Am I using my time in undergrad effectively?

[ab.ma.ri]

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Hi guys! I just wanted to share what my stats are/are predicted to be in case anyone sees gaps I should be filling. I'll apply in the summer of 2026, so I have some time but I really need to be using this next year effectively!!

Stats:

• Current Overall GPA 3.97 | GPA in Prerequisite Courses (currently A&P 1 and 2, Med Terms, Psych, Stats) 4.0
  Goal: maintain an overall GPA of 3.8+ & focus on getting a 4.0 in my prerequisite subjects
  
  
• Internship Hours: projected to be 180
  50 outpatient ortho (completed), 30 inpatient ortho/neuro (in progress), 50 sportsmed/outpatient ortho (scheduled), 50 VA hospital (not yet scheduled).
  This is where I'm most concerned, I can't really tell if I'm doing enough but I would struggle to add more. I could potentially do another 30hr if I really had to?

Experiences:

• Martial arts instructor:
  6+ hours/week since I was a sophomore in hs, I'm currently a head instructor for the Jrs/Teens and the program director for the little warriors, I redid the warriors curriculum to focus more on motor skill development so they are better prepared for the big kid classes (& life), I intend to start learning to teach adults soon
  
  
• Research Project
  I'm putting together a research project evaluating the motor-skill focused curriculum, I'm proposing & developing the project, I have professors advising it, I intend to bring in another student or two in the next semester as we formalize it, and I'll present at the undergraduate research showcase.
  
  
• I volunteer helping to teach first aid (Stop The Bleed, BLS, HSI CPR & AED, USCCA Fundamentals of First Aid, Emergency Planning, youth first aid)
  
  
• I earned my IB diploma in HS, so I will be graduating with my BS in Kinesiology in 3 years, also my CAS project was developing & teaching a youth first aid seminar
  
  
• I've been in physical therapy off & on since I was 8, I learned I have a connective tissue disorder in 2022 & have consistently been in PT weekly since that summer. I know you can include some of your time as a PT patient in your observation section, but I don't know how much of that is reasonable to include. Just the last round? Just while in undergrad?
  
  
• I tend to test well, I did well on the SAT & my IB exams (which happened at the exact same time as my black belt testing) so I'm fairly confident I'll get a solid GRE, which I plan to start studying for in the fall
  
  
• I'll have a rec letter from my martial arts instructor (who I'll have been teaching for for 5 years), my physical therapist (I'll shadow her later this summer & I've worked with her for 2 years now), and hopefully a faculty advisor from my research project (one is the Chair of Kinesiology & we get along very well so I'm thinking I'll ask her)

Overall I know that I'm a strong student & leader, but I'm not 100% sure that all of my stats show that since most of my free time goes towards teaching at the studio. Thoughts?

 

[DSDPT2022]

I think your stats are outstanding quite frankly. Much better than mine and I got into 3 schools.

I think you're doing enough to show that you're doing a lot of extracurricular activities and your shadowing shows you have an interest in PT for sure. I would probably try and get your overall hours in that 300 range and again, good job shadowing in multiple settings.

This would be done to show you know what you're getting into as well as making sure YOU know what you're getting into.

I think a lot of students that want to become PT's dont know that alot of school is neuro based education and not the flashy MSK content people misconceive PT school to be.

 

[JMarcusDPT]

Your stats look great. I would also suggest getting more hours if possible. I've never heard of hours as a patient counting towards observation hours. The point of observing is to make sure the profession is right for you, and you're not always seeing the whole picture as a patient. I'm definitely speaking to the people who shadow me differently than I speak to my patients about the realities of the profession. I also wonder if you can get another PT to write your letter of recommendation. I can see potential ethical issues from the letter being written by someone who has mostly been treating you, and again, she knows you as a patient, not as much as someone who shadowed her.

 

[ab.ma.ri]

I think your stats are outstanding quite frankly. Much better than mine and I got into 3 schools.

I think you're doing enough to show that you're doing a lot of extracurricular activities and your shadowing shows you have an interest in PT for sure. I would probably try and get your overall hours in that 300 range and again, good job shadowing in multiple settings.

This would be done to show you know what you're getting into as well as making sure YOU know what you're getting into.

I think a lot of students that want to become PT's dont know that alot of school is neuro based education and not the flashy MSK content people misconceive PT school to be.

Thank you! I'll work on my hours🙂
Good to know that school focuses more on neuro too@

 

[ab.ma.ri]

Your stats look great. I would also suggest getting more hours if possible. I've never heard of hours as a patient counting towards observation hours. The point of observing is to make sure the profession is right for you, and you're not always seeing the whole picture as a patient. I'm definitely speaking to the people who shadow me differently than I speak to my patients about the realities of the profession. I also wonder if you can get another PT to write your letter of recommendation. I can see potential ethical issues from the letter being written by someone who has mostly been treating you, and again, she knows you as a patient, not as much as someone who shadowed her.

Hmm I hadn't thought about the ethical implications of her writing my rec letter, I just figured she knew me better than any PT and we talk a lot about work & school... I'm shadowing her right now too, but I'll look into what the schools I'm looking at would think about it. Thanks for pointing it out!!