What are my chances?

[Ngozi Onyema]

I was hesitant to ask this question after reading many other peoples responses to the asking of the question and how it may depend but I'm going to do it anyway. What are my chances?

I've been a Physical Therapist Assistant since 2007. I worked full time for just over 3 and a half years in a sub-acute/long term nursing home after that I did some per diem work. Before I received my PTA license in 2006 I did internships at different facilities, outpatient/hospital/nursing home.

I receive my Bachelor Degree in Communication Studies. Graduated with a Cum Laude honor.

My Upper Division Course GPA is 3.48
My Total GPA is 3.23
My Science GPA is 3.56
My Self Reported PT prerequisite GPA is 3.57
My last GRE scores: 145 Verbal, 144 Quantitative and 3.5 Analytical (although my best Analytical score out of the 3 times I've taken the test is 4)

I have 3 F grades and 10 withdrawals on my transcript. Most of the Withdrawals I can explain with the fact that it was a turning point in my college career when I was changing majors and my college career stretches 12 years long (including the 3 and a half years I was out of school working as a PTA between my associates and bachelor degree) even though I only have an Associates Degree and Bachelors (which is supposed to only be 6 years long).

My only extra curricular is a few hours volunteering at an Open House in the University I graduated from and 7 hours at a food bank in my area (I feel bad for not doing more food bank volunteering, I need to get back there).

I've applied to 18 schools (most that do not require the GRE test) and will apply to a few more within the next week.

Schools I have applied to:

D'Youville College
Drexel University
University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey
Nazareth College of Rochester
Clarkson University
Dominican College of Blauvelt
Long Island University - Brooklyn Campus
New York Institute of Technology
Quinnipiac University
The Sage Colleges
Thomas Jefferson University
University of Scranton
Widener University
Misericordia University
Sacred Heart University
Duquesne University
Touro College
Bay Shore (Long Island)
Manhattan


I only esubmitted September 30th and most of the schools I applied to I only did so on and after November 9th (maybe kind of late but before deadline)

I have references from 2 PTs from different facilities and one from a professor (in Communication Studies) and I will get another recommendation from my current Biology professor in December. I'm currently taking Cell Biology and will take G.O.P (Gen. Biology 2) in the spring semester. Those are the last prerequisites I need.

I have a valid CPR, AED and First Aid license.

So that's my stats, what are my chances?

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[nicolej5]

i think your gpa is good enough for most schools. verbal is a little low. but wow, 10 withdrawals? that might make them question you quite a bit, as well as the three f's. but if you have good, valid explanations for those then they might overlook that. i'm not sure that changing majors is a valid explanation because many people switch and come away with passing grades. if you withdrew just because you didn't need the class for the old major...big mistake (they could have counted for electives). if you have good lor's and an essay, you could snag a few interviews. not sure about the schools you applied to and what the stats are of the recent entering class. good luck.

 

[NewTestament]

Except for the Ws (10?) and three Fs, everything else looks pretty good. You pre-req GPA is >3.5, which is competitive. What you have that other applicants don't is years of experience. You've worked with patients, you have good skills, you know what being a professional is, and you have maturity. One of those 20 schools is going to take you. How many? I don't know. If they reject you, it's because they see all those Ws. Have a good explanation when you get to the interview. I can guarantee they're going to ask you about them.

Kevin

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

All but one of those 10 withdrawals happened in the major that I switched out of. There was a semester where I withdrew from all of my classes and I did it within the first couple of days of the semester, not because I couldn't handle the courses. I did it because I was changing majors and the courses I had would not count towards the new major, not even as electives. But I also retook the classes of a some of those withdrawals and passed with good grades.

5 of those 10 courses that I withdrew from, I retook and received okay to good grades.

2 of the courses I withdrew from, I withdrew from twice but the second time I did so was because I was changing majors.

That's how I get 9 withdrawals (5 withdrawals + 4 withdrawals[involving 2 repeated courses that were again withdrawn, oh and one is physics but a higher level physics, calculus based not the one required for DPT school{which i did really well in}]). It's complicated.

The remaining course I withdrew from was a music appreciation course and it was also during the time when I was changing majors.

It's kind of complicated but I think it can be explained by the fact that I just was not in to that first major I had and the courses that I had to take for it and also that point where I decided to change majors. You know how some people take a year off after high school before they pick a college major?, well I went right from high school in to college thinking I knew what I wanted to do but after a year and a half in that major I realized that I had to rethink my goals. So I withdrew a semesters worth of courses and took that semester off to work(in retail) and think what major I really wanted to do and that's right before I decided to go in to Physical Therapy Assistant. After I went in to PTA I became more focused and my grades improved.

My GPA as a PTA major is much better than my GPA as a Computer Science major(which is the major I switched out of).

2 of those 3 Fs I retook and got a good grade. The remaining F was in an elective course. I took an elective course to make up for the failure of that elective course but it wasn't the same elective course. I wanted to retake the same elective course but they were not offering it in the following semesters.

So basically i made up for all the Fs and most of the Ws but I guess just having them in the first place is bad.

In the other thread about Withdrawals, someone said Ws don't mean anything since they don't affect your GPA.

 

[GMA2013]

Its true, that one or two withdrawls won't affect you adversely but I would fear that 10 withdrawals would show a lack of commitment and effort.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

I can understand that. I know schools wouldn't want to accept someone whom they think will quit but I think commitment is relative and the fact that 9 out of 10 of those withdrawals were while I was doing a major that I did not enjoy and eventually switched out of and that the major I switched to and stuck with and completed was Physical Therapy Assistant, I think the PT schools can be sure that I will not quit PT school.

