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ThatClemsonGirl

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I'm a first year DPT student at MUSC and currently almost done with my second semester! I remember a year ago when I was on here while applying, and I had so many questions about PT school, applying, etc. So I'm here to answer any of yours! Ask away!

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When did you hear about acceptance and what were your stats?
 
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I'm a first year DPT student at MUSC and currently almost done with my second semester! I remember a year ago when I was on here while applying, and I had so many questions about PT school, applying, etc. So I'm here to answer any of yours! Ask away!
What have been some of the highlights and low points of attending MUSC so far?
 
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I'm a first year DPT student at MUSC and currently almost done with my second semester! I remember a year ago when I was on here while applying, and I had so many questions about PT school, applying, etc. So I'm here to answer any of yours! Ask away!
What was the general timeframe that you remember hearing back from MUSC? I know the application deadline is December 15th so I imagine the earliest we would hear back would be late December or early January. However, it would be really nice to know for sure the time-frame I should expect. Thanks!
 
What was the general timeframe that you remember hearing back from MUSC? I know the application deadline is December 15th so I imagine the earliest we would hear back would be late December or early January. However, it would be really nice to know for sure the time-frame I should expect. Thanks!
Wasn't the deadline October 2nd?
 
When did you hear about acceptance and what were your stats?

I actually got accepted off of the waitlist in mid to late February, but most of the people in my class that got an initial acceptance were accepted in January. But I'm pretty sure that they bumped back the dates this round (the deadline last year was in November, I think) because they were accepting people so much later than other schools, so you guys might actually hear earlier than that.

These were my stats:
University: Clemson University
Major: Biological Sciences
Overall GPA: 3.78
Pre-Req GPA: 3.5
GRE: 155 V; 160 Q; 3.5 A
Shadowing hours: 150+ in mostly outpatient ortho, but also did some inpatient
 
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What have been some of the highlights and low points of attending MUSC so far?

I honestly love MUSC, and I'm not just saying that just because I go here. Sorry this is going to be long!

Highlights:
-Professors: our professors are amazing, and a lot of them are nationally recognized. The current president and the president before that of the SC chapter of the APTA are PT professors from MUSC. The vice-president of the national APTA is a professor from MUSC. A lot of them are also still practicing clinicians and are still treating patients, which is great because they are still getting new clinical experiences to share with us and sometimes even bring some of their patients into class for learning experiences.
-CARES clinic: this is one of my TOP reasons for coming here. The CARES clinic is basically a PT/OT clinic on campus that functions as a normal clinic by day, but two nights a week, it turns into a free student-run clinic for underserved/uninsured people in the area. So you get hands on experience starting your first semester here, which is AMAZING. You learn things in class and see a lot of of it soon after on an actual patient. You learn glides and exercises in class and then can show them and do them on a patient in the clinic. With a lot of other programs, the first hands-on experience you get with real patients isn't until your first rotation, which is kind of scary to me. I feel like it's better preparing me for my rotations and making me more comfortable in the clinic setting. You also have opportunities to be on the board that operates CARES so you can also see the business side of things if that interests you or if you want to open your own clinic someday.
-Location: I mean, it's in Charleston, so there's so much stuff to do and beaches to go to. Lots of great restaurants and venues, etc. Also, the location of the school is great too. Since we're on a campus with a hospital, you get to have some experience in there as well. Like this semester we learned about transfers and bed mobility, and then we got to go in the hospital and practice it on actual patients. A lot of schools don't have those kind of opportunities.

Low Points:
I don't really have any low points so far. PT school is definitely the hardest thing I've done in my life so far, so low points might be that I have had to adjust to an 8-5 school day while still having to make time to study, go to the gym, cook, etc afterwards. The material is thrown at you really fast and you learn VERY quickly that undergrad study habits don't fly in PT school. So for me, I had to learn how to study effectively and stay on top of things. But I feel like that would be the same with any other school.
Another thing that isn't really a big deal to me is that because MUSC is kind of old, some of the lecture rooms are kind of outdated, but they're refurbishing a lot of them and building a lot of cool new things. (We have an amazing gym.) But even though some of them are outdated (and they aren't even really that outdated), they all have outlets for your laptops at every seat, which is all that really matters to me. haha
-One thing that I was kind of bummed about is that we didn't get to dissect our own cadavers for anatomy lab. The PA students dissected them, and then we got to go in and learn all of the stuff. (Although, the PAs were always staying late after to finish the dissections because they took so long and always seemed stressed about it so maybe it's good we didn't have to haha)
-Parking and Traffic: because it's Charleston (aka Tourist Central in the summer), there can be lots of traffic, especially during peak hours. Parking is kinda sparse and far-ish away from campus (at least as a first year), but they have buses that run from the lots to campus. It's still within walking distance, though.


