Major decision to make, what should I do?

[doctosan]

I've posted before, but for those who have not read my other posts here is a summary of my situation:

I am a Biology major, was floating between Medicine and Pharmacy. Organic Chemistry killed my gpa, brought it down to around 2.4 around the last time I posted (based on 90 hours or so). I wanted to go into PT for a long time, but like I said, I played around with the idea of Medicine and Pharmacy and realized those fields are not for me. This past semester I took the following courses and received the following grades:

Vertebrate Anatomy (5 hours) - B
Microbiology (3 hours) - B
Anthropology (3 hours) - A
Philosophy (3 hours) - B

This is a great improvement compared to my previous semesters, but my gpa is still <3.0......

I am 100% sure I want to go for PT now. I am planning to start shadowing a physical therapist this coming semester. For the past year I have also been working in a lab setting.

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Here is my predicament:

Based on the time I entered college, I should graduate this Spring (2010, ie May 2010). I only need one more Biology class to graduate, and the rest of the classes are pre-PT classes such as Developmental Psychology etc. At my university, Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 are only offered in the Fall and Spring respectively. The only classes I need to take to meet the pre-PT requirements for most schools are:

Anatomy and Physiology 1
Anatomy and Physiology 2
Statistics
Speech
Medical Terminology
Abnormal Psychology

These classes are all offered by the local community college (which happens to be a very good one). My friend was suggesting that I graduate on time and just take the courses at the community college. This will save time in the commute as well as tons of tuition money. The community college Anatomy and Physiology classes have cadavers as well. Many classes are taught by retired university professors. (just some more info to paint the picture)

So here is a summary of my options:

Option 1
Take above prerequisite classes at University that I currently attend, and graduate 1 year later

Tuition cost: $13,700
Additional fees: $600 parking permit for one year
Total annual cost: $14,000


Option 2
Graduate on time and take above prerequisite classes at community college

Tuition cost: $2,500~$3,000
Tuition can become as low as $1,500 if I qualify for this program that the community college has for science students.

No parking fees.

Total annual cost: max. $3,000

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[tcf4141]

option 2 no doubt....save the most money you can because PT school will put you in enough debt....ace the prereqs and apply now ...thats my advice...

 

[doctosan]

option 2 no doubt....save the most money you can because PT school will put you in enough debt....ace the prereqs and apply now ...thats my advice...

Do PT schools look down upon community college prereqs??

 

[MuscleHead]

Do PT schools look down upon community college prereqs??

some do....most dont

 

[MotionDoc]

Option 2...no brainer.

Pick up a bunch of hours, and ace those pre-reqs. many PT schools will consider your final 60 credits, and an excellent post-bac will play into your favor.

Why doesn't medicine or pharmacy interest you any longer?

 

[doctosan]

Option 2...no brainer.

Pick up a bunch of hours, and ace those pre-reqs. many PT schools will consider your final 60 credits, and an excellent post-bac will play into your favor.

Is the Physical Therapy central application service similar to the medical school application, in which one lists every single course they took, where they took it, how many hours, grade, etc? I have taken some classes at the community college over the past summers, so if this is the case, I would have to list those as well.

Why doesn't medicine or pharmacy interest you any longer?

Since 7th grade or so I have had an interest in PT. I have a few friends who are Pharmacists, which planted the seed for the interest in Pharmacy. I however do not like Chemistry, so there went that idea.

Medicine seems far out of reach (low gpa), med school is insanely difficult, and my initial interests to go into it were for the wrong reasons (money), and residency life sucks. I never really had a genuine interest in the field.

My friend mentioned PM&R to me, but I believe that Physical Therapy is the field for me, as it is the only field towards which I have had a genuine interest. I should have just stuck with my initial intentions, but better late than never.

 

[doctosan]

Does anyone know if one can defer their loans while attending a community college for one year after completing undergrad? I know that one can defer loans while in PT school (or any grad school), but I am a bit concerned about what will happen if I start going to the CC after I graduate.

 

[MinnDasota]

That's actually a good question and I'm sure there are a few on here that have been through this so hopefully they can give you a better answer. However, why not try contacting the place where you got your loans...or even contacting the cc and see what they say?

 

[Lizarde]

I would normally say #2, but with your low gpa I'd need more info. PTCAS calculates several different GPAs so knowing which ones the schools are going to evaluate is important. I would pick my top 3 schools and really find out their admissions criteria. Yes, they'll want your pre-req GPA, but many look at your complete undergrad GPA as well as a way to make preliminary cuts (as in, don't even read the essays/lors if you're <3.0 or 3.2). So graduating with a low GPA may harm your chances regardless of your pre-req GPA.
Depending on what you need to do to get your GPA up, you may want to look into deferring 1 University class until you've completed the pre-reqs at CC. If you can get the CC grades to transfer to raise your GPA (rather than pass/fail), then take your last University class next fall so you're getting all the grades in as an undergraduate. Technically I don't know if it works that way, but just a thought (a complicated one at that)

 

[doctosan]

I would normally say #2, but with your low gpa I'd need more info. PTCAS calculates several different GPAs so knowing which ones the schools are going to evaluate is important. I would pick my top 3 schools and really find out their admissions criteria. Yes, they'll want your pre-req GPA, but many look at your complete undergrad GPA as well as a way to make preliminary cuts (as in, don't even read the essays/lors if you're <3.0 or 3.2). So graduating with a low GPA may harm your chances regardless of your pre-req GPA.

I was under the impression that PTCAS was like AMCAS, i.e. I would have to list all of the courses I have taken, where I took them, when I took them, how many credit hours, and the grade I got. With this in mind, I figured that even if I graduated with a ~2.7 gpa, my CC classes would bring the average up.

I am worried however that one day I may have to put my undergraduate gpa somewhere, and nobody wants to advertise a 2.7 goa

Depending on what you need to do to get your GPA up, you may want to look into deferring 1 University class until you've completed the pre-reqs at CC. If you can get the CC grades to transfer to raise your GPA (rather than pass/fail), then take your last University class next fall so you're getting all the grades in as an undergraduate. Technically I don't know if it works that way, but just a thought (a complicated one at that)

This idea came to mind, I was thinking of leaving my last major class to be taken at my university during the spring of my extra year, but I would only save one semester's worth of tuition this way.

Another idea was for me to not file the graduation paperwork, and take 0 credit hours at my university for one year, then transfer all of my coursework to the university, and then graduate. My university enrollment policy allows one to take the first 90 hours at the university, and the remaining somewhere else. I have to look into this in more detail, but this seemed like a good idea.

 

[doctosan]

I would pick my top 3 schools and really find out their admissions criteria.

To be honest I don't have a preference regarding where I go for PT school, as long as it is a DPT program.

Of course I would prefer something near home/in-state

 

[doctosan]

after much deliberation I have decided to go with option #2

here is my potential schedule starting this summer:


summer:
humanities
philosophy (ethics)

fall semester
Anatomy and Physiology I
Medical Terminology
Developmental Psychology
Statistics

spring semester
Anatomy and Physiology 2
Abnormal Psychology
Computer Science (for some reason some schools required this)
Child Psychology




do i need all of these courses done to apply to PT school? many schools have deadlines in october, so I will not have any of these courses completed at that time. would it be better to wait until the next cycle? please advise. I don't want to make any mistakes/want to make sure I fully understand the process

 

[PTballer]

You just have to have them in progress but some schools only accept maybe 3 in progress classes. So I think you will have to apply fall of 2011