Most challenging prerequisite course

[Daniel M. Pitta]

I have thus far really enjoyed the sciences that I've taken (Biology, A&P's, Psych if that counts) but I gotta say, taking Statistics this semester has been a draining experience, to say the least.

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[mrleroyfashion123]

I had AP credit from high school for statistics and calculus, but those classes were difficult! I have to say that either Physics II or Physiology would be my hardest class!

 

[TheDarkKnight14]

Honestly, it really just depends on where you take the courses. I got murdered in my physics class during undergrad so I retook it about a year ago at a community college and decimated the class. The material wasn't different and I didn't remember much from the first time around but the tests were a lot less about tricking you (think: turning masteringphysics difficult level to insanity) and actually applying what you were taught (masteringphysics level set to hard but not making you sweat bullets during midterms).

 

[ktachiba]

Physics was by far the most challenging/uninteresting/hardest to be motivated to study for class for me...I ended up gettin' an A in both classes but that's cuz the curves were amazing at my community college lol

 

[ktachiba]

The biomechanics course (I think that's what it's called) is the class that I fear the most going into PT school

 

[ktachiba]

My rank of pre-req classes from hardest to easiest:

1.) Physics
2.) Chemistry
3.) Anatomy
4.) Physiology
5.) Stats
6.) Biology
7.) Psychology

 

[tweaze]

I had a five year gap between anatomy and physiology, and so I struggled a bit with physiology because I had to do major review to catch up and keep up. Physics is not necessarily challenging, but I'm not very interested in the material so it's a bit of a slog.

Statistics was a funny one for me because I took it back in 2007 as part of my undergrad, and I thought it was the hardest/most boring class ever, and was worried I wouldn't pass with a high enough grade to graduate. Fast forward to retaking it last fall, and it was informative, useful, and an easy A class. I was happy to see how much the "science" part of my brain had developed over the last 7 years.

 

[Daniel M. Pitta]

Has anyone here taken Microbiology or Organic Chemistry to satisfy their bio and chem prereqs?

 

[montevik]

Has anyone here taken Microbiology or Organic Chemistry to satisfy their bio and chem prereqs?

For the most part, taking Microbiology will not satisfy the "intro to biology" requirement, nor will Organic chem satisfy the "intro to chemistry" requirement.

Some programs may require you to take advanced biology or chemistry on top of the Intro courses, so you'll just have to check out each school.

 

[SwampPT]

Has anyone here taken Microbiology or Organic Chemistry to satisfy their bio and chem prereqs?

Most programs will still make you take Chem I and II. I took micro also. I didn't find it too difficult. Really it all depends on the professor. I got C's in Physics I and II and I was thankful. The highest grade was an 82% and that girl was a prodigy. She never got less than an A in anything except Physics. If I took Physics off of a different professor from a different university I may well have gotten an easy A. That's just the breaks of the game. I learned to research the professor before taking the class. My A&P teacher was tough but fair. Usually three or four people got an A every semester on average. I got an A. Conversely, one of the other professors never had A's and maybe two or three people managed a low B.

 

[TheDarkKnight14]

Most programs will still make you take Chem I and II. I took micro also. I didn't find it too difficult. Really it all depends on the professor. I got C's in Physics I and II and I was thankful. The highest grade was an 82% and that girl was a prodigy. She never got less than an A in anything except Physics. If I took Physics off of a different professor from a different university I may well have gotten an easy A. That's just the breaks of the game. I learned to research the professor before taking the class. My A&P teacher was tough but fair. Usually three or four people got an A every semester on average. I got an A. Conversely, one of the other professors never had A's and maybe two or three people managed a low B.

It's things like this that make me wonder how we will ever part from GPA or find some other way to judge students. We have standardized testing but then that has its own issues.

 

[ktachiba]

Many programs will allow you to take Microbiology as a substitute for Bio I or Bio II....I took Zoology as a substitute for Bio II...Look at school's website on PTCAS to see acceptable courses for each pre-req.

 

[Kuhdaytee]

UMES required Cell Biology/Microbiology/Histology, so I've taken Microbiology. The lab was easy, just following a lab manual to perform different tests on microbes and learning the differences between the main ones. The class itself was also simple for me, as I took it at a community college. I don't remember studying much, especially since there was a lot of overlap from my undergrad classes.

