Should I bother reapplying? Tons of debt and not sure what I did wrong.

[DocTAP87]

I graduated with a BS in Health Science with a pre-physical therapy track with honors from UM-Flint, I did well on the GRE, I got my letters of recommendations from physical therapists, I have student achievement awards, I have a ton of volunteer hours, I was an active member of the Pre-PT club, and I made sure to get to know the admissions people well. I applied to the DPT program at UM-Flint thinking I just might get in and I was completed rejected. I wasn't even waitlisted when my friend who has a 3.0 GPA, minimum GRE, and minimum observation was waitlisted and eventually admitted.

I was disappointed so I called the PT department but it is their policy not to tell students the exact reasons why they didn't get in; instead they send you an email listing the usual reasons. The only thing I can think of is that they require 140 hours of observation from 4 locations. Dummy me, I didn't think through the "4 locations part" and thought my 9000+ hours of work experience in outpatient, inpatient, home health, wound care, and neurological care would count. The problem was, all of that observation was from one company.

My college adviser was shocked that I didn't get in but when I told her that she said, "oh yeah, they probably won't even look at your application then."

So now I'm at a crossroads. I'm a personal trainer, I like it but I don't know if I'll ever make the money I need to make doing it. I thought about many different careers but I keep coming right back to PT. I thought maybe I'll go get my PTA degree but I maxed out my federal loans getting the undergrad.

I have 75K in loans already, by the time I'm done I'll have well over 100K. Is that too much debt to be a PT? I'm not sure what else I want to do though and I don't want to give up. What if I get all of that observation and I still don't get in and they won't tell me why. Do I just keep spending years guessing?

I have a wife and two kids and my wife is the one making the money. It's not an option for me to just uproot us and move to another town to go to another school. UM-Flint is right in my backyard plus I love their focus on neurological PT because that's the area I'd like to work in.

Thanks for any advice. It's 5:30am and I'm losing sleep over this.

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[GonnaB.OT]

Yess there are plenty of things that could happen if you re-appply (accepted, waitlisted, or rejected). BUT one thing for sure you know what will happen if you dont! Don't sell yourself short. You did a lot of the right things in your undergrad that you should not let go in vein. Listen to your heart. Your not a quitter! Regardless of the debt, we all should try to live our lives based on our purpose or the roles we play. Example Father, Husband, physical therapist! Good luck and you shouldn't sell yourself short to a PTA school when your so close.

 

[Macklelaur]

In the end, you have to follow your heart. You want to be a PT. So, you will be a PT. End of story. Apply again. Don't let one rejection determine the plan of action for the rest of your life. Like the person above mentioned, to not apply again is to already call it quits and it denies you the opportunity of being given an acceptance letter. Your family will support you, I'm sure of that. You need a career that supports your family, as well as makes you happy to wake up and go to work each day. If PT is that for you, don't give up!

 

[AlanWattsBlues]

I was disappointed so I called the PT department but it is their policy not to tell students the exact reasons why they didn't get in; instead they send you an email listing the usual reasons.

If it's an issue with your application getting rejected immediately due to not checking all their boxes, then it seems like they should be able to tell you. Might be worth following up to confirm. Sometimes you get in touch with an over-busy admin who neglects to say the most pertinent thing.

If that is the case, it seems reasonable to reapply once you've gotten in some other observation experiences. This was your goal all along, right? Sounds like you're treading water for another year--which sucks--but in the grand scheme of things....

The debt is another issue. That's a very personal thing and I won't pretend to know what's best. But being married and having a spouse that pulls in an income makes for a different situation than many people experience. I've heard of people going through school living off of one spouse's income, and continuing to live off of one spouse's income after graduating. The new PTs took the entire salary from working and plowed it into paying off loans. Makes for more manageable debt in pretty short time.

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A quick story about a classmate. He's one of the most beloved and successful students in the class, and I was shocked to learn that he was rejected the first year he applied. Turns out the interviews were cancelled that year due to an ice storm (well, cold rain...we're in the southwest and people panic easily). All interviews were rescheduled for over the phone. At which point I understood what happened.