 

[GTT4DPT]

In case it's any help while you're waiting to hear back from schools, here's a ridiculously simple and unrealistic example with some guessed at numbers:

# applicants to each school: 400
# of seats in each class: 40
# of Schools Applied to: 18

For argument's sake, let's assume that each school's selection policy is to pick names out of a hat. Now we can calculate the chances of you getting accepted somewhere pretty easily: It's 85%.

But let's revise this because there are a surprising number of applicants who apply to programs without meeting their minimum requirements in some way. Let's say 15% of applicants aren't qualified to go into the hat.

And some people get accepted elsewhere, finances fall through, life happens, so schools have to draw more names and maintain a wait list. Let's say they ultimately extend 45 invitations. Here are our new numbers:

# applicants to each school: 340
# of seats in each class: 45
# of Schools Applied to: 18
Chances of getting in somewhere: 92%

But we both know that they aren't drawing names out of hats…

Honestly, you seem to have solid grades and professional experience combined with a long standing commitment to the field. There are some knocks against you with having to explain anomalies in your transcript and a GRE that you're working around by being strategic about where you apply. With applying to that many schools, your chances seem pretty good.

That being said, anything can (and often does) happen. I guess the real question is "What would it take for you to give up if you didn't get in this cycle?"

It sounds like this is your dream and you'll pass through hell and high water to honor it. As long as you don't give up and meet minimum requirements, you always stand a chance. If things don't pan out this cycle, in the meantime you have your PTA license for working, a dream for the future, and maybe some free time for that food bank.

Remember: On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. Or perhaps to be more current with my references: May the odds be ever in your favor...

Good luck!

 

[HughLee]

Some real numbers for students who applied to PT school for the 2011 Entering class. This is just students who applied through PTCAS.

Number applications per student Number of applicants Number who received an offer
1 2144 850
2 1502 590
3 1449 728
4 1384 775
5 1254 704
6 980 543
7 764 445
8 568 339

Total applicants in PTCAS 11691 5943

 

[HughLee]

Formatting did not work above.
the first column is the number of applications
The second column is the number of students who submitted that many applications
The third column is the number of students in column 2 who received at least one offer from a PT program.

So, 2144 students applied to only one school, and 850 of them received an offer from a PTCAS school.,

 

[hongryhippo]

without the f's and withdrawals, you are a solid applicant! i know in the PTCAS application there is a section for you explain certain things which i hope you took that opportunity to explain those W's.

it seems like you would have a good shot getting into a school somewhere depending on how competitive the schools you applied to are. i would say it's in your best interest to apply to schools that require interviews because that gives you a chance to explain anything on your application. good luck!

http://christina-pt.blogspot.com/

 

[pubicsymphysis]

I was hesitant to ask this question after reading many other peoples responses to the asking of the question and how it may depend but I'm going to do it anyway. What are my chances?

I've been a Physical Therapist Assistant since 2007. I worked full time for just over 3 and a half years in a sub-acute/long term nursing home after that I did some per diem work. Before I received my PTA license in 2006 I did internships at different facilities, outpatient/hospital/nursing home.

I receive my Bachelor Degree in Communication Studies. Graduated with a Cum Laude honor.

My Upper Division Course GPA is 3.48
My Total GPA is 3.23
My Science GPA is 3.56
My Self Reported PT prerequisite GPA is 3.57
My last GRE scores: 145 Verbal, 144 Quantitative and 3.5 Analytical (although my best Analytical score out of the 3 times I've taken the test is 4)

I have 3 F grades and 10 withdrawals on my transcript. Most of the Withdrawals I can explain with the fact that it was a turning point in my college career when I was changing majors and my college career stretches 12 years long (including the 3 and a half years I was out of school working as a PTA between my associates and bachelor degree) even though I only have an Associates Degree and Bachelors (which is supposed to only be 6 years long).

My only extra curricular is a few hours volunteering at an Open House in the University I graduated from and 7 hours at a food bank in my area (I feel bad for not doing more food bank volunteering, I need to get back there).

I've applied to 18 schools (most that do not require the GRE test) and will apply to a few more within the next week.

Schools I have applied to:

D'Youville College
Drexel University
University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey
Nazareth College of Rochester
Clarkson University
Dominican College of Blauvelt
Long Island University - Brooklyn Campus
New York Institute of Technology
Quinnipiac University
The Sage Colleges
Thomas Jefferson University
University of Scranton
Widener University
Misericordia University
Sacred Heart University
Duquesne University
Touro College
Bay Shore (Long Island)
Manhattan


I only esubmitted September 30th and most of the schools I applied to I only did so on and after November 9th (maybe kind of late but before deadline)

I have references from 2 PTs from different facilities and one from a professor (in Communication Studies) and I will get another recommendation from my current Biology professor in December. I'm currently taking Cell Biology and will take G.O.P (Gen. Biology 2) in the spring semester. Those are the last prerequisites I need.

I have a valid CPR, AED and First Aid license.

So that's my stats, what are my chances?

I want share my story. I came out of undergrad with a 2.4 GPA - 17 withdrawals (yikes) - 2 D's - 3 F's. I decided to do Physical Therapy and obtained a 3.8 in science courses, which brought my overall to a 3.1. I received 4 interviews so far. Once they offer you an interview, they like you statistically. Just like people mention before, make sure you are able to explain yourself. I know exactly how you feel! Fight HARD! keep us updated!

