Need some guidance

[Ocapitan]

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Hey guys,

Im new to this forum but can already tell its going to become one of the most useful tools in guiding me. I have around 30 credits left before i graduate from FIU university and my current GPA is a 2.56. I have had a tough time working 40/hrs a week and taking care of a family. I work as a legal assistant at a law firm and have been a personal trainer for 2 years. Fitness and the human body have been a huge part of my life since i could remember and i think a career in physical therapy will give me exactly what i want in life, which is to be happy with my career.
With that said, i have also not taken any of the pre-req necessary to be able to apply to a DPT program. What do you guys think should be the steps i take in order to insure i get accepted into some sort of DPT program and pursue a career in physical therapy? Should i take my pre reqs after acquiring my bachelors? Should i take my pre reqs at a community college that will be cheaper? Anything will help... thanks 👍

 

[Ocapitan]

Bump?

 

[TraumaPT]

Hello, Ocapitan,

I recommend you complete your degree, then take your pre-reqs at the community college - they are inexpensive and user-friendly, and none of the programs I applied to made any distinction between my university credits and my community college credits, all of which I took (long) after completing my undergrad degree.

That said, your GPA will be a problem. My suggestion: do not take a full load of pre-reqs; take one or two a semester at most, and ace them. Take as many semesters as you need. A strong GPA in your pre-req work would indicate your ability to succeed in PT school; schools do not consider students who appear unable to complete their programs.

In fact, you could apply that process to completing your current degree. You have 30 hours to make good; cut back on the number of classes you take a semester and make those hours count, GPA-wise.

Good luck!

 

[Brandon1986]

I would finish the degree you are working on now and then take the pre-reqs at a community college. I know how hard it is to keep up with school work while working 40 hrs it sucks I don't even have a family to take care of and I'm struggling. Just make sure that you get the best grades you can in your pre-reqs your going to need to get that GPA up.

 

[Ocapitan]

Thank you guys for the advice, i really appreciate it. At least now i have some sort of plan, not to mention a glimmer of hope.

 

[lizzo76]

I always hear not to take the prereqs at community colleges. But, I think the reason is that community college courses tend to be things like "chemistry for nursing," etc. - that is, NOT the same content as the sciences pre-med students take. Just make sure that the courses you take cover the same things a regular 4-year university course in the subject would cover, and you should be good. Even if somehow no school made the distinction and you took courses that did NOT cover the same stuff pre-med courses cover, you should probably still take the "real" thing for practical reasons: you want to make sure you're going to be able to do well in your DPT courses. Sure, once you're in your DPT program there are certain subjects you won't study in-depth again, but there will be plenty of difficult courses and courses which require knowledge from the prereqs - so just make sure you have that requisite knowledge and know that you can handle the DPT courses.

I second the idea of not taking more than one or two prereqs at once. I know how to handle schoolwork, I have an undergraduate degree from an "elite" college, and already have a masters degree. And yet, right I'm only taking two classes and not even working a paid job - and on top of volunteering and running my household, it's really a lot of work. More than that and I would fear my grades would suffer... I couldn't imagine doing even this amount of schoolwork while working 40 hours a week.