Heavy Competition - Nervous

[Happydays85]

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Hi everyone,

As I mentioned in a earlier post, my undergrad GPA is only 2.8 and my pre-requistes I have just started are giving me a hard time at my local community college. All of the programs I'm looking at are in the midwest in Ohio/Illinois/Indiana and the admissions people tell me there are between 30-40 spots for 500 and more applicants. My GRE score is weak and my GPA on my pre-reqs is no more than around a 3.0.

Do you guys not feel at all like the 40 admissions spots and 500 + applicants is intimidating? The competition is very intense.... I am very proud of you guys who get in!

Please let me know if you think my efforts would be better spent elsewhere...

 

[nicolej5]

Hi everyone,

As I mentioned in a earlier post, my undergrad GPA is only 2.8 and my pre-requistes I have just started are giving me a hard time at my local community college. All of the programs I'm looking at are in the midwest in Ohio/Illinois/Indiana and the admissions people tell me there are between 30-40 spots for 500 and more applicants. My GRE score is weak and my GPA on my pre-reqs is no more than around a 3.0.

Do you guys not feel at all like the 40 admissions spots and 500 + applicants is intimidating? The competition is very intense.... I am very proud of you guys who get in!

Please let me know if you think my efforts would be better spent elsewhere...

Honestly, I think you will have a very hard time getting in. These days, a sub 3.0 is just not good enough. Couple that with what you say is a weak gre score. Plus, and I don't mean to offend you, if comm. college courses are giving you a rough time, pt classes are about 10x more brutal.

 

[TopShelf85]

Wow, thats very good advice!

Nicole, how much more difficult is the DPT curriculum when compared to pre-reqs out of curiosity from a community college? The pre-reqs are basically an Undergrad is the DPT really that much more intense?

 

[b0rganic]

The conceit that community college classes are not rigorous is false. Obviously there is a spectrum of quality, but in the CC classes I have taken at city college in San Francisco, I have had professors with doctoral degrees from Harvard, Princeton, and Carnegie Melon who teach extremely difficult and insightful courses. The science programs are very strong here and a lot of students drop because they cant hack it. Just thought I'd chime in on that point.

 

[Pinesfootball]

coming from a community college and transferring into a university (still undergrad), i noticed a big difference. not to scare or intimidate anyone any further but everything i've seen or heard about grad school (professors showing us undergrads the pace they go for grad classes and friends in dpt school) is an even further difference between community college and your bachelors at a university. so happydays85, if you are struggling with CC courses, I would definitely take a minute to look at how you can change your study habits because TBH it only gets harder from there. I personally failed every single exam my first semester for each class because I kept the same lackadaisical study habits from CC.

 

[nicolej5]

It's the pace that will get you in grad school. Combine the rigor of a doctorate level program with the time frame of a 8-10 week quarter and compare that to a community college.If you aren't keeping up with pre-req classes over the course of a semester, you need to take a hard look about your ability to complete a grad program. I don't mean to insult/offend you in any way, it's just the reality of it.

 

[TopShelf85]

Thanks for the insight. I appreciate it.

I guess you still have to try at the CC level to absorb all of the information that's taught in A&P etc. You can't expect to not try hard and retain information.

I never really took undergrad seriously at all and I could count on doing satisfactory and it didn't really matter ot me. I knew I had a job on Wall Street when I graduated and the firm I worked for collapsed in 2008 out of NOWHERE. So that was a great eye opener for me as I then moved to sales, tech consulting and then entrepreneurship.

I am curious however why is physical therapy requiring a DPT now? Isn't a 2 year Masters program sufficient? Love to know why its structured the way it is

 

[NewTestament]

The conceit that community college classes are not rigorous is false.

👍 My professors at community colleges were just as qualified. They didn't have PHDs but they were just as smart and knew their subject just as well, if not better, than professors at universities.

If you aren't doing well at a CC, you need to examine your study skills. Eliminate distractions, and manage your time well. Seek extra sources of help. The classes in PT school are more intense. You will probably be taking 15-22 credits each term, not just one or two classes.

Kevin

 

[AlexFLA]

My girl Nicole always keeping it real!!!

 

[PTgt]

Hey - just thought I would give my 2 cents... I took my pre-reqs at one of the better CC's in the Chicago suburbs, but it is a different animal entirely in PT school. I took the best professors at the CC's and got A's, but I got by pretty much with rote memorization - they just wanted to know where muscles and structures were and a little origin/insertion. Very little nerve knowledge, no cadaver work, and no second-level or third-level 'clinical' questions like in PT anatomy and physiology. Honestly, I think the CC classes are geared for the majority of the students in the class - in my case, nursing - so, I was not prepared very well at all for PT school. That being said, if you can take honors classes at the CC, that might prepare you better. But I know that I was at a distinct disadvantage compared to my PT classmates who came from a four-year school. Don't want to sound like a downer, but it was very demoralizing thinking I was so well-prepared compared to my CC classmates, but I really wasn't.

 

[PTgt]

One thing to consider that might give you a glimmer of hope is that just like undergrad, there are PT schools on a range of difficulty to get in. If you do your research, you will probably find schools that meet your background criteria - some require better GRE scores, some have different ways of calculating your GPA, some use interviews/some do not require them, etc. Of course, you will need a certain baseline of success in pre-reqs and undergrad, but if you look around this forum, you will start to see common groups of schools that people apply to for a reasonable chance of getting in based on their specific situation. They are all good schools - they have to be to get accreditation - but you just have to find your right fit.

 

[illineyedpt]

Hey - just thought I would give my 2 cents... I took my pre-reqs at one of the better CC's in the Chicago suburbs, but it is a different animal entirely in PT school. I took the best professors at the CC's and got A's, but I got by pretty much with rote memorization - they just wanted to know where muscles and structures were and a little origin/insertion. Very little nerve knowledge, no cadaver work, and no second-level or third-level 'clinical' questions like in PT anatomy and physiology. Honestly, I think the CC classes are geared for the majority of the students in the class - in my case, nursing - so, I was not prepared very well at all for PT school. That being said, if you can take honors classes at the CC, that might prepare you better. But I know that I was at a distinct disadvantage compared to my PT classmates who came from a four-year school. Don't want to sound like a downer, but it was very demoralizing thinking I was so well-prepared compared to my CC classmates, but I really wasn't.

I actually slightly disagree with this. I don't feel as though anyone entered our program with a distinct advantage over anyone else, in terms of preparation. I would also suffice to say that not all junior colleges are created equally. Having said that, I don't think a junior college can hold a candle to your average DPT program.

 

[PTADPT]

I disagree with you completely. I was very challenged at my CC by my professors in all subject areas. MOst of them possessed a PHD and some even confessed that CC students seem to grasp things better and work harder than some 4-year institution students. I am not a fan of generalizations. Just like one PT school may prove to cover a wider array of information and better prepare their students than other schools. The sam eprinciple can be applied to CC's. It all depends on the school. I believe that anything is possible and although your stats may prove to be weaker compared to other applicants with high marks, there is a chance. Just gain more observation hours and write an addendum pointing out your grade trend and a reasonable reason for such a GPA (if any). Goodluck with your process.

LPTA