Medical School v.s. Physical Therapy School

[Minervij]

Hello all,
I have recently completed my bachelor's degree at Stockton University. My goal throughout my time as an undergraduate was to become a Physical Therapist. With a 3.65 (*two withdrawls* from NON science courses) and as President of the Physical Therapy undergraduate club I was accepted into 2 out of 3 schools I applied to. However, with graduate school scheduled to start in late August 2016 I recently have been feeling I could be capable of more. I know Physical Therapy is a great profession and it has been my goal since I was 16 but now at the age of 22 I fear that one day I will look back at my life and say, "maybe I could've been a doctor, or an orthopedic surgeon". I have been thinking of possibly taking the MCATs in May and depending on my score, declining my offer to PT school and to go for medical school. This would put me into a gap year where I can work full-time, acquire shadowing hours, and research medical school applications. I am just extremely fearful of being declined by all medical schools and not having Physical Therapy to fall back on or having to repeat the whole application process and waiting another year. Any opinions or advice would be appreciated:

• Is it worth the risk?
• differences between Pt school and med school?
• Chances of getting in with my gpa and 2 withdrawls?
• How many hours of shadowing are recommended? how many different settings?

Thanks for reading about my situation and any advice would be appreciated, Thank You!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[68PGunner]

Is it worth the risk?

Yes.

differences between Pt school and med school?

Better pay and wider scope of practice. More options.

Chances of getting in with my gpa and 2 withdrawls?

Ask me that question when you get your MCAT score back.

How many hours of shadowing are recommended? how many different settings?

About 100 hrs in 2 specialties.

 

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

First off, I think these questions of "is this a good idea?" or "would I be happier as XYZ" are totally normal, especially since you're starting PT school in the fall. I'm slated to start med school around the same time, and I'd be lying if I said I was 100% confident going in. It's a big commitment and a hard road ahead, so it's expected to have some jitters!

Your GPA seems solid, and I don't think the couple of withdrawals will be a problem. When did they occur? A 3.65 is not bad at all, but it's also not going to wow any adcoms either, so you will want a strong MCAT score (514+). Getting into medical school continues to ramp up in difficulty, as schools had record numbers of apps this year and the average stats of people who get in seems to be rising too. It's tough to know your chances without an MCAT, though, as this is a huge part of the deal. Have you taken any practice exams or looked into that part of it at all?

I haven't been to PT or med school, so can't comment too much there! Obviously your scope of practice down the road will be much different, so part of it will depend on what you can see yourself doing everyday for 30-40 years.

For shadowing hours, I've heard that around 40 is a good number to get, and try to space that out over several different areas of medicine. Definitely want to include primary care and internal medicine, as these are the "basics." You wouldn't want to have 40 hours of plastic surgery, as this would not give you a good idea of what medicine is really like.

 

[mistafab]

Hello all,
I have recently completed my bachelor's degree at Stockton University. My goal throughout my time as an undergraduate was to become a Physical Therapist. With a 3.65 (*two withdrawls* from NON science courses) and as President of the Physical Therapy undergraduate club I was accepted into 2 out of 3 schools I applied to. However, with graduate school scheduled to start in late August 2016 I recently have been feeling I could be capable of more. I know Physical Therapy is a great profession and it has been my goal since I was 16 but now at the age of 22 I fear that one day I will look back at my life and say, "maybe I could've been a doctor, or an orthopedic surgeon". I have been thinking of possibly taking the MCATs in May and depending on my score, declining my offer to PT school and to go for medical school. This would put me into a gap year where I can work full-time, acquire shadowing hours, and research medical school applications. I am just extremely fearful of being declined by all medical schools and not having Physical Therapy to fall back on or having to repeat the whole application process and waiting another year. Any opinions or advice would be appreciated:

• Is it worth the risk?
• differences between Pt school and med school?
• Chances of getting in with my gpa and 2 withdrawls?
• How many hours of shadowing are recommended? how many different settings?

Thanks for reading about my situation and any advice would be appreciated, Thank You!

Do you want to bend arms or write scrips?