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So I figured that I should share my story and offer some motivation to those with low stats, since I graduated with a cGPA of 2.81 and managed to get into a top ten school. It's a bit of a long read so Tl;dr at the bottom.
I graduated back in 2016 with a cGPA of 2.81. This was due to the fact that I was originally pursuing dentistry, but I wasn't passionate about it thus I wasn't really trying when it came to my coursework.
I had an epiphany after I graduated and I reflected back on what truly made me happy during my undergrad career. During those years I ran a fitness club (which I was the founding father of) and taught dozens upon dozens of people the fundamentals of weightlifting. This club was quite successful, and at its peak I had over 150+ people in it! Since I realized that I wholeheartedly enjoyed working with people on a one-on-one basis, monitoring their progress, and encouraging them; I decided to pursue a career in which I would work with people in such a way. So I shadowed both PT's and personal trainers and ultimately decided on physical therapy.
I knew my cGPA was laughable, and that I didn't have much of a chance of getting accepted to PT school with a sub 3.0 cGPA. So for two years I retook most of my prerequisite courses and aimed for grades of no less than an A. Seriously, this is what you have to do with a subpar GPA. You have to prove to the Admissions Committee that you have what it takes to thrive in PT school. You cannot settle for a B, not even an A-.
And that's what I did. For two years I retook many prereqs and earned straight A's. I managed to get my cGPA above the cutoff and got a 3.03. Also during that time I shadowed PTs in both inpatient and outpatient. I had about 100+ hours by the time I applied. I would've preferred to have acquired more hours at a variety of different settings but as someone who has to pay rent and other bills, I couldn't really afford to work without pay.
For employment, I work with people with developmental disabilities and so I gained even more experience in working with people. This field of work helped me acquire the ability to communicate with people who are non-verbal. A useful skill to have as a future Physical Therapist.
In regards to the GRE, I studied my butt off for the verbal section; and in the end I must've learned about 800 new vocabulary words. Unfortunately I think I focused too much on this section, as I didn't really grasp the math. Fortunately, my verbal score was somewhat able to overshadow my quantitative score. Though I do believe that the Admissions Committee prefers a high verbal score over a high quantitative score.
When it was time for me to apply, I knew that I had to be strategic and only apply to schools that I had the best chance of being accepted to. This meant researching every school on PTCAS and seeing which schools I would be the most competitive applying to. So instead of shotgunning it and applying to 10+ random schools hoping that one stuck, I limited my applications to 3 schools. MGH IHP, Shenandoah University, and The University of New England. These programs focus more on your prereq GPA and also take the highest grade for retaken courses (as opposed to most programs that average retaken courses.) Ultimately, you want to apply to schools that look at you more holistically and seeing more than just your stats.
I made sure to write the strongest personal statement essay + school specific essays that I could. I must've worked on these for over 3 weeks straight. I emphasized my leadership roles, my interpersonal skills, and my ability to work with a diverse group. I made sure to focus on my fitness club and my current field of work. After reading my essays, you could literally feel my passion emanating from the page. I literally put my heart into it. I believe these essays, coupled with my flawless postbacc work, were the reasons I got accepted to PT school.
Also a very important note. I reviewed all of my applications well over 20 times. I perused through every word making sure that there were no typos or grammar errors. If you can't take the time to proofread your grad school application and the Admissions Committee notices any spelling/grammar errors, then your application will have a one-way ticket to the garbage bin. So seriously take the time to proofread your applications!
Anyways, here are the stats that got me into PT school:
cGPA: 3.03 (after 2 years of retaking courses.)
pGPA: 3.70-3.80
GRE: 157 V, 148 Q, 4.0 AWA
Extracurriculars: Founding father of my UNI's first fitness club. Taught many people the fundamentals of weightlifting. Worked at the Women's Resource Center at my UNI. Work with people with developmental disabilities for over 3 years.
LOR: 1 from Physical Therapist, 1 from exercise physiology professor, and 1 from college advisor/mentor.
Volunteer Hours: 50+ hours at acute inpatient. 50+ hours in outpatient.
Certification: CPR and AED.
Applied: MGH IHP, Shenandoah University, University of New England
Interview/Open House: MGH IHP (12/1), Shenandoah University (12/18)
Acceptance: MGH IHP (12/17)
Waitlist: Shenandoah University (12/20)
Rejections: None.
Attending: MGH IHP with scholarship!!!!!!
So there you have it. Don't let your low cGPA discourage you. As long as you're diligent and can make your application stand out against competition, you too can get accepted to physical therapy school! 🙂
Tl;dr: Had low cGPA in 2016. Retook most prereqs. Applied only to schools that considered pGPA and took the highest grade for retakes. Made sure to get relevant experience and highlight it in my essays. Wrote very, very strong essays. Got accepted with scholarship to a top ten program.
