Concerned PT applicant!

[jorjyyyyy]

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I know this is will be my first post but I really need advice on how to approach my situation. I messed up early on in my UG and as I've gotten older, I realized my youthful indiscretions are catching up to me. This is my second time applying to PT school. I've retaken my GRE, increased my GPA (by retaking a bunch of courses all of which Ive gotten A-/A's and the lowest was a B+, and that was Gen Bio I lab) and increased my volunteer hours.

here are my current grades and hours:
GPA: 3.211
sGPA: 3.011 (i know this is low but I've retaken all my sciences that I've gotten my lowest grades)


GRE:
06/17/2011GENERALVerbal360Quant.660Writin3.5
08/20/2013GENERALVerbal147Quant.152Writin4.0
(horrendous my first time in the verbal part, and just under 150 the second time, I know)

Volutneer hours:

165 hours at an private clinic
250 hours at a public hospital


My med school friends have suggested to take a one year masters program and then reapplying upon completion. I was thinking maybe go back to school and do a post-bacc degree (specifically exercise science) and obviously get a minimum 3.7ish gpa in that. I wanted opinions on what I should do. Thanks in advance for even reading this thread, and hopefully for your inputs!

 

[rltruong]

Im accepted into a program that starts in may. I have a masters but to be honest I don't really believe it help me get into the program. many of my interviews didn't even bring up it up during the interview. from applying twice i believe that most schools will look at pre req GPA, cum GPA, GRE before the fact you have a masters.

If schools state a minimum on GRE and you even fall short by a point in one section then it is my honest opinion they won't even consider you.

 

[futuredpt01]

If you have already retaken all of your pre-reqs with A's and A-'s then the only thing left to do would be to improve on your GRE get more variety in your volunteer experience, and write a strong personal statement. Make sure you are confident that your references are writing strong LOR's as well, this should not be overlooked. I would not suggest doing the masters program unless you have lots of $$ to throw around.

 

[jorjyyyyy]

when you say more or different programs..what do u mean by that exactly? what do you think of me doing more volunteer experience and taking more classes (post-bacc) and, possibly, doing an exercise science degree in addition to my biology degree?

 

[futuredpt01]

More programs meaning, you didn't specify how many pt programs you applied too. Some schools obviously have much higher standards compared to others. You may have shot too high with the schools you applied too… majority of schools are now looking for 3.5+ pre-req gpa, however, if you do some searching on these forums you do see some applicants with lower gpa's getting into certain schools. As for the exercise science degree I am not totally sure maybe others will chime in. I guess it would not hurt to take some upper level science courses to prove you can handle the workload. Also, as I mentioned many schools are pretty strict when they have "recommended" GRE scores I would double check those on ptcas before applying again.

 

[TTU14]

More programs meaning, you didn't specify how many pt programs you applied too. Some schools obviously have much higher standards compared to others. You may have shot too high with the schools you applied too… majority of schools are now looking for 3.5+ pre-req gpa, however, if you do some searching on these forums you do see some applicants with lower gpa's getting into certain schools. As for the exercise science degree I am not totally sure maybe others will chime in. I guess it would not hurt to take some upper level science courses to prove you can handle the workload. Also, as I mentioned many schools are pretty strict when they have "recommended" GRE scores I would double check those on ptcas before applying again.

Where and how many schools you applied to is definitely an important detail. Many schools are up to a 3.8+ GPA average by now.

 

[sabino3]

In California, most of the schools seem to centered around GPA, Cum GPA & Prereq GPA. Many schools are getting too many applicants to interview and are just going strictly by GPA. 3.5 or higher is sought by most schools in California. Not sure what is happening in other states.