He has a dry sense of humor and a demeanor that might not translate as well without seeing him face-to-face. In that situation he didn't stand out and got passed over. The next year he gets a face-to-face interview and locks it down.

So his life was derailed a year because it got chilly on interview day. These things happen. It sucks, but they do. It sounds like you know with a high degree of specificity what it is that you want to do. That makes you fortunate. Seems worth sticking with it for another cycle to see if this last one was a fluke.

 

[kcrat21]

To speak to the loan aspect of it: I didn't have undergrad loans, but I went to a very expensive, private PT school and now have >$200k in debt. It sucks, but I enjoyed my program and in the end, I'm a PT. There are a lot of PTs out there with debt like mine. It's a manageable debt for my husband and I (we also have a kid), so you just have to figure out if >$100k will be a manageable debt for you and your family. That's not an answer you'll get from poking around a message board. Have a serious chat with your wife about how much debt you think you can comfortably handle and go from there. But know that in the end, you're definitely not alone in it!

 

[okramango]

It does sound like you may have been rejected based on not meeting one of the basic requirements (like the number of observation sites). If it were me, I'd contact them again and push the issue, to try to find out if your application was thrown out on a technicality before they even looked at it. If that's the case, it certainly seems worth it to fix whatever the issue was and reapply!

 

[starrsgirl]

I can relate to your story on so many different levels. I agree with the above advice, contact the school again, Be professional and courteous. Acknowledge their policy but explain you are preparing to reapply and want clarification on the location requirement. In fact, I would ask for an in person meeting. Explain your situation....something along the lines of you understand it's a competitive process, you have a family waiting in the wings and you need to understand if it's time to move onto another career. Or, if it was just a technical rejection you are ready to correct the application this year and reapply. Ask if they can give you a yes/no on being rejected just on the location thing.

I"m concerned because on pulling up their webpage, the only requirements are 60 hours in 2 or more types of clinical settings. A setting is different than a company. It sounds like you more than exceeded this requirement. And it recommends 4 different settings, which again, seems like you have. So I'm worried this isn't what rejected you at all....but that said, it could be something equally as simple. I recommend having a non biased source go through your application with a fine tooth comb. Did you submit on time? Are your references the correct type? Did you take the exact classes? Did your PT verify your hours? It's easy to say oh yeah, I know I got it all but it's easy to miss stuff sometimes when we are immersed in our own application. I overlooked something really dumb on a school and of course got rejected on a technicality.

 

[Rgvmed]

The debt issue is something that concerns me as well. I am in a very similar situation and well after taxes and a very large student loan payment per month, If i'm trying to pay it off in 10 years, I'm not looking at much of a salary for this hell of a commitment. I'm struggling with my decision to make this move and start the program here in a couple months.

 

[DesertPT]

Unfortunately you can't apply to only one school and assume you will get in. I got rejected from what I thought at the time was my top choice school and I personally know of several less-qualified applicants than myself who were admitted. This can especially happen at schools that weight interview scores heavily.

If that really is the one and only PT school it is possible for you to apply to, then I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. This isn't medical school where applications to 20+ schools are required, but most people apply to at least 4 to be on the safe side.

Sorry to hear about your stroke of bad luck. Unfortunately your future path is ultimately a decision we can't make for you. All we can tell you with any degree of certainty is that crap happens and that each PT school only admits a very small percentage of the people who apply each year, so if you only apply to one school then no matter how good your application is at the end of the day you are still just spinning the wheel and hoping your number comes up.

Now of course if you didn't meet one of the admissions requirements, than that is your problem. However I don't see how working for one company is a problem if you worked with more than 4 different PTs in more than 4 practice settings. You really have to insist that the school clarify this for you.

 

[starrsgirl]

Agree on the debt load too. Initially I got into a private school which was going to put us (spouse and kids) 80k in debt and that was paying some of the tuition each year and taking no loans for living. We decided it was too much for us. But I could get a job with equal to higher salary. I ended up getting into a cheaper school which helped us decide to do it. If you feel like going yo PT school will increase your earning potential then possibly more debt is ok. If your wife can at least cover living costs for you, that helps but considering your undergrad debt too....it is a lot for me personally. Any scholarships available? Will you incur more daycare costs to go to school (currently our biggest expense).