That's all I can think of right now!
 
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Is there anything you may have overlooked when applying to schools or when deciding what school to go to that you would tell students applying to know?
 
Is there anything you may have overlooked when applying to schools or when deciding what school to go to that you would tell students applying to know?

Great question! One of the PTs I shadowed told me to look at how the school does their clinical rotations, (which I would have never even thought about). But clinical rotations are a big deal. It's when you get your actual hands-on independent experience. He told me to look at when the clinical rotations are in the program, how many they have, how long they are for, and also how you get placed.
So some things to look for:
-How long are they and how many are there: Some schools have fewer rotations and have them for like 16 weeks, which is good if you want to build rapport there or potentially have a job there after graduation, etc. But let's say that you're placed somewhere that you don't really like, well now you're stuck there for 16 weeks, as opposed to having a couple smaller length ones, where'd you'd only have to be there for 8 weeks. Also, the more rotations they have, the more variety of settings and locations you get.
-When are they in the program: This depends on personal preference. Some schools have them all at the end, so you learn all of your classroom stuff and then have all of the information to go on all of your rotations. Other schools alternate classwork with rotations. So at MUSC, you have all of your musculoskeletal classes during your first year, then you do an outpatient ortho rotation, then you take your neuro classes and you go on a neuro rotation. Then you get to pick and choose where you want the last two, which I really like. But again, it's all based on what your preference is.
-How you get placed: some schools are smaller and have connections with clinics and you can pick and choose which ones you go to. I feel like that isn't really common, but I've heard of some schools that do that. Some schools pick for you. Some schools put you in a lottery system and you pick a list of favorites and they choose one off of there.

So just a few things that I'm glad I took into account when I was applying! Again, it all depends on what you personally are looking for, so look at and compare different programs and see which ones match your preferences.


Also another thing --> RESEARCH.
Some schools are research-based and require you to do a big research project/paper and present it and stuff your last year. So if you really like research, go ahead and choose a school that has that. However, if you are like me and hate research and research projects, maybe look at schools where that isn't required. haha
 
I'm a first year DPT student at MUSC and currently almost done with my second semester! I remember a year ago when I was on here while applying, and I had so many questions about PT school, applying, etc. So I'm here to answer any of yours! Ask away!

I recently have been accepted to MUSC starting in 2018. I'm curious to learn if they have any opportunities such as research assistant, grad assistant, etc. and if so are they compensated positions?
 
I recently have been accepted to MUSC starting in 2018. I'm curious to learn if they have any opportunities such as research assistant, grad assistant, etc. and if so are they compensated positions?
Congratulations on your acceptance! What were your stats?
 
Congratulations on your acceptance! What were your stats?

Out-of-state applicant
Cum. GPA: 3.49
Pre-Req/Science: 3.73
GRE: 155 verbal, 160 quant, 4.5
308 observation hours
1000+hours in biomechanics research
4 strong letters of recommendation
 
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Out-of-state applicant
Cum. GPA: 3.49
Pre-Req/Science: 3.73
GRE: 155 verbal, 160 quant, 4.5
308 observation hours
1000+hours in biomechanics research
4 strong letters of recommendation
Nice! What was the date that you must pay the deposit by? Thanks!
 
I just got an acceptance letter for a school in Arkansas starting in the Fall of 2018. My question is what kind of supplies have you found useful in your first year? Specifically, how do you take notes using paper or do most people use notebooks? Is there anything else you would suggest buying? What study habits have you found useful?
 
I recently have been accepted to MUSC starting in 2018. I'm curious to learn if they have any opportunities such as research assistant, grad assistant, etc. and if so are they compensated positions?

Hey!
They do offer research positions, and they are treated as a co-op type of position. You usually get paid around $10 an hour I think. I have a few friends that are doing it , and there is a lot of cool research going on!
 
I just got an acceptance letter for a school in Arkansas starting in the Fall of 2018. My question is what kind of supplies have you found useful in your first year? Specifically, how do you take notes using paper or do most people use notebooks? Is there anything else you would suggest buying? What study habits have you found useful?

