I submitted back in September, but I haven't felt the need to post my stats. Now I feel really frustrated because I feel like my stats are fairly competitive. Although, I know my GRE score is kind of poor, I have seen people with similar GRE scores and lower GPA's get acceptances which leaves me confused. Maybe I'm delusional, maybe I didn't apply to the right schools, or I probably don't interview well. lol. Feedback is appreciated.
University:California State University, Dominguez Hills
Major: Physical Education: Pre-Physical Therapy
Overall GPA: 3.59
Pre-Req GPA: 3.94
GRE: 147 V/152Q/3.0W
Extra-Curric: Integrative Medicine Club, Heart Rate Research Study
Volunteer: 220 inpatient hours, 20 outpatient hours
Applied (9/25): CSU Northridge, Dominican College of Blauvelt, Eastern Washington University, Franklin Pierce University (AZ, NH), Long Island University - Brooklyn, Mt. St. Mary's University, New York Institute of Technology, Pacific University - Oregon, Touro Nevada, University of South Florida, University of Texas Medical Branch - Galveston, Western University of Health Sciences.
Rejections: Eastern Washington University, Mt. St. Mary's, UTMB, University of South Florida (said I was missing materials, I asked what was missing, but didn't reply)
Interviews: Dominican College (declined), LIU, NYIT, UTMB (phone interview), Western U
Wait lists: CSUN, LIU, NYIT, Touro NV, Western U.
Acceptances: None.
With the well above average pre-req GPA and average cGPA you have I'm surprised you haven't gotten some more nibbles...people who apply to as many schools as you have usually get at least a couple of acceptances. But let's not throw in the towel for this cycle just yet...5 waitlists is a lot to be on and as the cycle wraps up I wouldn't be at all surprised to see you get pulled from at least one of them....and it looks like there is still a couple schools you haven't heard back from either. Please keep us updated, I'm curious to see what happens. Do you know how high on those waitlists you are?
Unfortunately the cumulative GPA required to get into many PT programs has skyrocketed in the last year or two. Going forward, PT admissions will require basically the same GPA as MD admissions, maybe .1 lower. An average of 3.5-3.6 is the norm now at the less desirable/more expensive schools and an average of 3.7-3.8+ is becoming typical at most state schools and other more desirable/cheaper programs. You're cGPA now is more competitive at DO programs than at PT programs...completely boggles the mind but it's true. However (please excuse the tangent), a 3.6 is nothing to sneeze at with the pre-req GPA you have and tons of people are getting in easily with those kind of grades this cycle, so grades are not you're main problem. Retaking classes/taking more classes will probably be extremely low-yield as far as improving your app goes.
In the event that you do have to reapply next year you'll need to address the most glaring weakness of your app: the GRE. The best option is of course to devote significant time to GRE prep and retake once you are consistently hitting higher marks. I would aim for a bare minimum of 155V and 4.0AW. 160V and >4.0AW is the preferred target, but don't drive yourself to complete insanity over it. If you're going to retake you will want to show some improvement on your Q score as well, but this is probably a little less critical.
Also, I don't know a lot about the specifics of most of the schools you applied to, but an alternative option could also be targeting schools that don't put a huge emphasis on GRE scores (in the event that you are unable to raise your score substantially), or targeting schools that don't require the GRE at all (there is a thread somewhere on SDN with a list of them). This is an area where schools vary substantially from each other. Some schools have a posted minimum as I'm sure you know, but an amazing number don't. So it's going to be pretty variable how much emphasis they are really going to put on this when ranking applicants.
This may sound harsh so don't be offended, but if you're verbal score is at the 33rd percentile and your writing score is around the 15th percentile, I'm going to venture a guess that your essay(s) probably weren't any good either. So that will be another key thing to focus on improving. There is plenty of help out there in this regard.
Also, you will want to evaluate your interviewing skills. Mock interview sessions with qualified individuals may be helpful. The fact that you have had 4 interviews without an acceptance to show for it, while certainly not unheard of, is surprising. I'm not saying you're a bad interviewer, I don't even know you. For all I know you killed the interviews and have some other yet unrealized factor holding you back. But it's something to think about.
Also, as Carson Ranger mentioned, number of settings matter more than number of hours when it comes to observation. You have plenty of hours numbers wise, but if you didn't observe at least 4 completely different settings than I would go pick up 20 or 30 hours somewhere you haven't seen before. But this probably won't be the biggest area of app improvement to focus on.
Consistent reading of the many, many threads here in the SDN forums is also highly recommended, as is extremely thorough research into each school in order to select the ones at which you personally will be the strongest candidate. This thread is recommended (
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/my-experience-in-applying-to-dpt-programs.1115591/) as well as many others on the subject of re-applying, etc. (which can be found with a search of the PT forums).
I hope this helps. With all this being said, you will probably end up getting an acceptance or getting in off a waitlist and I will have wasted my time with this post. Let's hope that's the case.
🙂
I'm honestly surprised you haven't been accepted yet. Your 3.0AW and/or poor interviews would be my first guess, but I could be completely wrong.