Gap year or Masters program

[bikinibots]

Hi everyone, so I am a little late to the DPT game... I decided I wanted to pursue DPT during my last semester of college. It took me 4 years of college to finally figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. But I am really glad I finally did!

With my mechanical engineering background, there are volunteering hours required and certain required courses to apply to the DPT programs hence my plan to apply for the program next year!

However, I got accepted to GATech for their one year Master's Program in developing medical devices. I guess I would really love some input on whether I should take a gap year and focus on volunteering/ taking required courses/ maybe getting research experiences and applying for DPT or to get my Master's degree while applying for DPT. I don't even know if it is worth pursuing DPT if I do end up going to the Master's program.

I would really love any thoughts/ if anyone has had similar past experiences on this. Thank you

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[Airkerz]

That is a tough decision but some time ago I saw that northwestern university offers a duel degree for a PhD in engineering and a DPT. It actually looks like a pretty cool program if you are interested in both. Personally, I would pursue the masters degree since you are already accepted and since it’s only one year. Being put back a year to get a masters degree that could definitely help you in the future is totally worth it. Pursue the DPT after you are done. But in the end, it’s completely up to you. If you have no interest in engineering anymore, then I guess there is no point to go further, but if you are still interested, finish what you started. I’m sure you won’t regret getting a masters degree in the future.

 

[ThatKidKate]

I ended up doing an MS program as a gap year in Exercise Physiology, which certainly helped my PT application; however, I had a grad assistantship and was only paying about $300 a semester for the program. I would definitely look into the cost and see if it's worth it. Although I feel like a grad degree helped my application, it's more of an added bonus than a priority for DPT admissions. My advice would be to look at the price of the GATech program, and if it's not too expensive and you don't feel like your pre-req grades would suffer then go for it! However, pre-req grades are arguably the most important aspect of your DPT application so you really need to be getting A's in those classes. I will say that PT school is getting more and more competitive with more applicants applying with hundreds of volunteer and/or work hours in the field. Just make sure that if you decide to go the master's route that you will have enough time to shadow multiple settings well-above the required/suggested hours.

 

[bikinibots]

Wow, Thank you so much for both your responses! I really did not expect any replies so soon but its really nice to know there are people out there that could help me gain some insight. So i guess now what would be wisest is to find out if the Master's program would help my DPT application/ make sure I get enough shadowing hours.

 

[ThatKidKate]

Like I said, I feel like a grad program is more of an added bonus on your application so you want to make sure to be competitive in the required pre-reqs to apply to PT school. I would definitely go for the master's program if you feel confident in other areas of your application.

 

[starrsgirl]

How competitive are you right now? I would prioritize re taking any classes or improving undergrad GPA over a masters program. I also agree with factoring in the cost. If you have to take school loans for the masters program, I wouldn't do it. Not worth it to add more debt to your future load. It won't be a huge factor in the application...a bonus at best, but only after all other major application portions are reviewed.