Hey!
I personally take a lot of my notes on my computer, because I find the classes to be pretty fast-paced, and I can't write the information down fast enough. I feel like most people do take notes on computers, but some people take their notes by hand and still do really well in the class. It just depends on personal preference and what works for you. A lot of our professors have their information on powerpoints or notes that they give us, and a lot of what they lecture on in class is straight from there, so I spend most of my time trying to listen during class. Then I just type extra comments and things that they say that aren't in the powerpoints, or things that need clarifying. I found that it helps so much if you focus less on writing everything down and focus more on engaging and absorbing the information in class. However, a study tool that I use is going back through my typed notes and writing out key points on paper and organizing stuff into tables and charts. You will get a lot of information thrown at you, and it will just end up looking like a ton of words on a piece of paper, so I found it helpful to try to organize and condense stuff as best as I could. I would draw out pictures from the powerpoints or write parts of my notes using color coding with colored pens (my favorite).
Also, I know this is so often said, but you can NOT wait until the last minute in PT school to study for a test or practical. I can tell you right now that you will not do well... Find a little group of people in your class that would be willing to meet an hour or two a week and just go over information that you learned that week in class. Talking over information is a huge study tool.
One thing I would suggest buying is a little whiteboard. I bought one, and I cannot tell you how useful it was, especially in anatomy and neuroscience where I had to know a TON of pathways and stuff. Just being able to draw them out, label them, erase, repeat, etc. over and over again was great. That's all I can think of right now. Let me know if you have any more questions!
 
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Hey!
I personally take a lot of my notes on my computer, because I find the classes to be pretty fast-paced, and I can't write the information down fast enough. I feel like most people do take notes on computers, but some people take their notes by hand and still do really well in the class. It just depends on personal preference and what works for you. A lot of our professors have their information on powerpoints or notes that they give us, and a lot of what they lecture on in class is straight from there, so I spend most of my time trying to listen during class. Then I just type extra comments and things that they say that aren't in the powerpoints, or things that need clarifying. I found that it helps so much if you focus less on writing everything down and focus more on engaging and absorbing the information in class. However, a study tool that I use is going back through my typed notes and writing out key points on paper and organizing stuff into tables and charts. You will get a lot of information thrown at you, and it will just end up looking like a ton of words on a piece of paper, so I found it helpful to try to organize and condense stuff as best as I could. I would draw out pictures from the powerpoints or write parts of my notes using color coding with colored pens (my favorite).
Also, I know this is so often said, but you can NOT wait until the last minute in PT school to study for a test or practical. I can tell you right now that you will not do well... Find a little group of people in your class that would be willing to meet an hour or two a week and just go over information that you learned that week in class. Talking over information is a huge study tool.
One thing I would suggest buying is a little whiteboard. I bought one, and I cannot tell you how useful it was, especially in anatomy and neuroscience where I had to know a TON of pathways and stuff. Just being able to draw them out, label them, erase, repeat, etc. over and over again was great. That's all I can think of right now. Let me know if you have any more questions!
I have to agree with this!
 
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Would you study or prepare for the first year of PT school differently if you got to go back? (Say anatomy for instance)?
 
Would you study or prepare for the first year of PT school differently if you got to go back? (Say anatomy for instance)?
That's a really good question, because this time last year, I was thinking the exact same thing. I was working a receptionist job the few months leading up until I started PT school, so I had a lot of free time when I wasn't answering phones. I took that time to go over some anatomy, because I thought (like you are probably thinking right now), "It might be a great idea to brush up on some anatomy and get a head start on the material!" Well, I can tell you honestly, I don't think it made much of a difference. Haha. The anatomy you learn in PT school is, in my opinion, on a whole other level than the anatomy you learn in undergrad. You cover everything in such great detail, so even if you do study some anatomy beforehand, odds are you're only going to scrape the surface of the material you'll learn in just the first week. And once you start anatomy, it'll pretty much be your whole life from then on, and you'll be reminiscing the days when you had so much free time. So I would say don't worry too much about trying to get a head start on material. ;) Just enjoy your free time!
 
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  • How are rotations chosen at MUSC?
  • Is it possible to set up new clinical sites? I am interested in one in Florida.
  • What kind of electives are there and how are those chosen? I know some schools offer electives that end up with a certification such as dry needling or strength&conditioning.
  • How often are you required to volunteer in the pro bono clinic?
  • Are there any weekend events that you have to attend?
  • Are you required to attend the APTA conferences?
  • Where do first years park and how much does it cost or is it included in tuition?
  • MUSC lists books as $6000 on their cost of attendance sheet. Would you say this is accurate?
I was recently accepted and will be attending in May! Thank you in advance!
 
-do most people wear scrubs to class or more of business casual dress? trying to plan ahead and purchase any extra clothes I will need to!

thanks in advance!
 
I have already been accepted into MUSC and will be coming in May. My Fiancee' and I just got our apartment off of the same exit as CSU, near the top of West Ashley/Goose Creek area. In your experience with the traffic and all how long would you estimate it should take me in the morning for my commute? Also, where should I plan on parking when I arrive on campus and approximately how far is the parking from where my classes will be? thanks so much in advance!
 
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