Fall 2013 DPT hopeful

[mccomasg09]

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[Kepania]

TAKE YOUR TIME! You are young, don't be in such a hurry. Take a year to work, save money, gain life experience and especially volunteer hours, and maybe do some community service. Then apply next year for the schools you really like or want based on cost, etc. You could even get a job as a PT Aide to make money and gain experience at the same time.

As far as GPAs, it will likely vary quite a bit from school to school as to how they break it all down. Pre-req GPAs are very important overall though, so do you best to get the best grade you can in that anatomy+lab. Your efforts to improve your grade will absolutely be considered. Some schools look at both the initial and the retake grades, some will average both into your GPA, and some will throw out the first one and just use the higher grade. Use PTCAS to do your research on schools and look at each school's website for the details.

Also you may be at a slight disadvantage being a fresh graduate. I got the impression from research and talking to current students that life experience is looked upon favorably. Just remember you have many years ahead of you to work in this field and will get there very soon. Good luck!

 

[Kepania]

P.S. Just something to keep in mind... Grade replace does not equal grade ERASE!!

EVERY grade you EVER earn will forever and ever and ever be on your transcripts. So do the best you can in these last classes you have and it will pay off later!

 

[ayyntee]

P.S. Just something to keep in mind... Grade replace does not equal grade ERASE!!

EVERY grade you EVER earn will forever and ever and ever be on your transcripts. So do the best you can in these last classes you have and it will pay off later!

Very True...Do the best on things you can control, and hope for the best. Work hard and in the end it will pay off. I say nothing wrong in taking a year off if that is what you want to do. Just make sure you stay productive.

 

[NeophyteParkour]

It sounds like your internship is your last semester. Would it be at all possible to complete the internship this summer instead of next? 2011 for me, was very similar. I had 12 credits in the spring, 15 (internship and seminar) in the summer, and 15 in the fall to complete my degree. I applied for PT schools starting in 2012.

If not, don't consider it such a bad idea to take the year off to build up volunteer experience and begin paying off those loans.

As for the prereq GPA question, I don't really know.

 

[CaFlgirl]

As you can see my internship runs all the way til the end of july which makes me unable to apply to most pt schools because they start before then? My question is do you recommend i apply to the limited schools i can and maybe be able to start right away or do you recommend i take the year off to make myself a better applicant and perhaps better my chances for getting into a better or CHEAPER school?

I recently heard schools like northeastern don't start until January which i am very interested in minus the northeastern price tag.
So i was wondering if anyone knew of other schools that dont start until January or at least mid to late august?
I noticed most all of the schools on the ptcas site start anywhere from may til mid july and only a few start after then so any input would be greatly appreciated.

There are schools that start later than May or June, but I'm not sure about them being cheaper. I know Duke, USC, Western University of Health Sciences, USF, NAU start in August (I applied to these so those are ones I know of). Also, Saint Augustine has various start dates, like Fall or Winter, so August or January. Some of these are private schools so you're not going to graduate w/ under $60K debt.

On another note, waiting a year to apply might be a good idea. You can build your application and be able to apply to any school you want because you'll be done with classes. And it might be nice to take a year off school. I know plenty of people graduating and starting PT school right away, but I'm thankful I finished classes in December (& start in June) because it gave me a break from school and a chance to make a little money. You might appreciate having a little time off from school and enhancing your application because PT school is going to be 3 hard years. Just my 2 cents.

 

[greco13]

Elon starts in January

 

[CherokeeWahine]

All the schools I applied to start in late August, and most of my friends starting this fall also start in August, so I'm not sure where the OP is getting the info on "most" schools starting between May and July.

 

[mccomasg09]

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[NeophyteParkour]

All the schools I applied to start in late August, and most of my friends starting this fall also start in August, so I'm not sure where the OP is getting the info on "most" schools starting between May and July.

Not exactly a helpful contribution, just saying...

Also my internship is in North Carolina and going to be very time consuming and i dont want to rush everything and make myself a worse applicant and go to a school thats not one of my top choices in a location i dont want to be with a price tag that will be over my head forever. I think i have come to the realization thati might have to take the year off to make myself a better applicant and get more world experience and have some money saved for when i start school.

Just from experience, my final year of school (2011) was extremely busy, and I managed it and did pretty well. I think it's possible to get everything done. The only thing I didn't have time for was my applications, because I didn't have time to really look at all the potential schools and determine which would best suit me. However, while I think it's possible, you're probably better off making sure you have plenty of time to prepare. Either way I don't think is bad.

Is there anyway i can get a paid position in the PT field with out any certifications?

There are some rehab aide positions out there, but I'm not sure if those are technically legal (for new students without certifications). There are other non-PT options available with your degree. If you're curious about those, send me a PM and I'll tell you what I know.

Also do most if any dpt students work while they are in school? is it possible? is there time? if not what do you live off of loan refunds?

Most DPT students do not work. I've asked about this to grad students as well as in an interview. The ones that do choose to work, work part-time, or for assistantships. Just keep in mind assistantships aren't offered at every school.