I am a junior in my undergrad studies and was wondering when is the optimal time to apply for PT school? Sorry if this is a repeat question as I am new to this forum.
When to apply?
- Thread starter msemia
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As an undergraduate, you should generally apply the summer before your senior year starts. That is, of course, if you want to matriculate into a DPT program right after undergrad. Make sure that you have:
-Prerequisite requirements for each program
-GRE completed/Planned for completion
-Observation Hours
-Letters of Recommendation
-Work on your resume(for some programs)
-Personal Statement
-Transcript(s) from ALL schools you attended
The earlier you can have all of this stuff done, the better you are. PTCAS typically opens July 1st for e-submission of your application. Then it takes approx 3-6 weeks for them to mail it out to your schools once they have matched all of your information with your transcripts. My advice would be to go over your application several times before you submit it. What may seem very trivial or marginal to you could cause a delay in the processing of your application. Once you do that, you will be good to go. I am sure there will be questions along the way, but this is a general guideline. Also keep in mind that depending on the schools you choose to apply to, there may be supplemental applications/materials to fill out. Best wishes to you!
-Prerequisite requirements for each program
-GRE completed/Planned for completion
-Observation Hours
-Letters of Recommendation
-Work on your resume(for some programs)
-Personal Statement
-Transcript(s) from ALL schools you attended
The earlier you can have all of this stuff done, the better you are. PTCAS typically opens July 1st for e-submission of your application. Then it takes approx 3-6 weeks for them to mail it out to your schools once they have matched all of your information with your transcripts. My advice would be to go over your application several times before you submit it. What may seem very trivial or marginal to you could cause a delay in the processing of your application. Once you do that, you will be good to go. I am sure there will be questions along the way, but this is a general guideline. Also keep in mind that depending on the schools you choose to apply to, there may be supplemental applications/materials to fill out. Best wishes to you!
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Very good question. I am little bit of a non-traditional student so I already had my GREs done a while before I even started the application process. That said, I would think it would be best to take the GRE some time in the summer before you start the application process, so they can be ready for ETS to send to your schools. The recommendation is to take them 6 weeks in advance. So you could take them after you begin the application process but it may push you back a month or so. I think others will chime in on when they took their GRE, and hopefully this will give you a better idea!
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I e-submitted at the beginning of August and also took my GREs in August.....and September...... and October. Haha. But, I was "non-traditional" in that I already had my bachelor's degree and only went back to school to grab my pre-reqs. I wanted to focus on finishing all my classes, then do the GRE, and then still be ready in plenty of time before the deadlines hit.
I took the GRE in February of my junior year. I picked February so I could use winter break to study for it instead of trying to squeeze it into my study time for classes during the semester. Also, since I knew I would start the application process in July, taking the GRE in February allowed me enough time to retake it if I needed to without being stressed about deadlines.
Not all schools have a min GRE score... the ones that do usually say verbal min--400 and minimum of 1000 combined
I would say as long as you have met there minimum scores they will definitely consider you. As you may have seen on other threads GRE is not a huge deciding factor they weigh GPA much more heavily.
I took the GRE late (in august right before i applied to schools) and got only the 400 min verbal score and only a 1050 total.
I was very nervous/upset at first but I ended up getting in to every school I applied including many of the "top 10" schools (Northwestern, Pitt and Wash U).
So from my experience GRE is only a check in the box if you met the minimum score.
I would say as long as you have met there minimum scores they will definitely consider you. As you may have seen on other threads GRE is not a huge deciding factor they weigh GPA much more heavily.
I took the GRE late (in august right before i applied to schools) and got only the 400 min verbal score and only a 1050 total.
I was very nervous/upset at first but I ended up getting in to every school I applied including many of the "top 10" schools (Northwestern, Pitt and Wash U).
So from my experience GRE is only a check in the box if you met the minimum score.
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