I really need advice!

[blackcar]

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Hi everyone,

This is my very first post. I have been have this website a lot but never got around to registering and creating threads myself.

I am in a crossroad and deciding which way to go. I am applying to the 2012/2013 cycle. the PTCAS cycle opens on July 2nd. I currently have a low GPA, 3.11. However, I am taking summer classes and I am actually repeating a class in this summer. I can most likely be able to raise my GPA to 3.25. My summer classes end on August 18th. It would take PTCAS 4 to 5 weeks to process my application providing me with a completed application in the last week of September.

So what I was thinking if should I choose option 1: fill out PTCAS with my 3.11 GPA and be in the first batch of applicants to all schools and then update my GPA in December using PTCAS. The good part of this is that I will be in the first batch of students which is helpful for schools with rolling applications.

or

Should I do option 2: Wait until my summer classes finish and get a GPA of 3.25. However, I would have applied much later to schools and it may be too late for schools to see my application. The good part of this case is that I will have a better chance at PT programs without rolling admission.

My GRE score is considered average. 145 Verbal, 155 Quantitative, 4.0 Writing. I have plenty of work experience and can most likely obtain good LORs. I am also confused about Early Decision Processes because do they increase your chances of getting accepted into the program?

p.s. I am also taking Statistics this summer. Since many programs have it as a prerequisite class, I am not sure how it will play out

Thanks for all the Help🙂

 

[Azimuthal]

You should just apply now. You will have to input your planned courses, to be updated, anyways. When you update your score, the school you applied to will get notified of your update. Most early decision programs require a relatively competitive GPA so I would look into that.

 

[Seatown87]

I talked with one admissions advisor and she reccommended submitting your application as you would like the admissions comittee to see it. All work in progress is just that "in progress" and they can't sit there and say "well they will probably get an A." In December many of your schools will likely have made a decision about your application anyways (especially if you are applying early).

Applying early is important for some schools (rolling admissions), not so much for others (everyone else).

I would reccommend submitting your app the second you know your grades allowing the admissions comittee to see how awesome you were over the summer.

 

[greco13]

everything depends on where your applying, how competitive admittance is and their admission type. In your case I would probably wait until after you can input your summer classes. I am not a competitive applicant but have decided to pick an ED school. The worst that could happen is they say 'no' and put you into the regular pile of apps. But it shows you were 'all in' for that school and maybe that'd make a difference in the regular admissions pool.

 

[djb051]

I would wait until the end of the summer.
I am in the same boat...I am taking a few summer classes right now, and I am going to wait until the classes end in August to submit the application. I am hoping to bump my overall GPA up a bit so it will look a little better, but I am not applying to any schools with rolling admissions though.

 

[kingsandmen]

Hi everyone,

This is my very first post. I have been have this website a lot but never got around to registering and creating threads myself.

I am in a crossroad and deciding which way to go. I am applying to the 2012/2013 cycle. the PTCAS cycle opens on July 2nd. I currently have a low GPA, 3.11. However, I am taking summer classes and I am actually repeating a class in this summer. I can most likely be able to raise my GPA to 3.25. My summer classes end on August 18th. It would take PTCAS 4 to 5 weeks to process my application providing me with a completed application in the last week of September.

So what I was thinking if should I choose option 1: fill out PTCAS with my 3.11 GPA and be in the first batch of applicants to all schools and then update my GPA in December using PTCAS. The good part of this is that I will be in the first batch of students which is helpful for schools with rolling applications.

or

Should I do option 2: Wait until my summer classes finish and get a GPA of 3.25. However, I would have applied much later to schools and it may be too late for schools to see my application. The good part of this case is that I will have a better chance at PT programs without rolling admission.

My GRE score is considered average. 145 Verbal, 155 Quantitative, 4.0 Writing. I have plenty of work experience and can most likely obtain good LORs. I am also confused about Early Decision Processes because do they increase your chances of getting accepted into the program?

p.s. I am also taking Statistics this summer. Since many programs have it as a prerequisite class, I am not sure how it will play out