 

[runnerflute]

Physics was my hardest course, especially Physics II. My professor gave us incredibly difficult exams that none of us ever did well on. Thankful I pulled off an A in that class in spite of feeling like I learned barely anything since my learning wasn't positively reinforced on exams.

The class I'm least interested in is stats which I'm taking this semester. It's not difficult but I don't care for it.

My fave pre-reqs have been the bio courses - general bio and A&P.

 

[starrsgirl]

Physics II Calculus based for engineers online many years after my last physics or math class. It was desperate times right before a reapplication. Terrible idea!!!!

 

[SwampPT]

One thing I learned is that Stats is the single most useless class there is.

 

[tweaze]

One thing I learned is that Stats is the single most useless class there is.

I have to disagree with you there. Learning to work with and analyze data has been quite useful to me, and I anticipate it will be a good skill in DPT school and beyond.

 

[DesertPT]

One thing I learned is that Stats is the single most useless class there is.

I always enjoy our comradery on this forum so I'm just gonna come right out and tell you: this is the single most useless thing you have ever posted on this forum. Other than anatomy/physiology, stats is by far the most useful and PT-relevant of the pre-reqs.

 

[DesertPT]

I have thus far really enjoyed the sciences that I've taken (Biology, A&P's, Psych if that counts) but I gotta say, taking Statistics this semester has been a draining experience, to say the least.

You already made another account with this same avatar picture. Why are you making more accounts, and are you ever going to actually ask a question?

 

[SwampPT]

I always enjoy our comradery on this forum so I'm just gonna come right out and tell you: this is the single most useless thing you have ever posted on this forum. Other than anatomy/physiology, stats is by far the most useful and PT-relevant of the pre-reqs.

I just didn't learn anything that I didn't already know on my stats class so it felt pretty useless to me

 

[DesertPT]

I just didn't learn anything that I didn't already know on my stats class so it felt pretty useless to me

Well your the only cop who knows how to do stats I've ever heard of!

 

[SwampPT]

Well your the only cop who knows how to do stats I've ever heard of!

LOL I had to do all the thinking on my department. I compiled stats and argued for reason when I was President of the DSA so I'm very familiar with stats. Police departments also keep stats about literally everything.

 

[BayAreaGiant]

Physics II, hardest class to find a connection to.

 

[tweaze]

I just didn't learn anything that I didn't already know on my stats class so it felt pretty useless to me

Well, that makes more sense then. I still think that it's a useful class to require prospective DPT students to take, as there is no guarantee you will learn those skills in your day to day life.

 

[ktachiba]

The only thing that I remember from stats is hypothesis testing...and it being really boring haha...but then again, I took it like 8 years ago. I got a B in it, but I think if I took it now at my community college I would have been motivated to get an A. I've become quite the nerd since my undergrad days

 

[Daniel M. Pitta]

I always enjoy our comradery on this forum so I'm just gonna come right out and tell you: this is the single most useless thing you have ever posted on this forum. Other than anatomy/physiology, stats is by far the most useful and PT-relevant of the pre-reqs.

Why do you suppose that?

 

[DesertPT]

Why do you suppose that?

You can't really understand and appraise any research without an understanding of statistics. There is a lot of very good research and a lot of very weak research in the rehabilitation sciences, and it is important to be able to tell which papers are which. Can't do that without some basic stats knowledge.

Basic knowledge of statistics is just generally beneficial in life too, for a variety of reasons.

 

[mv85dpthopeful]

I took a year of physics over a summer while planning my wedding (which occurred a week after my last physics final). It was brutal. Physiology of Exercise was super tough too.

 

[DesertPT]

I took a year of physics over a summer while planning my wedding

 

[foodislife]

You can't really understand and appraise any research without an understanding of statistics. There is a lot of very good research and a lot of very weak research in the rehabilitation sciences, and it is important to be able to tell which papers are which. Can't do that without some basic stats knowledge.

Basic knowledge of statistics is just generally beneficial in life too, for a variety of reasons.

