Doctor of Physical Therapy Programs: What are my chances?

[futureDPT/DO]

Hey, everyone!

As some of you may know, I posted a thread with my stats at the time and asked you all what my chances were of getting accepted into a DPT program. I took in all of your feedback and worked really hard to make some major changes. Now, I'm ready for just one more last-minute check-up. I've listed my current stats below, so let me know what you think! What should I do or focus on more? What should I do less? Is there anything else you would recommend I should try in order to boost my chances? Thanks! I'm applying a few months, so wish me luck!

All of the schools and programs I am looking at for DPT are located in Georgia, S. Carolina, N. Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida. I'm applying to at least a dozen schools in these areas to increase my chances of getting in at least one, and I'm not applying to anywhere incredibly competitive or unrealistic.

My current overall GPA is a 3.1
I know my GPA is very low, but I'm hoping my test scores and extracurricular activities/interviews will help.
My grades for the most common pre-requisite classes are as follows:

Biology I- A
Biology II- B

Chemistry I- C
Lab- B
Chemistry II- C
Lab- B
** I couldn't retake these chemistry classes after already retaking 2 C's I got in Physiology and Physics I. I'm hoping a couple of C's in just the lectures won't look too bad since I've already gotten a good number of A's in other pre-req classes, and I got B's in the chemistry lab components of these courses.

Statistics- A

Psychology I- A
Abnormal Psychology- A

Anatomy- A
Physiology- A

Physics I- A
Physics II- B

I also retook the GRE to boost my already good scores from last time, and I scored in the top 95th percentile.

I also spent much of the summer taking a lot of courses many of the programs recommended, such as:

Medical Terminology- A
Organic Chemistry- B
Organic Chemistry II- B

Extracurricular Activities:
500 volunteer hours at hospitals, clinics, and marathons/5k runs
20 hours as a research assistant
Chairman of Student Athletics for my university
Member of 2 honors societies
40 observation/physical therapy internship hours (I'm still working on gaining more of these)

So, based on last year's statistics and personal experience/advice, what are my chances of getting into at least one DPT program?

PS. I'll be graduating as the youngest graduate in the history of my university at age 19, after skipping 3 grades in elementary and secondary school, as well as finishing my 4-year Bachelor of Science degree in just 3 years. I'm not saying this to brag, but I'm just curious as to whether or not this make my application any more impressive? Or do admissions counselors really care about that kind of stuff?

Thanks, all!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[futureDPT/DO]

@DPTcoasral @dakswim @engmedpt @DesertPT @starrsgirl

Thanks for all of your feedback on my last thread about this, everyone! I thought you guys may be interested in seeing my progress since then. Any further advice for me now that I'm in the homestretch?

 

[starrsgirl]

Definitely just keep collecting those PT specific hours. I think that will show your commitment. How do you feel your letters of rec will go? Have you made good connections there?

Just curious....do you have work experience? Did you take heavy loads in most of your semesters? Those are questions I imagine admissions might consider to gauge maturity on the first and ability to hold heavy loads on second.

I would not personally bring up your early grad or age unless asked. The admissions committee can see your age. You need to prove your maturity in essays and interviews. Make sure to have someone review the essay (or many people) and then practice like crazy for interviews.

Good luck!

 

[starrsgirl]

(What's your pre req GPa now? That will be a big factor here. Remember this includes old grades and retakes.)

 

[futureDPT/DO]

Definitely just keep collecting those PT specific hours. I think that will show your commitment. How do you feel your letters of rec will go? Have you made good connections there?

Just curious....do you have work experience? Did you take heavy loads in most of your semesters? Those are questions I imagine admissions might consider to gauge maturity on the first and ability to hold heavy loads on second.

I would not personally bring up your early grad or age unless asked. The admissions committee can see your age. You need to prove your maturity in essays and interviews. Make sure to have someone review the essay (or many people) and then practice like crazy for interviews.

Good luck!

I think my recommendation letters will go well. Some of the PTs I've been shadowing and working with are even alumni of the schools I'm applying to, and they've promised to give me really glowing, positive letters. Another professor I've been researching with is very reputable in the health science research field, so I'm hoping for a rec letter from him, as well.

I have about 200 or more hours of work experience as an outpatient surgical assistant, which I know isn't PT, but it was good to see all of the stuff that goes on before the patient is ready for therapy.

