Im majoring in exercise science at the moment at University. I struggled my freshmen year had some issues with college but im hoping to get my grades up. I was looking at requirements for Grad school and im asking if i would apply and not get in what are my options. Are there ways to still do Physical Therapy?
What are options if i dont get into PT school
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You need a physical therapy degree to practice physical therapy, but other options you would have are physical therapy tech/aide (no degree required) or physical therapy assistant (two year program). If you don't fancy that you can always re-apply the following year. You could even consider other career paths such as physican's assistant, unless you were very intent on PT.
well sorry that both of the threads got in the same forum i had the other one in the actual Physical Therapy part. But I am concerned what i will be able to even do with a exercise science degree if i dont get into a Pt program
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Well firstly, you can always try reapplying next year. Your odds are a lot better when you're not rushing to get everything in and have plenty of time to really write your essay and get more observation experience. Not everyone gets their bachelors in 4 years and then gets into a PT program right away. I forget what it is exactly, but the average age for PTCAS applicants accepted is around 24 or 25 I think (I might be slightly off).
If that doesn't work, or if you want to consider another career choice, yes, there ARE options (unfortunately not directly related to PT though). Look into ACSM's HFS certification. You can find it here:
http://certification.acsm.org/acsm-certified-health-fitness-specialist
On that link, you can also find other certifications which you can look into. They also have descriptions of what you can do with each of those certifications (anything from work at a gym, to a wellness team, to a hospital). Your bachelors degree alone won't really help you in applying for medical jobs. You need to get certified in something if you want to do anything with your exercise science degree.
If that doesn't work, or if you want to consider another career choice, yes, there ARE options (unfortunately not directly related to PT though). Look into ACSM's HFS certification. You can find it here:
http://certification.acsm.org/acsm-certified-health-fitness-specialist
On that link, you can also find other certifications which you can look into. They also have descriptions of what you can do with each of those certifications (anything from work at a gym, to a wellness team, to a hospital). Your bachelors degree alone won't really help you in applying for medical jobs. You need to get certified in something if you want to do anything with your exercise science degree.
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With your degree you can become an exercise physiologist which is a great starting medical career. Being an exercise physiologist is also related to physical therapy so it looks great on your resume as you continue to apply for physical therapy schools. I am taking this path since my grades aren't as high as I would like them either.
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Check out podiatry! There are great sports medicine options in this field!
Maybe I am a little sheltered from what's available in the undergrad world but I don't know if there is a pre-physical therapy bachelor's degree. A lot of people working toward a PT graduate degree (including myself) have their undergrad degrees in either Exercise Science or Kinesiology, both are good foundations for the DPT programs. Those two undergrad majors are not requirements for DPT admissions, in fact, virtually all DPT programs state no preference on the person's bachelor's degree only that the person meet all the programs pre-req's. I think some of the other posters have given you some really good options to consider if you're unsure about PT (a couple not requiring a bachelor's although PT Tech/Aide is probably not a long term career choice).
You don't say how far along you are in your undergrad work so even though you struggled your freshman year, there may well be time to correct any grade deficiencies that could hold you back on your DPT applications. Good luck!
Did you check out the link that Neophyteparkour posted for ACSM? They specifically mention an exercise science degree as a pre-req for their certifications and there seem to be some good options if you were to continue in exercise science, were not interested in grad school and were interested in any of the fields ACSM supports.
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It doesn't have a good job field even if you have a masters. Everyone I know who has an undergradute degree in exercise physiology applied to graduate school for PT or OT. If you don't go to grad school, you'll be a well educated, but a poorly paid, personal trainer. Do PT and you won't regret it.
Kevin
