Long forum post...many questions?

[EHCAT4]

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Hello everyone. I have been on here before for a few questions, but am in need of some other advice now. So to begin, I am a rising senior Athletic Training student at Emory & Henry College in Virginia this year. I am currently prepping for my GRE and exploring schools as I plan to attend graduate school for my DPT. I have a couple of questions though since it is starting to feel like crunch time.

1) I am planning to schedule my GRE this week for late July as I know it takes about 15 days for the scores to come back. I figure since most schools start their application cycles in july and run them through November/December that this gives me a good window of opportunity in case something goes wrong and I need to take it again (after the 21 day stall). Does this sound like a good plan and what other advice can you give on making a good score the first time? I have purchased the Kaplan Prep book and study materials and am currently dedicating an hour/hour and a half a day to preparing.

2) I have been working on filling my PTCAS out and have not run into any issues. I do have a question about something in the instructions. "Do not wait for PTCAS to receive all materials before submitting your application." What exactly does this mean? I only have 3 prerequisites left, one of which I will finish on August 1, leaving me with only two when I would be applying (as I know this is the max a lot of schools will allow when applying). I am just a bit confused on the whole transcript reception thing I suppose.

3)This is the biggie. I have been looking at schools since I got into undergrad, but still have not selected one. Just for some background, I am in very good standing with my overall GPA, science GPA, and prerequisite GPA, I have a major research project under my belt that we are working to publish next year. I have 150+ hours of PT observations in different settings, I will graduate with 900+ hands on clinical hours for Athletic Training (some of which were in PT stetting), and I will hopefully pass my BOC and come out of undergraduate with my ATC and CSCS credentials. I have met most of the requirements I have looked at on most schools pages,with the exception of the GRE, but am having trouble narrowing things down. I posted on here months ago about picking schools and I understand I do not need to go to a big school for a good education and board pass rates are the most important thing. My biggest issue is I do not want to drown in student loans after grad school. I live in Virginia and go to school in Virginia so I know a lot of Virginia based programs will be cheaper. My current college opened at DPT program two years ago and should finish the accreditation process by the beginning of 2018. If I choose to go there I could live at home and save a lot of money, but what are other reasonable options for me as I want to explore them all? I have been very interested in PITT but it's somewhere in the ballpark of $46,000 a year without the cost of living. No way I could swing that. I know VCU is relatiely cheap compared to other programs, but I would have to do cost of living again. Duke and UNC are on my dream school list, and I actually interned at Duke last year in the Orthopaedics Department so I have a foot in the door, but again not the cheapest. ETSU is also relatively close, but I cannot find a definite tuition rate on their website. My point is for my situation what are some good options? I am open to any and all advice. My big fear I think is I will get accepted into some of the dream schools I have and not be able to afford them.

 

[beyoutiful_sunshine]

1) if you're dedicating 1hr/1.5hr a day to studying for your GRE, chances are you will be ready for it before July. I would suggest you take it the soonest you can, given that you are ready for it. That way it gives you some wiggle room in case you need to retake it, and that's one thing that is out of the way. I took mine on May 31st and it was such a relief to have my results before the application opened because I didn't have to worry about it anymore.

2) if you've already started filling out your PTCAS app, then you are in the wrong application cycle. The new application cycle will open on June 29th. Any application you've started before that will be lost so you'll have to start over again. It won't hinder you, but just to let you know, your application won't be carried over as the cycle doesn't open until June 29th and they are using a new system. Do you have Facebook ? Or Twitter ? I would follow PTCAS on social media as little information like this is often posted on their page.
For your question regarding submission, essentially, you want to hit submit once all your application is complete: you've entered all your coursework, the contact info for the people giving you references, extra curricular, work, and written your essays. Once you hit submit, if your transcripts are received, PTCAS will start verifying your application, which can take several days/weeks. Now in your case, you might want to wait for your summer grades to be posted before sending your transcript. Since you have 3 outstanding pre-requisites, if you want to send your transcript early, you have to make sure the schools you're applying to accept 3 non completed pre-requisites. If you're applying to schools that only allow 2, then you HAVE to wait for your summer grades to be posted before sending in your transcript otherwise you won't meet the requirements for those schools and your application most likely will not be looked at. You only send your transcripts 2 times: once at the time of application, and later in December for the academic update. Sadly, you won't have the option to send a transcript first and then update it later once you have your summer grades.

3) I don't know much about PT schools in your area I'm sorry. If money is your main concern, I would definitely apply in state, or look at schools that will offer you scholarships. You might not have scholarships offers before you apply, but you can look at their websites, talk to the department, go to open houses and get an idea of how affordable the school would be and whether or not you could get a scholarship.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions and best of luck !!

 

[EHCAT4]

1) if you're dedicating 1hr/1.5hr a day to studying for your GRE, chances are you will be ready for it before July. I would suggest you take it the soonest you can, given that you are ready for it. That way it gives you some wiggle room in case you need to retake it, and that's one thing that is out of the way. I took mine on May 31st and it was such a relief to have my results before the application opened because I didn't have to worry about it anymore.

2) if you've already started filling out your PTCAS app, then you are in the wrong application cycle. The new application cycle will open on June 29th. Any application you've started before that will be lost so you'll have to start over again. It won't hinder you, but just to let you know, your application won't be carried over as the cycle doesn't open until June 29th and they are using a new system. Do you have Facebook ? Or Twitter ? I would follow PTCAS on social media as little information like this is often posted on their page.
For your question regarding submission, essentially, you want to hit submit once all your application is complete: you've entered all your coursework, the contact info for the people giving you references, extra curricular, work, and written your essays. Once you hit submit, if your transcripts are received, PTCAS will start verifying your application, which can take several days/weeks. Now in your case, you might want to wait for your summer grades to be posted before sending your transcript. Since you have 3 outstanding pre-requisites, if you want to send your transcript early, you have to make sure the schools you're applying to accept 3 non completed pre-requisites. If you're applying to schools that only allow 2, then you HAVE to wait for your summer grades to be posted before sending in your transcript otherwise you won't meet the requirements for those schools and your application most likely will not be looked at. You only send your transcripts 2 times: once at the time of application, and later in December for the academic update. Sadly, you won't have the option to send a transcript first and then update it later once you have your summer grades.

3) I don't know much about PT schools in your area I'm sorry. If money is your main concern, I would definitely apply in state, or look at schools that will offer you scholarships. You might not have scholarships offers before you apply, but you can look at their websites, talk to the department, go to open houses and get an idea of how affordable the school would be and whether or not you could get a scholarship.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions and best of luck !!

Thank you very very much for the info. I did not even notice this about the cycles on the PTCAS website! I really do appreciate all of the information. I may repost the last question with a title dealing with Virginia students to see if I can get anymore advice. Thank you again!