I've taken really heavy loads the entire time I've been in college. 20 hours every semester. I've always been the kind of girl to max out all of the credit hours I was allowed to, and I haven't taken a summer off, ever. Is that bad? Does it show that I'm too desperate?

 

[VitaminPT]

Chances of at least one program? sure, with a wide net it is possible.

Question: How have you taken most of the summer to take 3 courses? It's the middle of June! haha Is that last summer you mean?

And per your last question: While graduating early is impressive, it would probably be more of a hindrance when applying to PT school. Younger applicants are generally not given a lot of wiggle room, whereas older applicants have work and life experience. Not to bash, but you rushed through and didn't exactly have a stellar GPA to show from it.

Can I just ask, what is the big rush?

 

[futureDPT/DO]

(What's your pre req GPa now? That will be a big factor here. Remember this includes old grades and retakes.)

My pre-req GPA now is about a 3.5, depending on what each school requires, sometimes it even goes up to about 3.7. It's a lot better than what I started out with, before I retook all of the classes everyone suggested.

 

[futureDPT/DO]

Chances of at least one program? sure, with a wide net it is possible.

Question: How have you taken most of the summer to take 3 courses? It's the middle of June! haha Is that last summer you mean?

And per your last question: While graduating early is impressive, it would probably be more of a hindrance when applying to PT school. Younger applicants are generally not given a lot of wiggle room, whereas older applicants have work and life experience. Not to bash, but you rushed through and didn't exactly have a stellar GPA to show from it.

Can I just ask, what is the big rush?

I took Medical Terminology for the first time this summer, and I retook Organic I and Physiology for A's. I got C's in them the first time. So, I just finished those 3 classes. I'm taking another 3 starting next week, and I won't finish them until the end of the summer.

Thanks for the advice, that's always what I've heard. I'm hoping not to say anything. I've never been able to apply for anything without someone bringing it up though, so at this point, I was unsure if I should hide it anymore or if I should just throw it out there.

Well, aside from having a typical Asian "tiger mom", haha, I just can't wait to start digging my hands into patient care and getting the rest of my life started.

 

[starrsgirl]

I think the other thing to be prepared for is to address why physical therapy specifically in your essay AND be prepared to field that question in your interview. It's obvious (at least to me) that you were probably looking at other fields before (med school or whatnot) so make sure you have solid reasoning. I like your point about the surgical assistant...."it wasn't my thing and I found myself drawn to the recovery side of the surgery because of ......"

Your pre req GPA is very decent. ***Make sure to wait to submit your application until you finish your other summer classes. (I say this A LOT on here. If you don't wait, for many schools it's like you never even retook those courses....so wait until the grades are submitted and you can enter them into PTCAS)

 

[Azimuthal]

Based on GPA, no GRE: fair.

 

[futureDPT/DO]

I think the other thing to be prepared for is to address why physical therapy specifically in your essay AND be prepared to field that question in your interview. It's obvious (at least to me) that you were probably looking at other fields before (med school or whatnot) so make sure you have solid reasoning. I like your point about the surgical assistant...."it wasn't my thing and I found myself drawn to the recovery side of the surgery because of ......"

Your pre req GPA is very decent. ***Make sure to wait to submit your application until you finish your other summer classes. (I say this A LOT on here. If you don't wait, for many schools it's like you never even retook those courses....so wait until the grades are submitted and you can enter them into PTCAS)

Thanks for all of the feeback @starrsgirl! You've been very helpful. I'll definitely wait and put a lot of thought into my essays.

 

[deleted699287]

Hey, everyone!

As some of you may know, I posted a thread with my stats at the time and asked you all what my chances were of getting accepted into a DPT program. I took in all of your feedback and worked really hard to make some major changes. Now, I'm ready for just one more last-minute check-up. I've listed my current stats below, so let me know what you think! What should I do or focus on more? What should I do less? Is there anything else you would recommend I should try in order to boost my chances? Thanks! I'm applying a few months, so wish me luck!

All of the schools and programs I am looking at for DPT are located in Georgia, S. Carolina, N. Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida. I'm applying to at least a dozen schools in these areas to increase my chances of getting in at least one, and I'm not applying to anywhere incredibly competitive or unrealistic.

