Is improving my GPA enough?

[AZ.DPT]

This next cycle will be my second time applying and I am trying to make sure I am doing everything right to ensure my success. This current cycle I applied to 6 schools. I received 4 rejections, 1 non-response, and I am on the waitlist at 1 school.

2019-2020 cycle stats:
-cGPA: 3.56.
-pGPA: 3.2-3.5.
-GRE highest scores out of three attempts: 145Q, 149V, and 4.5AW (81st percentile) AW. I really do not want to retake the GRE for a fourth time which is why I have put all my effort into improving my pGPA.

LORs:
-2 PTs I shadowed for over a year.
-A professor in my major who is an M.D. and upper division prof that I knew well.
-the director at my internship who is an M.Ed.

Extracurriculars:
-Internship at my school’s adaptive athletics program helping athletes with physical disabilities exercise in the fitness center.
-volunteer assisting a professional wheelchair tennis player with workouts 3-4 days a week.

Where I think I went wrong last cycle:
-I applied primarily to big name schools like University of Washington, CU Denver, Mayo Clinic, etc. I only applied to one small school, Touro University Nevada. I am currently on the waitlist there but their program start date is coming up so I am still preparing as if I will not get a seat.

Improvements:
-pGPA 3.7-3.75. But is this enough improvement? I really thought I was a strong applicant last cycle and reality hit me hard.
-I have found some future opportunities to pursue such as sitting on a board of an adaptive sports association and more adaptive sports volunteering. I am also going to try for an outpatient PT tech position now that I am not in school.

Please feel free to weight in. Are the improvements to my pGPA (3.2 then to a 3.75 now) and trying for more experiences once society opens up again enough to get me into a school this round? Any other advice is appreciated. Thanks!

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[MartialArtDPT]

You're a strong applicant for many schools- the weak link is the GRE. You may not even hit the minimum for some schools, which makes the strongest app useless. How much/how did you study?

 

[bfrost827]

Everything looks great except your GRE score. Many programs won't even look at an application with scores under 150. I would HIGHLY recommend putting your efforts into studying and increasing your score.

 

[AZ.DPT]

You're a strong applicant for many schools- the weak link is the GRE. You may not even hit the minimum for some schools, which makes the strongest app useless. How much/how did you study?

Standardized testing has always been my weak link. I studied on my own for the first two tries and for the third I took an online Kaplan class. This class helped my scores increase by a lot but sadly not quite enough. I took each test about a month apart and went over practice problems and took online practice tests to study. Do you have any advice on how to improve my scores?

 

[warmgoldfish]

With a GRE score below 150, you might get "automatically" rejected by their automated system. You should really retake that GRE if you find the time. I know it isn't what you want to hear, but your GPA is probably AVERAGE. So imagine competing against other AVERAGE GPAs but with 150+ GRE scores. I imagine the school would take the latter student.

Interview schools are notorious for using automated systems to send interview invitations to those who meet certain stat requirements (150/150/4.0+, for example) without any human looking at the application. That may be your issue.

 

[deleted1029620]

With a GRE score below 150, you might get "automatically" rejected by their automated system. You should really retake that GRE if you find the time. I know it isn't what you want to hear, but your GPA is probably AVERAGE. So imagine competing against other AVERAGE GPAs but with 150+ GRE scores. I imagine the school would take the latter student.

Interview schools are notorious for using automated systems to send interview invitations to those who meet certain stat requirements (150/150/4.0+, for example) without any human looking at the application. That may be your issue.

I completely agree. My first time applying to PT schools, my scores were around 293 combined so ~140’s in both verbal & quantitative. Though my cGPA, 3.9/4.0, & pGPA, 3.7, was extremely high, schools like Emory University didn’t even consider my app due to their automated system. The second time around, I improved my score using Magoosh’s 2-3 month study plan. I highly suggest retaking the GRE & maybe consistently studying for 2 months instead of just one. In my opinion, it’s cheaper & worth it to retake the exam again to improve your chances rather than pay to reapply for a 3rd cycle.

 

[bfrost827]

I completely agree with eleven13. You need to study for more than a month, especially if the GRE is a weakness for you. I started studying minimally in January, ramped it up a bit in March, and am studying ~15 hours a week for three weeks until my exam. Everyone isn't going to have the same timelines, but I personally think it took me at least a month to really nail down where I was at, and then another to see where my strengths and weaknesses were, and the last three weeks for studying in the weak areas and fine tuning.

Other tips: Take as many practice exams as you can. If you have a friend who's good at the math and/or english, then ask them. My friend does SAT/ACT tutoring, so he's been able to help me out a lot in the math section, especially in identifying what the problems are actually asking and how to solve them efficiently.

 

[ADPT7]

This next cycle will be my second time applying and I am trying to make sure I am doing everything right to ensure my success. This current cycle I applied to 6 schools. I received 4 rejections, 1 non-response, and I am on the waitlist at 1 school.

2019-2020 cycle stats:
-cGPA: 3.56.
-pGPA: 3.2-3.5.
-GRE highest scores out of three attempts: 145Q, 149V, and 4.5AW (81st percentile) AW. I really do not want to retake the GRE for a fourth time which is why I have put all my effort into improving my pGPA.

