If there are any of you hopeful future PTs out there who may be struggling with waiting to be accepted or dealing with the pain of rejection I just wanted to share my story to offer encouragement and to tell you to NEVER give up if PT is really what you want to do.
I applied during the 2011-2012 cycle only to be rejected by all eleven of the schools that I designated. My application was moderate, mostly weakened by very low GRE scores, a C in a science per-requisite and limited observation experience. After graduating form college with no acceptances, eleven rejections under my belt and having to watch all of my friends go off to the PT schools of their dreams, I decided to take the year before the next cycle started to improve my application.
What did this consist of? Not much really. I retook the perquisite I got a C in and got a B. I got a full time rehab aide job to increase my clinical experience. I retook my GREs and drastically improved my score (needless to say after hours of studying and much sweat blood and tears) and got some additional certifications in things that Interest me and that I knew would interest prospective PT schools. I also wrote essays on PTCAS that I thought better captured why I wanted to be a PT and what made me unique compared to other qualified applicants.
The end result? I applied to 13 schools this cycle just to be on the safe side. As of now I've been accepted into 6 schools, I have received one full ride scholarship at my top choice school (a school which btw rejected me flat out last cycle), have turned down 3 interview invitations, am still waiting to hear back form one school that I've interviewed for and have only received one rejection thus far.
The moral of the story? Never give up! From a strictly grades stand point, I only improved my GPA by one grade. I did not have to get all As on retaken prerequisites nor did I need stellar GRE scores. Although being rejected by all of those schools hurt like hell, I now realize that it was the best thing that could have happen to me. Not only did I gain better insight into the feild of PT from my work as a rehab aide, and not only did I grow exponentially in my passion and desire to be a PT, but because of those reiections I was able to take a year to improve my application just enough to recieve a full ride at one of the best PT schoools in the country.
What I've learned from this process is that PT schools care much more about the uniqueness and motivation of an applicant than we think. If you are dedicated to becoming a PT your efforts will show and you will be accepted. Work hard, follow your own instincts and NEVER GIVE UP!
I applied during the 2011-2012 cycle only to be rejected by all eleven of the schools that I designated. My application was moderate, mostly weakened by very low GRE scores, a C in a science per-requisite and limited observation experience. After graduating form college with no acceptances, eleven rejections under my belt and having to watch all of my friends go off to the PT schools of their dreams, I decided to take the year before the next cycle started to improve my application.
What did this consist of? Not much really. I retook the perquisite I got a C in and got a B. I got a full time rehab aide job to increase my clinical experience. I retook my GREs and drastically improved my score (needless to say after hours of studying and much sweat blood and tears) and got some additional certifications in things that Interest me and that I knew would interest prospective PT schools. I also wrote essays on PTCAS that I thought better captured why I wanted to be a PT and what made me unique compared to other qualified applicants.
The end result? I applied to 13 schools this cycle just to be on the safe side. As of now I've been accepted into 6 schools, I have received one full ride scholarship at my top choice school (a school which btw rejected me flat out last cycle), have turned down 3 interview invitations, am still waiting to hear back form one school that I've interviewed for and have only received one rejection thus far.
The moral of the story? Never give up! From a strictly grades stand point, I only improved my GPA by one grade. I did not have to get all As on retaken prerequisites nor did I need stellar GRE scores. Although being rejected by all of those schools hurt like hell, I now realize that it was the best thing that could have happen to me. Not only did I gain better insight into the feild of PT from my work as a rehab aide, and not only did I grow exponentially in my passion and desire to be a PT, but because of those reiections I was able to take a year to improve my application just enough to recieve a full ride at one of the best PT schoools in the country.
What I've learned from this process is that PT schools care much more about the uniqueness and motivation of an applicant than we think. If you are dedicated to becoming a PT your efforts will show and you will be accepted. Work hard, follow your own instincts and NEVER GIVE UP!
