new pre-PT senior ??

[collegestudent0717]

Hi! I'm a senior looking to switch from pre-PA to pre-PT but im looking for some serious help. Such as:
-should I be applying now to schools like Baylor that still have their admissions application open (and I like the school!) or wait for other schools that im interested in?
-I've seen many schools listing suggested observation hours but how many are actually seen as competitive?
-does working/volunteering in patient care but thats unrelated to physical therapy help at all?

Stats:
B.A. Biology (graduating 2019)
cGPA: 3.4
pre-reqGPR: 3.7
GRE: 307 (61% verbal, 54% quantitative, 41% analytic)
extracurricular: sorority, campus coordinator, study abroad honors intersession 2016, study abroad Italy spring semester 2018, volunteer action committee, students for refugees club, pre-PT club
volunteer: 150 hours as a vital-taker at VA hospital, 30 children's hospital summer mentorship, English teacher in Italy elementary school
certifications: phlebotomy technician
awards: honors academy scholarship, in-state-tuition scholarship

courses include: bio, chem/organic/biochem, cell bio, genetics, immunology, epidemiology, physics, mitochondrial medicine, anatomy + physiology, microbiology, medical terminology

reason for switching: love medicine/how the body works but fitness and wellness is my real passion. only recently discovered pre-PT and completely willing to switch my course. truly enjoy patient care in health settings.

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[preDPT78]

I was in a similar situation to you just because I didn't know what I wanted to do career wise until my senior year, but just got through the application process so hopefully I can be some help!

I would say to wait until the next application round (opens in July, lot of apps due 10/1) until you have a solid application with observation hours otherwise you'll be wasting money on application fees when this late in the cycle chances are low for schools accepting brand new applicants.

Every school has specific requirements for observation hours, both the minimum number of hours they'll accept as well as the number of locations that you shadow in. I started all of my hours in July this past year and was able to get around 100 hours total across 3 different locations and found that to fulfill all of the requirements for the schools I applied to. Some schools have stupidly high "suggested" number of hours so I just didn't apply to those, but I think for most places if the rest of your application is strong and you get 100 hours then you're good. Most schools also require some experience in inpatient facilities specifically so make sure to get that, they love hospital or acute care or rehab/snf experience. That experience can be difficult to set up just because of paperwork and such for hospitals so try to get going on that one first since there's a billion outpatient orthopedic places that will take in students just call around.

As for the rest of your hours definitely list them in your experiences on your application because they are valuable, but they can't count towards your observation hours that are required by the school.

As for courses you look pretty good, although some schools like a psychology class especially developmental psych if you can.

Maybe consider taking the GRE again to bump up your analytic score? But I know that section can be such a pain to bring up.

Hopefully some of that is helpful! When I was looking for programs to apply to I literally went through every one on the APTA Programs Directory putting into a spreadsheet the hours they require, their average GRE and GPA, those sorts of stats to figure out where I fit. It's a crazy process but you're at a good point and hopefully are excited to have found a good career path! Let me know if you have more questions

 

[LeoDPT]

Your stats are good! But observation hours, you do need a licensed physical therapist to sign off your hours and need at least one LOR that is a physical therapist. In my opinion, I would wait until next cycle since most deadlines are coming up. Another reason to wait for the next cycle is that you will have a chance to explore for other schools so you are not limited to only one school. Depending on the schools you are looking at, they do require at least a 4.0 on writing that is if you are willing to retake the GRE!

 

[deleted797640]

Some schools cap their weighted clinical hours at 400 like CSULB others consider all hours as relevant. Pre-req gpa and GRE are king for PT schools. Your stats are fine, you wouldn't have a problem getting into PT schools.

 

[collegestudent0717]

I was in a similar situation to you just because I didn't know what I wanted to do career wise until my senior year, but just got through the application process so hopefully I can be some help!

I would say to wait until the next application round (opens in July, lot of apps due 10/1) until you have a solid application with observation hours otherwise you'll be wasting money on application fees when this late in the cycle chances are low for schools accepting brand new applicants.

Every school has specific requirements for observation hours, both the minimum number of hours they'll accept as well as the number of locations that you shadow in. I started all of my hours in July this past year and was able to get around 100 hours total across 3 different locations and found that to fulfill all of the requirements for the schools I applied to. Some schools have stupidly high "suggested" number of hours so I just didn't apply to those, but I think for most places if the rest of your application is strong and you get 100 hours then you're good. Most schools also require some experience in inpatient facilities specifically so make sure to get that, they love hospital or acute care or rehab/snf experience. That experience can be difficult to set up just because of paperwork and such for hospitals so try to get going on that one first since there's a billion outpatient orthopedic places that will take in students just call around.

As for the rest of your hours definitely list them in your experiences on your application because they are valuable, but they can't count towards your observation hours that are required by the school.

As for courses you look pretty good, although some schools like a psychology class especially developmental psych if you can.

Maybe consider taking the GRE again to bump up your analytic score? But I know that section can be such a pain to bring up.

Hopefully some of that is helpful! When I was looking for programs to apply to I literally went through every one on the APTA Programs Directory putting into a spreadsheet the hours they require, their average GRE and GPA, those sorts of stats to figure out where I fit. It's a crazy process but you're at a good point and hopefully are excited to have found a good career path! Let me know if you have more questions

I was in a similar situation to you just because I didn't know what I wanted to do career wise until my senior year, but just got through the application process so hopefully I can be some help!

I would say to wait until the next application round (opens in July, lot of apps due 10/1) until you have a solid application with observation hours otherwise you'll be wasting money on application fees when this late in the cycle chances are low for schools accepting brand new applicants.

Every school has specific requirements for observation hours, both the minimum number of hours they'll accept as well as the number of locations that you shadow in. I started all of my hours in July this past year and was able to get around 100 hours total across 3 different locations and found that to fulfill all of the requirements for the schools I applied to. Some schools have stupidly high "suggested" number of hours so I just didn't apply to those, but I think for most places if the rest of your application is strong and you get 100 hours then you're good. Most schools also require some experience in inpatient facilities specifically so make sure to get that, they love hospital or acute care or rehab/snf experience. That experience can be difficult to set up just because of paperwork and such for hospitals so try to get going on that one first since there's a billion outpatient orthopedic places that will take in students just call around.

As for the rest of your hours definitely list them in your experiences on your application because they are valuable, but they can't count towards your observation hours that are required by the school.

As for courses you look pretty good, although some schools like a psychology class especially developmental psych if you can.

Maybe consider taking the GRE again to bump up your analytic score? But I know that section can be such a pain to bring up.

Hopefully some of that is helpful! When I was looking for programs to apply to I literally went through every one on the APTA Programs Directory putting into a spreadsheet the hours they require, their average GRE and GPA, those sorts of stats to figure out where I fit. It's a crazy process but you're at a good point and hopefully are excited to have found a good career path! Let me know if you have more questions

Thank you! very helpful. I think you're right and I'll plan on waiting and getting those observation hours. thank you again for your reply