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What is the best advice you would give a first year student starting next month?
First Year Advice
- Thread starter SnowyDPT
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- Jul 22, 2008
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Anatomy and biomechanics will be essential in your clinical reasoning once you become a PT so make sure that you excel in those subjects in PT school
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Don't study alone. Put yourself out there and ask a variety of people to study with you. It's amazing how different your classmates will study or interpret info.
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Begin preparing for your license exam in order to prevent being overwhelmed at the end.
Sleep 7-8 hours a night...you may be one of those rare people who function at 100% on 4 hours of sleep...but chances are almost certain that you're not.
Studying a couple hours less and sleeping a couple hours more on those nights before exams (and on any night where your are studying late into the evening) will improve your grades 100% of the time. I'm amazed by the students in my class who stay up into the wee hours of the morning studying before a midterm or final and how much those last few hours of extra study time actually hurt them rather than benefit them.
Studying a couple hours less and sleeping a couple hours more on those nights before exams (and on any night where your are studying late into the evening) will improve your grades 100% of the time. I'm amazed by the students in my class who stay up into the wee hours of the morning studying before a midterm or final and how much those last few hours of extra study time actually hurt them rather than benefit them.
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#1 piece of advice: DON'T PANIC!! If you're anything like half my class, you'll think in that first week that you're the dumbest person in the class, and there's no way you can do this. You can, and you will. Just keep going.
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Avoid antagonistic relationships with faculty. As examples:
- don't argue points (something I never did). The handful of points are not worth getting labeled a "difficult student".
- don't let them see you express irritation with them (something I struggled with early on). These folks have near absolute authority as gatekeepers to the profession at this stage of things. You don't need to be their friend, but a time will come when you're being assessed in a practical and they have the ability to throw a big wrench in your life. Best if they think of you as destined to be a level-headed professional and not as one of the few people in the class who won't be able to cut it.
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- Jan 25, 2007
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Figure out how you learn best and find a study group that studies similarly. It's vital to get a study group for PT school, and I really think you'll excel the most if you find people who learn in a way that is compatible with your own style. Meaning don't go to giant study sessions with all the loudmouths if you're shy and don't do Q and A/auditory type of studying if you need diagrams and pictures to learn thing. Hope that helps 🙂
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The student with the highest GPA in my class found a reliable study partner and she and her partner quizzed each other constantly. They were forcing each other to recall the information which is what you have to do for any exam.
Have some fun too! You are not the first student to become a PT, and you are not the last. The educational curriculum is set up to foster success, so do not worry so much about little things and enjoy yourself.
Something I'm learning is to get as much as you can done as soon as you can.
When you have multiple assignments due the same week as your tests, knock those assignments out the week before so that frees up your weekend and following weekdays to study.
When you have multiple assignments due the same week as your tests, knock those assignments out the week before so that frees up your weekend and following weekdays to study.
Don't pay attention to your classmates on social media. It will End up stressing you out if you believe the crap they write about how much they studied or worked....when they were really on Facebook and not studying. Go at your own pace and ignore all the BS and anxiety from that
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^^^ thank goodness I've never seen this from my class. Ug! How about just don't vent on FB, keep things positive and focused on life not school.