Totally agree! This is especially true with a increasingly data-centric world. There was a very intriguing Ted Talk talking about how math is currently taught; it supported the increasingly value of prob/stats compared to calculus. here is a link:

That being said, your instructor is hugely important for stats. I took a stats course in undergrad that was very average and did not allow me to see the true value of stats. Lots of number crunching with very little concept emphasis. Then I took a biostats class in grad school with an amazing instructor that really blew my mind. Almost all concepts very little number crunching (our stats software did that).

Being able to answer the question "does this sample represent reality?" might be one of the most important questions of any evidence based career.

Oh yeah and here is my ranking of difficult classes. However, as someone who teaches in in a College, please know that the difficulty of a course it's really variable and depends on the instructor, the student and the college/universities grading philosophy.
1) Organic Chemistry 1
2) General Chem 1
3) A&P
4) Physics

 

[SwampPT]

Totally agree! This is especially true with a increasingly data-centric world. There was a very intriguing Ted Talk talking about how math is currently taught; it supported the increasingly value of prob/stats compared to calculus. here is a link:

That being said, your instructor is hugely important for stats. I took a stats course in undergrad that was very average and did not allow me to see the true value of stats. Lots of number crunching with very little concept emphasis. Then I took a biostats class in grad school with an amazing instructor that really blew my mind. Almost all concepts very little number crunching (our stats software did that).

Being able to answer the question "does this sample represent reality?" might be one of the most important questions of any evidence based career.

Oh yeah and here is my ranking of difficult classes. However, as someone who teaches in in a College, please know that the difficulty of a course it's really variable and depends on the instructor, the student and the college/universities grading philosophy.
1) Organic Chemistry 1
2) General Chem 1
3) A&P
4) Physics

I personally found physics to be the hardest class. That's the only class I got a C in and was happy. Normally I get upset if I get less than a 95

 

[tweaze]

I took a year of physics over a summer while planning my wedding (which occurred a week after my last physics final). It was brutal. Physiology of Exercise was super tough too.

That's just gross, I'm glad you survived the experience.

 

[deleted503049]

From easiest to hardest:

1. Psychology
2. Statistics
3. Calculus
4. Biology
5. Chemistry
6. Anatomy
7. Physics
8. Physiology

 

[dancing_DPT]

Advanced Human Physiology was the hardest class I took. Our teacher is a PHD/MD who is a neuro specialist, so there was a very high expectation of the class, and he himself confessed it was a graduate level course. Also, the material was combined from 4 or 5 medical texts, and the sheer amount of notes was downright tear-inducing. HOWEVER, I was pushed to my highest potential, and I learned so so much. Our class was the last class he conducted that was closed-note testing, so I feel especially proud of the grade I got since I really and truly had to know the material.

Also, Ochem and Biochem were both incredibly difficult too since both had ACS finals, and the biochem class only covered the first semester of material in the actual test (which also did not have a published study guide).

Physics 2 was crazy because of the how not connected to PT the material was in class. Batteries, magnetism, electricity, light...all interesting but unrelated.

And Psych was difficult to care about because it was so inexact, and everybody in my class felt the need to express EVERY. FEELING. THEY EVER HAD.

 

[somo47]

I have to agree with what's been stated above - the difficulty really depends on the instructor. My favorite prereqs were actually physics and stats, but I had great professors who stressed the concepts and applicability and had straightforward exams. For example, in my physics class we had a lab where we watched a clip from a movie (I think a Fast and Furious?) where we timed the speed and calculated the distance of the car's jump and found where he really would have landed - MUCH more entertaining than working out of the book.

I also have to agree that stats is one of the most important prereqs taken - it's simply not something that is commonly taught and is absolutely necessary to understand, especially in an increasingly research oriented field. But, I'm sure it's because of my professor's manner of teaching that I was able to make that connection.

My most difficult were actually my chemistry and anatomy/physiology courses, but I was also healing from a traumatic brain injury when I took those so I wasn't quite "all there".

And Psych was difficult to care about because it was so inexact, and everybody in my class felt the need to express EVERY. FEELING. THEY EVER HAD.