My current overall GPA is a 3.1
I know my GPA is very low, but I'm hoping my test scores and extracurricular activities/interviews will help.
My grades for the most common pre-requisite classes are as follows:

Biology I- A
Biology II- B

Chemistry I- C
Lab- B
Chemistry II- C
Lab- B
** I couldn't retake these chemistry classes after already retaking 2 C's I got in Physiology and Physics I. I'm hoping a couple of C's in just the lectures won't look too bad since I've already gotten a good number of A's in other pre-req classes, and I got B's in the chemistry lab components of these courses.

Statistics- A

Psychology I- A
Abnormal Psychology- A

Anatomy- A
Physiology- A

Physics I- A
Physics II- B

I also retook the GRE to boost my already good scores from last time, and I scored in the top 95th percentile.

I also spent much of the summer taking a lot of courses many of the programs recommended, such as:

Medical Terminology- A
Organic Chemistry- B
Organic Chemistry II- B

Extracurricular Activities:
500 volunteer hours at hospitals, clinics, and marathons/5k runs
20 hours as a research assistant
Chairman of Student Athletics for my university
Member of 2 honors societies
40 observation/physical therapy internship hours (I'm still working on gaining more of these)

So, based on last year's statistics and personal experience/advice, what are my chances of getting into at least one DPT program?

PS. I'll be graduating as the youngest graduate in the history of my university at age 19, after skipping 3 grades in elementary and secondary school, as well as finishing my 4-year Bachelor of Science degree in just 3 years. I'm not saying this to brag, but I'm just curious as to whether or not this make my application any more impressive? Or do admissions counselors really care about that kind of stuff?

Thanks, all!

Looks pretty good. Overall GPA is a bit low, but you have a good prereq GPA, good experience, and I am assuming your GRE is pretty good at 95% percentile. I would say your chances are pretty good.

I had a 3.5 overall, 3.1 prereq and a 170Q/158V GRE with way less hours, and 1/2 year as a personal assistant. Our stats seem pretty similar. I applied to 3 schools (all top 15, but US News rank honestly doesn't really matter) and was very nervous of what was going to happen, but I ended up getting into all 3 (2 right away and 1 waitlist). I am not saying this to float my boat, but that you definitely have a chance because our stats are not that different. I would probably also guess that prereq GPA is more important than overall GPA. Whatever school you end up going to will be lucky to have you.

 

[SnowyDPT]

Looks pretty good. Overall GPA is a bit low, but you have a good prereq GPA, good experience, and I am assuming your GRE is pretty good at 95% percentile. I would say your chances are pretty good.

I had a 3.5 overall, 3.1 prereq and a 170Q/158V GRE with way less hours, and 1/2 year as a personal assistant. Our stats seem pretty similar. I applied to 3 schools (all top 15, but US News rank honestly doesn't really matter) and was very nervous of what was going to happen, but I ended up getting into all 3 (2 right away and 1 waitlist). I am not saying this to float my boat, but that you definitely have a chance because our stats are not that different. I would probably also guess that prereq GPA is more important than overall GPA. Whatever school you end up going to will be lucky to have you.

You also scored perfectly on one section of the GRE. I'm sure that played a pretty heavy role in the decision of your application

 

[futureDPT/DO]

Looks pretty good. Overall GPA is a bit low, but you have a good prereq GPA, good experience, and I am assuming your GRE is pretty good at 95% percentile. I would say your chances are pretty good.

I had a 3.5 overall, 3.1 prereq and a 170Q/158V GRE with way less hours, and 1/2 year as a personal assistant. Our stats seem pretty similar. I applied to 3 schools (all top 15, but US News rank honestly doesn't really matter) and was very nervous of what was going to happen, but I ended up getting into all 3 (2 right away and 1 waitlist). I am not saying this to float my boat, but that you definitely have a chance because our stats are not that different. I would probably also guess that prereq GPA is more important than overall GPA. Whatever school you end up going to will be lucky to have you.

Thank you so much, @BigBeef!

 

[engmedpt]

Fair.

You must have had some trash weedout chem courses if you had B's in organics and C's in the gen chems. That's annoying. All your ECs look good and the rest of your prerecs look great outside of those two outliers. A's in A&P is great. I wish you could've put those chems in but there's only so much you can do right? You have great volunteering. As for your pt hours how many settings is that? Variety and volume is all I can say for that really. How much can you talk about the differences in the settings? Do you have good interview skills? Do mock interviews.

MAKE SURE you reach out to the schools. If they've got open houses and you can make it then GO. Try to talk to admissions directly and be involved.