Applying to PT school

[WahooWa16]

For those who have already applied to PT schools, how did you go about choosing schools to apply to? and how many did you apply to? I am going to start applying this fall and need some advice.

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[89bogues]

I only applied to two schools. The low number was mostly due to being accepted by a school, that I would have happily attended, very early on in the admissions cycle, negating the need to apply to more schools for the sole purpose of ensuring admission to at least one program. However, each student and application is different. Most here will recommend applying to 6 or 7 schools. Evaluating schools, I considered the following.

1. Schools for which I was a good academic fit. Meaning I met the prerequisites, had stats which fell within the range of previously accepted classes, and had a decent chance of being accepted. It is okay to have some reaches, but also have some backups.

2. Tuition. Self explanatory

3. Location
-Distance from family and friends
-Environment of surrounding area

4. Program
-General fit and feel
-Graduation rate
-NPTE pass rate
-Structure of curriculum
-Class size
-Faculty
-Facilities
-Research/clinical orientation
-Reputation

These are the things I looked at when applying. Some factors might be more or less important to you. I'm sure other students will have more. Hope this helps.

 

[DesertPT]

The SDN search feature is your friend, my friend. This has been discussed muchas veces.

My original list of schools was based on a desire to stay as local or at least regional as possible. I then eliminated a couple of schools at which I would have had to take extra classes to have all the pre-reqs, and then my priority order of which school I wanted to attend was determined by cost.

 

[tweaze]

I looked at location/job market (for my spouse), overall cost, admission requirements, and average class statistics.

It is kind of overwhelming to narrow down your choices. I used the program list on PTCAS (http://www.ptcas.org/DirectoryProgramsList/ ), and worked by state to go through each school. They all start to look the same after a while, so I suggest breaking it up over time, and keeping a detailed spreadsheet so you don't have to redo your work.

 

[deleted671726]

For those who have already applied to PT schools, how did you go about choosing schools to apply to? and how many did you apply to? I am going to start applying this fall and need some advice.

I agree with what people said above. I would also mention that the USNews Rankings are a solid place to start, but it is not the end-all list of program quality. There are plenty of programs low on that list that are extremely good and generally known (sometimes more locally than nationally) for producing quality PTs.

If you feel like you need more information, I would not hesitate to email the admissions office of the respective school. Especially since many schools don't put all the information on their websites and have pre-made pdf packets of information usually for already accepted students that include program schedule, class descriptions, etc. You can just write a template email asking for certain information and just email it out to every school you are interested in.

I also think it is a great idea to start a spreadsheet with information of each school to easily compare and contrast (especially tuition). I did and it was helpful. Also be aware of costs of living (rent mainly) for different areas. For example, big cities like Chicago and New York are going to have much higher costs of living.

 

[Carson Ranger]

Do not start with USNews.
Do not look at USNews.

 

[DPT2018]

Yeah school rankings don't matter, you're guaranteed a job regardless of where you receive your DPT. I would base it on your personal criteria (what you want from a school). Personally, I looked at location (close to home), cost (tuition), and requirements (GPA avg, GRE avg, etc) b/c my gpa was on the lower end. This was my second year applying and I finally got into my top school. The first year I applied to five schools and only got an interview to one. The second year, I applied to ten schools, received five interviews, was placed on three waiting lists and received two acceptances. I honestly believe it is better to apply to as many schools as you can afford, I know it's expensive!

Good luck

 

[Archline]

I only applied to two schools. The low number was mostly due to being accepted by a school, that I would have happily attended, very early on in the admissions cycle, negating the need to apply to more schools for the sole purpose of ensuring admission to at least one program. However, each student and application is different. Most here will recommend applying to 6 or 7 schools. Evaluating schools, I considered the following.

1. Schools for which I was a good academic fit. Meaning I met the prerequisites, had stats which fell within the range of previously accepted classes, and had a decent chance of being accepted. It is okay to have some reaches, but also have some backups.

2. Tuition. Self explanatory

3. Location
-Distance from family and friends
-Environment of surrounding area

4. Program
-General fit and feel
-Graduation rate
-NPTE pass rate
-Structure of curriculum
-Class size
-Faculty
-Facilities
-Research/clinical orientation
-Reputation

These are the things I looked at when applying. Some factors might be more or less important to you. I'm sure other students will have more. Hope this helps.

This sums it up perfectly!

TLDR; 1)Can I get in? 2) Can I afford it? 3) Do I want to move there? 4) Do I want to go there?