LORs:
-2 PTs I shadowed for over a year.
-A professor in my major who is an M.D. and upper division prof that I knew well.
-the director at my internship who is an M.Ed.

Extracurriculars:
-Internship at my school’s adaptive athletics program helping athletes with physical disabilities exercise in the fitness center.
-volunteer assisting a professional wheelchair tennis player with workouts 3-4 days a week.

Where I think I went wrong last cycle:
-I applied primarily to big name schools like University of Washington, CU Denver, Mayo Clinic, etc. I only applied to one small school, Touro University Nevada. I am currently on the waitlist there but their program start date is coming up so I am still preparing as if I will not get a seat.

Improvements:
-pGPA 3.7-3.75. But is this enough improvement? I really thought I was a strong applicant last cycle and reality hit me hard.
-I have found some future opportunities to pursue such as sitting on a board of an adaptive sports association and more adaptive sports volunteering. I am also going to try for an outpatient PT tech position now that I am not in school.

Please feel free to weight in. Are the improvements to my pGPA (3.2 then to a 3.75 now) and trying for more experiences once society opens up again enough to get me into a school this round? Any other advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Before you retake the GREs you should consider the schools you are applying to. I actually scored the exact same as you and applied to 5 schools, I was accepted to 4 and waitlisted at 1. The one I was waitlisted to had a minimum that I did not meet, but they made it super clear that I was a promising candidate even with my scores. They have reached out multiple times to let the waitlist know that every seat they offered during interviews was taken and no one had declined their seat. I withdrew my spot on the waitlist because I’m starting my program in May and didn’t want to get in after I already started a program.

You need to check if your schools have a minimum, some programs don’t even require the GRE. You’ve improved your GPA quite a bit which is a great start. Another thing to look at is your personal statement. Have professors who are familiar with the PT application process review your statement and give you feedback. There are also threads on here to help you out!

If you find yourself applying to schools that rely heavily on the GREs then you may want to take it again. Before you commit to spending more money though, if a possibility, I would consider programs that don’t depend on the GRE as heavily.

 

[AZ.DPT]

If you find yourself applying to schools that rely heavily on the GREs then you may want to take it again. Before you commit to spending more money though, if a possibility, I would consider programs that don’t depend on the GRE as heavily.

Thank you for this really thoughtful response. It's really reassuring to hear that someone with the same scores as me can make it! As I mentioned in my original post, I started to suspect maybe the schools I applied to were not strategically chosen. Which schools did you apply to? How did you narrow down which schools do not heavily rely on the GRE? Or did you specifically look for schools that do not require the GRE at all?

 

[ya1]

Improvements:
-pGPA 3.7-3.75. But is this enough improvement? I really thought I was a strong applicant last cycle and reality hit me hard.
-I have found some future opportunities to pursue such as sitting on a board of an adaptive sports association and more adaptive sports volunteering. I am also going to try for an outpatient PT tech position now that I am not in school.

Your GPA improvement is great and you are right, you previous GPA was competitive too. You must have applied to schools that are most competitive, accept fewer people, and consider GRE.
I don't think extra currixulum is that important and i would not waste time on improving it. People get into PT schools with zero extra curriculum.
My advise:
-apply to schools that do not require GRE or whose minimal GRE requirements 294 total and no requirement for 150 in either verbal or math part (unless you change your mind and improve it).
-Do ask schools for stats of average students who go accepted last couple of years and compare the stats with yours. Apply if your stats are close to theirs. If you see your stats/GRE are 2 points below theirs, don/t waste your time.

 

[ADPT7]

Thank you for this really thoughtful response. It's really reassuring to hear that someone with the same scores as me can make it! As I mentioned in my original post, I started to suspect maybe the schools I applied to were not strategically chosen. Which schools did you apply to? How did you narrow down which schools do not heavily rely on the GRE? Or did you specifically look for schools that do not require the GRE at all?

I am from Philadelphia and I wanted to commute to school so my driving factor was to apply to schools that were local. I didn’t necessarily pick schools that didn’t rely on the GRE. I applied to Drexel, Temple, Widener, USciences, and Thomas Jefferson. Of these schools Drexel was the only school that had a minimum requirement which was 300 combined and 4.0. Temple and Widener had posted averages that their accepted students get but had no minimum. USciences and Jefferson did not require the GREs so I didn’t even send them my scores.

For me, I was lucky enough that the schools that were local didn’t rely heavily on the GREs. I did take them twice before submitting my applications. After not improving much the second time I knew there was no way I wanted to take them again. I’m not sure of your situation, but I would definitely look into applying to schools that don’t rely on the GREs. As long as the program is accredited and licensure exam rates are good, we are all getting the same degree! Don’t worry about going to a renowned university. Apply to the schools that best fit your stats and financial situation! I wish you the best of luck!!!

 

[AZ.DPT]

For anyone reading this, I was accepted at TUN! I hope this gives anyone with similar stats some hope.