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Update:

My Science GPA is 3.52
My Self Reported PT prerequisite GPA is 3.54

It dropped a few hundredths of a point. I got a B+ in the General Biology prerequisite course I took this past fall.

My top 9 schools which by the way are mostly schools not on the list I posted earlier are NYU, Touro (Long Island or Manhattan), Dominican College of Blauvelt, Seton Hall University, Southwest Baptist University, University of Mary, Alabama State University, Des Moines University - Osteopathic Medical Center, Husson University

Status of previous list of schools:

D'Youville College (Accepted but probably not attending b/c of high cost and relocation)
Drexel University (Rejection letter)
University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (Rejection letter)
Nazareth College of Rochester (have not heard from)
Clarkson University (have not heard from)
Dominican College of Blauvelt (have not heard from)
Long Island University - Brooklyn Campus (Rejection letter)
New York Institute of Technology (Rejection letter)
Quinnipiac University (have not heard from)
The Sage Colleges (have not heard from)
Thomas Jefferson University (on the wait list)
University of Scranton (have not heard from)
Widener University (have not heard from)
Misericordia University (have not heard from)
Sacred Heart University (invited for an interview but declined b/c of high cost and relocation)
Duquesne University (have not heard from)
Touro College (was told I need to improve my GRE score to be competitive, May deadline)
Bay Shore (Long Island)
Manhattan

Gannon University is another late addition to the list, they responded and the issue I had with them is that they have a 5 year minimum deal with prerequisites and a couple of my prerequisites were more than 5 years old. I didn't know about this deal when I applied. So I can't go there but I don't think I would have anyway as the tuition is too high and I'd have to relocate.

I think about half of all the schools I applied to are schools I now don't think I'd attend even if they accepted me. My plans for PT school have changed since I made the original post with the revelation of the tuition of a lot of those schools I applied to and the revelation that the PT salary will be much lower than I thought. I did not know these things before I applied to those schools on that previous list. There are schools that I will not attend, the ones that have a combination of being too far to commute from where I currently live and a total program tuition above $65,000. Separately the former and the latter are each not a problem but combined they are. See my top 9 list of schools for schools I'm willing to attend.

Oh and hongryhippo I did not know of that place in PTCAS where I could explain and did not explain the W's.

 

[hongryhippo]

for me, i'd write about the w's that you have under the first question in the 'background information' part of the PTCAS application. that's the section i was thinking of (when they ask if ur academic record reflects your capabilities) and it'd be a good place to explain how it doesn't because you are a dedicated individual etc etc.

just wanted to let you know just in case.!

also, it's true that a PT's salary may not be that high. but there are loan-forgiveness programs (such as working for a non-profit or in pediatrics). also, depending on what you want to go into, your salary will fluctuate a lot. if you are interested in hand therapy and become a certified hand therapist, you would be able to make a lot of money. or if you are willing to be a traveling PT, at the recent APTA conference i went to, i was told they make around 72k AFTER taxes. i completely understand your hesitation to shell out 60k for tuition though - i'm barely willing to shell out 30k for the pt program i'm in!

best of luck!!

http://christina-pt.blogspot.com/

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Just to be clear, you're not saying the total tuition for your 3 years PT program is only $30,000? are you?

Edit: Okay from your blog I see that you're going to Western University of Health Sciences and their tuition is $35,000 a year, so you were talking about per year not for the 3 years combined.

I though was talking about for all three years, so I'm looking for a school with like $20,000 - $23,000 or less a year tuition, especially for schools out of commute distance from where I currently live.

 

[hongryhippo]

my mistake! i thought you meant a year yeah ours is around 35 a year!

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Update again:

I just got rejection letters from the university of scranton and duquesne university today.

I think that that 3.23 overall GPA is too low too, so it's not just my GRE score that's the issue. Well I haven't heard from any of my top 9 schools yet, except from Touro. But I want to say that if it is my 3.23 GPA that is the issue then there is no hope for me in future cycles because I can't change my overall GPA. So this may be the last cycle that I try.

 

[NewTestament]

Update again:

I just got rejection letters from the university of scranton and duquesne university today.

I think that that 3.23 overall GPA is too low too, so it's not just my GRE score that's the issue. Well I haven't heard from any of my top 9 schools yet, except from Touro. But I want to say that if it is my 3.23 GPA that is the issue then there is no hope for me in future cycles because I can't change my overall GPA. So this may be the last cycle that I try.

Before you stop trying, ask the schools directly to find out why they rejected you. If it is the low GPA, then they will tell you. Otherwise, I would choose four or five schools that I really wanted to go, and apply every year until they tell you to stop. That's when you should quit.

Kevin

 

[hongryhippo]

Before you stop trying, ask the schools directly to find out why they rejected you. If it is the low GPA, then they will tell you. Otherwise, I would choose four or five schools that I really wanted to go, and apply every year until they tell you to stop. That's when you should quit.

Kevin

i agree w/ newtestament! i have several friends who got into decent PT schools w/ a GPA of 2.9! which is significantly lower than yours. definitely email schools and find out why you didn't get in - they're usually pretty helpful and specific. keep trying! good luck!


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http://christina-pt.blogspot.com/

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Update: I got a rejection email letter from NYU today. Oh well, that school was ridiculously expensive anyway, probably wouldn't have gone anyway.

