Non-health Major (advice please!)

[Acryzz]

Hi all, I'll preface this story by saying that I recently graduated University with a degree in Economics and a minor in Business. My cumulative GPA is a 2.8.

Anyway, I recently made up my mind that I am not interested in pursuing a career in Economics, because I feel my real passion is in the medical field. After a few months of research I believe a career in Physical Therapy is right for me and something that I am naturally interested in.

Which brings me to this, I have reapplied to my University and my plan is to take all of the required undergraduate courses over the next two years. I am confident that I can force my nose into the book and get a very high gpa in the pre-requisites.

So my question is, with my background and previous undergraduate work, is it realistic for me to believe that if I acquire a very high GPA in the pre-requisites, score well on the GRE, and perform volunteer work at a local hospital that I will have a strong shot at getting into a Physical Therapist school? (In other words, will my past major and gpa haunt me in goal to make it into the medical field?)

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[Azimuthal]

OP, your only weakness so far is your cGPA. Even if you obtain a 4.0 in your pre-requisite courses, you will still need to do good on the GRE. Its not impossible and many people have received acceptances with your stats. Good luck.

 

[rangardrum]

You'll definitely want to try to get above a 3.0 cGPA. Most schools require that. Some schools end up with classes where the average GPA is a 3.6-3.7+ in fact.

 

[wrennywren]

OP, you and I have very similar situations. I graduated with a degree in Geographic Information Systems with a cum GPA of 2.83. Worked in the field for a couple years, hated my life and decided to go back to school. Got a 3.9 in my PT pre req courses, volunteered at a clinic and applied. According to PTCAS, my cum GPA had only risen to 2.98, so I was worried. I applied to the only 2 schools that I could and got interviews at both (they both had a 3.0 minimum requirement, but they calculated scores differently than PTCAS, so instead of a 2.98, I was at a 3.08 with those schools). I got waitlisted at one and accepted to the other. I am now half way done with the program and excited to be so close.

It is totally doable if that is what you want to do!

 

[GMA2013]

OP, you and I have very similar situations. I graduated with a degree in Geographic Information Systems with a cum GPA of 2.83. Worked in the field for a couple years, hated my life and decided to go back to school. Got a 3.9 in my PT pre req courses, volunteered at a clinic and applied. According to PTCAS, my cum GPA had only risen to 2.98, so I was worried. I applied to the only 2 schools that I could and got interviews at both (they both had a 3.0 minimum requirement, but they calculated scores differently than PTCAS, so instead of a 2.98, I was at a 3.08 with those schools). I got waitlisted at one and accepted to the other. I am now half way done with the program and excited to be so close.

It is totally doable if that is what you want to do!

What schools did you apply to?

 

[nomattic]

Thought I'd throw my similar story up here. I had 2.98 GPA from my first bachelor's degree. After taking about 75 post-bacc credits in the lower and upper division sciences I came out of it with a 4.0 math/sci/pre-req GPA, however, it only increased my cGPA to 3.35. I only had about two weeks to cram for the GRE (I don't recommend this, give yourself a month) but came out of it with a 1300 on the old scale, 315 on the new one. Got an internship at a great in-patient neuro rehab center and shadowed a ton of PT's in multiple settings. I've been told by a lot of advisors that I have a decent shot. Bottom line, it sounds like getting into a good program is possible if you only have one weak point in your app that can be well explained. I also ingratiated myself to profs/PTs to get good recs and wrote essays about my steady grade improvement and maturity as a non-trad applicant, etc.

With that said, I just applied to 10 programs this cycle to be on the safe side and may not get into a single one. But I'll be sure to let you know how that goes and give you a heads up!

 

[Cooperylee]

I thought I share my story as well. I i had a 2.63 coming out of my undergrad in art. I went through a personal transformation and decided to pursue PT. For 2 years i took all my prereqs and more, giving me a 3.83 Science/Math GPA. I brought my GPA a 3.0. I have not taken my GRE yet but I been studying for it. Bottom line is I know I want to do this and so i had to change my study habits, do more volunteering hours, call up schools and ask them question about their program, and show them that I am hungry to be a PT. It is really about showing them how bad you want this. Although GPA/GRE is important, they are looking for applicants as a whole. I decided to apply to 20 schools because I just want to get in somewhere this year. It is a lot of work but I am willing for sacrifice my time for my future. I hope this helps and good luck!