DPT postbac pre reqs at a community college?

[Kellyv415]

I am a prospective Doctor of PT student. I hold a BA from a top college (3.83 GPA, magna cum laude, phi beta kappa) but I was a non-science major and I need to complete all prerequisite coursework. I am debating enrolling in courses at a state university or community college. Based on your knowledge and experience, do DPT programs prefer students who complete prerequisites at a state university versus a community college?

I have contacted a number of schools who say they accept coursework from all accredited institutions (including CCs) with no preference given to 4-year schools. This sounds great, however, I want to be as confident as possible that I am taking the correct steps to be a competitive applicant before spending 3 semesters in prerequisite classes.

I am not currently considering post-bac programs as they are significantly more expensive than enrolling in non-degree/certificate courses (open to advise here) and perhaps it goes without saying, community college courses are significantly more affordable and convenient than those at a state university.

A bit of my background: I am 26-years old, currently working in the consulting field, I have studied dance/yoga/pilates from a young age, and I am eager to help others regain and maintain physical abilities. Volunteer experience to date leads me to believe PT would be a tremendously rewarding career.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your advice and insights. I greatly appreciate it!

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[ClayborneCR]

Hey Kellyv I finished 2 years of pre req courses I took 38 credits in total. All from community colleges! I graduated in 2005 with a Marketing degree and had no pre req science classes. I got into two schools I interviewed with. I dont think it matters where you have taken it your classes but I think they look at everything. My undergrad GPA was a 2.98 but my pre-req science classes were a 3.74. I would say go for community college a whole lot cheaper, even some of the admissions say CC is a way to go. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Skyris]

I was in a similar boat when I went down this road... about 26 years old, bachelors in unrelated non-science field.

Here's the answer: Take them at a CC. The vast majority of schools do not discriminate against CC coursework, and you still have a shot at those that do. Unless you have your heart set on specific programs that dislike CC pre-reqs, save yourself a lot of time and money. I took about 8 of my 9 prereqs at a CC and I've been accepted into one program, with interviews so far at two others (including one that says they prefer non-CC prereqs).

 

[astarblaze]

I am a prospective Doctor of PT student. I hold a BA from top college (3.83 GPA, magna cum laude, phi beta kappa) but I was a non-science major and I need to complete all prerequisite coursework. I am debating enrolling in courses a state university or community college. Based on your knowledge and experience, do DPT programs prefer students who complete prerequisites at a state university versus a community college?

I have contacted a number of schools who say they accept coursework from all accredited institutions (including CCs) with no preference given to 4-year schools. This sounds great, however, I want to be as confident as possible that I am taking the correct steps to be a competitive applicant before spending 3 semesters in prerequisite classes.

I am not currently considering post-bac programs as they are significantly more expensive than enrolling in non-degree/certificate courses (open to advise here) and perhaps it goes without saying, community college courses are significantly more affordable and convenient than those at a state university.

A bit of my background: I am 26-years old, currently working in the consulting field, I have studied dance/yoga/pilates from a young age, and I am eager to help others regain and maintain physical abilities. Volunteer experience to date leads me to believe PT would be a tremendously rewarding career.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your advice and insights. I greatly appreciate it!

Just going to echo what others have said. The vast majority of programs do not consider whether you took your prereqs at a cc or four year school. Many programs I contacted explicitly told me to take cc classes to save myself money. I ended up doing a combination of cc and four-year courses for my prereqs because that was the most expedient way for me to go, and I currently have one acceptance (with a significant scholarship) and several interviews lined up. DPT programs look at your grades, not at the school you got those grades at. In the PT admissions game, straight As in prereqs from a community college will serve you much better than As and Bs from a top college.

 

[Grizzlyman]

I am a prospective Doctor of PT student. I hold a BA from top college (3.83 GPA, magna cum laude, phi beta kappa) but I was a non-science major and I need to complete all prerequisite coursework. I am debating enrolling in courses a state university or community college. Based on your knowledge and experience, do DPT programs prefer students who complete prerequisites at a state university versus a community college?

I have contacted a number of schools who say they accept coursework from all accredited institutions (including CCs) with no preference given to 4-year schools. This sounds great, however, I want to be as confident as possible that I am taking the correct steps to be a competitive applicant before spending 3 semesters in prerequisite classes.

I am not currently considering post-bac programs as they are significantly more expensive than enrolling in non-degree/certificate courses (open to advise here) and perhaps it goes without saying, community college courses are significantly more affordable and convenient than those at a state university.

A bit of my background: I am 26-years old, currently working in the consulting field, I have studied dance/yoga/pilates from a young age, and I am eager to help others regain and maintain physical abilities. Volunteer experience to date leads me to believe PT would be a tremendously rewarding career.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your advice and insights. I greatly appreciate it!