Thanks for all the Help🙂

To the OP here's a few things you should consider.
1) On the topic of Early Decision. A quick search via PTCAS for "Early Admission" gives you the following "the Early Decision program is a binding option for applicants who have decided that a particular PT program is their first choice and that they will enroll if accepted. As an Early Decision applicant, you can apply to only one PTCAS program until a decision on your application has been made by your Early Decision program." The link http://www.ptcas.org/EarlyDecision.html. So to answer your question Early Decision actually decreases your odds if your planning on applying to multiple programs simply for the fact that you can not submit an app to any other school till your ED school rejects you. ED is a good option for candidates who may not be able to move from a city and only want to get into one school. For that candidate it may increase their odds as typically schools with ED look at all ED candidates first.
2) Your GRE scores. I used UMiami as an example. If you go to UMiami's website this year you'll find the following information "Applicants must have a minimum GRE score of 147 on the quantitative section,149 on the verbal section and 3.0 on the analytical section." Link http://www.pt.med.miami.edu/academics/academic-programs/dpt/dpt-admission-requirements If you go check the percentiles on ETS you'll find that 149 is 42% ranking for applicants. Link http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide_table1a.pdf To be accepted there you'll need to retake the GRE. Note: UMiami is not saying the average applicant has a 149. They are saying you need at least a 149 to be accepted. If you were an applicant with a higher GPA than you might get away with the minimum. Lets look at 3 other state schools. UNF requires a 149. FIU states "A score above the 50th percentile on both Verbal and Quantitative section of the GRE is recommended" Mind you 149 is 42%. University of Texas states verbal of 150. Why does verbal percentile matter? Verbal score is actually the part of the GRE that the schools care most about because it corresponds to performance on the NPTE. See this study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18630785 or this https://digarchive.library.vcu.edu/handle/10156/1817 To your favor though many schools have no minimum requirement, that is to say nothing is impossible. A higher score though could only help. My suggestion is to retake the GRE and study more for the verbal.
3) Your outlined options. As someone has stated your option one is the smart one. Any in-progress classes will be updated after you complete them. In progress courses especially re-takes tell the programs you are working to improve your GPA. Let's be clear on something. Programs with rolling admissions work as such. They determine if the applicant is likely to be suitable to pass through the curriculum. Based on that they accept or reject. Once the class has been accepted then they will put all other qualified applicants on a waitlist regardless of stats. What's the minimum? Whatever they say on their site. However you should know that many factors go into the decision such as your personal statement, your LOR, varied volunteer experiences and life experiences, not everything is about numbers. Additionally as already stated many schools have no minimum for GRE scores. Again all of this is to anyone with a low GRE/GPA scores favor.
4) Your GPA. You should continue to retake classes. As many as possible but especially anything you've gotten a C in. If you get waitlisted in fall but continue to raise your GPA the schools could see it on the academic update which might then bump you up on the list. Additionally if you apply to schools with non-rolling admissions who look at your application in Jan/Feb then you truly have done everything for them to boost up your GPA.

Bottom Line: Find several programs that at your current stats would accept you that you believe you'd like to attend. Apply as early as possible and input all in-progress courses. Update PTCAS as you finish those courses. Retake the GRE before the end of summer if possible.

Good luck.

 

[Litlwarrior08]

Option 1: Apply / submitt / $$ ASAP....... If I remember you can only input through spring 2012 completed classes and add summer and fall 2012 as planned classes (unless you submit later in the cycle) In progress / planned classes won't be updated untill Dec when acad. update opens then you send them new transcripts. I believe PTCAS locked the course page at a certain point - I had to call and wait til after ED time line for them to correct a class input.
Call PTCAS they are very helpful w/ answering the specifics of your needs.
As Kingsandmen posted......You can only apply for one ED program.......you enter / submitt to the other programs after the ED progams' deadlines for offering admissions some time in Sept. Read all the info carefully before you choose. It got a little stressful waiting on the ED and not being able to apply to the other schools. My GPA was 3.1. didn't get into the ED, but got accepted in Nov to another school. Good Luck.

 

[blackcar]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I am thinking about going more towards option 2 and including my summer grades in the application process. This is because I have done a lot of research today and found out the majority of my programs do not do rolling admissions. There were only a few schools that did rolling admission. Also, the schools that did rolling admission had deadlines later (January and February) and their priority deadlines is in November. Since I'll turn in my application in September, I hope I will be fine with the priority deadlines.

Also, I am not planning to choose an ED school because I won't have my final grades from my summer classes completed in time.

I think it is better that I do it this way so that schools can see my higher GPA (especially non-rolling) and possibly have a higher chance than a lower GPA.

I was also deciding if I should retake the GRE. Of my overall score, I was in the 48th percentile. However, I have a low verbal score. The problem is that I do not have time to retake it because of my summer classes.

Do you think that the GRE will be a deciding factor to my low GPA? Also, what happens if I retake the GRE but do worse then the first attempt. Will they count the better attempt or whichever GRE score that I want to give them?

Thanks for all the help🙂

 

[kingsandmen]

You should search through this forum for each school your applying to and consult PTCAS as it posts average gre scores for admitted students for many schools. How much the GRE counts toward a decision will vary by each school. There are some schools who consider it a sorting out factor, yet others don't put much weight into it. If after that you're still unsure then by all means personally contact the academic coordinator at each school to ask how they select applicants. I was saying that retaking the GRE is to your benefit, it can only help you. You can choose to not submit to schools at the end of the exam if you don't get the score you want and even if you did send it the schools typically take the highest score on a single attempt. If you feel like you don't have time to do it proper then don't retake and just concentrate on making A grades for whatever you have left.