Also for some crazy reason Seton Hall University is still waiting for my Undergraduate transcript. It doesn't make sense. PTCAS has received my transcript so Seton Hall University should have too. I sent it to both places when I filed. SHU computer system does register things late though. Like for instance even though my references sent in their LOR and when I go on the my application login website it would say that the LOR is complete but SHU would say they don't have it so I don't get it. I'm pretty sure the problem is not from my end but I will get in contact with my undergraduate school about it as soon as possible and I will call SHU too.

 

[pubicsymphysis]

Why not go to D'Youville College? You applied there and got accepted. How much is there tuition? It must be some ridic number.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Why not go to D'Youville College? You applied there and got accepted. How much is there tuition? It must be some ridic number.

Well it has a combination of being over my ($20 to $23,000/year tuition) budget and being out of commute distance from where I currently live. I believe it's something like $29,000/year for tuition alone.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Just got a rejection letter from Des Moines University. The school required the GRE (but doesn't have a minimum score requirement listed on PTCAS but I'm sure that since it required the GRE then most that applied had better scores than I did) and has a GPA avg. of 3.64 for overall and 3.5 for pre-req (the former much better than my 3.23 overall GPA, the latter just about equal to my 3.54 pre-req GPA). I mainly applied there because it was affordable. Anyway, I'm still waiting to hear back from 6 of my top 9 schools and have an interview with one of those 6 (University of Mary) in March. It's the only other school besides NYU out of the 25 that I've applied to that has offered me an interview so far.

Believe me if I don't get in to one of those schools in my top 9 list this cycle I'm done with this. If I can't get in to any of these schools, it means that my application needs major work and I just don't think it is worth it to fix and probably not even possible (especially when it comes to overall GPA).

I'm happy with my career as a PTA. I make decent money with it and I'm great at it as patients tell me all the time.

So if I don't get accepted in to any of those remaining 6 schools in my top 9 list, I'll be fine.

Like Kenny Rogers said you have to know when to fold them. If I don't stop now, I'll be caught in some cycle of applying every year for years and years and I'm not trying to be that person.

 

[Myosin]

I wish you luck and I truly hope you get accepted, but just out of curiosity, how much did you spend in total just on application fees?

 

[qtran]

good luck Ngozi Onyema, i'm really rooting for you. Ever think of going to the school you got accepted too? I believe we all have to take a longer and harder route sometimes in life to get where we want. Maybe you can make the sacrifice and go YOLO.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

I wish you luck and I truly hope you get accepted, but just out of curiosity, how much did you spend in total just on application fees?

The PTCAS designations for 22 schools was $865. Plus I applied to 3 non-PTCAS schools. I don't know, it was a chunk of change, probably all together including the $500 deposit I gave to the one school that I got accepted to, total is probably like $1700. But how much I spent total on this whole "back to school excursion" including the cost of all the courses I took to get my bachelors degree and all the pre-requisite courses I took, I have to do the math on that but I think I'd say around to $30,000 (not including the money I lost from being out of work for 2 years while I was achieving my bachelors) but thankfully I did not go in to debt for anything. Just all off of savings, so I don't owe anyone anything.

qtran you have to realize that I don't think it is worth the sacrifice of going in to that much debt to be a DPT. I have my budget and plan and I'm sticking to it.

Oh and correction 3 schools actually gave me an invitation for an interview, I forgot about Sacred Heart University which I had to decline because of the cost of tuition combined with the fact that I'd have to relocate.

 

[jessser987]

Hi- I know you seem pretty set in your decisions, but im just going to throw my opinion in anyway, since we are all on this forum. You mentioned the only school you have been accepted into was D'Youville college in buffalo NY? (correct me if im wrong i was skimming through this convo) I know you are worried about cost of tuition being 29,000 a year, but I think that is pretty standard for most schools. Yes, there are schools you can find that are in the 22,000 range, but its few and far between. And i know you mentioned relocating, but I just wanted to let you know that Im from Buffalo, NY originally and it is probably one of the cheapest cities to live in ever. you can literally find a really nice apt for $250 a month and restaurants and cost of living is SO cheap. So yes, paying 29000 for tuition may not be ideal, BUT you will be saving so much by living in a small city with cheap rent. just wanted to throw that out there.

it also sounds so sad to me to just completely give up now after all the hard work you have put in. i have been following you on this forum and i know you post alot about your concerns and stresses about getting in to PT school. After all the time, effort, and MONEY you have put in, it just seems like a waste to not go. dont you think looking back in 20 years if you dont go, you will wonder or maybe regret it?

it just sounds like you are so discouraged right now with this system and the process. try and remember why you started to do this in the first place. good luck to you! everything always works out in the end, regardless of what you choose.

 

[rockstudy]

Hi- I know you seem pretty set in your decisions, but im just going to throw my opinion in anyway, since we are all on this forum. You mentioned the only school you have been accepted into was D'Youville college in buffalo NY? (correct me if im wrong i was skimming through this convo) I know you are worried about cost of tuition being 29,000 a year, but I think that is pretty standard for most schools. Yes, there are schools you can find that are in the 22,000 range, but its few and far between. And i know you mentioned relocating, but I just wanted to let you know that Im from Buffalo, NY originally and it is probably one of the cheapest cities to live in ever. you can literally find a really nice apt for $250 a month and restaurants and cost of living is SO cheap. So yes, paying 29000 for tuition may not be ideal, BUT you will be saving so much by living in a small city with cheap rent. just wanted to throw that out there.

it also sounds so sad to me to just completely give up now after all the hard work you have put in. i have been following you on this forum and i know you post alot about your concerns and stresses about getting in to PT school. After all the time, effort, and MONEY you have put in, it just seems like a waste to not go. dont you think looking back in 20 years if you dont go, you will wonder or maybe regret it?

it just sounds like you are so discouraged right now with this system and the process. try and remember why you started to do this in the first place. good luck to you! everything always works out in the end, regardless of what you choose.