Hello Kellyv. I was a business major and worked for 10 years. I took all my pre reqs at cc and have received interviews at every school. I have also been accepted to every school I interviewed. CC is a non issue. I will say that adcoms tend not to care what college you went to as it is very arbitrary judging from school name. Get a 4.0 and you will be good to go.

All you need to do is get an interview. Your experience and soft skills you have developed are leaps and bounds beyond traditional students. When it comes to application and interview time focus on how much those skills can help other students and transition to PT....

I did all the pre reqs in 1 year including summers while I was working full time. I did not have much of a life. Nothing wrong with taking more than a year to finish. I hope your an in town consultant because you will not be allowed to miss labs if you travel a lot.

Good Luck

 

[Kellyv415]

Grizzlyman, astarblaze,Skyris, layborneCR - I can not thank you enough for your kind and prompt replies. Your insights are tremendously helpful! Many thanks.

 

[DPThopeful1859]

CC is the way to go. I took a class there because not only did it save me money, but it was easier to get into and I had more professor-student focus than in a huge university setting where they might be 100-150 people in that one class with less prof-student attention. To me, I like smaller class sizes anyway and the fact that it saved me money was a bonus.

 

[webulu]

Yep, I would also add that I have had a positive experience getting coursework done at CC. I also took a course through the UCLA Extension online campus (because it is hard to find exercise physiology).

I would recommend, though, that you go ahead and do some research into what schools you may apply to and contact them to verify - it can't hurt, only will give you assurance, and typically schools are very helpful in communicating what they are looking for.

 

[MaxieJo]

Yes to community college (just get As)! I took every single one of my science pre-reqs at community college and have been accepted/invited to interview at all the schools I've applied to so far. Also, in your application focus on your leadership experience in your current field, as well as your knowledge of human movement through dance/yoga/etc. Good luck!

 

[webulu]

I am a prospective Doctor of PT student. I hold a BA from a top college (3.83 GPA, magna cum laude, phi beta kappa) but I was a non-science major and I need to complete all prerequisite coursework. I am debating enrolling in courses at a state university or community college. Based on your knowledge and experience, do DPT programs prefer students who complete prerequisites at a state university versus a community college?

I have contacted a number of schools who say they accept coursework from all accredited institutions (including CCs) with no preference given to 4-year schools. This sounds great, however, I want to be as confident as possible that I am taking the correct steps to be a competitive applicant before spending 3 semesters in prerequisite classes.

I am not currently considering post-bac programs as they are significantly more expensive than enrolling in non-degree/certificate courses (open to advise here) and perhaps it goes without saying, community college courses are significantly more affordable and convenient than those at a state university.

A bit of my background: I am 26-years old, currently working in the consulting field, I have studied dance/yoga/pilates from a young age, and I am eager to help others regain and maintain physical abilities. Volunteer experience to date leads me to believe PT would be a tremendously rewarding career.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your advice and insights. I greatly appreciate it!

Also, excellent bolding.

 

[katelly]

I didn't read everyone else's comments but I think they say what I am going to say. Do community college. I had 3.28 from undergrad, and got a 4.0 at community college in 35 pre-req credits. It wasn't super easy but there were tons of resources to help students succeed that my undergrad didn't have. I was a few years out of undergrad and way more invested in doing well. CC was great for me. The only things that came up when talking to programs about those grades were how well I did as a post-bac. Nobody cared that it was from a community college. at all. I just got my tuition bill for my second semester of PT school and I am really glad I did those pre-reqs for as little as possible because I'm paying now.

 

[fisioterapia187]

I would recommend, though, that you go ahead and do some research into what schools you may apply to and contact them to verify - it can't hurt, only will give you assurance, and typically schools are very helpful in communicating what they are looking for.

I would tend to echo these comments. The reputation of the biology/pre-med department at the four-year school where I've taken nearly all of my prerequisite courses greatly exceeds that of the local community colleges, so I chose to pay the extra dollars in hopes that I'd not only have a better learning experience, but also have a stronger looking transcript. While many of the above posters have suggested that the community college route is the way to go, I'd advise that you thoroughly explore the admissions web pages of the schools you'd potentially be interested in and/or contact each school directly.

Look at the following FAQ and answer, coming directly from UNTHSC's PT admissions FAQ page:
Are prerequisite courses taken at a community college considered less competitive than those taken at the university level?
In some instances, universities, faculty members, or the Admissions Committee may view community college coursework as less rigorous than coursework undertaken at the university level.

I think the above answer is perfectly stated. Not all admissions committee members will have the same opinion regarding the strength of community college classes, but it would probably be naive to think that where you take the courses doesn't matter. Yes, money is an important factor, but I'd really research both the PT schools you're interested in and the reputation of whatever schools at which you'd consider taking the prerequisites courses.

 

[webulu]

I think the above answer is perfectly stated.

Why, thank you.