Hello everyone! I've been anxiously stalking these forums while waiting for responses from the schools that I applied to and now that I’ve received some closure, I decided to make a post about my application experience so far. I wanted to share my story in case anyone else felt the same passion for PT as I have developed, but also came from a background that wasn’t optimal for academic pursuit…
To put it simply, I lost contact with my father at a young age and was severely neglected by my mother. I had no choice but to raise myself throughout my childhood and this independence was hard to manage in a lower-class, immigrant family. I could barely read by the first grade and spoke English very poorly as a child. As you can imagine, I was used to being the worst student in the class and this trend carried on throughout high school, as well as the earlier parts of my academic career in college. I obtained an associates at a local CC with a GPA of 2.9. I honestly didn’t know how to be a successful student because I never took my education seriously, and I also prioritized my work over school as it was a means to the roof over my head, and food on my table. I somehow managed to transfer to a CSU where I found my love for PT. During this time, I spent 40-50 hours a week between 2 jobs (one for $ and the other, for OHs) while also averaging 15 units a semester. Tomorrow will be my last day of undergrad and although it felt premature to submit my DPT applications this cycle, I decided to give it a shot since I fulfilled most of the minimum requirements.
Here are my stats:
University: CSU, Fullerton
Major: Kinesiology (Concentration: Clinical Exercise Science)
cGPA: 3.38
pGPA: 3.1 - 3.5
GRE: 147V, 152Q, 4W
Extracurriculars:
Over 7 years as server/bartender, peer mentor @CSUF, physical therapy aid for roughly 3 years, honestly I had no time for anything else so let’s move on…
Achievements:
Dean’s list for every semester except one (when I took physics, bio, chem, pathologies, and an activity course…don’t ever do that), recognition by the dean of the department for leadership/being a peer mentor
OHs:
700 outpatient @ 1 setting (this was on my application and I now have over 850 at the same place)
30 inpatient @ 1 setting (I now have 70)
LOR:
2 PTs (I worked under both for roughly 3 years)
1 Professor (He was my professor for Movement Anatomy, as well as the coordinator for the peer mentor program)
Applied: Sac State, UCSF, Fresno State, UOP, SMU
Acceptances: N/A
Rejections: Sac State, Fresno State, UOP
Waitlisted: SMU
TBD: UCSF
So…I highly doubt I will receive an interview at UCSF as they have already sent out invitations and their standards are really high. And yes, it hurt BAD when I received all of those rejections, and I’ve been told that I was 117 of 118 on the waitlist so I probably will not get accepted to SMU…Is this a success story? Well I’ve been beating myself up over the past couple of days because I have essentially been rejected from every school that I applied to. After giving it some deep thought, I realized that this is not the end. A program showed interest in my mediocre application which has MUCH room to improve on. This means that if I can obtain a greater variety of hours and improve on my GRE scores, then I could possibly stand a very good chance at gaining admission. Considering the strides which I have taken to get to this point, I believe that I can take a positive outlook toward the outcome of this application period. My point is, if you are just as passionate about whatever career you’re chasing as I am about PT, if you’re willing to grind out those sleepless semesters in order to pay your way through school while striving to become a successful student, if you’re willing to work your ass off and fight through that adversity then ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. I’ve had counselors tell me that I don’t stand a chance at PT, my teachers in grade school would ridicule me for my poor performance in class, and while being 117th on a waitlist isn’t too much to show for, I see my dreams of becoming a PT in the grasp of my fingertips. I know I will be there someday and if its a question of whether I have the ability to improve as an applicant in order to get accepted to a program, then it is simply a matter of time. If you’re feeling discouraged as I was before then just take a deep breath and look to find out how you can become a better applicant. One day at a time… Also, if you’ve reached this part of my long rant and you’re in the same/similar boat, I hope that my story has moved you. Keep that chin up and continue to persevere cause hey, that’s what we’re best at, right?