I think Jessser987 brought up some really good points here Ngozi. I'm rooting for you as well. Where you see yourself in 20 years is something you should strongly consider. If in the end you choose to remain a PTA after carefull consideration that's perfectly fine. As long as you're happy with your decision with no regrets. In my opinion I would not wait for another application cycle if you choose DPT. I would go with the best option that you have at the end of this cycle and would not look back. It's only going to get more expensive and tougher to get accepted into schools each year. Best of Luck to you !

For jessser987 - Wow ! That is Crazy Cheap for a decent appartment. What's the best way to find this kind of a deal. I was looking on craigslist and couldn't find anything close to $250.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

I don't think there is anything wrong with being a PTA for the rest of your life. In one of the clinicals I did while I was in school for PTA, there was a PTA there who was in in her 40's or 50's and had been a PTA for many years and I don't think she had any plans to be a PT.

I still want to be a PT but unlike some there is a limit to the price I'd pay to be one. I know average schools are around $29,000/year tuition but the thing is when I first started this I did not know that. I assumed that I would be paying $22,000/year in tuition, I also assumed that I would be making a lot more in salary coming out of DPT school. That was my original thought so I am keeping in mind why I started this and the thing is what I originally thought is not true. So i am trying to stick to what I originally thought to some extent by finding a school with tuition around $22,000/year and that's the school I'll be attending.

As far as living in Buffalo, I'm not sure apartments there are as cheap as you say and if so they are few and far between just like the schools with the tuition I am looking for. Besides right now I have virtually non-existent cost of living which is why I want to go to a school that I can commute from. I'd be willing to pay some more in tuition above that $22,000/year tuition number if the school is within commute distance from where I currently live. But so far there aren't many choices for schools that price around me. (Wow, I knew Seton Hall University was expensive and I'm pretty sure i thought it was $34,000/year but it's closer to $44,000/year. The school is commute distance but even so, that is really expensive). I found some cheap school around the country and I'm hoping those schools accept me (still waiting to hear back from about 5 of them). But if they don't I'm okay. If I don't get in to a cheap school, I'll take the loss on what I have spent so far. It's better than going in to major debt to be a DPT and come out only making a little more than I am making now as a PTA. If I don't get in to any cheap schools this cycle I may try again next cycle but my goal is to get in to a cheap school. I am not trying to get in to major debt to be a DPT. Maybe I'm just cautious about it because I've never really been in debt before and I'm afraid of how to handle it. I know people get out of debt but I just don't think it is a good thing to go in to debt which is why I am working my but off right now saving up to have the money to pay as much as possible for DPT school if I get accepted in to one of my top choices.

 

[b0realis]

Hi Ngozi Onyema,

I skimmed through this thread and I was not going to say anything but I too thought I should put my 2 cents in. I am in total agreement with jessser987 and rockstudy that you should take whatever options you have right now and GO FOR IT! 29k is about average unless you are going to a public school. I live in California, and there are only very few schools (CSUN, CSULB, CSUF) that cost around 22-23k/year. On top of that, these schools are very difficult to get into and are very much impacted with tons of applications. You got into D'Youville, and I don't know how reputable this school is, but its just 3 years of investment. And according to Jesser987, the living costs are cheap so that should help. Taking out some loans is an option as well.

You've put in so much hard work with 12 years of schooling to become a PT. It'd be a shame if it was all for naught. I am very impressed with the fact that you paid yourself through school with zero debt. But maybe getting into a bit of debt now will pay dividends in the future. Just my thought. My perspective is a bit different, I am going to be attending Loma Linda University this upcoming June, which is a private school with tuition costs of approximately 28k a year. I will also be relocating few hours from where I live in order to be close to campus with rents out here around $350-450 a month. It is going to require a chunk of change, but I feel that being a physical therapist is worth it. Maybe that's the difference. If you think its not worth it to be in debt and pay that kind of money to become a PT, then maybe you shouldn't go to PT school unless the perfect opportunity arises. In any rate, I am rooting for you and hope you are happy with whatever decision you make. Best of luck and keep us posted.

 

[jessser987]

should have been more clear with the apt thing. i meant if you live in a 2 or 3 bedroom with roommates. my sister lived in buffalo with her bf in a really nice 2 bed apt on the north side of the city and they each paid 250. so total rent was 500 a month. either way thats still insanely cheap, considering many other cities. rockstudy- im pretty sure they found it in the newspaper apt listings. maybe craigslist doesnt have such good deals since they know out of towners are looking on there?? yes if you live alone it will be more expensive, but still very cheap compared to most cities. are you planning on attending dyouville?

Ngozi- i think you are being smart with weighing out all your options. best of luck to you. i would just take everyones comments into consideration. you are on the forum for a reason. if you were sure about your decision you wouldnt be making these posts. whatever you decide, PTA or PT both are great careers. good luck to you.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Lets see how this cycle goes and then we can talk about next cycle if it comes to that, hopefully I get accepted in to one of my top cheap schools, still waiting to hear back from 5 of them. I really don't think I'm going to D'Youville though even though it's the only one that accepted me so far, I just have to warm up to the idea of going in to debt I guess but right now to me the debt doesn't seem worth it. Let's see what happens with the other schools and the rest of this cycle. I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks for the talk.