Also, this is SO accurate. It was an hour and a half of everyone talking about how they "really get it because [insert long winded story here]"

My ranking from easiest to hardest:

1. Psychology
2. Stats
3. Physics
4. Anatomy/Physiology
5. Biology
6. Chemistry
7. Organic chemistry
8. Calculus

 

[itzsommyjr]

Fun thread. Can I put together an in-order list of easiest to hardest? Mine might be a disjointed list, as I'm a non-traditional student, and I took my stats class back in 2005 and calculus back in 2002. I'm going to omit calc, as I don't think I was in the same mindset then as I am now, but stats was recent enough that I think I can include it. I just finished up all my PT prereqs in December. Easiest to most stressful since going back to school two years ago:

1. First Aid / CPR (required for Wayne State's program)
2. Developmental Psychology
3. Introductory Biology
4. Physics II
5. General Chemistry I
6. Exercise Physiology I
7. Human Physiology
....
....
8. Statistics
9. General Chemistry II
10. Physics I
....
.....
.....
......
.......
.........
11. Anatomy & Physiology (Bio 2870 at Wayne State)

I hope I'm accurately portraying the difficulty level

I went to UM for my undergrad, graduated back in 2007, got back into school in 2013 at a local CC and finished my prereqs at Wayne State. Bio 2870 at Wayne State is the single most frustrating, impossible, ridiculous class I've ever taken and it's not even close. Two semesters of A&P crammed into one semester, and I took it accelerated in the summer alongside intro Physics like an idiot. But I'll tell you what -- I wouldn't trade that experience I had last summer for anything. I remember realizing first day of lab that 3/4s of my lab partners were taking that class for the 2nd, third, and even fourth time and thinking to myself that I'd made a mistake. I started the semester off on a pretty low note, getting low Cs for the first time ever on both my first lab practical and on the lecture exam, but I bounced back in the end. Class average on every lecture exam was in the neighborhood of 45%. I may have burned a few years off my life stressing out about both of those classes, but coming out of both classes with an A was one of the single most rewarding things I've ever experienced. The TAs in my lab were really supportive and I learned so much that semester that Bio 3200 (Human Physiology), another notorious weeder course at the university, was comparatively a breeze. a

That said, WSU's format for the class is awful. As much as I learned, I've forgotten a ton as well -- it's too much info in one semester to hang onto. It's designed as a weeder course, and that's it.

Physics I was pretty bad, but a good chunk of that was because I took it along side A&P. The other reason it was so frustrating was because I wasn't used to having only 15 questions on an exam -- you get two questions wrong, and suddenly you're down to an 86%!! No partial credit. The professor was a nice guy, but he couldn't teach at all. It was basically a teach yourself class. Exams were pretty scary.

I had a really great professor at my CC for chem II, but I found the material especially nebulous and confusing regardless. ICE calculations are really boring. Over 4/5ths of the class dropped the class by the final.

Stats was one of the most difficult classes I took at UM, but it definitely did not stress me out like some of the other courses I took later on.

Physics II really stressed me out for the first two weeks of class, but I ended up adapting to the material pretty quickly and ended up with the highest grade across all of the sections of class.

 

[itzsommyjr]

Physics 2 was crazy because of the how not connected to PT the material was in class. Batteries, magnetism, electricity, light...all interesting but unrelated.

I used to think this material was unrelated to PT, and then I started working as a tech in an outpatient ortho clinic. Having an understanding of electromagnetism and waves is key to understanding why interferential current, LLLT, and therapeutic ultrasound continue to be used as modalities in PT.

 

[itzsommyjr]

Physics II, hardest class to find a connection to.

Physics II definitely applies to PT! Having an understanding of destructive interference (in conjunction with info from Human Physiology) is very important to understanding basic EMS protocols in orthopedic PT, at the very least!

 

[jquitt]

Has anyone here taken Microbiology or Organic Chemistry to satisfy their bio and chem prereqs?

I used organic to satisfy my Chemistry requirement on PTCAS because at the time, my organic 2 grade was an A and my Chem 2 grade was a C. So it was to my best interest to list that course. The substitution was allowed at the schools I applied to.

 

[Daniel M. Pitta]

I survived Stats with an A. My God, that class was a grind. This summer I'll be taking Medical Terminology which I expect to be relatively simple, and in the fall I'll be taking Chem I, Physics I and Abnormal Psychology. Yikes...

 

[southernswimmer]

I survived Stats with an A. My God, that class was a grind. This summer I'll be taking Medical Terminology which I expect to be relatively simple, and in the fall I'll be taking Chem I, Physics I and Abnormal Psychology. Yikes...

You got this bro