How good are my chances? 3.56 pre-req GPA and 3.75 overall

[FlatHairMan]

I just got off the phone with my mom and she said she knows a lot of people who have kids who just aren't getting into grad school despite their good grades. I have a 3.75 GPA, with a 3.56 pre-req GPA (got a B in chemistry both semesters, hope that won't affect me too much). I am only a sophomore and want to lay out a game plan for how I should make sure I get accepted on my first try. I'm not amazing at standardized tests so I'm nervous about the GRE (got a 28 on the ACT though which is still pretty good). I am in Alpha Phi Omega, the co-ed service fraternity that focuses on volunteering and leadership events and isn't really that similar to normal Greek life. I'm also doing a full time job over the summer at a school supply vendor that packs and ships custom school supply orders to elementary schools around the country. I have only about 30ish hours of outpatient volunteering/shadowing now but I'm going to get at least 125 by the time I graduate in multiple settings. I also was a volunteer camp counselor this last summer at a Muscular Dystrophy Association summer camp and I had experience working with transferring kids in and out of wheelchairs to shower, go to the bathroom, etc. I have a good number of people I could count on for a reccomendation so I'm not worried about that.
What am I lacking in? I know I need more shadowing hours but am I good for extracurriculars if I take a bunch of leadership positions in APO or should I try to get involved in other stuff too? Also, I have had to drop two gen-eds in my college career due to health reasons (had to get emergency surgeries twice, not fun, but I'm better now!)

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[redrose424]

Getting into grad school is harder than undergrad - if you just have good grades you aren't guaranteed a spot. As long as you get hours in a variety of settings and understand the profession and how you can have a positive impact in the profession you will be fine.

 

[Ndebt]

I was in your position last year.. I didn't get it. I had a job working with kids, observation hours that were decent, and an average gpa that my advisor told me I would have no problems with.
Anyway, when the time came to apply, it cost like 1,000 just to get my applications out there to like 8 schools.. I only got 1 interview, no acceptance.

Needless to say, you need to treat getting into grad school like it's your full time job. You need to achieve the following things, which I have done and was accepted the second time around at multiple schools.

1: rack up observation hours. The trick here is to have multiple places you've been to, with a good 40 hours in each one. These should include outpatient, hospital, home health, and nursing home also known as skilled nursing facility. That will get you looking good,

Next you need a killer GRE score. Get a test prep book like Princeton review from a book store and read 1 chapter a day, no more. Follow the advice in the book closely and in a month or so you can expect a 10-15 point gain on the GRE.. I did.

Last piece of advice, get A's the rest of your time in college. When I graduated it is very frustrating how difficult it is to raise a GPA by retakes, you basically get half the credit. So anyway I made a B- in physiology and a C in anatomy and I got acceptance letters before I even finished my retake classes so I could do it and I know you can too.




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[Highlife.himalayas]

I was in your position last year.. I didn't get it. I had a job working with kids, observation hours that were decent, and an average gpa that my advisor told me I would have no problems with.
Anyway, when the time came to apply, it cost like 1,000 just to get my applications out there to like 8 schools.. I only got 1 interview, no acceptance.

Needless to say, you need to treat getting into grad school like it's your full time job. You need to achieve the following things, which I have done and was accepted the second time around at multiple schools.

1: rack up observation hours. The trick here is to have multiple places you've been to, with a good 40 hours in each one. These should include outpatient, hospital, home health, and nursing home also known as skilled nursing facility. That will get you looking good,

Next you need a killer GRE score. Get a test prep book like Princeton review from a book store and read 1 chapter a day, no more. Follow the advice in the book closely and in a month or so you can expect a 10-15 point gain on the GRE.. I did.

Last piece of advice, get A's the rest of your time in college. When I graduated it is very frustrating how difficult it is to raise a GPA by retakes, you basically get half the credit. So anyway I made a B- in physiology and a C in anatomy and I got acceptance letters before I even finished my retake classes so I could do it and I know you can too.




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Was wondering if I could get your input on something... After this semester I'll have a 3.9 prereq GPA but only 100 inpatient hours. I see you and many others emphasize a collection of varied settings for observation, but I just don't have the time. I plan to acquire some outpatient hours later and will be noted under "planned observations" ... Will this set me back?

Or, I can stop my inpatient hours at 50 hours then find outpatient for the last 50 hours totaling 100 by May 15. But some have said not to worry since my prereq GPA is high. Thoughts?