 

[NewTestament]

I still don't understand why you apply to schools that you don't want to pay for. If the debt load is too much, then why apply in the first place? Why don't you apply to schools that are affordable and that you're willing to pay for? You're wasting money applying to schools that are too expensive. You're wasting even more money traveling to those schools to interview with them.

Kevin

 

[HookEmHorns82]

To add to what New Testament said, why would you apply to schools to which you aren't willing to relocate? I purposely didn't apply to schools in Dallas or Houston because I didn't want to move there and it would have been a waste of money.

 

[adh28]

Definitely agree with the above posts. I only applied to three schools not because I was overconfident but because these were all places I would go. Also, need to think about long-term just in case you land a job where you applied. Definitely only applied to spots that I can see myself at over the longer term. There is no top schools for me, it was just a lot of research that resulted in schools I applied to.

 

[Damccookster]

Lets see how this cycle goes and then we can talk about next cycle if it comes to that, hopefully I get accepted in to one of my top cheap schools, still waiting to hear back from 5 of them. I really don't think I'm going to D'Youville though even though it's the only one that accepted me so far, I just have to warm up to the idea of going in to debt I guess but right now to me the debt doesn't seem worth it. Let's see what happens with the other schools and the rest of this cycle. I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks for the talk.

My question is, have you told D'Youville that you will not be attending? There are so many applicants that would kill to get accepted to PT school and if you have intention of going there, you should let go of your spot and give it to someone who is sure of the decisions they have made for their future. We are all adults now and the decisions we make should be well thought out, not complained about because the proper research wasn't done correctly in the first place.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Wow, i'm confused about the last few replies in this thread. I'm still waiting to hear back from 5 schools so I can't say where I'm going yet. I paid my $500 non-refundable deposit to D'Youville so I think that warrants me to be able to hold the spot as long as I want even though I am having second thoughts about attending, plus I'm still waiting to hear back from schools. And yes it was a silly mistake to not check the tuition of the schools before I applied to them and just assume that schools would average $60 - $70,000 when in fact they average $90 - 100,000. And besides, I corrected that mistake by applying to cheap schools with my last several designations on my list. So I lost some money applying to those schools that are over my budget, it's okay I'm not complaining about that. I'm not complaining at all. I'm not complaining Damccooker I was just reacting to the realization that the schooling will cost more than I thought and the salary will be less than I thought.

Borealis you said: "You've put in so much hard work with 12 years of schooling to become a PT" 12 years? more like 2 years. I didn't decide to become a PT until the end of 2010 which is when I went back to school (after being out for four years) to get my bachelors degree to enter PT school.

So like I said let's just see how this cycle goes.

Thank you.

 

[Damccookster]

My comment was not meant to offend you but to ask if you know you won't go to a school for the tuition why even put the deposit down? You have said time and time again throughout this thread things like:

"Believe me if I don't get in to one of those schools in my top 9 list this cycle I'm done with this. If I can't get in to any of these schools, it means that my application needs major work and I just don't think it is worth it to fix and probably not even possible (especially when it comes to overall GPA)."

"I found some cheap school around the country and I'm hoping those schools accept me (still waiting to hear back from about 5 of them). But if they don't I'm okay. If I don't get in to a cheap school, I'll take the loss on what I have spent so far. It's better than going in to major debt to be a DPT and come out only making a little more than I am making now as a PTA."

"I really don't think I'm going to D'Youville though even though it's the only one that accepted me so far, I just have to warm up to the idea of going in to debt I guess but right now to me the debt doesn't seem worth it."

All I'm saying is that it doesn't seem like your heart is in it. I know people who would go to PT school regardless of the price because they WANT to be there (especially if it is the only one they got into). And you "reacting to the realization" of the cost of PT school..thats another story.

I do wish you luck though, and hope whatever you chose you are happy with your decision.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

The part where I said: "i'll take the loss on what I have spent so far" wasn't just me making a statement saying that as to complain. I was saying it in a way so as to say that I didn't care, you know how some people say things and have the i don't care tone, sorry it didn't translate over the internet.

Yeah I was very definitive there with the "I'm done with this." Because I really do believe I am. I don't even really know what to improve on my application besides the GRE. There's no way to improve my overall GPA. I just don't think my application can get much better.

Yes I said the debt doesn't seem worth it and it is not worth it. I am not going to go in to $100,000+ debt to go to DPT school. To me it's just not worth it. So unless I get accepted in to one of the 5 remaining schools on my top list, excluding Seton Hall University now that I realize that is the most expensive school I have ever seen, I will not be going to DPT school and spending the money to apply to more schools next cycle will not be worth it because my application won't change much and it's only going to get more competitive and I've applied to so many schools with only so few accepting me and giving me interviews, that tells me that my application needs a lot of work which I don't think is possible to fix.

