Curious on my sitation of getting in

[Mattison]

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I graduated at NAU in 2003 with a 2.8. Yes horrible I know but at the time i didn't care. I had a double major in Business. Sense then I moved to Phx and opened up a successful martial art school and I'm VP of a chain of them. (4 in all). I am getting out of it, just tired of it and i'm selling my school. I want to go back to school for Physical therapy. I have taken the prereqs and have all A's 4.0. It's been 6 years sense I have been at NAU and I plan on applying by 2011. Still have to take the GRE but plan on studying and getting a high mark. I also am about to start volunteering. Now that all said and done do you think the old 2.8 GPA will keep me out of school. or would the new GPA be good enough. Also would my work background being so different help me stand out. Also was curious if NAU or other schools preference alumni. Thanks in advance.

 

[johnnytruant]

Many schools do give preferential treatment to undergraduate alumni, although I'm not sure what NAU's specific policy is. While there is a lot of common ground regarding admissions requirements across universities, there are also great disparities as far as how many observation hours are required (as well as specific settings). The same goes for pre-requisite courses, minimum GPA/GRE, etc. Some schools will not even give you a second look with a 2.8 GPA, but a 4.0 pre-req GPA is killer and will earn you major points with the ad-comm.

I'd encourage you to research the requirements of the specific programs you want to apply to (go to http://www.ptcas.org/directory.html for starters) and go from there. I'm sure you can spin your work background into a good essay (entrepreneurial spirit, desire to help others, etc.).

 

[pwrtrainer]

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[black]

. We had like 450 applicants last year and we accepted 48. not bragging, just pointing this out.

It's not bragging when most programs will tell you that but what doesn't get pointed out is of those 450 those who met the qualifications, those who are in PT school somewhere else (you can only attend one), and those who declined in general deciding to go do something else. 10% is about the norm for "acceptance" rates now that PTCAs makes it easy to apply to a dozen programs with a click of a button. NAU doesn't have an extra fee or additional essay as some programs do. Which program will a student use as a backup if they don't care about which one they get in to. NAU is third on my list of six, if I get in to my number one or two choice I'll be added to the list of people that applied but wasn't "accepted".
Write a great essay, focus on your success as a business person. Your GPA won't disqualify you so you have a chance, if you can improve it that would improve your chances.

 

[Mattison]

I appreciate the replies. I think my options are take some online classes through NAU and get the GPA up but that would take awhile. I think my best idea will be to apply with what I have and try to stand out with the business and stuff. i also hope to go on the 800 hrs of volunteer work I have doing various things which I forgot to mention. Plus my High Science GPA. Hopefully that will help as well. If not at the same time I apply for Physical Therapy at all the schools I might apply for some other easy master degree and make sure I have a high GPA and apply after that. Thanks alot.

 

[JMPThopeful]

I have a little over a 3.0, and I was waitlisted to two schools last year. However, I was ultimately rejected from both programs. Despite the fact that your GPA is less than 3.0, you have a very interesting background, which might help set you apart from the college grads who have no work experience.
If you pull As in your prereqs, I think you have a good shot.

 

[Lizarde]

The schools I applied to immediately cut anyone with a gpa below their minimum (as in not going to read your essay), so there isn't a way around that. Find schools with a low minimum gpa or one that doesn't immediately make cuts based on gpa... if their website doesn't state detail the admissions criteria/process, then call them up and ask. Start your application early, get a lot of feedback on the essay(s), and present your accomplishments well.