Looking for input on DPT programs

[inipt47]

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Hey, I am going to be applying for the 2015-16 cycle of PTCAS, and I was wondering if someone (preferably a current student or alum in/of these programs, but will take info from anyone) could give me some insight of the pro's and con's of these programs: Univ of Maryland -Eastern Shore, Hampton Univ, Mercer Univ, Chatham Univ, Drexel Univ. Any feedback at all would be a super help for me. I have already researched extensively at all of these programs, and I am just trying to get a feel of what the experiences within them are.

Also I recently took the GRE and received a total score of 307: 159 Q, 148 V, 4.0 AW. With these scores am I good to go (with respect to these programs) or should I re-take it? I am really just nervous about my quantitative score. I know this was long so thanks for sticking with it lol, once again any help would be appreciated!

 

[Kuhdaytee]

Do any of these schools have an average GRE on PTCAS or the school's website? You definitely should meet the minimum, but it's hard to tell if you should re-take it when we don't know what your GPA's are. Your score looks fine to me though.

 

[inipt47]

Do any of these schools have an average GRE on PTCAS or the school's website? You definitely should meet the minimum, but it's hard to tell if you should re-take it when we don't know what your GPA's are. Your score looks fine to me though.

Most of the minimums I've seen have said a min total score of 300, with the student profile avgs being 155Q and 154 V. Thats why I'm worried about the quant. bc I am not at that avg. But does my higher score in verbal balance that out? Because I still passed the min total score, I guess what I'm asking is does each individual score matter or are they just looking at the total?

My Pre-req GPA is 3.53, can still go up as I haven't taken physics 1 &2 yet
Overall GPA is 3.31

 

[Kuhdaytee]

Well, my overall was 3.27 and Pre-req was between 3.2-3.7 depending on which schools averaged the classes I retook or just took the higher score. I think mine was 3.5ish and I'm going to UMES. I had 163Q, 161V and 4.5W and I'm from California. I don't think a much higher score would matter at all, especially since you're right on the average of accepted students (at least for total score). I wouldn't worry about your GRE score, since schools care a lot more about GPA.

Maybe browse through the GPA/GRE/Acceptances thread to see what other people's scores were for those schools you're looking into. If you are still nervous, you can always email the schools and ask if they place a lot of emphasis on GRE, or if a higher GRE will help your application if you tried to retake it.

 

[BNDPT]

Hi @inipt47,

I'm a current UMES DPT student! To answer your questions regarding pros and cons, here's a long list (haha):

Pros:
. You will get to know people in the program quite well due to the small class size, especially the 30 or so classmates that you will spend A LOT of time with during your 3-years stay.
. The people here are super nice and friendly- from administration/facutly/staff to students. But I'm sure you could say that about many other programs as well since PTs generally are nice people 🙂
. Tuition is very affordable for both in-state and out-of-state students. In my opinion, our tuition rates are probably one of the lowest around the nation, which is always a big plus.
. The faculty members here are VERY knowledgeable
. ~40 min from Ocean City! You would think that we go to the beach all the time and bathe ourselves in warm water and sunlight, but that sadly is not the case due to the busy work of school (haha). It's still nice to visit the beach and catch a breeze of the ocean once in awhile nonetheless.
. You get a chance to become involved in research with the faculty members here or on your own. It is actually part of the curriculum!

Cons:
. Campus is located in a remote area of Princess Anne; so if you grow up in a city around shopping malls, food chains, etc. , this might takes some time to get used to. Many of the students live off-campus in the bigger city of Salisbury (~15-20 min away from campus) and they get by just fine.
. Although we have all the equipment that you would need to become a clinical PT (i.e. motion analysis, ultrasound imagining, bone density scan, 3-D printer, walkers, crutches, etc.), we don't have the fancier/more expensive technologies like MRI scanner, CT scanner, etc. for someone who is more inclined toward research.
. Communication from administration to students could get a bit disorganized on occasions due to the small number of staff (again, it's a small program). From my knowledge however, I believe the department is looking to hire a couple more helping hands; so this might change soon.
. Due to location, networking outside of school and clinical affiliations might be a bit difficult. This is something that I wish the program could improve; but let's just say a couple of people are working to change that, so this statement might change soon as well.

Going to plug in a trite statement here, but just research all the programs carefully and you should be fine. I'm happy to answer as able so let me know if you have any more questions! I might not reply in a timely manner due to school work, but promise I will get to it. I'm sure @Kuhdaytee is also happy to help 🙂

 

[inipt47]

Well, my overall was 3.27 and Pre-req was between 3.2-3.7 depending on which schools averaged the classes I retook or just took the higher score. I think mine was 3.5ish and I'm going to UMES. I had 163Q, 161V and 4.5W and I'm from California. I don't think a much higher score would matter at all, especially since you're right on the average of accepted students (at least for total score). I wouldn't worry about your GRE score, since schools care a lot more about GPA.

Maybe browse through the GPA/GRE/Acceptances thread to see what other people's scores were for those schools you're looking into. If you are still nervous, you can always email the schools and ask if they place a lot of emphasis on GRE, or if a higher GRE will help your application if you tried to retake it.

Have you heard if they have already filled all of the seats for the next class? Ive been accepted to another program, I've been holding out on sending in my deposit bc I wanted to hear back from UMES. I called a few weeks ago to confirm if all of my materials were received as I never got a confirmation and I was told Id get a call back but I havent.

 

[Kuhdaytee]

Have you heard if they have already filled all of the seats for the next class? Ive been accepted to another program, I've been holding out on sending in my deposit bc I wanted to hear back from UMES. I called a few weeks ago to confirm if all of my materials were received as I never got a confirmation and I was told Id get a call back but I havent.

I am not sure, to be honest. I know that the interviews began in September so some people have been accepted since October. I am guessing that they have filled the class, but there were a few interviews the past few weeks so those might be to fill the waitlist. Again, this is just speculation, so I could be wrong.

Has UMES gotten back to you regarding an interview? You could still get an interview because there were several today, but I'm not sure when they stop interviewing. You could always call again since you never got a call back!

Is your deposit due anytime soon for the other program? I know that once you interview at UMES, it can take 1-2 weeks to hear back...so you might want to send in your deposit.

 

[navybluedreams]

Have you heard if they have already filled all of the seats for the next class? Ive been accepted to another program, I've been holding out on sending in my deposit bc I wanted to hear back from UMES. I called a few weeks ago to confirm if all of my materials were received as I never got a confirmation and I was told Id get a call back but I havent.

I called UMES today. They said they had interviews today, and the committee is meeting next week-ish to make decisions. They said they will contact us shortly after that. If you're more curious, definitely give them a call though to ask about your specific application.