Anyway good news today. I was invited for an interview at one of my top schools. Dominican College of Blauvalt. The interview is this Tuesday though and it's a group interview. They only let me know last minute. The sort of messed up thing is that I don't think I would have gotten the interview had I not called them about my status. I applied to this school back in Early November (November 9th) and they never responded to me with anything. I called a couple weeks ago about it and they said that there was an issue with the LORs but I assured them that everything was okay. They said they'd call me back but 2 weeks went by and I heard nothing. I called them back today and left a message and they called me back today offering me an interview. Others on this website applied and recieved an interview within 2 weeks of applying so I knew something was wrong and that I should have heard back sooner. It's kind of messed up that they never contacted me about the issue they had with my LOR, makes me wonder if they just made that up to have a reason for not responding to my application for months. It's even worse that I had to call them AGAIN to get things rolling. If this is how it is with other schools, maybe I shouldn't be just sitting here waiting for them to reply to me, maybe I should be contacting them.

Anyway I'm happy I got the interview at Dominican but another issue arose, the interview is at 3PM and I have an exam in my biology 2 class that day at 6pm. The faculty member that offered me the interview told me that the interview may run up through 5pm. From what I remember, it takes less than an hour to drive there from where I'm at and about where my school is where I'm taking the Biology exam. I'm going to try to make it work some how because they told me that this is the last session of interviews, they have one other one coming up but it's only if seats are not filled from this one so I have to go to this one. The Biology class itself runs from 6 to 8:45pm. I probably won't need the entire class period to do the exam so I can probably come to class a little late and if I need more time I think the professor will be willing to give me more time extending after 8:45. I will email and ask him. I hope everything works out I need to make this interview but have this exam on the same day close to the same time. I'll probably be able to stay longer for the exam if I need to.

 

[nicolej5]

The part where I said: "i'll take the loss on what I have spent so far" wasn't just me making a statement saying that as to complain. I was saying it in a way so as to say that I didn't care, you know how some people say things and have the i don't care tone, sorry it didn't translate over the internet.

Yeah I was very definitive there with the "I'm done with this." Because I really do believe I am. I don't even really know what to improve on my application besides the GRE. There's no way to improve my overall GPA. I just don't think my application can get much better.

Yes I said the debt doesn't seem worth it and it is not worth it. I am not going to go in to $100,000+ debt to go to DPT school. To me it's just not worth it. So unless I get accepted in to one of the 5 remaining schools on my top list, excluding Seton Hall University now that I realize that is the most expensive school I have ever seen, I will not be going to DPT school and spending the money to apply to more schools next cycle will not be worth it because my application won't change much and it's only going to get more competitive and I've applied to so many schools with only so few accepting me and giving me interviews, that tells me that my application needs a lot of work which I don't think is possible to fix.

Anyway good news today. I was invited for an interview at one of my top schools. Dominican College of Blauvalt. The interview is this Tuesday though and it's a group interview. They only let me know last minute. The sort of messed up thing is that I don't think I would have gotten the interview had I not called them about my status. I applied to this school back in Early November (November 9th) and they never responded to me with anything. I called a couple weeks ago about it and they said that there was an issue with the LORs but I assured them that everything was okay. They said they'd call me back but 2 weeks went by and I heard nothing. I called them back today and left a message and they called me back today offering me an interview. Others on this website applied and recieved an interview within 2 weeks of applying so I knew something was wrong and that I should have heard back sooner. It's kind of messed up that they never contacted me about the issue they had with my LOR, makes me wonder if they just made that up to have a reason for not responding to my application for months. It's even worse that I had to call them AGAIN to get things rolling. If this is how it is with other schools, maybe I shouldn't be just sitting here waiting for them to reply to me, maybe I should be contacting them.

Anyway I'm happy I got the interview at Dominican but another issue arose, the interview is at 3PM and I have an exam in my biology 2 class that day at 6pm. The faculty member that offered me the interview told me that the interview may run up through 5pm. From what I remember, it takes less than an hour to drive there from where I'm at and about where my school is where I'm taking the Biology exam. I'm going to try to make it work some how because they told me that this is the last session of interviews, they have one other one coming up but it's only if seats are not filled from this one so I have to go to this one. The Biology class itself runs from 6 to 8:45pm. I probably won't need the entire class period to do the exam so I can probably come to class a little late and if I need more time I think the professor will be willing to give me more time extending after 8:45. I will email and ask him. I hope everything works out I need to make this interview but have this exam on the same day close to the same time. I'll probably be able to stay longer for the exam if I need to.

I've never gotten the impression from you that you really want to be a DPT. You always say "I'm happy being a PTA." Well, then why bother? Why waste time and money applying to something you only half heartedly want? Hell, when you first started posting you were shocked at the cost and more so didn't even know how much a DPT can cost. To me that shows lack of proper research. You say if you don't get in to a cheap school you are giving it up forever. Someone who really wants the DPT would reapply next cycle. Just seems that you're wasting your time.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

I've never gotten the impression from you that you really want to be a DPT. You always say "I'm happy being a PTA." Well, then why bother? Why waste time and money applying to something you only half heartedly want? Hell, when you first started posting you were shocked at the cost and more so didn't even know how much a DPT can cost. To me that shows lack of proper research. You say if you don't get in to a cheap school you are giving it up forever. Someone who really wants the DPT would reapply next cycle. Just seems that you're wasting your time.

Those last 2 sentences don't make sense. How is it wasting my time by NOT reapplying?

 

[okramango]

Anyway good news today. I was invited for an interview at one of my top schools. Dominican College of Blauvalt.

