Outstanding Pre-Requisite Classes

[lemonsnicks]

So I need some help here because the health professions counselor at my school (Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia) kind of pooped on my dreams of applying to PT school for this Summer when I thought I had a decent chance of getting in.

She said that I have “too many outstanding pre-requisites”. I understand that they want you to have every pre-req taken care of before enrolling in the DPT program in the summer.

The classes I have left are:
Senior Fall
Anat and Phys I
Lifespan Development (Psychology.. I already took general and I know this class isn’t required for all programs but it is for some and I think it’ll help)

Spring
Anat & Phys II
Physics II (I already took Physics I in Fall 2009 and I got a B+ for the course and A- in lab)

Now here’s what I have taken:
Bio I:Cells B+
Bio II: Genetics B+
General Chemistry I: A-
Gen Chem II: B+
Psychology: A
Applied Calc I: B+
Applied Stats: A
Gen Physics I: B+

I am currently working on shadowing hours and this is what I will have so far:
Pediatric: 12
Outpatient: 16
Geriatric (nursing home): 8
Neurology: 8

I am going to do more before the summer ends but does any one have suggestions for different areas to do them in?

I have not taken the GRE yet but I will in late August.

I am thinking about applying to
UCONN
Northeastern
Universty of Scranton
MGH
Sacred Heart
Quinnipiac
Thomas Jeffereson

The following 6 are dream/reach
Duke
UNC-Chapel Hill
NYU
Columbia
Northwestern
U. Illinois Chicago

I have my heart on a city – preferably Boston.
Any input would be so awesome – I got nothing but negativity from this adviser. I am simply looking for a second opinion, one more knowledgeable in PT. But most importantly, I am looking for HONESTY. Thank you ☺

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[vapt]

You are planning on applying this summer for next year correct? I feel as if I'm missing something b/c I don't know why in the world an advisor would tell you such nonsense. The best advice I got during undergrad from a practicing pt was to NOT listen to advisors...she was almost talked out of going to pt school, and I know I got lots of bad advising during undergrad. When I applied last sept., I still had to take the GRE, only had 60 hours of shadowing done, and still had to take Physics I (had just started it) and II, Chem II, and A&P II, and I got in to 2 schools. Your grades are awesome, keep it up, and as you know, attain more hours, take the gre, and apply now. You'll be in pt school next summer or fall.

 

[Architect2PT]

Most schools want to see:

1. A reasonable plan to finish pre-reqs before the program starts and

2. At least some science pre-reqs completed at time of application to give them an idea of how you perform

That being said, check with the programs. Some are very explicit about how many should be done.

As far as UNC, forget it.
They require ALL pre-reqs to be completed during the semester that you apply (if you apply this Fall, all of your pre-reqs need to be completed or in-progress Fall semester). But they are the only school I've seen with that policy.
If you have even just one pre-req you're planning to take in Spring, they will automatically reject you.

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

You should be fine...Of the schools you listed, I applied to Northwestern (accepted and will attend), UIC (waitlisted, then accepted), and Duke (offered interview, declined since I already committed to NU)...I had more outstanding courses than you did going into the fall: I still had to take chem II, physics II, physiology, bio I, bio II, and calc.

Here's the post I made earlier from the GRE/Acceptances thread (the sticky post on the forum) http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=8761368&postcount=105 ...it wouldn't be a bad idea to poke around in that thread so you can get an idea of what other people have as far as stats are concerned, and where they applied etc.

I see no reason why you can't apply and why you wouldn't be a good applicant, assuming you get the rest of your hours in (be aware that UIC requires at least 45 hours, with 15 hours in 3 different settings), and do decently on your GRE. Your counselor is not very aware of the requirements, or so it seems. Very few schools (if any) require 100% of your pre-reqs done at time of application.

Good luck!