 

[Ginglymus]

my PTCAS cGPA was a 2.81 (3.39 school cGPA), however I spent many years applying and retaking courses. I am much more qualified than I appear on paper, but thats how it is. I have a medium-low competitive application as far as PTCAS cGPA and GRE scores, but Ive also worked incredibly hard over the years obtaining a master's degree with a 3.93, over 1200 hours of PT experience and 1500 hours of volunteer/work experience. I personally think if you have a cGPA and pGPA both > 3.6, decent GRE scores, can interview and have a decent amount of volunteer hours you shouldn't have too much of a problem. Here is the link to my stats: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/posts/17466997/

Edit: Also something very important, and that is dont hesitate on applying to many schools if you can afford it. If you will be struggling monetarily while applying, make sure you look into programs that look at your personal strengths. For instance, some schools take the highest grade whether you have retaken a course (typically schools use highest grade for pre reqs if you have retaken, but not all), some take last 60 credit hour for cumulative gpa, some take last 45 credit hour for cum gpa, some schools require a few different prereqs, etc. I probably applied to more schools than 99% of people on this forum which was very sad, but with my initial wayward years of C's I had to do what I had to do.

 

[redrose424]

Was wondering if I could get your input on something... After this semester I'll have a 3.9 prereq GPA but only 100 inpatient hours. I see you and many others emphasize a collection of varied settings for observation, but I just don't have the time. I plan to acquire some outpatient hours later and will be noted under "planned observations" ... Will this set me back?

Or, I can stop my inpatient hours at 50 hours then find outpatient for the last 50 hours totaling 100 by May 15. But some have said not to worry since my prereq GPA is high. Thoughts?

Get inpatient and outpatient.

 

[dancerdpt17]

Variety is definitely key for observation hours. I only have about 100 hours total because it was hard to take time off work to observe, but I was able to observe in an inpatient facility, three outpatient facilities, and a nursing home. DPTs are trained as generalists, so the more exposure you have to the different PT settings, the better!

It sounds like you are definitely on the right track. Make sure you get as many As in the prereqs as you can and get strong letters of recommendation. Volunteering and leadership position are good too. I personally didn't have a single leadership position and only had minimal volunteer hours, but my application still got plenty of attention.

 

[ROSTedFlakes]

Here's my stats (first time applying):


Cumulative GPA: 3.6
Pre-Req GPA: 3.16
Combined Science and Math: 3.08
Last 60 hours: 3.9ish
GRE: V:157, Q:155, W:4.0

Extra Curricular: Competed regionally and nationally on a motorsports team for 7 years (2007-13) - finished 2nd in NASCAR Division III National points in 2013. In 2014 and 2015 managed a national touring Sprint Car team (30-50 hours/week pretty much all year round). Started a graphic design business from the ground up - serving clients all over the nation (2014). KSU intramural sports. Campus ministry student leader. First Aid/CPR/AED certified.

Observation: 116 hours (outpatient clinic, surgical center, in-patient rehab @ hospital)

Applied: Duke, Florida International, Northwestern, Ohio State, University of Iowa, KU Medical Center, Miami, Nebraska Medical Center, and South Carolina.

Interviews: Miami (11/20), Nebraska Medical Center (12/18)

Accepted: Northwestern (11/17), University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha) (3/1)

Waitlisted: Miami (2/29)

Rejected: Everywhere else


I got C's in Chem 1 and 2 and did not retake them.


Moral of the story: GPA is not everything. I got accepted to/am currently on the wait list at 2 of the top 10 schools in the country and I had a comparatively low cGPA and pre-req GPA. I think my GRE, EC's, and interviews helped me out. From what I experienced in my interviews, I don' think schools put as much weight into observation hours as people make it seem. For example, UNMC doesn't require ANY observation hours for admission into their program. However, your interviews will go much better if you have plenty of clinical experiences to talk about. Definitely try and get into as many different/unique settings as possible to observe. But keep in mind, even if you have 1000 observation hours in 15 different settings, that alone isn't going to carry you into PT school. You need to stand out and make yourself memorable to the admissions committee. Unique extra curricular activities and a good essay are the best ways to do this. Honestly, the essay is probably the most important part of your application.

Think about it. If an admissions committee has to go through 500 applications they are all going to start looking the same (unless you have a spectacular GPA/GRE) . The essay is your time to shine and you need to take advantage of it. Like I said, make yourself memorable and SHOW (don't tell) the committee how you'll be valuable to their program. "I got injured in high school and had a great PT and now I want to be a PT so I can help people" doesn't make you stand out. There's nothing wrong if that's why you want to become a PT - but your essay has to be more creative and memorable than that.

Good luck applying. There's been some great advice posted so far!