Hey Everyone,
I'll be starting my DPT program @ Chatham Univ. in late August and thought I'd share some insight on the application process and some ways to better your chances of getting in.
GRE: I know 2-3 people who got in pt school with 900-950 GRE scores. However, I know a lot more who had no problems getting in somewhere with their scores over 1100 with all other stats where they should be. 1000 is the minimal requirement for most schools so make sure you put in the time to study (Barrons, Kaplan 500 Vocab Cards, Princeton Review). Take the test seriously and try to get over a 1050. Understand that this test is not so much a test of knowledge, but a test on time managment and test taking. Barrons breaks down every section and shows you how to manipulate each problem to get it down to a 50/50 chance of answering without even knowing what some of the words mean haha *good stuff.
PT observation hours; I had tons of hours (>1000) in outpatient hospital and private settings, but I was told I needed to get some hours in acute care, in patient settings as well. *Big schools like Pitt, Duke, Old Dominion made it a point that this was a weakness in my application. Even though I had a lot of hours it was only in one facet of PT. *When you see 100 hours of observation hours try to make sure you have at least 50 out patient, 50 inpatient. I work for UPMC fulltime and Pitt said my experience was lacking haha, what they meant was it was only in one setting.
GPA: 3.5> is a solid GPA. I haven't heard of anyone I know not get in somewhere with at least a 3.5 and 1000 GRE. Now they might not get into their top schools they did get in to a PT program regardless. Try your best to make sure yours C's are limited for pre reqs. *Pre Reqs are mainly what they look at. *If you have more than 2 maybe 3 C's you should look into retaking the class at a cheap community college. *Competition is tough so a ton of applicants have minimal B's on their resume let alone a C. *I think a D should be retaken, but thats just my opinion.
When to Apply: Early, Early, Early!!!! *If you wait till october, november; half the schools are already interviewing students. *So pick a school you love and apply early decision. *Shoot for labor day weekend. *You can submit your PTCAS without having your GRE scores or Letters of Rec finished they will come in later on.
Schools not on PTCAS; If you are questioning if your stats are good or not. Apply to a school that is not on PTCAS. *You will have less competition and a better chance of getting in. *Most schools on PTCAS have 1000+ applications for 30-50 slots. *Go to APTA website for all the PT schools.
Number to apply to: *ptcas is really cheap and easy to apply to a bunch of schools. Yes 400 is a good investment to apply to 6-7 schools. Especially if u are questioning if you'll get in or not. Trust me u don't want to take a year off because u didn't get in to the two schools u applied to and have to pay back student loans after 6 months. Blahh.
Be realistic: *if your stats aren't going to get u into big top ranked schools. Don't waste time or money on them apply to lesser know school or private. universites. Less competition. Just cause it's nt ranked doesn't mean it's not good.
Visit the schools u want to attend. You'll be suprised how your feelings change once u visit.
Just some advice, don't take it to heart I know its late in the game.
My stats were 3.5 GPA, 1220 GRE, Tons of Hours 1500+, Bach in Kinesiology from Penn State. And I got into Chatham, Maryland Balt, Old Dominion, and Miami. George washinton (applied to all august 15). Rejected from Duke (applied in November) waitlisted by pitt taken off after chatham deposit was sent in. Going to Chatham. so Its difficult but you can get insomewhere best of luck to all.
I'll be starting my DPT program @ Chatham Univ. in late August and thought I'd share some insight on the application process and some ways to better your chances of getting in.
GRE: I know 2-3 people who got in pt school with 900-950 GRE scores. However, I know a lot more who had no problems getting in somewhere with their scores over 1100 with all other stats where they should be. 1000 is the minimal requirement for most schools so make sure you put in the time to study (Barrons, Kaplan 500 Vocab Cards, Princeton Review). Take the test seriously and try to get over a 1050. Understand that this test is not so much a test of knowledge, but a test on time managment and test taking. Barrons breaks down every section and shows you how to manipulate each problem to get it down to a 50/50 chance of answering without even knowing what some of the words mean haha *good stuff.
PT observation hours; I had tons of hours (>1000) in outpatient hospital and private settings, but I was told I needed to get some hours in acute care, in patient settings as well. *Big schools like Pitt, Duke, Old Dominion made it a point that this was a weakness in my application. Even though I had a lot of hours it was only in one facet of PT. *When you see 100 hours of observation hours try to make sure you have at least 50 out patient, 50 inpatient. I work for UPMC fulltime and Pitt said my experience was lacking haha, what they meant was it was only in one setting.
GPA: 3.5> is a solid GPA. I haven't heard of anyone I know not get in somewhere with at least a 3.5 and 1000 GRE. Now they might not get into their top schools they did get in to a PT program regardless. Try your best to make sure yours C's are limited for pre reqs. *Pre Reqs are mainly what they look at. *If you have more than 2 maybe 3 C's you should look into retaking the class at a cheap community college. *Competition is tough so a ton of applicants have minimal B's on their resume let alone a C. *I think a D should be retaken, but thats just my opinion.
When to Apply: Early, Early, Early!!!! *If you wait till october, november; half the schools are already interviewing students. *So pick a school you love and apply early decision. *Shoot for labor day weekend. *You can submit your PTCAS without having your GRE scores or Letters of Rec finished they will come in later on.
Schools not on PTCAS; If you are questioning if your stats are good or not. Apply to a school that is not on PTCAS. *You will have less competition and a better chance of getting in. *Most schools on PTCAS have 1000+ applications for 30-50 slots. *Go to APTA website for all the PT schools.
Number to apply to: *ptcas is really cheap and easy to apply to a bunch of schools. Yes 400 is a good investment to apply to 6-7 schools. Especially if u are questioning if you'll get in or not. Trust me u don't want to take a year off because u didn't get in to the two schools u applied to and have to pay back student loans after 6 months. Blahh.
Be realistic: *if your stats aren't going to get u into big top ranked schools. Don't waste time or money on them apply to lesser know school or private. universites. Less competition. Just cause it's nt ranked doesn't mean it's not good.
Visit the schools u want to attend. You'll be suprised how your feelings change once u visit.
Just some advice, don't take it to heart I know its late in the game.
My stats were 3.5 GPA, 1220 GRE, Tons of Hours 1500+, Bach in Kinesiology from Penn State. And I got into Chatham, Maryland Balt, Old Dominion, and Miami. George washinton (applied to all august 15). Rejected from Duke (applied in November) waitlisted by pitt taken off after chatham deposit was sent in. Going to Chatham. so Its difficult but you can get insomewhere best of luck to all.
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