Congrats on your interview!
Good luck, and I hope everything goes well for you, no matter which path you choose to take.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Thanks Okramango. I will go to DPT school if one of my current top schools accepts me. Just FYI the schools I will go to if accepted: Dominican College of Blauvelt, Southwest Baptist University, University of Mary, Alabama State University, Husson University. 2 of them (Dominican and UOM) I have upcoming interviews with, the remaining still waiting to hear back. So I think it's looking good.

The results of the other schools that I applied to earlier in the cycle I'm looking at now more as a litmus test of how good my application is and whether I should reapply next cycle. Still waiting to hear back from some schools (not on my current top list) but so far that litmus test is looking negative.

 

[nicolej5]

Those last 2 sentences don't make sense. How is it wasting my time by NOT reapplying?

You're wasting your time by applying this cycle and going through the process because you always say you are happy with pta. Just don't understand why you bothered to apply to dpt schools when you say the salary isn't different and you're happy with the career you have now.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

nicole how can it make sense to NOT love being a PTA but love being a PT? Also just because I love being a PTA doesn't mean that I can't feel it's better to be a PT, which I do. I can understand if I were working a totally different job, but it's PTA, why shouldn't a DPT school applicant love being a PTA? It would be weird if my reason for applying to DPT school was because I hated being a PTA. That's like an airline pilot training to be an astronaut because they hate flying. And even that analogy isn't as crazy because the relation between an airline pilot and an astronaut is not as close as the relation between a PTA and PT.

 

[DPTHopeful2012]

You're wasting your time by applying this cycle and going through the process because you always say you are happy with pta. Just don't understand why you bothered to apply to dpt schools when you say the salary isn't different and you're happy with the career you have now.

Ngozi has stated several times that she/he applied before researching the salary of DPT and how much debt it would be. So she/he didn't know she/he wouldn't want to go for DPT until after she/he applied to schools. Also, Ngozi said she/he is happy with PTA after applying to schools and realizing the salary and debt aren't worth it. I know we can all read each other's posts, so just take the time to read back if you don't understand someone's position.

I love this board for the opinions we can share, but some of you people need to stop with the unnecessary comments. The 'I don't understand why you applied' comments are getting annoying and trite. End rant.

 

[nicolej5]

Ngozi has stated several times that she/he applied before researching the salary of DPT and how much debt it would be. So she/he didn't know she/he wouldn't want to go for DPT until after she/he applied to schools. Also, Ngozi said she/he is happy with PTA after applying to schools and realizing the salary and debt aren't worth it. I know we can all read each other's posts, so just take the time to read back if you don't understand someone's position.

I love this board for the opinions we can share, but some of you people need to stop with the unnecessary comments. The 'I don't understand why you applied' comments are getting annoying and trite. End rant.

Just boggles my mind someone would apply for admission before researching everything about the profession. Would you apply to PA or med school or any job without reading up and researching everything about the schooling/profession? It's not like the cost of school sneaks up on anyone. I love this board as well, and I never mean to offend anyone purposely, but they're called opinions for a reason. Don't like them, skip over my posts.

 

[DPTHopeful2012]

Just boggles my mind someone would apply for admission before researching everything about the profession. Would you apply to PA or med school or any job without reading up and researching everything about the schooling/profession? It's not like the cost of school sneaks up on anyone. I love this board as well, and I never mean to offend anyone purposely, but they're called opinions for a reason. Don't like them, skip over my posts.

Everybody is different. Everybody has their own opinions and not everybody does everything the same way. Okay, so you don't understand why Ngozi did that. Neither do I, but the reasoning has been stated by the poster. No need to question it again.

 

[jessser987]

DPTHopeful- I do agree that it can sometimes be annoying coming on here and reading harsh or maybe offensive comments. I know we are all here just trying to figure this out, and clearly everyone is stressed out, esp people who haven't heard from schools yet. I also think that anyone has the right to change their mind about school whether it be for financial or personal reasons. The cycle is a long process and things change over the year.

That being said, I have to defend Nicole here has well. We are all on this forum together, and if you are going to come on here and post your life story and your entire thought process on a daily basis, you have to expect people are going to get involved. If you don't want people's opinions, don't post your personal information on a website. It's easy to get emotionally invested in other people's problems or stresses bc it makes us feel better about our stresses and concerns. I think we should all remember that we are all going through a stressful time with this application process and we all handle it differently. In the end, our outcomes with be different, and that is fine bc they are OUR outcomes.

Ngozi- this response isn't being directed toward you, but anyone who is posting on this forum, myself included. I think you have every right to take the time you need to make the decision that is best for you. I think in the end you will be happy either way, but also know that everyone's opinions are just their opinions and you will do what is best for you in the end anyway, so just take everything with a grain of salt.

That's just my 2 cents. anyway, too much time on this forum, not enough time studying for Physics II, have to make sure i get a B in that last class or no pt school for me Lol.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

I don't mind people responding to my stats and posts. I post up my stats for 2 reasons, one reason is because I think a couple people asked me to keep them updated but the major reason is to keep a log of things. I know this is not a good way to keep a log of my DPT school stuff but really all this information I posted in this thread about which schools I've been rejected from and which ones I'm still waiting to hear from and all, that information is only on here and no where else so I'm kind of using this site and this thread specifically like a log. I really should save this information on to a word document on my computer but I haven't (yet). That might come back to bite me if this site crashes or something.

Oh and DPTHopeful I'm a He-She, I'm a hermaphrodite. lol just kidding I'm a he.

 

[DPTHopeful2012]

Oh and DPTHopeful I'm a He-She, I'm a hermaphrodite. lol just kidding I'm a he.