Edit. Wanted to address more points.
I graduated back in 2016 with a cGPA of 2.81. This was due to the fact that I was originally pursuing dentistry, but I wasn't passionate about it thus I wasn't really trying when it came to my coursework.
I had an epiphany after I graduated and I reflected back on what truly made me happy during my undergrad career. During those years I ran a fitness club (which I was the founding father of) and taught dozens upon dozens of people the fundamentals of weightlifting. This club was quite successful, and at its peak I had over 150+ people in it! Since I realized that I wholeheartedly enjoyed working with people on a one-on-one basis, monitoring their progress, and encouraging them; I decided to pursue a career in which I would work with people in such a way. So I shadowed both PT's and personal trainers and ultimately decided on physical therapy.
I knew my cGPA was laughable, and that I didn't have much of a chance of getting accepted to PT school with a sub 3.0 cGPA. So for two years I retook most of my prerequisite courses and aimed for grades of no less than an A. Seriously, this is what you have to do with a subpar GPA. You have to prove to the Admissions Committee that you have what it takes to thrive in PT school. You cannot settle for a B, not even an A-.
And that's what I did. For two years I retook many prereqs and earned straight A's. I managed to get my cGPA above the cutoff and got a 3.03. Also during that time I shadowed PTs in both inpatient and outpatient. I had about 100+ hours by the time I applied. I would've preferred to have acquired more hours at a variety of different settings but as someone who has to pay rent and other bills, I couldn't really afford to work without pay.
For employment, I work with people with developmental disabilities and so I gained even more experience in working with people. This field of work helped me acquire the ability to communicate with people who are non-verbal. A useful skill to have as a future Physical Therapist.
In regards to the GRE, I studied my butt off for the verbal section; and in the end I must've learned about 800 new vocabulary words. Unfortunately I think I focused too much on this section, as I didn't really grasp the math. Fortunately, my verbal score was somewhat able to overshadow my quantitative score. Though I do believe that the Admissions Committee prefers a high verbal score over a high quantitative score.
When it was time for me to apply, I knew that I had to be strategic and only apply to schools that I had the best chance of being accepted to. This meant researching every school on PTCAS and seeing which schools I would be the most competitive applying to. So instead of shotgunning it and applying to 10+ random schools hoping that one stuck, I limited my applications to 3 schools. MGH IHP, Shenandoah University, and The University of New England. These programs focus more on your prereq GPA and also take the highest grade for retaken courses (as opposed to most programs that average retaken courses.) Ultimately, you want to apply to schools that look at you more holistically and seeing more than just your stats.
I made sure to write the strongest personal statement essay + school specific essays that I could. I must've worked on these for over 3 weeks straight. I emphasized my leadership roles, my interpersonal skills, and my ability to work with a diverse group. I made sure to focus on my fitness club and my current field of work. After reading my essays, you could literally feel my passion emanating from the page. I literally put my heart into it. I believe these essays, coupled with my flawless postbacc work, were the reasons I got accepted to PT school.
Also a very important note. I reviewed all of my applications well over 20 times. I perused through every word making sure that there were no typos or grammar errors. If you can't take the time to proofread your grad school application and the Admissions Committee notices any spelling/grammar errors, then your application will have a one-way ticket to the garbage bin. So seriously take the time to proofread your applications!
Anyways, here are the stats that got me into PT school:
cGPA: 3.03 (after 2 years of retaking courses.)
pGPA: 3.70-3.80
GRE: 157 V, 148 Q, 4.0 AWA
Extracurriculars: Founding father of my UNI's first fitness club. Taught many people the fundamentals of weightlifting. Worked at the Women's Resource Center at my UNI. Work with people with developmental disabilities for over 3 years.
LOR: 1 from Physical Therapist, 1 from exercise physiology professor, and 1 from college advisor/mentor.
Volunteer Hours: 50+ hours at acute inpatient. 50+ hours in outpatient.
Certification: CPR and AED.
Applied: MGH IHP, Shenandoah University, University of New England
Interview/Open House: MGH IHP (12/1), Shenandoah University (12/18)
Acceptance: MGH IHP (12/17)
Waitlist: Shenandoah University (12/20)
Rejections: None.
Attending: MGH IHP with scholarship!!!!!!
So there you have it. Don't let your low cGPA discourage you. As long as you're diligent and can make your application stand out against competition, you too can get accepted to physical therapy school! 🙂
Tl;dr: Had low cGPA in 2016. Retook most prereqs. Applied only to schools that considered pGPA and took the highest grade for retakes. Made sure to get relevant experience and highlight it in my essays. Wrote very, very strong essays. Got accepted with scholarship to a top ten program.
Edit. Wanted to address more points.
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