current PT students to chime in.

 

[okramango]

PT school is by far the most stressful thing I've ever done. But at least it's getting me somewhere that I want to be, so in that sense it's probably better (though it's often easy to forget that during the neverending daily grind).

 

[kcrat21]

PT school has been intermittently stressful (i.e. studying for huge exams) but I've definitely had time to relax and have fun as well, EVEN WITH working a part-time (but almost full-time) job and having a husband/young child in the mix. I think it's because you will genuinely enjoy what you're learning when you get here. I don't know a single PT student who just absolutely loved taking physics for the fun of it. PT school is hard, but you're not going to die. And it will be way worth it in the end. So, no, you could not pay me enough money to go through the PT school application process ever ever again. Ever. (And that's WITH the ridiculous student loan debt I have...)

 

[1027453812]

I honestly think PT school is no different than undergrad. It was already mentioned in a previous post that instead of putting your time into several assets, you are now putting all your eggs into a single basket. Secondly, I find PT school to be far, far more rewarding - you now get the chance to share your success with your fellow classmates - you will work, struggle, and succeed together, making those experiences far, far more rewarding.

It's one hell of a ride

 

[DesertPT]

I don't know a single PT student who just absolutely loved taking physics for the fun of it.

Lol, I don't think there has ever been one. 8am physics labs every week for a year with TAs who could hardly speak English was definitely one of the more painful hoops I had to jump through

 

[brooklynyc]

Lol, I don't think there has ever been one. 8am physics labs every week for a year with TAs who could hardly speak English was definitely one of the more painful hoops I had to jump through

If I never see another circuit in my life I'll be happy.

 

[okramango]

If I never see another circuit in my life I'll be happy.

Aaaaahhh, I forgot about those! Ok, it's official, PT school is waaay better than Pre-PT

 

[Rgvmed]

I think it depends on how stressful your undergrad career was. If you only took the prereqs and they were at a community college, PT school will probably slap you in the face. If you are use to a full-time science load of courses/labs/research it is probably not quite as eye opening. I also think it depends on your PT school as well. Okramango is at TWU, which is notorious for being like the nazi bootcamp of PT schools as far as course load goes. However, their graduates are very highly regarded...program is top notch. Some schools will be more lax.

 

[VitaminPT]

This is dependent on what your "Pre-PT" was...

 

[TheIron]

I honestly think PT school is no different than undergrad. It was already mentioned in a previous post that instead of putting your time into several assets, you are now putting all your eggs into a single basket. Secondly, I find PT school to be far, far more rewarding - you now get the chance to share your success with your fellow classmates - you will work, struggle, and succeed together, making those experiences far, far more rewarding.

It's one hell of a ride

Honestly I think pre-PT is so stressful because you need to be on top of so many things, instead of just one. Right now as I am working full time, taking classes, volunteering, and studying for the GRE I am beyond excited to condense all those into one big thing with PT school. I feel like organizing my time to do all of these things is a whole job in itself! Then again, I am not an SPT so I have nothing to compare pre-PT to

 

[futuredpt01]

2nd year student here. PT school more stressful hands down

 

[DesertPT]

2nd year student here. PT school more stressful hands down

PT school is probably more stressful overall, but definitely not more obnoxious and unpleasant than pre-pt

 

[uncwpt2018]

I just finished my first month of PT school right now, and it is WAY more stressful than undergrad was for me.
Class from 9-5 with 1 hour for lunch plus reading and studying at least 3 hours a day on top of that just to keep up with classes. Weekends are when we get most of our actual studying done. There's still time to relax at night and on the weekends, but none of us feel like there's a lot of free time. We are taking gross and functional anatomy along with a psychology class right now.
In undergrad I didn't need to spend more than a couple days studying for a test, but now there's never a day where I don't study.
BUT it's all really interesting and you want to learn it! It's all valuable information that sets the foundation, so it's definitely worth it which helps keep us motivated.

 

[BNDPT]

Hands down, PT school. But that could vary from person to person, so don't let that scare you. Haha. If you got in, then you definitely could do it; hence why you got in. I just went 360 deg in a sentence. Hold on, let me grab my coffee...

 

[ktachiba]

This is one of the few instances where I'm glad I'm a non-trad cuz, while taking pre-reqs these past couple years, I have learned to study everyday (and actually don't mind it anymore!). When I was an undergrad, I would cram and still pull off decent grades, but I was nowhere the nerd I am today haha. When I was in my late teens/early 20's I still wanted to have fun, but now I just want to start my career and focus on achieving my goals.

 

[a7rcana]

I just finished my first month of PT school right now, and it is WAY more stressful than undergrad was for me.
Class from 9-5 with 1 hour for lunch plus reading and studying at least 3 hours a day on top of that just to keep up with classes. Weekends are when we get most of our actual studying done. There's still time to relax at night and on the weekends, but none of us feel like there's a lot of free time.

Agreed as someone heading into 2nd year this fall. Undergrad/science pre-reqs/everything I had to get done for pre-pt never felt like this amount of stress!

 

[Romazicon]

For myself as a 1st year PT student, I found my time in undergrad to be more stressful. Mainly because I was worried about keeping the 4.0, finding what I was going to do, and then observing and prepping for PT school apps and ask people for favors and then pick the schools to apply. Oh man, that was stressful..and it wasn't until I got an acceptance, and then another one, and then another one when my stress level went down to ZERO!

Then PT school started and I'm at school from 6am to 7pm Monday - Friday and at least 12-15 hrs on the weekend. So yeah, you spend TONS of time studying, but you're already in PT school. There's no competition (some playful competition here and there) and you're just trying to survive. Grades aren't as important here than undergrad. It's been stressed that it's better to make a B and make sure you learn the material to retain the information than to get an A by cramming (although it'll be hard) on a weekend and then forget all of it afterwards.

I love PT school. It's a rollercoaster of stress, happiness, and craziness. But, I'm learning what I always wanted to learn. Today we dissected the lungs of our cadaver, and it was amazing. I love it.

Work hard and get to PT school first. When you do, don't study before school starts. You'll do enough studying during school that previous studying will not be beneficial regardless.

It's stressful in PT school, but it's a different kind of stress. The stress of understanding as opposed to the stress of competing for a spot in a program essentially.