Anyone else in a similar situation?

[Katiekflo]

So all my applications were sent out today, but upon receiving my GPA from PTCAS yesterday, I'm incredibility nervous.

My overall is a 3.44 and my pre-req is a low 3.15.
The reason for my low pre-req grade is I had a D+ in both physics 1, and precalc. I retook physics 1 and recieved a B, and none of the schools I applied to require a math as a pre-req. Also I am in my last semester of undergrad, and I have 3 outstanding pre-reqs that are not included in that. So both my overall and my pre-req GPA should eventually go up.

My other huge concern is that I am not taking my GRE until October 3rd, and I don't have any inpatient hours yet. I do have over 200+ outpatient.

I'm terrified I'm going to be rejected because of my low pre-req grade and the fact that I only have one setting of observation hours.

Anyone else in a similar situation that could encourage me:/

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[Romazicon]

First, take a deep breath. This time next year you'll either be in PT school or have already improved on your application and will be applying again (we don't want that though). Just a couple of questions and my 2 cents.

Why is the GRE Oct. 3rd? Was that the only date available? And if so, did you already sign up? Why not earlier? Money issues (I UNDERSTAND!)?

Study maybe 1-2hrs a day for 2 weeks, take a practice exam or two and look at your weaknesses. Then keep on studying and work on the weaknesses. GRE prep books help too (I like the Princeton review) I studied for 4 days and took a practice test day 1 and day 4 (I was in a rush to apply for early admissions so I took a risk). I had a 297 the first test, and a 306 the second. I got a 302 and 4.0 AW as my official scores. So that's a little insight on what I went through.

In terms of observation hours, make sure to CALL a ton of places! I had to call 8 hospitals around where I live and got a call back by 1 a week later. These places are busy, but they are always happy to help when they have a chance. Note, you may have to have a couple of shots on record for some hospitals. I did an earlier internship at a cardiac rehab in a hospital and had to take some shots (added to over $200; mainly my fault in not keeping up to date with my shots lol). The fact that I had these shots helped me get 20 hrs observation in the outpatient pediatrics rehab department in another hospital since they also asked for those shots. BUT, the in-patient (LTAC) hospital that called me back was not strict with any shot records and I observed there for 42 hours (and was encouraged to come back whenever I wanted) before I submitted my applications. The PT there actually let me do EVERYTHING (yes, I wiped patients, performed passive ROM exercises, adjusted the lines, edge of bed sit to stands, and transfers!!) and I was lucky.

Don't worry too much. I got these 62 hrs in 4 weeks (plus my 20 hrs/wk tech job) and submitted my applications right afterwards. Now I have an interview!! Honestly, 200+ hrs in outpatient is more than enough in that setting in my opinion (anyone out there correct me if I'm wrong). Avoid sending out e-mails to hospitals and give them a call. Leave a message, and follow up in a couple of days. You'll get a position to observe. And 40 in-patient will be adequate. Get some in neuro, peds, or skilled nursing facility.

 

[Katiekflo]

Yes, breathing is something I definitely have to work on haha

So my GRE's are october 3rd for a few reasons. I was planning to take it in the early summer, but life got in the way. I was taking two summer classes ( A&P 2 and Physics 1) and working 2 jobs. I had 1 day off a week, and that was spent doing my insane amount of homework. I wanted to take it early september but at that point, I had left one of my jobs and didn't have enough money.

Seeing how your GRE went gives me hope since I too will be cramming my studying in. Congrats, by the way! I have been going over the prep books, the vocab is so daunting I'm afraid I'm going to blow it in that section. Too many words!

As for the observation hours, it is definitely hard! I live on Long Island, and I have called a few hospitals like Stony Brook and St. Charles, but they fill up so quickly and I couldn't get in. For one of my classes this semester, I have to have in internship at an outpatient clinic, which will wrack up another 90 hours. But it's still not that inpatient setting they're looking for. Oooh shots, I haven't received any in a super long time so I probably will have to go through that too haha. You were definitely lucky, you got such a great experience! That's awesome! I will have to start calling some hospitals in the city at this point and see what I can do.

Congrats again on your interview!! Wishing you the best of luck! Thank you for all your input, I really appreciate it. I'm not as psycho knowing that I still have a chance.

 

[Romazicon]

Well of course. Now I understand why you waited for the GRE. I only had my school internship during the summer but I still got lazy. Don't worry too much about the vocab. It's nearly impossible to up your vocabulary in a short amount of time. Focus more on strategy (discussed in the prep books) in terms of selecting the words/sentences during the verbal part. Also practice doing essays. Get some sample prompts from the ETS website and time yourself. Again, try out the strategies discussed in the prep books. You'll end up doing great! I was surprised I got a 4.0 lol since I'm a native spanish speaker and writing/vocab is no bueno for me.

And you're very welcome. I know exactly what you may be feeling right now. And I was also so glad to get help and advice from others. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

 

[DesertPT]

Did you make sure the schools you apply to will allow 3 outstanding pre-reqs at time of application? Many schools allow a max of 2, or "recommend" you not have more than 2 outstanding.

 

[Katiekflo]

After the fall semester I will only have 2 pre-reqs so I should be fine with that

 

[hearditfromfiver]

I don't know what techniques work best for you to learn, but what helped me with the vocab was like Romazicon said, understanding how the questions are written and how to narrow down your choices. Another big part was that instead of focusing on vocabulary I focused on the roots of words, such as knowing a- means "without" such as an amoral person. It clicked much better for me personally to have the tools to decipher unknown words and made me feel like I didn't have to know every word in the English dictionary. Good luck!

 

[billairen123]

So all my applications were sent out today, but upon receiving my GPA from PTCAS yesterday, I'm incredibility nervous.

My overall is a 3.44 and my pre-req is a low 3.15.
The reason for my low pre-req grade is I had a D+ in both physics 1, and precalc. I retook physics 1 and recieved a B, and none of the schools I applied to require a math as a pre-req. Also I am in my last semester of undergrad, and I have 3 outstanding pre-reqs that are not included in that. So both my overall and my pre-req GPA should eventually go up.

My other huge concern is that I am not taking my GRE until October 3rd, and I don't have any inpatient hours yet. I do have over 200+ outpatient.

I'm terrified I'm going to be rejected because of my low pre-req grade and the fact that I only have one setting of observation hours.

Anyone else in a similar situation that could encourage me:/

I am the same boat, but I already graduated . I am taking the GRE on October too.

 

[starrsgirl]

After the fall semester I will only have 2 pre-reqs so I should be fine with that

Do all the schools you are applying to make late admissions decisions? As in January or Feb?