Applying to 7 programs...should I add 2 more?

[cofr4r]

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Hey all, I'm putting the finishes touches on some of my supplemental essays and getting ready to submit everything. I am currently applying to 7 programs: university of colorado anschutz, regis, colorado mesa university, university of utah, rocky mtn university of health professions, OSU-cascades, and university of vermont. My top choice is Anschutz, I really want that in-state tuition. I picked all those programs based on a number of factors but one important one being that none require the GRE. I didn't really want/have time to study for it or take it. I do want to make sure I am casting a wide enough net with the programs I am applying to, and now I'm wondering if I should take it and add a few more programs to the list. I'm mostly looking for some advice based on my current statistics, I know it's impossible to say who will or won't get in to any given program but I just want to make sure I'm at least competitive to the seven I'm applying to now. If that's the case then I feel ok about not taking the GRE and adding a couple more.

- I'm a colorado resident and did my undergrad here, I majored in environmental science/geography (I only started pursuing PT after my junior year)
- My cumulative gpa is 3.66 and my prerequisite specific gpa is 3.64-3.68 depending on the program
- I have about 415 outpatient shadowing hours (saw geriatrics, pediatrics, sports specific, and general ortho patients) at a few different clinics and ~20 inpatient hours (short-term inpatient rehab facility for older patients recovering from injuries/surgery)
- As far as volunteering/extra-cirriculars I am lacking, I was an active member of some clubs but none related to pt
- I worked part time for most of my undergrad except for a few periods where I was injured or too busy with classes
- I have 4 letters of rec (2 from pt's, a boss, and a professor) and what I think are good essays

I am happy with my gpa, essays, and letters of rec but I feel as though I'm lacking quite a bit in my shadowing experience and volunteering. I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to take the GRE and apply to a few more programs to make sure I can get in somewhere this cycle.

Good luck to everyone applying this cycle!

 

[davehikes22]

Maybe on the inpatient side, you could get more. I usually tell pre PTs 50 inpatient and 50 outpatient. Really don't need much more unless the school requires 200+ or something (ie: Cal State Northridge). I only had 120 ish hours total and only applied to 3 schools (accepted 2/3).

I agree that volunteering might be something you could try to add a bit. The summer I applied to PT school I found a campus clean-up volunteer group as well as a Special Olympics first aid volunteer position (I'm also an EMT).

Overall its hard to say if adding schools will improve ur chances that much, since every school is seeing the same grades, hours, etc.

One tip I will say (especially if writing school-specific essays or during the interviews), is to look into any research that the faculty has done, find some that interest you, and look up their scientific papers on PubMed, read them, and talk about the study they've conducted in your essay or interview and how it relates to your interests. This can help you stand out quite a bit. The point is really to show how interested you are in them, rather than be interesting yourself.

I know Christopher Carcia - program director from Col Mesa - has tons of published work so if you're interested in CMU I suggest you start there, but Im also bias toward that program lol. ur lucky to be from a state w lots of good programs tbh.
good luck!