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- Nov 1, 2016
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I'm having serious doubts that I'll ever get admitted to a DPT program. My stats are nothing impressive. My cumulative GPA is something around a 3.6, but my prereq GPA is only 3.3. On the GRE I scored 159 on the verbal, 150 on quant, and (shamefully) 3.5 on AW (I was a bit late to the test and couldn't settle in and I was quite nervous as I hadn't really prepared for it at all). Plus, I have basically no PTs to write me strong recommendation letters. I'm a mess. I was feeling so hopeless that I began to consider other healthcare careers like respiratory therapy and nursing. Especially nursing, because I could do one of those accelerated second degree programs to get my BSN, and there are so many options for career advancement. But I work in a hospital, and I'm around nurses all the time, and I know that I would not be happy as a nurse (if I could even make it through nursing school!).
Today, I was up on one of the nursing units and I saw a patient I used to work with down in the PT gym where I volunteered. I remember when I first met her -- she had been unable to walk and only received therapy in her bed. She progressed to walking with a machine that held her weight, to walking with a walker, to finally just walking with a cane. We were all so proud of her. I loved seeing her progress. As I was talking to her today, I realized that despite the struggles I've had just trying to apply to PT school, I definitely want to work in physical therapy. I started thinking that I could become a PTA, and then if I really felt like I wanted to, I could apply for the DPT later on. I know the PTA to DPT is not a recommended route because the PTA is not a stepping stone to the DPT. Nevertheless, I am considering this option because I really want to be in the field as soon as possible. I'm tired of working meaningless jobs that make me miserable. Besides, I've done a bit of research on the PTA vs DPT topic, and I've read that some people enjoy being a PTA and feel no need to go for the DPT.
My other option, if I don't apply to PTA programs, is to find another place to volunteer/shadow/observe PTs so I can get stronger recommendations letters. But that would probably take at least another couple of months because I'd only be able to volunteer once a week because of my work schedule. Which also means I'd miss the deadlines to apply to DPT programs and would have to wait until next year. And even then, I feel like my chances of admission would be so low that I'm afraid it'll all be a waste of time.
Today, I was up on one of the nursing units and I saw a patient I used to work with down in the PT gym where I volunteered. I remember when I first met her -- she had been unable to walk and only received therapy in her bed. She progressed to walking with a machine that held her weight, to walking with a walker, to finally just walking with a cane. We were all so proud of her. I loved seeing her progress. As I was talking to her today, I realized that despite the struggles I've had just trying to apply to PT school, I definitely want to work in physical therapy. I started thinking that I could become a PTA, and then if I really felt like I wanted to, I could apply for the DPT later on. I know the PTA to DPT is not a recommended route because the PTA is not a stepping stone to the DPT. Nevertheless, I am considering this option because I really want to be in the field as soon as possible. I'm tired of working meaningless jobs that make me miserable. Besides, I've done a bit of research on the PTA vs DPT topic, and I've read that some people enjoy being a PTA and feel no need to go for the DPT.
My other option, if I don't apply to PTA programs, is to find another place to volunteer/shadow/observe PTs so I can get stronger recommendations letters. But that would probably take at least another couple of months because I'd only be able to volunteer once a week because of my work schedule. Which also means I'd miss the deadlines to apply to DPT programs and would have to wait until next year. And even then, I feel like my chances of admission would be so low that I'm afraid it'll all be a waste of time.